All good news!

Thanks for all your concern and wishes for health, regarding the headaches I was having and more recent sore throat bug.

The bad headaches left with the change in weather, and I'm just about over the sore throat and coughing. So yay!

Much more exciting than that is we got my brother all married off! He and his bride are honeymooning in London as I write this.

Also, I wasn't necessarily intending to write a blog post today, but I got rather long winded commenting on a post by verybusymomwith4, who was looking for feedback on saving money and still eating well. The topic intrigues me, and there is a great discussion going on over there.

I'd definitely encourage you to stop by and add your two cents!

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Photo by me: Ian and Christine opening presents the day after the wedding. I was in the wedding, so I didn't take any pics then.

Thankful

So just a quick update before sleepytime. The first part of this week was packed with trying to tie up work projects, etc. before the long weekend.

We had an absolutely lovely Thanksgiving with my family - plus the parents of the Hubs.

Over in Bold Avenue's shop, I decided that instead of a Black Friday sale, I would donate $1 for each tee sold to Heifer International. You can read all about that over on my other blog. I'll just say that I would love to sell enough t-shirts to buy a family in need a water buffalo!

In the meantime, I hope you had a beautiful day and are finding many, many things in your life to be thankful for.

REPLAY: Why diapers are like cars

In celebration of Little Stuff of Life's blogiversary, I'm replaying a series of "classic" posts. This one originally aired July 27, 2007 - before I got religious about including photos with each post.

On a side note, I'm glad now that we didn't buy that Pontiac.

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When my Hubs and I were looking for a car, we learned that a Pontiac Vibe is basically the same as a Toyota Matrix. Everything on it except the stereo is made by Toyota. But since it's called "Pontiac," the Vibe will cost less at the outset than the Matrix and have a lower resale value. It might also take longer to sell.

Yesterday, I learned there's a similar phenomenon in the world of cloth diapers. A lot of people buy used cloth diapers since they're quite a bit cheaper than new ones. (As the Hubs put it, "Diapers start depreciating the second you drive them off the lot.") If you purchase used cloth diapers from top-selling brands, you can sometimes resell them for your purchase price - or close to it (assuming they're still in good condition). However, diapers from brands that aren't well known may save you money initially, but they'll be harder to resell once your kids grow out of them. You may have trouble selling them at all.

Just like with a Pontiac, people are concerned about reliability, how much mileage they'll be able to get out of them, and whether they'll leak.


P.S. Thanks to Heather of Sleek Mama for enlightening me on this subject. I was interviewing her about her baby carriers, and we got a little off topic.

How much money do you save with cloth diapers?

The other day my dad called me up and said he'd heard you could save $7000 by using cloth diapers rather than disposable ones. (Someone had told a co-worker that he was going to save that amount.)

So he was asking, "Does that sound right to you?"

Because I had woken up only a few minutes before and because I remembered reading that you could save some large sum of money by using cloth diapers instead of disposable ones, I said...

"Sure."

"Really?!!"

"Maybe. I'll look it up and get back to you."


So I checked out a few different sources, and here are the numbers I found...

• "Diapers, Diapers & More Diapers" on The New Parents Guide says, "disposable diapers will run approximately $50 to $80 per month" If you have the kid in diapers 2.5 years , that's $1500-2400 you're spending. (Can't save $7000 if you're spending less than that.)
• In their "Costs of Having a Baby" article, Justmommies.com estimates $60 a month for "diapers." (I'm guessing they mean paper ones, since they don't specify.) That's still within the range above.
• Summer Minor's estimate was a bit higher, "Costs for disposable diapers average at about $2,000 to $3,000 per child, yet a good cloth diaper stash can be put together for around $500."
• Heather of Me and My Boys estimated she would save about $400 per child by switching to cloth.
• Finally, I checked to see if there was anything on Consumer Reports. Yep. They say, "You can expect to spend $1,500 to $2,000 or more on disposables by the time your baby is out of them."
  

The sources agree that...
a) diapers are expensive.
b) cloth diapers are a lot less expensive when all's said and done.

And, if you go with Summer's numbers (above) and you have at least three kids, you could save $7000 by the time they're all potty trained.

But saving $7000 per child? Unless you're switching from gold-coated diapers to cloth, I'm thinking not.

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Photos: 1) by Bethany L King 2) by Lance McCord

Save money, go green, do good

It's Earth Day, and I know that doesn't mean the same thing for everyone reading this. But, if you read on, you'll find links to tips for saving money, enjoying nature, helping others and sharing your opinion. In fact, I think there's something here for just about everyone. So, read on, explore, and let me know what you think!


