GOOD LUCK! :) Meal planning helps me a lot, and I know you do that, too. When I’m really stumped I still turn to e-mealz, but usually now just looking at my cupboards is enough to get me started. 

It always seems like when one goes the others follow. It’s like a little trifecta!

I suppose chicago would make Ames pretty country in comparison :) Though being just a few blocks from campus often reminds me it’s not, haha. Parties. Every weekend. 

Oh my gosh yeah it can, especially in areas of the country where the general cost of living is so high. Taking lunches and cooking meals at home can save a ton! I remember in DeKalb I used to eat off $40 a week. Including a margarita and thai food once a week (separate nights).

For basil (though I haven’t tried this), I hear it freezes really well – which is a great way to quickly save it. I know people who also freeze it in water in ice cube trays. Then when it’s frozen they put all the cubes in a bag. In theory you just take one out, let it thaw and you are good to go. Being in the cube prevents freezer burn. I’ll have to play around with a few methods and get back to you :)

I am right there with you! Things are getting better, slowly. I’ve found a few things that help me. One is the reminders list on my iPhone. I often think of random things I have to do at some point in my day, and now I just add them to the reminders list (paper works great too). If it’s something coming up later I can ask for a reminder on that date. I can check things off the list so that helps me (I love checking things off lists), and just getting it down on paper or my iPhone so it frees up brain space.

Keeping things simple and slow is a big part of it for me too. I work full-time outside my home so I try to only have three things to do each day, including cooking dinner if we’re out of leftovers. I break up household chores throughout the week–Monday is laundry (sometimes it extends to Tuesday), Friday I clean up and vacuum the living room, etc. I learned this from the book Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Home. It’s still a bit cluttery and dirty, though. So another thing I am doing is picking one small area to declutter every week, such as my vanity table or on drawer in my dresser. It’s slow going but I can see some progress.

Breaking things down into small pieces and smaller days (instead of having to clean the whole house at once) works better for me and I’m more likely to stick with it. I also try to spend a few minutes before bed picking up items and putting them where they belong, but this isn’t quite habit yet. I think that’s the last part–making these habits. I clean the bathroom almost every Saturday morning (Sunday if I don’t have time Saturday) and because it’s such a habit and I have the routine for cleaning it down pat it’s not too bad anymore. I’m trying to get rid of things and also organize what I have left
better. I’m working on creatively making our house work better for us by
looking at our habits and how we can accommodate those habits instead of swimming against the current–there are only so many habits I can change at once!

Meal planning is helpful too–I have to include enough easy meals that I’m not tempted to skip cooking.

I honestly think a little bit of it is letting go, too. If I get my three things done, then it’s been a good day. If I didn’t, oh well. Tomorrow’s a new day. Take the time to be proud of and enjoy what you do get done, instead of just looking to the next thing to be done (which can be hard for me).

I dream of growing my own veg, making all our meals from scratch and having a clutter free home.
The reality if that I work a 40 hour week and spend a huge chunk of my at home time on the computer or crafting (which I love), so, the house is a mess, meals are put togther in a hurry using more convienience stuff than fresh, and (due to the rubbish Summer we have had in the UK so far), my veg garden is not thriving, and we throw out far too much food. It feels like such a daunting task to get on top of the housework (I cant tell you how much I HATE ironing) and get to grips with making better use out of the food that I buy. I also spend way too much time worrying about our finances as we cant live on my wage and the husbands work has been very scarce over the last few years.
 We try to be thrifty, but there are only so many things you can cut back on. We dont eat out, we dont drink, we dont go out to the movies etc.
Like you I need to sit down and work out where I can make small changes so at least Im heading in the right direction. I think Id feel a lot better if I could get some control over things, even if its only a little.
Im really looking forward to Thrifty Kitchen Tuesdays and sharing ideas.
:O)

 Have you tried making pesto Carolyn?
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/fresh_basil_pesto/

I can be really hard when the weather isn’t cooperating with homesteading plans. The last few years were really hard, but this year has been too good to be true – just enough rain, an early spring so we planted everything about 2 weeks early. When things aren’t going right, or we are faced with the fact that we can’t grow it all, I try to buy what’s in season in bulk from the grocer and put it up just like I would if it were from my garden. The Strawberries have been totally destroyed by the bunnies and chickens this year so when I saw 4lb of strawberries for a $1.25 a pound I sprung at the chance and that’s what I’m making jam with. Which comes out to about $1 a jar vs $3.75 at the store. Though I do want to go pick my own when things are season. Which reminded me to look it up and right now blueberries and black currents are in full swing! Thanks for the Reminder!

I think the chore I hate the most is putting away the dishes. It’s like a traffic jam happens at the dishwasher where they are all clean and so dirty ones pile up in the sink. Jason and I just struck a compromise this week that he’ll unload the dishwasher if all he has to do is bring his dishes to the sink and I’ll rinse and load them. While I handle most the house stuff, it’s good to have help with a few daily things so I don’t get overwhelmed and so I also don’t feel like I’m in it alone.

For me, it’s about so much more than just thriftiness too. Saving money is great, but I think even if it seriously cost the same, I’d prefer home cooked over eating out most of the time. And garden veggies over store bought. And pick my own berries over pre-packed berries from across the country. There are the added benefits of health and joy that come from “keeping house” or “homesteading”. I have no delusions about living 100% off the land, but growing food, raising chickens for eggs and meat, and putting things up for winter are deeply satisfying things. Not to mention added security by saving for our future. Which is really important given that we are both self employed. And, I tend to be less crabby when the house is clean :)