30 Days of Nothing: day 8
So far, I think we’re doing pretty well on this experiment. In spite of the fact that we started this with absolutely no pre-planning, our pantry and fridge/freezer stores are holding out very well. I dug all the way to the back and to the bottom and found things that were long-forgotten. I was home all of last week, so I didn’t spend anything, though I did ask Hubby to pick up sugar and lettuce one day on his way home one day.
Today we had to go downtown for the annual Vision Forum staff photo (surprise: not a single one of our children threw up on the way!), so I took advantage of the gas that was already burned and went to the produce terminal.
After selling a bit of the produce at cost to my sister and splitting most of the remains with Mother Hen, here’s what we kept.
Produce:
- 25# of roma tomatoes
- 12# of carrots
- 11# of peaches
- 11# of plums
- 8# of seedless white grapes
- 6# of strawberries
- 12# of red onions
- 17# of oranges
- 18# of bananas
That is a total of 120 lbs. of fresh produce! We took a box of about 15 lbs to my aunt and uncle and brought the rest home. We eat it freely but are careful to eat our produce in order, from most perishable to least. This should last us for over a week, hopefully until a week from Friday.
Would you like to guess how much we paid for 120 lbs of produce? I’ll give fame, honor and a virtual high five to whoever guesses the closest to our actual cost. 
I also put $70 of gas in the van at Costco at the bargain price of $3.48/gallon. Is it just me, or does that make you want to choke, cry and put on sackcloth and ashes?
Tomorrow Bethany and I have a (belated) 6 week checkup, so I have a short list for WalMart on that outing. After that, our main need for the next 10 days should be some lettuce and other basic salad fixin’s.
We also ran into Costco on the way home and bought just a couple of items. I was careful to work from a list and came out with just what was on my list. It may be the first time I have ever checked out with less than $40 at Costco. It helps that I found 20# of grated cheese in my freezer. It also helps that God unexpectedly provided 6 dozen eggs and 3 gallons of milk the day before yesterday, all for free.
From Costco:
- taco seasoning: we love Mexican food and use a ton of this. I get a huge container at Costco for less than $4.
- milk: just 2 gallons. We usually keep several gallons in the freezer, but God provided 3 gallons of free milk just yesterday!
- butter: 1 package (4 lbs.) - we still had 2 1/2 lbs. but I hate to run out. Can’t bear to pay grocery store prices!
- peanut butter (2 large jars of Jif): probably not the cheapest source of PB, but it’s staple in our house and the price is competitive if not a steal.
- eggs: (2) 18-packs. I would have bought far more, but God also provided 4 of these 18-packs just the other day.
- Pace picante sauce: 1/2 gallon. Sorry, it’s a staple around here. I may as well admit that tortilla chips will be kept in stock, too. No orange crunchy curly things, but definitely tortilla chips. We’re just that way. At least we buy them at Costco in bulk, for bulk prices.
- chicken bouillion: I find it hard to cook without this stuff. Yes, I’m one of those cooks. At least I’ve moved from the little foil-wrapped cubes of salt to the bright yellow paste-in-a-jar. It just tastes so much more natural and home-cooked. Go ahead, mock me. I can take it.
Who else is doing 30 Days of Nothing this month? How is it going in your household?
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My first guess was $86. Is that too high even?
$67.42. but i really have no idea!
Just for the record ladies Kim posted the article above. It’s a sign of what getting up a 5:30 does to her that she left me logged in when she posted it
Love ya hunney!
I Faaaaiiiiillllleeeedddd….
I forgoooooot.
Can I do it in October? Yes. I think I will attempt this next month. It will definitely help with getting ready for the holidays!
For the virtual high-five: I guess $90.00.
And I rarely make it to a 6 week check on time! One time my baby was 3 months old when I finally made it to my midwife’s for her “6 week” appt.
Ces’t la vie!
I wonder if there is a produce terminal in WA. My guess is $80.
I’m guessing $75.
I sure wish I had access to something like this.
Oh, and now I’m really hungry for fruit this morning!
I’m going to have to try the 30-day thing next month, I think. Too much going on this month around here.
My guess is $69. We started a business buying and selling produce and other local food like dairy and meat. Our produce is all certified organic which is what people want around here. It has turned into a great little family business. We send out an email order form twice a month to our customers.
In Washington you can contact Charlie’s Produce and they will deliver cases and half cases to you. Prices are good and they also have organic. We prefer Organically Grown Company out of Oregon but they only sell organic so it’s more expensive.
Molly
No mocking from me. Yellow paste in a jar (as you so deliciously put it) is a must for me, too. But people rave about my soup, and about my gravy, so I feel justified.
In Australia, that produce would cost about $200, at about $2-4 per kilo.
Our petrol is about $1.50/L, or $6 per US gallon.
We can’t believe how *cheap* US petrol is, LOL.
Kate
Glory, fame and a virtual hi-five to Molly! Our total was $69.50 for 120 lbs. of fresh produce including quite a few strawberries!
As of Wednesday afternoon, the oranges, plums and strawberries are gone; we’ve made a serious dent in the bananas, peaches and grapes. Carrots and tomatoes are holding out better (gee, I wonder why?) and we’ve barely dipped into the onions.
Maybe I was optimistic to hope that the fruit would last 10 days…
great deal on the fruit!
Hey, wait. I goofed. I just went over the math again, and I am so ashamed. I made a mistake. I know, what was hard about this? Total minus my sister’s purchase minus Mother Hen’s purchase = my total.
Our 120 lbs of goodies came to just under $60. Now are you even more wowed than ever?
So glory, fame and the virtual high five go to Esther. Sorry, Molly.
I’m less impressed with the way our supplies held out. By Thursday, we had eaten nearly every piece of fruit in the house. I know I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. Girls just aren’t supposed to eat this much, are they?