One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 843 of 2143 - 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.

The $20/$20 Challenge: I Need Your Pantry Pics!

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By Mavis Butterfield on May 13, 2015 · 5 Comments

I have been loving all the submissions to the $20/$20 Challenge: Show Your Pantry – Fill a Pantry. Judging from your comments and responses, you guys are, too! Check out these amazing pantries:

Vanessa From Kansas Blows Us Away w/ Her Pantry Pics

Darlene From Oregon Proves She’s a Canning Queen

Kaia’s Tiny House Will Blow Your Mind

Heather’s Must See College Dorm Indian Food Lover’s Dream Pantry

Melissa’s Whole Foods Pantry

Tammy From Michigan Shares Her No-Pantry Pantry Pictures

So far together we’ve raised an incredible $980, which is awesome. But I’m going to need to see a lot more pantry submissions if we are going to reach our goal of contributing $5,000 back to community food banks!

Are you getting your pantries camera ready? If not, you should be! Let’s get those cameras out and get to snapping. You can participate in the $20/$20 Challenge by simply sending in pictures of your pantry. Find out more about the $20/$20 Challenge: Show Your Pantry – Fill a Pantry!

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Do Smaller Refrigerators Mean Less Food Waste?

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By Mavis Butterfield on May 13, 2015 · 27 Comments

A big thanks to One Hundred Dollar a Month reader, Marsha, who sent me this fantastic article from the L.A. Times about smaller European refrigerators leading to less food waste.

In case you don’t have time to pop over and read it, let me quick you the abridged version: Basically, the author recounts her experience in Italy several years ago. She was immediately struck by the simplicity of the kitchen–a couple of burners, a table that served as a counter and a place to eat, and a fridge that was about the size of a dorm fridge. She said that while it blew her American brain, she looks back now at the type of lifestyle it created. It meant that you bought enough food for a day or two at a time. You stopped off at a market after work and purchased fresh food to prepare that evening. What struck me personally, was that she said people would stop off to buy bread and bit of cake, but didn’t have to buy the ENTIRE CAKE, only a slice or two of what they would actually eat. Talk about built-in portion control and waaay less waste.

I honestly wish I could have a refrigerator that was about half the size as the one I use now. I still really like my freezer for preserving garden veggies and fruits, but the fridge is just a holding spot for things we should be using up fairly quickly. I could totally downsize and have a little tiny guy under one of my counters. Maybe it’s the type of life it would force that is so appealing to me? Everything would have to slow down. Each day would be a little more present somehow {not to mention the savings in energy consumption}.

What do you think, could you live with a smaller fridge, or is your lifestyle too hectic to do a bit of daily or every other day shopping?

~Mavis

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Gift Idea for Your Graduate – Money Lei

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By Mavis Butterfield on May 13, 2015 · 3 Comments

Last year, when The Girl graduated, I wanted to get creative with her graduation gifts. I knew that she would was only about three months away from being a very poor college student, so money was the obvious choice. Rather than just putting in an envelope with an {overpriced} card, I decided to have a little fun with it by turning the money into a lei. The effort almost made up for the fact that she had to run down the freeway in order to make it to her graduation on time. Almost.

Anyway, I figured some of you might be looking for a creative way to give cold hard cash this year, and thought I would revisit the how-to:

You’ll Need

60 Crisp $1 bills {wrinkled, worn bills don’t work as well}, or $5’s, $10’s, etc. if you are Daddy Warbucks
Clear tape
Thin ribbon or string

Directions

Fold a dollar bill accordion style. Then, fold the bill in half. Pull the sides out to create a full circle with the dollar bill. Attach the edges to each other with a TINY piece of clear tape.

Slide the ribbon through the center of the circled dollar bill {feed it through the middle where your edges meet}. Repeat the process until you have added all of the dollar bills. Tie the string/ribbon in a knot, and voila, a money lei.

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10 Natural Remedies for Headaches

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By Mavis Butterfield on May 13, 2015 · 16 Comments

Last month all the remodeling and HOA nonsense {combined with lack of sleep} left me with more headaches than usual. Since I am not a fan of just downing an Excedrin every time a headache strikes, I decided to try out a few natural headache solutions. I’m still kind of toying around with them to find out which remedy will be my personal go-to, but I thought I’d share a couple, in case any of you have HOA problems too. 😉

Ginger tea. First, I pretty much love the idea of any tea, so this one appealed to me right away. Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties that lend nicely to combating headaches. Just crush a 1″ cube with the side of a knife and steep in boiling water for 5 minutes or so. You can add a little honey to taste.
Peppermint oil. Rub a bit {a little goes a LONG way} on your temples and neck. It is quite refreshing and does take the edge off–though, for me so far, it doesn’t take it away completely.
Capsaicin. A friend told me about this one. It comes in cream or pill form and is basically the active ingredient in cayenne pepper. It is supposed to block the nerve pain signals. I haven’t had a chance to pick any up yet, but I plan on giving it a try.
Lavender essential oil. Lavender is known for aiding in relaxation, but it apparently is also a go-to for migraine sufferers. Add a couple of drops to a pot of boiling water {1 drop for every cup of water} and then sit over the steam for 10 minutes of so, inhaling the lavender goodness.
Take a nap. I know this one isn’t always possible, but you know that saying, “A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything.” Well, I totally agree. Stress is a booger, and sometimes you just got to throw up your hands and say catch ya later.
Feverfew tea. Again, tea. Just the act of sipping tea is relaxing to me. With this one, you need 1 ounce of fresh or dried feverfew flowers and 1 pint of boiling water. Steep, strain, drink {about 1/2 cup at a time}. You can also get this in capsule form.
Add Omega-3’s to your diet. Omega 3’s help combat inflammation–and since most headaches come down to inflammation, adding more anti-inflammatory foods to your diet can help. Flax seeds are high in Omega 3’s and can be ground up and added to oatmeal or a smoothie pretty easily.
Stretch or do yoga. Tension headaches can occur when you have tight over strained muscles {from stress or physical activity}. Adding a regular stretching routine to your day is supposed to help a ton.
Limit headache causing foods. If you have frequent headaches, you may want to limit foods/drinks like wine and, I am sad to report, chocolate. They can both cause or make headaches worse. Paying attention to how your head reacts to everything you eat is not a bad idea either. You may just need a diet tweak.
Get a massage. I am not a huge massage kind of gal, but I know lots of people swear by them for relaxation, de-stressing, and reducing tension {read: causes of headaches}.

How about YOU, do you have any go-to natural remedies for headaches?

~Mavis

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