One Hundred Dollars a Month

A big THANK YOU to everyone who sent in their photos for the $20/$20 Challenge in 2015. I hope by sharing those pantry pictures and organization stories, you were able to gain a little useful information. The challenge might be over, but I’d love to still see those pantries! If you’re willing to share, I’m willing to share, so keep ’em coming! If I end up using your submission, you score a $20 Amazon gift card! See details below.

~Mavis

Our latest submission comes to us from snowy Utah, where reader Stephanie shows off her pantry and gives us a glimpse into how she stores her goods!

Dear Mavis,

Sorry you didn’t get a white Christmas. I hope you get some real snow soon. We’ve gotten plenty of snow here in Utah. I’ve been following your blog for a few years now. I’m a stay at home mom with three young kids. I love to cook and bake from scratch, and I’ve been gardening for 7 years. Our house is on 1/4 acre in the suburbs. I have a few raised garden boxes and just started keeping chickens this year.

I usually go grocery shopping once a week at a local grocery store. I hit up Costco once a month, and Winco every 3 months or so to stock up at the bulk bins.

A number of years ago my mom’s neighbor was cleaning out her garage and had a pile of stuff that was just going to go to the thrift store, and that’s where my mom grabbed this grain mill for me. Can’t get any better than free! We cleaned the dust off it and glued one of the mill stones back on and it’s been serving me well. I grind wheat every week or two to bake my homemade bread and I use it in my pancakes and other baking.

I bake 2 loaves of bread at a time and I slice them up and put them into 4 bags. We usually don’t go through bread very fast (unless I make french toast for breakfast) so I leave one bag on the counter and the rest goes into the freezer. My husband built this table to keep the grain mill on. It’s out in the garage because we don’t have room in the kitchen and it’s also super loud when it’s running. He also built it large enough so that our dog’s crate would fit right underneath. He loves hanging out in the garage, especially when it gets too crazy in the house. 3 little kids can be really loud!

My handy husband also built these adjustable shelves in our utility room in the basement. I need to get him to cut a few more shelves so I can maximize my storage space.

I canned tomatoes and grape juice from my garden this summer.

I also tried making grape jelly for the first time. This year was not good to our fruit trees, we didn’t harvest a single peach or pear. I bought some local peaches this summer and canned those instead. I also bought a bunch of canning jars from a neighbor’s yard sale. I’m hoping to continue expanding my canning repertoire.

We also have a chest freezer in the utility room. I’m still try to figure out how best to keep it organized. I need to find some more baskets that will fit my freezer.

For now I have cardboard boxes dividing the bottom of the freezer. You can’t see them too well because I have lots of food piled on top.

I do my meal planning one week at a time. I look over my calendar on the fridge and see what meals we haven’t had for a while. I write the next week’s meal plan on the calendar, but I will often cross things out or switch Tuesday’s stir-fry with Thursday’s Sloppy Joes. I like to keep things flexible. To ensure variety, I try to plan one dinner from 7-8 different categories. A week’s meals will usually have one pasta night, one Asian dish, one Mexican, one casserole, one meat and potatoes, one meatless dish, and one night of leftovers. It works pretty well for us.

I’ve loved getting inspiration from all the pantry pictures this year; it’s motivated me to get more organized and keep it that way!

Thanks Mavis!

If you would like to have your garden, chicken coop, pantry or something you’ve made featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:

• Your Garden Pictures and Tips – I’d especially like to see your garden set ups, growing areas, and know if you are starting seeds indoors this year. If so,  show me some picture of how you are going about it.
• Your Pantry Pics – Submit at least 5 HIGH QUALITY pictures of your pantry/fridge/cabinets, as well as a short blurb {at the very least} about you and your food habits.
• Your Chicken and Chicken Related Stories – Coops, Chicks, Hen’s, Roosters, Eggs, you name it. If it clucks, send us some pictures to share with the world.
• Cool Arts & Crafts – Made from your very own hands with detailed {and well photographed} pictures and instructions.
• Your pictures and stories about your pets. The more pictures and details the better.
• Garage Sale, Thrift Store and Dumpster Diving pictures and the stories behind the treasures you found including how much you paid for them.

If I feature your pictures and the stories behind them on One Hundred Dollars a Month, I will send you a $20.00 gift card to the greatest store in the world: Amazon.com.

Go  HERE for the official rules.