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One Hundred Dollars a Month

I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.


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My Life Is So Exciting – Today I Cleaned Out The Refrigerator

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This morning I went looking for something in the refrigerator and couldn’t find it.  I knew it was there, but with all the free fruit and garden produce in there I had a hard time locating it.

So I decided to break out the paper towels and clean the sucker until it shined {well, almost}.

Do you think you can tell a lot about a person by looking at the inside of their refrigerator?

I remember listening to Martha Stewart give an interview once and the interviewer ask her if every room in her house was spotless.  She must have been giving a tour of her house because the camera then showed a sticky note on her door that read Keep Out, Private or something like that.

Every room in her house was picture perfect except her office. It was off limits.

I watched the video clip 10, maybe 15 years ago and I has stuck with me all this time.

Nobody is perfect.  We all have a drawer, refrigerator, laundry room, some space in our house that is filled with crap.  And we are okay with it.

Although lately my office, kitchen and back porch look like bombs went off and the disaster crew has yet to arrive, clutter happens.  To all of us.  Or at least I’d like to think it does.

I’m curious, how often do you clean your refrigerator?

Is your refrigerator freaky clean?

Or do you just toss everything in there and hope for the best?

Do you have a room in your house that is “off limits” or is your home white glove inspection perfect?

I need to know these things!

~Mavis

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Mavis Garden Blog – Trimming Wisteria

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About a year after we moved into our house the Handsome Husband built a fence. I wanted to start a large garden, but couldn’t because of the deer that wander though our neighborhood on a daily basis.   Plus, we had this neighbor {who has since moved} who would come outside every stinkin’ time the Handsome Husband or I were in the backyard working. He would stand out there {on his side of the property} and talk to us non-stop.  It drove us nuts.   I’m not sure what the tipping point was, but in the end the HH finally built a fence to keep Mr. Conversation out, and the deer as well.

Soon after the HH finished the fence, he built some gates and a couple of arbors for me.  As soon as all the wood was stained, I headed down to the nursery and picked out 2 purple flowering wisteria plants for $24.99 each.  When I bought the plants there wasn’t much to them, and I remember thinking  “I’m paying $50 for 2 sticks with a couple of leaves on them.” But I knew if cared for properly, they would grow into something wonderful, so I bought them anyway.

The HH dug the holes, set the plants and I doused the puny little sticks with Miracle Grow.

Fast forward 3 years later, and the wisteria vines are wildly out of control.  And I love it.

When it comes to plants, sometimes there is no instant gratification.  You just have to wait.

How to Trim Wisteria

  • Prune wisteria in mid winter and again in summer after the flowers have died
  • Remove any wispy shoots not needed for the main framework
  • Clip suckers near the base of the plant

Are YOU growing any flowering vines at your place?  If so, what kind?  I’ve always wanted to grow passion flowers.  I think if I can find a spot, I may get one or two of them next spring.

Home Outside: Creating the Landscape You Love By Julie Moir Messervy ~ Amazon

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How to Get Free Food Week # 20 – Reclaimed Food Show and Tell

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There were 5 boxes of free food waiting for The Girl and I when we went to the grocery store this week.

About half of the watermelon and grapes were still edible.

We scored a bunch of fresh mushrooms, cilantro, spinach and 1 green pepper.

3 ears of corn, bean sprouts, strawberries and blueberries.

We decided to pass on the lettuce and gave it all to our pet chickens instead.

A whole case of iceberg lettuce.  Holy Cow!

I don’t know why, but I’m still amazed at how much edible food is tossed everyday from local grocery stores, and I’m also thankful to be able to reclaim some of it.

Now, I just have to figure out what to do with all that lettuce.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Would you like to see what else we have brought home over the past 5 months?

Head on over HERE to read all the past stories and to see all the pictures.

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Ask and You Shall Receive – Reader Lisa Sends in Her Free Produce Pictures

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Check out this AWESOME email I received from One Hundred Dollars a Month reader Lisa.

___________________________________________________________

Hi Mavis,

I have been following your blog for over a year now and was amazed and a little jealous of the reclaimed food you were receiving.

I never got up the nerve to try it myself, until the day I saw Minka’s haul! That did it for me. I spoke with my cousin, who works in the office
of a local grocery store. She went and talked with their produce guy and told me to come in the next day. That day I came home with one box
of produce, which is the first photo. He wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted, since we have tortoise’s, guinea pigs and rabbits. I told him that they will eat all types of veggies and fruit. The produce guy said to come back Monday morning. My husband went for me and came home with 2 boxes this time.

I did throw out some egg plants, sprouts and collard greens, but the photo is the rest of it that is perfectly good! We ate the corn and some of the lettuce in salads
for afternoon school snacks. I am thankful that I don’t have to pay for veggies for my animals and for all this extra! The produce guy told my husband to come every
Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I would rather just go once or twice a week, but if my husband is willing to be the pick up person, then we’ll see how it goes!
____________________________________________________________

Holy Cow Lisa!  Way to go.  I’m so glad you got up the courage to ask. Well done!

~Mavis

To read more about reclaimed food head on over HERE.

*If you have an awesome shopping trip, dumpster dive, garden pictures, chickens or anything else super exciting and would like to be featured here on onehundreddollarsamonth.com, then send in your clear, quality photos to onehundreddollarsamonth {at} gmail.com, along with a brief description of your pictures and I will try and get them posted.

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Mavis Butterfield Etsy