Frugal Tactics: Free Jars and Containers

If you're going through hell, keep going. 

WINSTON CHURCHILL

Ever since Mr. Peasant's accident, our world has dramatically changed. Our home is a mess. My nerves are all over the place. My mind constantly struggles with what-ifs. My heart is filled with thankfulness, and my counter is covered with empty bottles. There is so much I can't change, but I can clear off the counter. So, I thought I'd take some pictures with my five year old flip phone of how I use throw away containers and share my favorite jars.

I try to spend as little as possible on containers. Containers to help with organizing is like exercise equipment. You can buy stuff, but it only works if you use it.  Most of my jars and containers are recycled trash. It does require elbow grease to clean them up, but a quality jar is a great investment. You can keep a good glass jar for a lifetime.

WHAT I LOOK FOR IN A JAR:

1. Glass- Ideally, I like all my food storage containers to be glass.

2. Practical- Easy to clean jars that can have multiple uses.

3. Plastic lids- I like jars with plastic lids because you don't have to worry about rust. For dry storage, metal lids will do.

WHAT I AVOID:

1. Any jar that ever held a pickle. I'm looking at you, too, green olives. The smell never leaves the lid no matter how many times you wash it.

2. Jars without lids. Why bother unless it'll be a very pretty vase.

3. Ugly lids with writing or busy print. No thanks.

4. Hoarding. Keep asking yourself will I use this in the next 3 months. If the answer is no, throw it away. The good thing about trash recycling is there will always be more trash. Say NO.

MY TYPE OF BOTTLES:

I always keep my eyes out for bottles and jars to keep. Here are some jars that I've got plans for once they are empty. I only save bottles that have a purpose.

Look at this bottle with the amber glass, a nice rare find!

Yep, all glass and have plain plastic lids. From left to right future purposes: Medicinal herb oil, spice mix, coffee canister to replace my plastic peanut butter jar, homemade vanilla extract bottle.

HOW I GET THE LABELS OFF JARS

1. Fill the sink with hot soapy water, place the jars gently in the sink and let them soak for 30 minutes. Be sure to rotate the jars so the entire label gets soaked. Take your finger nails and scratch the labels off. Peeling the labels off should be easy leaving the glue residue behind.

2. You will need oil, Any type of oil will work. I keep this sesame seed oil that went rancid under the sink specially for label removing. You also need baking soda, a small dish, and an old toothbrush. Make a paste with baking soda and oil.

3. Dip your toothbrush into the oil and baking soda paste. Now spread the paste onto the jars.

4. Place paste covered jars back into the sink and wait at least 30 minutes. Now take the toothbrush and scrub the jars until all the glue is gone. It is a pain, but it's worth it.  If you have any stubborn areas repeat with the paste and let it sit. You can also add more baking soda into the paste to make it more abrasive to scrub off that gunk.

5. Now wash your jars with dish soap and dry. Beautiful, aren't they?

MY MOST FAVORITE JARS:

1. Plantation black strap molasses jar. This is my most favorite jar. It's great for storing your homemade hot sauces, elderberry syrup, or fire cider.

2. Annie's Dressing. Save one nice dressing bottle to store your homemade salad dressing in.

3. California Olive Ranch Olive Oil. These bottles are deep green and perfect for a vase or a solar night light.

4. Spice jars. Great to fill with bulk spices or making your own seasoning blends. I like to use them as simple vases for flowers.

5. Mason Jars. Yes. I know mason jars are all the rage. Mason jars are the gold standard, but they can be expensive. If I see a wide mouthed mason jar at the thrift store for cheap without any chips, I buy it. I also like the reusable plastic lids for mason jars. I bought mine at Walmart.

OTHER FREE CONTAINER IDEAS:

6. Jif all natural peanut butter containers. Here is a great option for a cheap canister set. I keep all my beans and grains in plastic peanut butter jars.  I think it looks nice- plain brown lids, easy to fill, and easy to collect. They come in all different sizes, and the lids all match. That's a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch folks! God bless my husband.

7. Shaker type containers. This genre of trash containers include certain spice bottles and Parmesan  containers. When baking, I can flour the table easily by keeping flour in a spice shaker. I keep peanut butter powder, baking soda (under the sink for cleaning), and vegan parmesan in larger shakers.

