The deep freezer is nicely stocked up with some frozen fruits, poultry, meat, and seafood. The pantry shelves are full of canned and bottled goods. We have a ton of rice and pastas. And my stock of bread making items is in good shape as well. The fridge has a good supply of cheeses and butter and smart balance. Condiments, spices, coffee, teas, hot chocolate, baking goods (except for ap flour and sugar) are looking fine as well. My stock of dried beans is very low, I do have two bags of lentils, another bag of a 'pumpkin-lentil' soup blend but other than that none at all. I am planning on restocking these items in February.
Non-food-wise we can use some dish soap, mouthwash, hydrogen peroxide, carpet deordorizer, kitchen cleaner, tissues, and paper towels. I have budgeted $50 for these items. I also want to pick up a box of Duraflame logs for the fireplace so I have set aside $25 for this item as well as amother $15 for three 5 gallon food safe buckets with lids as a new storage system for flours (AP & bread) and sugar. I've checked out prices and both Home Depot and Lowe's have these items for a low amount.
In the recent basement flooding we lost our cat litter and the litter box was so disgusting (truly both adult son and I had to step outside in the snow because we were gagging so badly from the smell and the mess) adult son and I managed to get the entire thing into a contractor bag for disposable. I will need to replace the box and the litter. A trip to Petco for this is on board. Adult son said he would swing by there today and I can just reimburse him. I told him a basic litter box was all that was needed and scoopable litter please. Speaking of litter, anyone with cats ever tried the litter from Aldi?
I told adult son to try to keep this expense under $30.
Looking forward to the challenge of staying within these budgeted amounts.
Nancy
ReplyDeleteSuper tight budget here the next few months, until I go back to work after some unpaid medical leave. Some suggestions:
1-do you have a Dollar Tree? I get quart bottles of hydrogen peroxide there as well as LA Awesome's blue ultra deluxe dishwashing soap 30 oz bottle there. $1 each plus tax is a nice savings. I also like the Sun dishwasher powder sold there.
2-We USED to exclusively use Aldi's scoopable cat litter. Last batch we got, somehow "failed" and odor control became a real issue. I even contacted Aldi's corporate office to complain. Their response was to return the bottle back for a credit. Well, it was long recycled and the offending litter long thrown out. Perhaps it was a bad batch? who knows, but I don't want to go thru that again! Instead, I returned to using commercially produced brands and these past few months have been using walmart brand (it's a plastic bag filled with litter placed inside a rectangular cardboard box).
Carol in CT
Yes we have Dollar Tree! I will give them a look-see. How does the price of their dish soap compare to Aldi? I am fully stocked on dishwasher soap so all I need is the liquid kind.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the price of the Walmart litter? I am thinking of checking out Target today and see what they have as far as boxes and litter. I told adult son to hold off on this until I check these prices. I'm not a big fan of Walmart but will go there if the price is significantly different.
Nancy
ReplyDeleteAll items are only $1 each (unless marked 2/$1 for instance) at Dollar Tree. Understand that some dollar stores mean $1 and up, DT still is a $1 or under. : ) So, the LA's amazing ultra deluxe (I have the version in blue might also come in green) is excellent. I like Gain, Aldi's, Ivory, Palmolive-and none of these bother my hands (eczyma) although I am supposed to always wear my rubber gloves. i also have tried a pink liquid dish soap @ DT-disappointed, won't buy that again. THe LA's awesome deluxe, comparable to cleaning abilities of name brands, IMO. I also use LA awesome's orange cleaner for laundry stains. Originally bought it in a spray bottle (18 oz?) but now have been able to get the 2 quart jug refill, nice savings there.
28 lb box of Wm scoop cat litter (they also have a larger box-I can't pick it up) was $7.48. Prices may* be cheaper where you are. I also frequent WM as a last resort. For instance, my OTC allergy meds and GERD meds are cheapest there.
Cat boxes are so overpriced-just a large, plastic bin. Try Xpect/Marc's. I bought one there within the past year or so, think I paid $4.99 +/-