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One Hundred Dollars a Month

I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

DIY – Pumpkin Pie Spice Recipe

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With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I thought I would re-post my favorite recipe for homemade pumpkin spice.  It’s ridiculous easy to make and all the ingredients can be found in the bulk spice bins of your local grocery store. Plus, hello, it costs about $0.50 to make. Which is way cheaper than anything bottle you’ll find on the spice rack.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

Mix all the spices together in a small bowl and store in an airtight container. It’s that easy!!

DIY-Spice-Round-Up-10-Make-Your-Own-Spice-Recipes

Find more DIY Spice Recipes
Looking for a way to store your spices? Amazon has plenty of spice racks in stock.

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Garden Tip – Use Vegetable Cooking Water to Fertilize Plants

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Use Vegetable Cooking Water to Fertilize Plants

I just did this this morning so I thought I would do a little PSA and repost this handy tip! 😉

The next time you boil or steam some vegetables on the stove top, don’t pour the water down the drain.  Once the water has cooled, pour the vegetable water in your garden or planting containers to “fertilize” your plants instead of wasting it.

I’ve been doing this for a couple of years now I think it really helps keep my garden green.

Do you do this too? Please tell me I’m not a total weirdo.

~Mavis

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Back to School Lunch Ideas – How to Prevent Apple Slices from Browning

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Back to School Lunch Ideas - How to Prevent Apple Slices from Browning

My son loves apples, but has braces, so biting into a whole apple is a disaster waiting to happen–both for him and for me and my finances.  I know you can buy pre-sliced and treated apples, but they are seriously a ton of money compared to a plain old apple.

That’s why when I learned this cool little rubber band trick {it totally works}, I knew I had to share.  Just slice the apple with a sharp knife, holding it together as you do, wrap a rubber band securely around the outside of the apple and throw it in your lunchbox.  It won’t brown, because the slices aren’t exposed to air.

So simple, so perfectly simple.

~Mavis

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How to Make Berries Last Longer

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How to Make Berries Last Longer

All of my raspberries are flowering, and the strawberries are starting to turn pink.  With boat loads {fingers crossed} of berries just around the corner, I really want to make them last—that whole savor the season sort of mentality?

There’s a super simple ways to get your berries to last longer:  Give them a vinegar bath {1 cup vinegar to 3 cups water}.   The vinegar kills any potential mold spores and slows down the deterioration process.  Then put them in the salad spinner and give them a super gentle spin to dry them out {you can line the salad spinner with paper towels to ensure the berries are protected}.  Place them in a sealable container on a bed of paper towels.  Then, put them in the fridge with the lid cracked to allow for some air circulation.  They should last exponentially longer than a traditional water wash and storage.

Easy right?!  How about YOU, any tips to keep the berries fresh longer?

~Mavis

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Mavis Butterfield Etsy