Saving the planet some cash

• 40 Ways to Go Greener at Home (Besides Just Recycling) - SimpleMom starts out the post with "I’m not into politics, but I am into good stewardship." She goes on to list "small, easy, green choices" that will also cut down on your household expenses. (Link from @sortacrunchy - thanks for sharing!)
  
• Earth Day: Even more tips on going green to save some green - Consumer Reports offers money-saving tips for cars and electronics, as well as Earth Day freebies.
• International Dark Sky Week - Tonight (or sometime this week), take some time to turn off the lights, tv, and other plugged-in, power-bill-running-up glowing things and enjoy looking at the stars. (Also found through Twitter, this time via @ArizonaTourism.)

Organic clothing

• Earth Day sale alternative - Instead of marking things down in my shop for Earth Day, I'm donating to Heifer International's project for Biodiversity and Agroecology for Food Security in Peru. For each organic apparel item (t-shirts and onesies) you buy today, I'll donate $1 to this fund, which helps farmers learn to grow crops in ways that provide food for years to come. Have you had your eye on an organic tee? Making your purchase today will help make a difference in Peru!
  
• Still not sure about this organic apparel stuff? Sound off on my "Why wear organic clothing?" page under "What do you think about organic clothing?" Whether you're for, against, or on the fence, I'd love to hear it!
  

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Nature photos by me.

T-shirt: Gardening Organic Cotton Tee.

For a good deal, call (up) these 5 sites!

Ok, now for the post I didn't post yesterday.



Here are 5 deal/coupon sites I wanted to share with you. They are all free and do not require any kind of registration.

• The Deal Seeking Mom blog posts several special offers a day for discounts on things like Redbox rentals, groceries, magazines, eating out and all kinds of stuff - both online and offline. DSM also has pages dedicated to how to save money specifically via coupons, freebies, drugstores, grocery stores and Wal-mart.
  
• RetailMeNot.com is basically a database of coupons (mostly online coupon codes but also some printable store coupons) for the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada and Germany. Search results may include "featured coupons" from the merchant itself, as well as codes users have received and shared. Since some of the user-submitted codes may be expired or invalid for other reasons, it gives a percentage (success rate) of how many users reported the coupon working.
• CouponNerds.com works in a similar way to RetailMeNot.com, except it is exclusively for online coupons. I did a few searches and got fewer and less reliable results (i.e. I searched for "target" and got only two results, neither of which had anything to do with Target stores), but it still might be worth a look if you haven't been able to find a coupon code for something elsewhere.
• CPCoupon.com is the most reliable source for up-to-date CafePress coupons (usually $5 off your purchase of $50). This is important because I accept all valid CafePress coupons in my Bold Avenue shop. :) (Today, for example, you could use this coupon code: DWELTAWAIT.)
• ABC15's Smart Shopper is one you must check out if you're in the Phoenix area. She announces deals for local stores, restaurants, etc. and giveaways that usually only last one day. You just need to print out a Smart Shopper card (or pick one up at a UPS store) and watch for the deals on the news or the site.

Do ABC affiliates in other parts of the country have their own "Smart Shoppers" or something similar?

What other sites do you like for finding deals and coupons?

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Photos by me.

On the menu: week of 3/22

Fun from the grocery store:

I went looking for a jar of red peppers at Sunflower Market (which you already know I love) (no, they don't pay me to say that), and I instead I found this "Mediterranean appetizer" with red peppers AND parsley AND eggplant AND garlic. AND it was on sale. So...yum! That went into last week's quiche, pasta and pizza. And I wish I'd bought more.


Another great grocery find was this jumbo pita bread (ours came from Haji Baba), which was perfect for the pita pizzas. I used leftover ingredients from the week - mushrooms, green onions, pasta sauce, tomatoes, etc. - as toppings. Then I threw it in the oven at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, and the pita got very crisp and thin and easy for the Hubs to eat. (Yay!)


One more thing you might be interested to know (unless you're vegetarian) - bone-in ham is 79 cents a pound at Food City this week. If you don't have a Food City near you, I'm sure it'll be on sale somewhere else soon, since Easter is coming up.

