So how did we do on our first 365 Changing the Way we do month-long Challenge? Personally we did great. Here are a few things that we learned to appreciate along the way.
Saving $$$ and Spending less afforded us more time as a family, more volunteer work, ability to eat what we had on hand, retrain our brains on the way we think about stuff we spend $$$ on!
Gas:
-Without the usual outings to the multiple grocers & pharmacies, you know, some of us can't just shop at one to get everything we need. One trip to the farmer's market every 2 weeks and one to the grocer for milk.
-No unnecessary gas guzzling trips for fast food for lunches or quick suppers
-No driving around the block or leaving the car run in the driveway when our children wouldn't sleep or fell asleep in the car
Time:
-We gained more time as a family
- We gained 12 more hours with Mr. Bacon Bringer Homer. I know it doesn't seem like much, but
really it was. That time not spend running around town, afforded us the luxury of lounging at home.
- We learned to really utilize family movie night. Blockbuster gives out free codes each week on sites
such as southernsavers.com and coupondad.net. We would blow up the air mattress and pop a bag
of popcorn and Voila!
-We worked on projects around the house together. Monk enjoyed setting up the playroom and
putting decorations up for Halloween.
-We re-learned the joys of cooking together
- Having missed this past-time, we had to get creative on some of the meals that needed preparing.
So, it took some thought and opened up more communication for us as a family as to what and how
we were going to make our meals and we did it together!
- We actually ate more and more nutritiously. We were more apt to try new things. Oldies and
goodies from the farmers market were bought, but if something looked interesting we tried it out.
Last night we had purple sweet potatoes! They sounded interesting, looked very interesting and
tasted Grrreatt! But we came up with more combinations for food and new recipes were born!
-We volunteered more hours for our favorite cat rescue Alley Cats & Angels alleycatsandangels.org
-We got re-involved with cleaning the petsmart adoption centers. Yes. We did this with 2 kids in tow.
So it can be done! Monk has learned the art of caring for animals that are not ours, and that they too
need time, attention and maintenance.
- We did this between once and twice a week, and that little hour and a half went along way in the
lives of these kitties!
Clearing out:
-We cleared out most of the stand-up freezer
-Those dreadful potatoes are down to 2 bags from 10!
-Wow, you really can put together a dinner straight from the freezer in 20 minutes!
- It is primed and ready for the winter soup, stew and veggie collections!
-We cleared out most of the pantry
- We traded in quick take-out for can be made quick in home!
Saving $$$ and Spending less afforded us more time as a family, more volunteer work, ability to eat what we had on hand, retrain our brains on the way we think about stuff we spend $$$ on!
Gas:
-Without the usual outings to the multiple grocers & pharmacies, you know, some of us can't just shop at one to get everything we need. One trip to the farmer's market every 2 weeks and one to the grocer for milk.
-No unnecessary gas guzzling trips for fast food for lunches or quick suppers
-No driving around the block or leaving the car run in the driveway when our children wouldn't sleep or fell asleep in the car
Time:
-We gained more time as a family
- We gained 12 more hours with Mr. Bacon Bringer Homer. I know it doesn't seem like much, but
really it was. That time not spend running around town, afforded us the luxury of lounging at home.
- We learned to really utilize family movie night. Blockbuster gives out free codes each week on sites
such as southernsavers.com and coupondad.net. We would blow up the air mattress and pop a bag
of popcorn and Voila!
-We worked on projects around the house together. Monk enjoyed setting up the playroom and
putting decorations up for Halloween.
-We re-learned the joys of cooking together
- Having missed this past-time, we had to get creative on some of the meals that needed preparing.
So, it took some thought and opened up more communication for us as a family as to what and how
we were going to make our meals and we did it together!
- We actually ate more and more nutritiously. We were more apt to try new things. Oldies and
goodies from the farmers market were bought, but if something looked interesting we tried it out.
Last night we had purple sweet potatoes! They sounded interesting, looked very interesting and
tasted Grrreatt! But we came up with more combinations for food and new recipes were born!
-We volunteered more hours for our favorite cat rescue Alley Cats & Angels alleycatsandangels.org
-We got re-involved with cleaning the petsmart adoption centers. Yes. We did this with 2 kids in tow.
So it can be done! Monk has learned the art of caring for animals that are not ours, and that they too
need time, attention and maintenance.
- We did this between once and twice a week, and that little hour and a half went along way in the
lives of these kitties!
Clearing out:
-We cleared out most of the stand-up freezer
-Those dreadful potatoes are down to 2 bags from 10!
-Wow, you really can put together a dinner straight from the freezer in 20 minutes!
- It is primed and ready for the winter soup, stew and veggie collections!
-We cleared out most of the pantry
- We traded in quick take-out for can be made quick in home!
- The depths of those avoidance foods are gone. Now we just know not to buy them again. Good
deal or not!
- Nothing was wasted. No having to bring out the trash can and dump expired foods in the next few
weeks!
- Our garage stock pile
- Has plenty of empty shelves
- Plenty of empty bags of toiletry items
All in all this was a nice life lesson for our family.
* We gained an appreciation for our couponing lifestyle that though we may do it out of necessity to save money in the long run, it affords us the capability to be able to take a month off of spending and utilize what we have on hand. Even when you have company!
* We gained an appreciation for trying new things and adapting our eating styles
* We gained an appreciation for repairing what was on hand with what was on hand instead of taking the easy way out and just buying new.
* We learned that the best things in life are actually free and are accessible, you just have to seek and find them.
* We spent more time as a family. We are teaching our children the value of time together, creativeness and the value of a dollar. We are becoming better parents.
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