Every time there is a Hurricane remotely headed our way, or there’s a chance of snow… really any time there could be some sort of severe weather heading our way, the stores run out of certain staples.

Everyone heads to the closest grocery store to buy bread and milk which of course results in the stores running out of these staples rather quickly. Thankfully being frugal homemakers keeps us from joining everyone else in a mad dash to the store. Here’s how:

photo credit: inkswamp

1) Baking Our Own Bread

Even if you don’t always bake your own bread, just knowing how and having the ingredients sitting in your pantry (which by the way have a much longer shelf life than baked bread) is a good feeling. Instead of running out to buy bread, just make an extra loaf.

But what if the power goes out and we can’t run our oven or the breadmaker? No problem, we’ll just make flat bread in a skillet on the grill, a camping stove or even a fire.

2) Using Powdered Milk

I encourage you to ALWAYS have a pack of powdered milk in your pantry. Not only is it great for cooking and baking, but it will also come in really handy in the case of an emergency. When you’re running out of fresh milk and the power goes out, just reconstitute some powdered milk as needed. If the power is out, wrap your milk container in a wet towel to chill it.

You can also mix milk powder with peanut butter and use this nutritious spread on your homemade bread for a filling meal.

Ready for some more frugal fun this beautiful Friday afternoon? How about a trip to your local library.

Obviously this is a great place to check out new books both for yourself and the kids. But the fun doesn’t end there….

photo credit: brooklyn

Check out Books – Take some time this weekend to check out some new books to read for both you and the kids. Look at some new picture books with them, or pick a chapter book you can read to them at night. Don’t forget to look for a good book for yourself as well.

While you’re there, browse through the movie and audio book section. It’s easy to forget, but the library is actually a great place to “rent” movies. Best of all, it won’t cost you a penny.

Browse through the arts and crafts or cookbook sections and look for some new ideas for activities you can do with the kids.

Last but not least, don’t forget to check out the library calendar, or check with your librarian about weekly activities and special events. Most libraries have preschool classes that meet weekly as well as events for older kids. Your kids may get to meet an author, watch a play or do a craft or activity.

I’m down with a cold and about to crawl back into bed, but when I read the following article that Tawra from Living on a Dime emailed me. What a timely coincidence. I’m going to take her advice to heart and modify my usual frugal lifestyle a bit until I’m feeling better.

Surviving and Saving When Your Sick
by Tawra Kellam

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/livingonadime.htm

My husband and I paid off $20,000 in debt and medical bills in five years on $22,000 per year averaged income, and I am disabled with Fibromyalgia and ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Here are some of the ways we lived frugally and made it work:

#1 Keep meals simple. Try any of these simple meals:
-Chicken, with a bottle of hot and sour sauce dumped over the top and served with rice.
-Taco salad made with bagged lettuce, hamburger browned with taco seasoning, sour cream, salsa and olives.
-Baked chicken with freezer rolls and sliced cucumbers, peppers, carrots, tomatoes and ranch dressing.

Most of our meals take under 20 minutes to prepare. Write down 10 quick meals that are family favorites. Keep the “quick favorites” list in a specific spot and always keep the ingredients for these favorite meals on hand. Then, when you are sick and can??”t spend a lot of time cooking, you can make something quick and easy.

Also, make as much of dinner as you can when you are feeling your best. Then if you aren’t feeling well come dinner time it will be almost all done and you won’t be tempted to send for take out.

#2 Get the kids to help with daily cleanup. Kids can help pick up most of the house with proper direction. Mine are 10, 9, and 5 and have been helping since they were 3. I ask each of them to pick up toys. Then I ask each of them to pick up four more things. Later, I might ask them to empty all the trash cans and the dishwasher. Let the kids help as much as possible. Mine spend about 10 minutes a day helping and it makes a world of difference!

#3 Use paper plates. They are cheap, come from a renewable resource and can be composted ?? use them!  They cost about one cent each, so spending five cents for our family of five is way cheaper than the $40 take out!

#4 Give each person his own color of drinking glass. This way, you can prevent family members from getting confused about whose glass is whose and constantly getting out new glasses.

#5 Try to do at least one load of laundry a day. That way you won??”t get overwhelmed or behind.

#6 Let non-critical things go! Ignore the dust, the dirty windows, and other things like that. If you are lying sick on the couch where you look right out a dirty window, then ask your kids or hubby to clean it, but otherwise forget it until later!

By doing just these few things, you can keep yourself from going insane and save some money, even when your sick.

Tawra and her mother, Jill Cooper (who also has ME/CFS) are frugal living experts and the editors of http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/livingonadime.htm, a website filled with tips on how to save time, money, and energy ?? all of which are often in short supply for most of us!   They have helped thousands of people all over the world to save money and get out of debt.