As for what we're eating this week:

• Monday - Black bean soup (which is in the crockpot now)
  
• Tuesday - Ham with new potatoes and corn
• Wednesday - Mediterranean salad with chickpea patties (This is another Real Simple recipe, but I can't find it on their site - maybe too new.)
  
• Thursday - Fried rice with ham and veggies
  
• Friday - Last-minute lasagna
• Saturday - Probably more pita pizza (It's just so good! And so easy!)
  

I'm making myself hungry! I'm gonna go eat now, but you can check out more menu plans on the Chive Talkin' Menu Plan Blog Roll, which has moved - so make sure to update your bookmarks!


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Photos by me. Note: Pita bread bag is on pizza stone for scale. Do not throw the whole bag in the oven. ;)

Menu plan: Week of 3/2/2009

Loved the feedback I got on last week's menu plan, so I decided to share again this week!

I ended up making some changes on the fly to last week's menu - which just means I get to recycle some of the ideas for this week. (Efficient? Or lazy? You decide!)


One big thing I'm taking into consideration this week is that the Hubs gets his braces tightened Tuesday, so I'm planning on softer foods most of the week and hoping we don't have to use the food processor so much. Or revert to oatmeal. But ya do what ya gotta do.

• Monday - Stir fry. (No peanuts for the Hubs, though!)
• Tuesday - Lentil soup with E and Christine, take two!
• Wednesday - Salmon (on sale at Sunflower!) with veggies
• Thursday - Chili-topped sweet potatoes
• Friday - Pasta salad
  
• Saturday - Pizza
  

Sorry I'm not quite as detailed this week. It's just one of those weeks where I'm going to be figuring out a lot of things as I go. At least I have a starting point.

For more great menus, head on over to My Joyful Haven for this week's Chive Talkin' Menu Plan Blog Roll. And don't forget to link up if you post your menu!
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Photos by me.

Time to get your thrift on!

I'm always for getting the most bang for your buck. In good financial times or tight times, stretching your dollar is just smart. But I think it's taken the current economic crisis for a lot of America to realize/remember this. (Yes, some of you knew it all along. And, yes, some of you are not from the U.S., have attitudes changed in your home country?)


Enter Thursday Thrift. On Thursdays, Deborah at Bette's Bungalow gives tips for saving money and recipes to make a whole lotta food for less. The chicken and rice recipe I mentioned Monday came from Thursday Thrift, and, I have to say, it was delish!

I believe another edition is on its way today. In the meantime, I'd definitely recommend perusing past posts to inspire your frugal side!

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Photos by me.

On the menu this week

Even after going to that workshop and getting all these really cool options for menu planning forms, I still write my weekly menu on the back of my grocery list. That way, if I'm at the store and it turns out that romaine is a better deal than spinach, I can flip over the list and see what I was planning on doing with that spinach and if Romaine would work just as well. Handy, huh?

This week I told Jenna at My Joyful Haven that I'd participate in her Chive Talkin' Menu Plan, so I tried to write (a little) more legibly on the back of my list.


But I'll translate anyway.

• Monday - Chicken tacos with black beans and squash. Haven't decided yet if I want the black beans and/or squash to be side dishes or if I'll mix it altogether and call it Steph's Super Taco Filling.
• Tuesday - Planning on trying Deborah's Chicken and Rice Casserole in a Pan.
• Wednesday - We have caregroup that night, so I want to have something that'll be ready to eat as soon as the Hubs comes home. Most likely I'll throw something in the crockpot. I haven't decided what yet.
• Thursday - E and Christine are coming over for some of the fabulous lentil soup the Hubs made. Last time he served it over rice with a fried egg on top (guess that's South America style), and it was actually really good.
• Friday - Got these cute little mini burger patties, which I'll serve on dinner rolls (with all the fixin's, of course) and along with some corn.
  
• Saturday - I'm thinking maybe stir fry. Maybe a version of this one. We'll see how the week goes.
  

Like I said, people like to know what other people are eating! You can share your menu plan, and then link up on My Joyful Haven's Chive Talkin' Menu Plan Blog Roll.

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Photo by me. (My version of Chanelle's Simple Stir Fry.)

For your little stickers...

Kids love sticking stickers. And they can get surprisingly pricey. So, fabulous stickers that you can download for free are definitely a great find!


Thanks to Craft online, I found this adorable sheet of animal stickers in retro colors by designer Lotta Bruhn. For the price of a self-adhesive sheet*, you can download, print, cut out, stick...and repeat as necessary.

*These are set up for an A4 sheet, but a letter-size (8.5x11 in) self-adhesive sheet should also work.

