A peek into your kitchen

[Sara Noel]

If one of us here at FV came to your house and looked around your kitchen, how would we know you were frugal? Tell me what we'd see in your fridge, on your counters, in your pantry, etc. that would be a dead giveaway.

Let's exclude the soup containers with leftover veggies.

One example, pull open a drawer and there's a rubber band ball. Or open the freezer and there's frozen overripe bananas. Look up, down and all around. What do you have going on? Name as few or many as you want.

Here's one at my house. Right now, I have a couple of saved crystal light containers. I'm trying to save 4 before Christmas to do a craft with my kids and put a surprise inside Christmas morning.

[pollypurebred39]

For our house I don't think it's the containers that are a give away as much as that virtually everything is homemade. Homemade mixes line the pantry along with dried beans, rice, a 50 lb. bag of potatoes, and pecks of apples stored for Winter. (I personally do not know anyone who is not frugal who has a bag of dried beans). Homemade ketchup, barb-b-que sauce, pasta sauce, applesauce, garden tomatoes, peppers and an old ice cream container to store spoonfuls of leftovers to make soup with when it's full. (just to name a few things in the freezer) Meats bought in large portions and divided into meal size portions. A flyer on our ice box telling of the butchers latest chicken specials *Chicken Legs .69 cents a pound, must buy 40 pounds!* A fridge full of garden goodies and a pitcher of homemade ice tea and a pitcher of dried milk. It's what you don't see that's more pronounced, no soda, no chips, no store bought snack foods, no take out containers, no bottled water, ect. My son's friends have looked into a full ice box and pantry and loudly declared, "there's nothing to eat in this house"!

[calimomx2]

I have frozen bananas in my freezer!

You would see my bread machine on the counter and if you looked in my big pantry you would see 25 gallon buckets full of things like flour, sugar, rice, dry pasta and beans!

[shoiji]

My rag hanging next to the dishtowel. Freezer full of freezer bags and containers with masking tape. A walk-in closet and small closet dedicated to housing my stockpile.

[Bournecrazy]

you would see my jars of jam in the window and the recycling in the corner there is not much in the kitchen its scattered all over

[Michelle]

I do have overripe bananas in the freezer along with frozen strawberries from our garden. Dried pesto from the garden.

How about the 25 lb bag of flour? Or my 10 lb bag of sugar?

Does my 16 yr old toaster? Or my $5 coffee maker that I've used daily for 5 yrs?

I don't wash baggies often, but sometimes I have those hanging around. I always make lists on the backs of used envelopes or the kids' used school papers.

I have a couple of gallons of white vinegar around for cleaning as well as a couple of large boxes of baking soda.

I have a stash of grocery bags that I use for trash around the house (and that Dave uses to bring his lunch in and then to line his work trash barrels with).

Lastly, I have a large collection of cloth napkins that we use vs. paper. Oh wait...one more thing...knit dishcloths that either my mother or I have knitted.

[Sara Noel]

I have spare bread bags saved for litter, toothbrush near the sink to clean with, used birthday candles to reuse. Our change jar is in the kitchen, too. I have thrift store pictures hanging on the wall(not sure anyone could tell that or not) Block cheese to shred, bagged apples vs. individual.

[savvy_sniper]

My pantry is my stockpile and it is FULL of multiples of everything. My vacuum sealer, Kitchenaid mixer, and toaster oven are on the counter because I use them ALL the time. My breadmaker is in the cabinet along with BIG containers of various flours and a 25 lb bag of rice. My Excalibur dehydrator is on the dining room table (we never eat there). I have TONS of canning jars and LARGE containers for all the things I stockpile.

If you look under the kitchen sink there are about 5 bottles of dishwasher detergent (stockpile) and multiples of other cleaning supplies bought on sale. The laundry room is off the kitchen and there are multiples of Zote soap, Borax, and Super Washing Soda PLUS a big plastic container of homemade laundry soap.

The freezer is full. There are vacuum sealed (and labeled) packages of chicken, hamburger, sausage, steaks, etc. all bought on sale in bulk of course. There is also 10 lbs of flour in there.

