We close on our house on September 29. (YAY!) I am so excited, and really terrified. I've never owned anything so big before, and while we're anticipating some new expenses, I know that it will be more than we're expecting. These things always seem to be that way. The first big one I know if is the fact we're going to have to buy a fridge. We're checking around for scratch and dent places, the paper, and watching sales at Sears and the like. We're hoping to score an in-between fridge on Freecycle so we can search for a good price at a leisurely pace.
Anyway, my husband and I were examining the contents of our freezer and pantry, and came to the realization that we could probably live well for a month or more on what we already have. So that's what we're going to try to do in October while we recoup from the biggest purchase we've ever made and the expenses that are associated with it (like the fridge). We're doing an October Live From the Pantry Challenge, and I'm excited. I'm going to start going through my stuff and making a menu for the month.
Here's the rules we're going to follow:
1. No new food purchases, except fresh fruit.
2. No unnecessary paper product/deodorant/shampoo/etc purchases. This should be easy, since I have enough to last at least six months.
3. We will buy Halloween candy. I'm excited to have a house because of this- we never got many kids at our apartments. Since there are tons of kids in the neighborhood we chose, we hope to get lots of kids and see their cute costumes. (Edited 9-16-06)
Hmmm. Actually, that's really about it. I have two weeks to figure out the menu and stock up on any little things I'm missing. I'll post the menu as I figure it out. I'm sure you'll hear a lot about the new house after we sign the paperwork. I still can't believe it.
Have a great weekend everybody!
5 comments:
Congratulations on the new house!
I'd love to take the challenge but will need to add milk in the ok to purchase list (young kids ya know)
Great Idea!
Congratulations and best of luck with your new home! Listen, a refrigerator is an investment. It is the workhorse of the house. They run 24/7 for years and years and rarely, if ever, break down. That's why so many people (like me) put their old ones in the garage to store extra cases of soda. You shouldn't get anything too cheap that you'll just have to replace, anyway. (Although if you can find one via Freecycle, good for you!) Whatever you choose to hold your perishables...use it in good health!
Oh, exactly, Mom2! We want to get a very nice one, one that we know will last years and has all the features we want. We just want to get that on sale! I see fridges on Freecycle all the time, so if we can get one to last a few months while we look for an awesome investment fridge for a great price. Anybody have any recomendations on fab fridges?
This is one of those areas where my frugal-ness battles with my dislike of clutter. Not that food is clutter, it's a really good idea to stock up on non-perishables. But, I tend to get bogged down with details when I have to keep track of expiration dates on a ton of things. It always makes me feel good to use up what I have stored, even tho I will have to restock again. It's a great way to save a chunk of money to put toward a debt.
What an inspiration - the pantry challenge! I have to admit I leave a lot to be desired for food management in my home. I'm going to give this some thought, because I want to do it, too. I've seen where some people have had pantry challenge contests... I think I will add that to my EverythingPantry.com website.
Kudos to you!
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