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Photo by me of our niece enjoying sticking some free - but not nearly so cute - address labels we got in the mail.

You pick the sale!

Today is the last day for you to speak up about what Black Friday deals you'd like to see on Bold Avenue! I want to put your favorite thing on sale. So visit my New on the Avenue blog and vote! You can vote for as many items as you'd like to.

The item with the most votes will be discounted Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving.)

What do you want on your sale?

I'm deciding on what to put on sale in my shop over Thanksgiving weekend, and I thought I'd see if you had anything to say about that.

Under consideration:

• Dark tees (including mens, womens and kids)
• Ornaments (round and oval)
• Hoodies (hooded sweatshirts, womens raglan hoodies and kids hoodies)
• Journals
• Tote bags
• Large mugs

Let me know what you'd like to see on sale via the poll on the New on the Avenue blog and/or by leaving a comment here on this post. (Yep, the one you're reading.)

Speaking of Bold Avenue, we've been changing some things up there. So if you haven't already subscribed to the Bold Avenue feed, it would be a great time to do that!


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Designs by me.

Paper with potential

After the Hubs built our new bookshelf, we were left with huge cardboard boxes (which went into the recycling bin) and correspondingly large sheets of paper that had been used in packing (which I held onto). That paper had potential.

It could go underneath messy craft projects.

Or it could be part of a project. At some point in elementary school, we had a friend trace our outline on big pieces of butcher paper. Then we each colored in our own faces, etc. to make it like a life-sized self portrait. I wondered if our nieces and nephews had done that.


When I watched my friend Sarah's daughter Elizabeth recently, I realized each piece of paper was the perfect size to cover my coffee table. I set out the crayons and let her go to town without worrying about stray crayon marks on the table.

Turns out she was mostly interested in taking the crayons in and out of the box. But that works too.

A brave new (grocery) world

I have to admit, I was kinda nervous about going to American Discount Foods. Sounds silly now, but I used to live right by it and never went there. In my defense, however, it is the only grocery store I know of that has no windows, what appears to be a check point at the entrance and is surrounded by chain link fence with barbed wire on the top.

So was I crazy to be a little hesitant to go in?


It took someone I knew mentioning she'd been there before at the Meal Planning Workshop. And me unexpectedly having a few extra minutes on that side of town before I needed to go pick up the Hubs.

So I decided to venture in.


You know what? The people were friendly, the deals were good and you don't even have to check in at the little checkpoint when you come in.

I might just go back.

And you know what? If you're in the Phoenix/East Valley area, you should give it a try. If not, I hope this still gives you courage to face your grocery store fears.



Who knows what you'll come away with?

When life gives you plastic bags...

The Hubs and I have been working on reducing the number of plastic bags that come into our house.

• We started bringing our own cloth bags to the store.
• We've been reusing plastic containers rather than one-time-use plastic baggies.
• We keep an eye out for products that don't use plastic (especially that thin, non-recyclable stuff) in their packaging.
• We also have mesh bags that veggies came in that we take to the store to put more veggies in. (Someday I'll remember to use them!)

Since we haven't been able to eliminate plastic bags altogether (yet), we're trying to reuse those like we're re-purposing other plastic containers.

We use bread bags as trash bags for the car (and occasionally other random things).

When I was getting the food together before our camping trip last week, re-used a plastic vegetable bag to keep a container of honey from getting anything else in the food bag sticky.


Also last week, the Hubs used up a bag of potting soil, which we can't technically recycle. Before he threw it away, however, he used it as a garbage bag and went out to the parking lot and picked up trash. Smart, huh?!



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Project Support Beauty in Nature (PSBN) is all about greener living and cleaner communities - one project at a time.

Photos (except the PSBN badge) by me.

Notes on meal planning...

The whole meal planning/shopping/saving money thing is such a big issue for so many of us right now that the Moms 2 Moms group at my church did a workshop on the subject ("Meal Planning and Your Time in the Kitchen") and opened it up to non-moms as well.

The speakers, Veronica Lyts and Shawna Stapleton, presented such good info that I asked them (as well as organizer Charlotte Richardson) for permission to post my notes and their handouts here, and they agreed. The information was targeted toward married women, but most of it applies to anyone who cooks and shops for food.

So here are my notes and links to the handouts and some pics just for fun...

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I. Introduction (Charlotte Richardson)

Titus 2 and Proverbs 31 call on women to be keepers of the home.