[jas]

I don't know that they could tell by what is on my counters. They might get one small clue from the frig. I have a jar of what is called majic mix, it is the base for a ton of things from creamed soups to pudding. (dried milk, flour and butter blended together). I also have some of my bread making supplies all together in a clear container. It also has some bread kits so to speak. Everything measured out except the wet ingredients and the yeast. Ususally just a weeks worth. Oh. a couple of wheat thin mixes also. And jar of fresh ground wheat. It usually doesn't have that much in it just what is left over from milling it and making up the mixes. It has to be used pretty quick to retain the nutrients.

From my pantries they should be able to get a better picture. Canning jars filled with everything from dried beans to powdered buttermilk. All my daily use jars of dehydrated items, baking ingredients ect.

I have a closet/pantry in a spare room, that is where the bigges clues would come from Where all my stockpile is kept and the bins that store all my longer term stockpiled items that are in food saver bags and then in mylar bags. Also buckets of wheat, sugar, ect.

oh, also my excalibur dehydrator (in the garage on top of our small chest freezer next to the full size stand up freezer) and kitchenade mixer, food processor and food saver (that one is usually in a cabnet though) also under the cabnet is my wheat milling machine.

[Monner 1]

Let me see what I have. I have 21 jars of just canned peach jam on the counter cooling. You will see baggies and also the bowl covers that looks like shower caps hanging over my sink drying. I have frozen bananas inside my freezer and it is packed to the gills with meat that was on sale. I have a bread machine sitting on my baking counter and I have a tall pantry cabinet that doesn't have a door, filled with sale items. I am soaking an empty spaghetti jar to use as a vase for flowers. I also have my big jugs of vinegar that I use as a fabric softener and borax and washing soda and a basket of old washclothes and dish towels tore up to use for dishclothes and wipes so I don't use too many paper towels. That is all I can think of for now but I am sure there is more but I am upstairs and the kitchen is downstairs but this is a good start.

Monner

[freebs]

Well i think all my buckets of stuff would give it away...lol.

Flour
sugar
macaroni
egg noodles
pancake mix


then of course the wallk in pantry lined with multiples of items that were purchased onsale. The meat slicer that stays on the counter so i can buy whole hams and slice myself for packing lunches. Well then of course there is the incubator that is on my counter with eggs in it right now...lol I also have 2 freezers full of mark down meats and of course my own raised meats.i know there is more but that is all i will list now.

[Jamielane]

Well lets see, My reusable grocery bags folded up in the basket on the counter, My coffee urn to pour my cofee into as soon as it perks so that I can turn the coffee pot off , My fridge features many margarine containers saved to keep leftovers in , under my sink, my stockpile of dishsoap and my borax and washing soda, my magic erasers and brillo pads cut in half , in the pantry my stockpile, Its so pretty I sometimes just open the doors and look at it. I know, I know, what a weirdo. My freezer, although its in the garage is like an extension of my kitchen features bags and bags of blanched and frozen corn and green beans, plenty of meat individually packaged for meals, pies for the holidays and boxes of popsicles bought on a dollar sale for the kiddos. There is also my huge bin of HBa's out there. It is full of everything from soap to razors to extra medications, then there is the row of laundry soap and the stock of paper goods. Thats just off the top of my head.

[madhen]

Very little in my kitchen, except that there are usually wash rags and plastic baggies drying in the onion baskets. Pantry full of preserved foods, but that doesn't necessarily mean frugal, as canning can be expensive! Oh, and a lot of BIG boxes of borax and baking soda in the cupboards!!

[AmyBoz]

In my kitchen, you'd see my Kitchen Aid on the counter, as I make most stuff from scratch. My toaster is 12 years old and still going strong. I have a cute fabric bag that hangs on the pantry door full of plastic bags (newspaper, grocery store, any other kind of store) that I use for a variety of different purchases.

If you opened my freezer you'd see tons of ground beef and pork chops that I've bought when it was on big sale and stocked up.

If you opened my pantry, you'd see flour and sugar and baking powder, etc used for baking treats, instead of buying them. Any type of box in there would likely be generic.

You'd see the bowl in the center of the kitchen table full of apples that anyone can grab for a cheap, healthy snack, and you wouldn't find any Oreo's or expensive snack foods anywhere.

[Sara Noel]

You'd see leftover coffee here. I don't put it into a carafe/thermos, but think that's a good idea. I don't own one anymore, but used to have one yrs ago. I just leave it in the coffee pot and reheat or reuse it within 24 hrs. I could be more frugal than that by making less to begin with or freezing it, but at least it's not tossed out.