8. Squeezable Type containers. I use a ketchup bottle for pine-sol or any other concentrate cleaner that I dilute and then easily squeeze into the toilet bowl or a mop bucket. Another type of squeezable container is a honey bottle which I use to hold my homemade dish soap.

Thanks for helping me get my mind off things. I'm always looking for new ways to use my trash. So, tell me what's your favorite throw away container? Thank you for praying for Mr. Peasant. And thank you for reading!

High Value Apartment Crops

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need. 

MARCUS CICERO

I need to get my mind off things. So I am thinking about seeds today and what to plant this year. I'd like to try growing St. John's Wort and zucchini. We dream of soil and fruit trees. But we live in an apartment on the second floor. It is difficult to grow much on an apartment balcony. As we save for our homestead, we practice on our patio in five gallon buckets. I have experimented throughout the years and had many failures (like tomatoes, unfortunately.)  I grew the most delicious jelly bean tomatoes for three years but stopped because my harvest of 20 tiny tomatoes a season wasn't worth the real estate on our porch. When space is limited, you have to grow what produces the most value. Here are my most successful apartment crops that are easy to grow in zone 8a.

1. Green Onions- Stick the bottoms of your grocery store green onions in a glass of water, and they will grow roots. Then place them into pots. Cut the fresh onion for potatoes and salads. Super easy!

2. Raspberry- If you have period cramps, grow raspberry. One box of raspberry leaf tea in the store is $4.50. So this saves me a ton of money. I ordered a Caroline Raspberry online here. If you live in an apartment. I recommend only growing the plant for the leaves to make tea. One morning when I finally had 8 ripe berries, I saw 30 wasps on my balcony covering all the branches. I have to warn you that wasps love raspberry fruits so cut, cut, cut.

3. Spearmint- It is best to buy this one as a plant. But once you buy one, you can easily propagate a cutting in water. I now have 5 plants, and I grow them indoors and outdoors. It seems the more you cut the more they grow. And they are easy to dry for tea! I drink spearmint tea for balancing hormones.

4. Sweet Peppers- Take a seed from your grocery store pepper, sprout it, and then transplant into a five gallon paint bucket. I typically harvest 13 peppers per plant. You can grow peppers in one gallon mop buckets with holes but the peppers will be smaller.

5. Herbs- Parsley, sage, thyme, cilantro, oregano, basil, tarragon, and nasturtium. I sneak them everywhere I can as companion plants in my pots. Sage, thyme, and basil are easy to root in water from the packs in the grocery store. The other herbs I start from seed.

6. Cayenne- I grow mine from seeds. They grow well in a dollar store mop bucket with holes made in the bottom. You can easily make hot sauce with 20 peppers. (NOTE: Place hot and sweet pepper pots far away from each other. If you don't, they will cross pollinate and hybrid.)

7. Zinnias- When I think of zinnias, I think of joy. A pack of seeds for a quarter will give you months of cut flowers to place in your home. I even place them in containers with other plants like bell peppers. The more plants I have growing the more color options I have. Although I can't eat the flowers, the joy is priceless.

8. Chives- I have a pot of these, and we love them on toasted bagels with vegan cream cheese. They are perennials and come back every year.

9. Echinacea- I started mine from seed this year, and I was able to harvest 10 big leaves for tea. I didn't get any flowers. It is a perennial, so hopefully, it comes back bigger this year. I am drying the leaves and using them in teas for immunity.

10. Lemongrass- I am experimenting with this one. I bought two sorry looking stalks of lemongrass from Kroger for 50 cents. I stuck them in an inch of water, and it had roots within 2 weeks. In three weeks, it had new shoots growing. Of course, I started it in September and it doesn't like the cold. So, I am growing it indoors. It's January, and it seems to be happy, I'll keep you posted. I sent my mother a bought lemongrass ($7.00) 2 years ago, and she said it grows like a weed in Florida. I say for 50 cents try it! I buy lemongrass tea 20 bags for $2.20. We drink it for heart health, and its anti-cancer properties.