Proverbs 14:1 says "The wise woman builds her house..." "To build" is to love and serve our families and let our homes reflect the work of God in our lives.

Home is the center of family life and memories, and the kitchen is the center of the home. It’s where people gather - meals, hospitality, chats around dinner, etc.

A few notes on the workshop:

• Resist the temptation to compare yourself to others. Just learn!
• Don’t plan to implement everything. Some things may work now, others may work better later. Some suggestions may not serve your husband and family. What works best for your family in this season of life?

On the subject of hospitality, she read the story of “The Good Napkins” from the Girl Talk blog.

II. Planning Meals

Hebrews 10:24

"Benefits to Meal Planning" handout

Planning meals in advance helps you:

• Save time.
• Eat more healthful foods.
• Be prepared to extend hospitality or take a meal to someone in need.
• Honor God with your time and energy. This also honors our family.
• For more, see handout.
  

When you plan, you may need to allow more flexibility, depending on your family’s schedule and husband’s preference. (Don't overplan - allow time for spontaneity!)

Put recipes in three-ring binder or photo album by category.

Keep in mind what’s on sale when you plan.

Keep a couple "go-to" meals on hand for days that don’t go as planned, i.e. frozen ravioli and marinara sauce in a jar.

Keep a well-stocked pantry – make your own list of items you want to have on hand. If your husband likes to cook, get his input. Sample pantry items checklist.

Veronica's system:

• Fills out a weekly meal plan page.
  
• Keeps all in a binder.
  
• Keeps past plans for inspiration.

Shawna's system:

• Keeps a list with multiple stores she frequently visits on the fridge.
  
• Has a checklist of things she likes to get at certain stores.
  
• When something is running low, it goes on the list.
• Writes what’s on sale at each store on a list for Wal-Mart price matching.
• Makes monthly meal plan with different types of food on different days of the week (salad Mon., pasta Tues, etc.), blocking out "flex" days that won't be planned ahead.
  
• Finds items from monthly plan that are on sale.
• Transfer those ingredients to other list.
  

  
  

III. Grocery Shopping

If you’re struggling with money, ask someone close to you in a similar life circumstance (same number of kids, etc.) how much they spend. Maybe they have suggestions for saving money or maybe you're setting your budget unreasonably low.

Where to find grocery deals:

• Mid-morning is when items are usually marked down for clearance at grocery stores.
• Clearance items (especially baked goods) might be in another section of the store.
• Bakery clearance stores, i.e Oroweat, have great buys. Coffee cake and pastries can be frozen for later and are good to have on hand.
• Produce markets, i.e. Sunflower.
• Local farmers' markets.

IV. Food Preparation

Time-saving food prep tips:

• Chop extra bell peppers and onions. Store in airtight containers in freezer or fridge.
• Grate cheese and add a teaspoon of cornstarch to keep it from clumping when frozen.
• Double or triple recipes (especially soup, chili, enchiladas, etc.), and freeze for later. Line your container with foil so you can pop it out and bake it.
• Put frozen beef in oven (covered) overnight at a low temperature. Shred, bag and use for burritos, BBQ sandwiches, tacos, etc.
• Look the day before at meal plan: Do I need to thaw anything for tomorrow?
• Meat thaws faster on a cookie sheet.
  

How to flash freeze food (so each piece is frozen individually):

1. Put food on a cookie sheet.
2. Freeze 1-2 hours.
3. Put into airtight container/Ziploc bag.
   

Great things to flash freeze:

• Fruit (i.e. berries), chicken breasts, sausage, etc.
• Cookie dough (in cookie-sized portions) - Bake cookies from frozen by adding a couple extra minutes to baking time.
• Bell peppers - Cut into rings or slice.
• Meatballs - Prepare as usual, bake on a cooling rack for 20 minutes, let cool, then freeze.
• Onions - You can chop in food processor, then scoop out and freeze in "little piles."
• Pesto, pasta sauce, broth, etc. - Save empty quart jars, fill part way (from bulk container or when making your own) and leave lid loose until frozen.
  

V. Recommended books

• Confessions of an Organized Homemaker
• Home Comforts

VI. Tips from Participant Q&A

Recipe inspiration and organization:

• Organize a recipe swap with friends.
• On your meal plan, write the cookbook page for each item or make your own index of favorites.
• If you only use a couple of recipes out of a cookbook, copy them and donate the book to Goodwill.
• When you want new ideas, list interesting recipes from cookbook with page numbers, refer to it when you need inspiration.
  
