In other scintillating news, we also went grocery shopping. I KNOW- we're a laugh a minute. We're actually in a grocery store rough patch these days. We are committed to avoiding GMOs, and we buy everything organic, but still. The other week, we spent $400 at Whole Foods. For a week. We'd like to spend, um, NOT $400, so we've been trying to buy smaller amounts of stuff more often, and we've added TJ's back into our rotation even though it's crowded and has terrible produce in the winter. But still, we're consistently $100 over our ideal amount. This includes tons of produce and lots of meat, and we eat at home most nights and pack our lunches, but STILL. This is just a vent-- I like Whole Foods; I like to eat, and I like to eat the stuff I have gotten used to buying. It just annoys the heck out of me when I stop and think about how much it costs to eat real food all the time.
I also decided to banish mom hair today, meaning I have the same damn haircut I always have when I get sick of my hair. I wanted to go shorter, but my stylist put her foot down. She said long hair is coming back, and I need to deal with it. Okay then.
 |
| Before: Full-on mom hair |
 |
| After: The same damn hair I always come back to |
love bunk beds! Charlie and Wes have bunk beds that are split into two twins right now, but one day maybe we can put them together. So fun!
ReplyDeleteWe struggle with our grocery budget too, but we only spend $600 a month (we recently increased this from $525 a month when James started weighing in on the solids--it made a huge difference). We can't afford to go organic very often and we usually only eat meat like twice a week (lots of beans and eggs for protein).
Totally agree with Becca. Bunkbeds are AWESOME. Have you looked at craigslist at all? It seems like they're all over the place.
ReplyDeleteI'm finally trying to get a grip on our grocery budget. In an effort to stop bleeding money like an idiot, I'm keeping a spreadsheet of our spending. I thought we were at about $600, maybe $650. Turns out we're over $1000! Not including eating out. WTF? I feel like for $1000, we should be eating lobster and filet mignon, not hamburger and frozen chicken nuggets.
Bunk beds are great! We split ours apart in October when we moved AJU6 to the big boy bed (top bunk), and we will put them back when we aren't worried about kids jumping off the top bunk (probably 3-4 years from now). We might get another set for the other room when we split the kids too. We found the store we got ours from on CraigsList- just a small furniture store in town. But, we also looked at Denver Mattress/their bedroom store. Those were just a little more expensive - and not necessarily better. Check your Costco too if you haven't already - ours has a set right now in the store I think...
ReplyDeleteAnd as for diaper changes - yeah, those are so fun around here too!
I feel ya on the cost of real, healthy food. Here in NoCal, I can no longer afford grass-feed meat, and it drives me crazy. 20 a pound for ground beef is just beyond crazy.
ReplyDeleteSomething I did in the past in Chicago and plan on starting up here is a membership in a CSA (community supported agriculture). Basically, you pay for a share at the beginning of the season, and get a box of fresh produce (sometimes all veg, sometime veg and fruit) a few times a month, all organic and locally grown. It works out to be way cheaper than buying in a store or even at a farmers market, and there are some farms that do offer winter CSAs (There are cheese CSAs in wisconsin! and meat csas!). I love it because it forced me to try new vegetables, plan my meals around veggies, and even find ways to preserve some. I used Harvest Moon farms, which was in based in Wisconsin, and loved them.
Another option to consider while shopping for produce---focus on buying locally and seasonally instead of only organic. In many cases, locally grown produce is nearly organic or is organic but can't afford to make it official (do your research), and generally speaking, an apple that came from wisconsin or even illinois is going to taste a helluva lot better than an apple from mexico, because it didn't have to travel as far, and doesn't need any preservatives to make it last a long ride on a truck. I try to buy produce from california, and at the very least, from the u.s.
Seasonally speaking, you can try to find what produce IS available locally and focus on buying that (in season produce will always be more affordable). Blueberries from Argentina may be organic, but they won't taste as good any time of year as fresh, locally grown blueberries. And think about freezing or canning fruit or veggies you like when it is in season and available locally, so you can have them in the winter. Doesn't help you now, but could in the future.
See? Post anything about food, and I will write you a freaking dissertation. Sorry bout that!
I always love your hair. You rock bangs in a most decidedly un-mom-hairdo kind of way.
ReplyDeleteSadly, your grocery bill for organic, real food, for 4-5 people, sounds about right. Do you buy everything organic, or just the main veggies/fruits that are significantly better for you when they're organic? (there's some list of the 12 things you should always get organic).
I'm working my way to mostly organic/nonGMO, but I'm trying to do it fairly slowly so its not such a shock to our financial system. LOL
As an only child, bunkbeds are the coolest mystery of childhood to me. So exciting for your boys!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete