Groceries: for suomynona

freidasima

Sat, Dec 25 2010, 3:13 pm

Seraph, do you find that the homemade cleaning supplies are as good as the expensive (not the cheepie junky) store ones? I used to use elbow grease and economica and sano X chol on everything but my elbows don't have the strength any more for really hard scrubbing...and therefore I found that if I buy the chemical junk - which I hate to use as I would love to use good homemade organic stuff - it works and I don't kill my arms and fingers.

Same goes for the disposable plastic gloves. I just said to dh that I want to buy the regular big rubber gloves that last forever, but they are so clumsy and fall off my hands and are such a pain, I drop dishes and break them as I can't feel them and they work out that if I drop one Rosenthal that I got from my mother, that' $100 to save a pair of one cent disposable plastic gloves. Not smart, right?

HindaRochel

Sat, Dec 25 2010, 3:14 pm

Seraph wrote:

Yes, I did get someone's leftovers this week, but as I mentioned, that didnt affect my budget. I had the chicken, rice, and veggies in the house that I was going to make for shabbos, but at the last minute I got some free stuff. I just put what I would have served for shabbos into the freezer for next week. If I'd have to adjust it for what I would have spent had I not gotten that free stuff, I would have spent maybe maximum 7 dollars more per week, or 25 shekel more per week. (If we'd eaten the meals at home, I would have needed an extra bottle of grape juice for 10 shekel.)

Right, but I'm including the meat you got as a gift, and where do you get 10 shekel grape juice? We pay more than that usually.

This is why I don't write how much we pay in general as we have a variety of different sources for foods that we sometimes use and we also have gotten stuff for free.

Anyway, with what I have left from this Shabbat we are pretty much covered for the week. I'll take the salads (same source as Seraph) to work, and we will have some stuff left over for next Shabbat (in terms of salads)

I don't understand where you put your bulk stuff so you save it and it doesn't go bad. We've ended up having to throw out old stuff that we had saved and kept by for a rainy day because they got buggy..just tossed all my sesame seeds. I've lost flour and well lots of stuff that way.

I know you bought in one place flour and such for 1,000 shekels...what specifically did you get for that price? How many whatever of flour etc?

Also I am not comfortable foraging here because I've seen them spraying stuff with insecticide. I had been planning to ask to pick the roses until then; they are edible. (as are many flowers...but you do have to be careful). Where does the mallow grow?

Seraph

Sat, Dec 25 2010, 3:19 pm

Freidasima, I make homemade soap. I use it for dishwashing, body washing, hair washing, and yes, it works VERY well. And is very cheap to make, not to mention being better for your skin than the other garbage.

I also use a homemade orange cleaner made by soaking citrus peels in white vinegar. It works as a more powerful cleaner than plain vinegar. We use it to clean (and sanitize) surfaces, like counters, floors, tables, sinks, mirrors.

I use baking soda with a scraper and steel wool for ovens and find it doesn't take me any longer to do than when I use expensive cleaners, and barely any elbow grease.

I still use anti-kalk for toilets, but that's about it. And if its cleaned on a regular basis, and not let sit for a while, it doesn't need much cleaning stuff.

Seraph

Sat, Dec 25 2010, 3:25 pm

HindaRochel wrote:

Seraph wrote:

Right, but I'm including the meat you got as a gift, and where do you get 10 shekel grape juice? We pay more than that usually.

Rami Levi. Hamutag brand. 750 ml which is enough for 3 kosos, plus extra. Which is why I buy there. Occasionally I buy the 1 liter bottle for 12 shekel, but not always.

Quote:

This is why I don't write how much we pay in general as we have a variety of different sources for foods that we sometimes use and we also have gotten stuff for free.

Anyway, with what I have left from this Shabbat we are pretty much covered for the week. I'll take the salads (same source as Seraph) to work, and we will have some stuff left over for next Shabbat (in terms of salads)

I don't understand where you put your bulk stuff so you save it and it doesn't go bad. We've ended up having to throw out old stuff that we had saved and kept by for a rainy day because they got buggy..just tossed all my sesame seeds. I've lost flour and well lots of stuff that way.

Spill proof food grade plastic containers, for the most part.

Quote:

I know you bought in one place flour and such for 1,000 shekels...what specifically did you get for that price? How many whatever of flour etc?

Quote:

Also I am not comfortable foraging here because I've seen them spraying stuff with insecticide. I had been planning to ask to pick the roses until then; they are edible. (as are many flowers...but you do have to be careful). Where does the mallow grow?

HindaRochel

Sat, Dec 25 2010, 3:28 pm

freidasima wrote:

bleach, lemon juice, vinegar, baking soda, dish-washing detergent,cheap oil are all good cleaning supplies. I use to do all my cleaning with these products but I could never find a good cheap supply of baking soda here. And they work great. I do get regular laundry detergent and dish-washing detergent.

I bought one of her soaps. I know the approximate cost to her. She uses the basic recipe for everything.
Her soaps are good for my skin, but they do cost ME more than what I could get in the store (she does need to make a profit it is only fair and she is charging for labor) and they go more quickly. I'm going to see how well I do on the kosher soaps, those red package ones. I'm not so worried about chemicals.

HindaRochel

Sat, Dec 25 2010, 3:38 pm

Seraph wrote:

I know you bought in one place flour and such for 1,000 shekels...what specifically did you get for that price? How many whatever of flour etc?

Its hard to break it down because I paid 1500 shekel for it but sold 600 shekel of it, which cuts the outlay for me. I bought 25 kilos of oats, 25 kilos of wheat gluten, 25 kilos of powdered milk, 12 kilos of whole wheat flour, 10 kilos of powdered sugar, 10 kilos of chocolate chips, 10 kilos of baking powder, 5 kilos of instant mashed potatoes.[/quote]

Okay, I can get 8 things of flour for 25 shekels. or was it 12? I forget. How much did 12 kilos of whole wheat flour cost you? How about the mashed potatoes? And the the wheat gluten? Not this week, because dh didn't get paid (yeah he is working a bit now, which means we might have something between 5-7thou shekels this month..I mean by the end of the month. IF everyone pays dh! Please G-d...our last tail spin was because someone DIDN'T pay him and then he wasn't working.) but maybe we would be willing to go in and split the bulk buy with you from the outset. I just have to make sure it is less than what I'm paying now.

Quote:

I don't pick where they would be spraying with insecticide. I pick what people think are weeds, not what the yishuv would try to keep bug free and looking pretty. Mallow, for example, grows everywhere. I'd bet that you even have some edible mallow and other foraged greens in your yard. I'd have no problem coming over and taking a look to show you.[/quote]

Well we have a lot of thistles but sure show me. If I can deweed the garden and eat that's fine with me. I probably won't be home till close till 3 or 4 tomorrow...

We certainly don't spray!

freidasima

Sat, Dec 25 2010, 3:40 pm

Ok I'm not about to make soap but I have tried all the other cleansers you mentioned and they do NOT work. The vinegar, lemon peel, baking soda stuff does NOT work around here unless you put in a tremendous amount of elbow grease and as I have tendonitis all the time to the point where I use an arm brace on my right arm I am not going to use anything that I have to scrub with.

Nothing I have found takes off the baked on greasy gook on my burners like St. Moritz. I just wipe with a rag and it's gone. I don't do the inside of the stove as I only clean that once a year with the self cleaner and it's pretty clean, but the grates on top? Ugh.

Nothing has taken the stains out of my sink etc, other than the clean economica merukezet and that costs mucho moola. Nothing cleans the toilets like duck and I use toilet soaps which also cost (the bars you hang in there) and nothing cleans like the most expensive one, sano blu. Tried all the others.

I haven't had anything take off mold in the shower other than sano meisir ovesh, no matter what else I tried, and same goes for using the old vinegar soak for showerheads etc. Used to do it, never worked. A girlfriend finally convinced me to buy the poison stuff that costs and walla, it's terrific.

Let's not even talk about anti kalk without which I can't move around here...

What about aluminum foil? We go through a lot of that. I use it to line pans once again to spare my poor wrists and elbows. ...I line counters with it next to the stove to put things down, and I use it to cover things I put in the fridge. I reuse and reuse and reuse but there are limits...

HindaRochel

Sat, Dec 25 2010, 3:44 pm

Seraph wrote:

Honestly, I haven't figured out the true cost of the soaps yet. I haven't figured out how much I spent on a batch and how many bars I get from it. I just know for me it ends up cheaper.
As for them finishing quicker, the longer they age, the longer they last.

The price you are selling them for is fine. You don't have to sell them for cheaper. FWIW it is much cheaper than most homemades, and about on par for the 7 soaps in the makolet (I'm talking gram per gram and that's how you should speak of them as someone said "I can get a bar for cheaper...Yeah, but gram for gram it comes out to be about the same price).