• Type up recipes in Word - easy to search, easy to save online or emailed recipes.

Recommended sites:

• All Recipes
• Epicurious
  
• Food Network

Shopping:

• American Discount Foods - go there first since they carry a different mix of discounted items from week to week and may or may not have what you're looking for. Produce arrives at 3:30 pm.
  
• List what's in each store aisle of your favorite grocery stores, print off a list before you go and check items you need to streamline your trips to the store.
  

Food prep:

• Cook a large amount of hamburger at once and freeze in portions.
• With a friend, pick 3 or 4 recipes and each bring half of the ingredients. Spend an afternoon cooking to have meals ahead of time.
  
• Roaster pans are good for bringing someone a meal.
  
• Kids can eat the same meal as rest of family most of the time. Sometimes ingredients need to be "packaged" differently, so they can pick them up.
  
• Make apple cinnamon pancakes and freeze any leftovers for snacks (on their own or with peanut butter.)
  

When you don't have a lot of space:

• Store infrequently used items (large dishes or bulk food items you've put in smaller jars) in on shelves in garage.
• Put spices on lazy susan or in a drawer
• Put staples (beans, pasta, etc.) in labeled Rubbermaid bins (next size up from shoebox) or in jars on the counter

Cleaning up:

• Holy Cow products (you can buy 3 products for the whole house).
• Hot water and soap work great too.
• Crockpot liners keep food from sticking to the crock.
  

Handouts:

• Benefits to Meal Planning
• Veronica's Weekly Meal Plan
• Pantry Items to Keep Stocked
• Shawna's Stores Frequented
• Store-specific Checklist
• Price Match List
• Shawna's Monthly Meal Plan

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Photos by me.

Handouts by Shawna Stapleton and Veronica Lyts. Used by permission.

Back.

Every once in awhile I mess up my back. It doesn't happen often - probably actually less frequently than thinking I might be pregnant - and it's never been a big deal. Just bad enough to keep me off the blog for a day or two (i.e. the last day or two). Nothing that a little Advil (or disconcertingly bright orange generic ibuprofen) and an ice pack won't cure.


Which reminds me. A co-worker told me about making your own ice pack by adding rubbing alcohol to water in a ziploc (or maybe one of those seal-a-meal things). Why alcohol? One time, someone shoving booze into the freezer at a party told me that alcohol doesn't freeze. That, however, is not true. Dad says you can freeze anything if you get it cold enough. The point is that water freezes way before alcohol, so what you end up with is an ice pack that is slushy and bendable, rather than one solid mass.


That is, if you get the amount right. I'll let you know when I get that figured out.

Getting Testy

Not mentioning any names here, but someone I know can be crazy emotional...any time of the month. That same someone frequently feels really tired. And has unexplained bouts of nausea. And super irregular cycles. And has a blog.

Ergo, she has taken a couple a few several pregnancy tests since getting married.

All that to say, I was someone I know was pretty excited to find out you can get pregnancy tests in bulk (much cheaper!) online.


Just thought I'd share that in case you are also a member of the FPTTC (Frequent Pregnancy Test Taker Club). Or, if not you, maybe someone you know...


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Photo by jason_coleman. CCL.

New purpose

Project Support Beauty in Nature is all about greener living and cleaner communities - one project at a time.

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One thing we've been trying to do lately is re-purpose plastic containers whether they're recyclable or not before discarding them. For example...

• The tube that Airborne comes in is the perfect size for quarters - used to need them for laundry, still need them for water, occasionally bus fare or the stamp machine.
• We dump bags of sugar into a large plastic ice cream container with a lid. It's easier to scoop it out for baking and keeps the bugs away.
  
• Those Glad containers that lunch meat sometimes comes in are great for lunch-sized portions of leftovers, salads or yogurt. (I buy a big thing of plain yogurt and add fruit or whatever to it myself.)
  
• Which reminds me. Yogurt containers are not my favorite thing for leftovers, since they're not transparent, so I either label the top or use them for other things. Recently, I used one to mix vinegar and water for cleaning. I didn't have time to finish the job, so I just stuck the lid on it and put it under the sink. That works, right?
• A clear pesto container now keeps clothespins.

Using containers I brought home from the grocery store anyway keeps me from buying new things to serve those purposes (less cost, less waste) and keeps the containers out of the landfill for a little while longer.

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Photos by me.