11. Winter Bonus: Try Garlic.  In October, I'll stick large garlic cloves from the grocery store into little dishes with water. I put just enough water to cover the bottom. Once the roots get going, I put them into any empty pots. It's hit or miss, but it utilizes wasted space during the winter months. I harvest small garlic bulbs in spring just in time to plant new seedlings. Do not overwater, or the bulbs will rot. I've had the most success with once a week watering.

To all my apartment renting and yard dreaming friends, hang in there. And happy gardening!

Chai- A Powerful Kitchen Cabinet Health Tonic

“Take some more tea," the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.

"I've had nothing yet," Alice replied in an offended tone, "so I can't take more."

"You mean you can't take less," said the Hatter: "it's very easy to take more than nothing."

LEWIS CARROLL, Alice in Wonderland

You have to start drinking chai. It is delicious and nutritious and warming and cheap. A mug of this tea is a powerful healer and the best part is you can make it with stuff in your cabinet. I love that this is plain and powerful. My recipe for chai crams eight healing spices in each cup making this warm, tasty treat a super food powerhouse.

In his book Healing Spices, Dr. Bharat Aggarwai shows hundreds of examples of how powerful spices are against disease. I highly recommend his book. It is one of the most used books I own. Just SOME of the reasons why the spices in the blend are amazing:

CINNAMON- helps control blood sugar and may prevent new blood supply to tumors.

FENNEL SEED- Menstrual cramps, Anti-inflammatory,  improves memory, Glaucoma.

BLACK PEPPER- Speeds digestion, helps arthritis pain, anti-cancer (Colon, Lung, and Breast)

CLOVES- Great for your mouth -Anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and boosts circulation. Fights infections including staph infections and E.coli.

STAR ANISE- Fights viral, bacterial and fungal infections. A flu fighter. Relieves gas and bloating.

NUTMEG- Can help with anxiety, improve memory, fight wrinkles, and lower cholesterol.

GINGER- Arthritis pain, migraine relief, and anti- cancer (breast, lung, skin, prostate, bladder, kidney and ovarian).

CARDAMOM- This is probably the least common spice in the blend. It was something I had to buy, and it wasn't cheap. Here's why it's worth the money.  Cardamom may lower blood pressure, prevent blood clots, ease asthma and constipation. And can help fight sinus infections. Plus, it tastes good!

Chai Tea -Whole Spice Method

Makes two servings

4 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick, broken in half

2 black peppercorns

1/2 of a star anise

6 fennel seeds

1/4 tsp of ground cardamom

1/4 tsp of ground ginger

a tiny shake of ground nutmeg

2 black tea bags (regular/decaf) or rooibos tea bags (naturally decaffeinated).

Optional -- a few slices of fresh ginger.

To make two servings:

In a small sauce pot bring  3 cups of water, all the above spices and fresh ginger to a boil.

Remove the pan from heat and let steep for 5 minutes.

Bring the mixture back up to a boil. 

Remove from heat and add 2 tea bags. Steep for 5 minutes. 

Strain tea into your cups. Add sugar/honey, milk.     

Chai Tea Powder- Big Batch

Makes 40 Servings (1/2 tsp each)

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 black peppercorns

3 tsps whole cloves

10 whole star anise

-------Blend the above ingredients in a coffee grinder OR just use powdered form

1/2 tsp nutmeg

3 TB plus 1 tsp cinnamon powder********* or 10 tsps

3 TB plus 1 tsp of ground cardamom*

3 TB plus 1 tsp of ginger powder*

2 Black tea bags (regular/ decaf) or rooibos tea bags (naturally decaffeinated).

Optional -- a few slices of fresh ginger.

To make two servings:

In a small sauce pot bring  3 cups of water and 1 tsp of powder and fresh Ginger to a boil.

Remove from heat and add 2 tea bags. 

Steep for 5 minutes. Strain tea into your cups.

Add sugar/honey, milk.Powder stores up to 6 months.

There is a power house of healing in your cabinets. Drink up my friends! Try this recipe. It is wonderful to drink after dinner when it's cold outside. You can also buy a chai blend. This one is incredible. Thank you for reading and please keep praying for Mr. Peasant!

Happy New Year!