It is better for my skin, but as it goes faster I have to look around for a different source. If you (generally you people) have the money I'd go for Seraphs rather than the other stuff as my skin felt better...and she can make fattier soap, which would probably be even better for me.

In terms of lotions and such, I'm really cheap. I take the oil leftover from Shabbat candles, and the water and use that...or petroleum jelly. I am fond of fenjal...but that stuff lasts me a LONG time. (try several months and that is sharing with my girls. I don't have separate hand cream/face cream. This stuff is it)

Seraph

Sat, Dec 25 2010, 3:46 pm

Lol, lots of those thistles are edible and yummy. :-D

If you want to know prices...

Whole wheat flour is 4.06 per kilo, or 49 for 12 kilos.
Wheat gluten costs 13.5 per kilo, or 336.4 for 25 kilos.
Potato flakes cost 15.7 per kilo, or 78.3 for 5. (All these prices include maam.)

Wheat gluten is used to make a mock meat, which ends up with about 4.5 times the amount of wheat gluten you started off with, making the wheat gluten be 1/4 the price if you're calculating finished weight. Potato flakes also something similar...

Seraph

Sat, Dec 25 2010, 3:49 pm

HindaRochel wrote:

Seraph wrote:

Thanks for the positive feedback! I'm making another batch of soap this week...

HindaRochel

Sat, Dec 25 2010, 3:52 pm

freidasima wrote:

One thing we go through is a lot of paper goods and foil, that's in part because all our milchig dishes are basically gone. We need to get plastics (I mean non-disposable).

But baking soda and vinegar doesn't do it for you on top of the stove? First you spill some hot water over the stains. Let sit. Wipe. Then put on baking soda and vinegar. LET SIT. I mean for awhile.

Grates put in a big bucket with hot water and laundry detergent. Soak overnight. Voila.

Here's a site with cleaning recipes.

http://eartheasy.com/live_nont.....s.htm

HindaRochel

Sat, Dec 25 2010, 4:01 pm

BTW I think everyone should calculate the emotional/labor cost as well. Everyone just needs to figure out for their own lives and not compare. I think someone here said "what am I doing wrong". Perhaps nothing! Perhaps your family situation, where you live, the foods that are best for your family and lifestyle etc etc you are doing everything right.

FS if you need to use the heavy duties in order to cut the time out and not feel like you are wedded to the stove or whatever, than the money is less important than the physical exhaustion.

Weigh everything. Scrimping and saving is fine, and good, but we also have to have pleasure from life.
I do not think that either "eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we may die" or "save for your golden years" makes sense.

Weigh what you need to do for the day you are in, not tomorrow, whose picture may be very very different.

Seraph

Sat, Dec 25 2010, 4:06 pm

HindaRochel wrote:

So true!
I was gonna say that if that's what works for freidasima and she needs that and can afford that, then no reason not to. I just shared what I use. :-D

Hashem_Yaazor

Sat, Dec 25 2010, 8:17 pm

Raisin wrote:

FS, $6 a lb roast is proabably chuck roast - not an expensive rib roast or whatever. You don't roast it, you pot roast it or stew it.

Actually, it was a great deal on grass fed top of the rib roast Smile

They had it for months...from the freezer section instead of fresh. I was debating getting more and cutting it up instead of buying stew meat, but last week I didn't see any, so they might have finally run out.

Usually I get roast on sale when I see it and stick it in my freezer for Y"T, and can usually get $8-$9/lb decent (not fanciest) roasts that are roasted in the oven.

HindaRochel

Sun, Dec 26 2010, 12:03 am

Seraph wrote:

Freidasima, I use either silicon baking dishes... or baking paper. Works out cheaper than aluminum foil. I also read that aluminum gets absorbed by the food you eat and is really bad for your body, so I prefer to minimize exposure. Thinking of getting silicon sheets to cover my oven trays for making challah or cookies or whatnot.

And sure, no problem, Liba!

I think silicone does as well from my memory...but have to move fast now so no time to check it out...aluminum passes through the digestive system. Not so aluminum used in deodorant. I am a little schizoid on the issue. I avoid aluminum in my cooking products but not in my cookware (aluminum disposables and foil)

btw I think one of the ingredients in St. Moritz is probably lye. COULD be wrong. But if it is that's about as easy as you are going to get. A friend use to use easy-off on top of the stove no problem.