Blogger Book Club- Week 1 Response
Q1- I have really enjoyed reading chapters 1 and 2 of “Thrift in the Household”. What I have enjoyed so far is the tone of the book. It is straight forward and to the point. It reads sort of like a handbook versus a story.
The parts of the book that have caused me to reconsider some of my methods in “thrift” would be in areas such as waste. I have realized, by reading the book, that I am wasting in areas that had not been obvious before.
For example; when I make dough I often leave plenty sticking to the inside of the bowl. Which over time does begin to amount to the equivalent of actual pounds of wasted flour.
Also when my children empty sugar or flour into our storage containers, I notice that they spill some and also don’t take the time to empty the bags completely. Over time this waste will begin to accumulate as well. In this aspect I am very patient through their learning process, but at the same time I use these opportunities to discuss waste and even incorporate arithmetic. We discuss grams and how once accumulated, turn into pounds.
In addition not using nonstick pans when cooking rice has caused me much waste. I don’t use the rice from the bottom of the pan because it is usually stuck. I know that there has to be at least 1/4 cup of rice left in the pot from every meal. This is the same when cooking hot cereals. These are two grains that I cook at least 4 time a week. So I am throwing away about 1 cup of grains per week. This fact alone has motivated me to purchase new cookware, in the near future, which is a task long over due.
This are just a few of my revelations. Thank you for reading along.
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This post has 6 comments
January 26th, 2008
I agree with Stella don’t use the nonstick to cook rice in. I never loose a grain of rice when I cook rice on the stovetop. For every cup of rice I boil 2 cups of water when the water is boiling I add the rice let it come to a boil again and then turn the heat as low as possible place a lid and set the timer for 20 min (do not remove lid while cooking) when timer goes off stir with a fork and you have non sticking rice.
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January 21st, 2008
First, I find the tone of this book a little “preachy”–even for the date of its publication. Still, it has some very good points:
Like the breadcrumbs example in Chapter 1 the savings isn’t always worth it. This is very true of spending $3 a gallon gas to drive somewhere for loss-leaders and then finding the other products you needs are higher than at your normal store.
The “charge” it thing of ending up spending more money is so very true of our lives today. We often think credit is a new thing, but it certainly isn’t. While traditionally an “account” was due to be settled in full each month, businesses have always had customers to hound to get their money. My Grandmother was Head Cashier in a large city Department store in the late 20s and early 30s –yes, she got to open those nifty little “cages” that sped back and forth from the sales floor up to the cash office!! [you can see these in Irene Dunn's wonderful movie of "Life With Father"] But much of her time was spent typing ever-more terse letters requesting payment on overdue accounts!! Very, very much like today and over-extended credit card users!
“Mind the pennies and the dollars take care of themselves” is so true as well. I quit dropping pennies in those little cups by seemingly every cash register anymore. 100 pennies doesn’t take long to save. And, guess what? Any bank and most grocery stores gladly exchange them for a paper dollar!
Finally, buying in larger quantities and generics. Be careful especially with nationally advertised name brand goods. They are RARELY a full 16 oz can. Most generics are. Now, that difference IS likely water, but still. Try one can of generic. Do you like it? Then why bother paying more? My family really found we like Del Monte and Dole canned fruits best. Our store runs 10/$10 frequently on these. We stock up then. If we need more between sales, we live with the cheaper generic. We have plenty of room to store things. And, I have a big freezer for much cheaper “family” packs of meat. Not always possible in an apartment.
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January 20th, 2008
I’d like to add something about the problem of food sticking. Yes, rice can really be a pain. But I find that if I turn off the heat, leave the lid on & then just let the pan “rest” a while, I can get almost every grain out when I serve it. I have some enameled cookware, & some RevereWare…nothing special.
best of luck-
Brenda
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January 20th, 2008
Please look up the health issues that can be caused by non-stick cookware.
Using a little more cooking water in your oatmeal and rice should help keeping it from sticking.
I use stainless steel and have found cooking at a lower temperature helps to keep most other foods from sticking.
Blessings,
~Stella
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January 19th, 2008
I enjoyed the first two chapters, & am eager to get to chapters 3 & 4 as well. Much to be learned in books like these…the wisdom is timeless….like an unchanging law of nature or something.
Brenda
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January 18th, 2008
I really enjoyed reading these two chapters. I must say I am glad that we don’t (generally) have to weigh our produce when returning home from marketing these days; however I find that I am regularly overcharged at supermarkets when the items get scanned twice or the advertised special offers do not show up at checkout! Only yesterday I did a large shop at a big store, buying fruit and vegetables that were on 40% off that day only, making it worth my while to drive the 30 mile round trip and pay the toll to get into the city. I bought three upcoming birthday gifts that were well-reduced Christmas stock and three gift sets that were also reduced after Christmas, but which I plan to break up into seperate components for home use and for giving away. So overall I think I did good thrifty shopping. But I checked the till receipt when entering the details into my accounts and found I was double charged for two items.It is certainly not worth my time or money to return to the store to question the bill, nor can I now prove that I did not infact buy these double entered items so I can’t see to it at a later visit. But I do feel cheated and will take the time to check the till receipt before I leave next time.(In between marshalling my three small children and being pushed out of the way as other shoppers need the packing space!)That is my 2 cents worth this week! Gill.
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