SHAKE IT BABY!

One thing that makes Etsy so daunting and overwhelming are the unbelievable, creative, well priced items that can be found. This is making my next Etsy purchase extremely difficult.

If any of you did not know, I dye all my own clothes for my etsy store Enuwbe. Therefore I keep salt in my house by the 25 pound bags. When I cook, I take a pinch from one of my open bags. I have decided to take the plunge and get a real salt an pepper shaker.

The choices were all top notch. Some were hand thrown like these from PatsPottery

Or hand painted with many fun colors and happy feelings such as, ARToutOFherMIND

And , mimiware

However, I ended up going for a more simple set that made a HUGE statement. Our family loves the outdoors. We love to bike, hike, mountaineer and everything else. So the salt and pepper shaker that seemed to fit our family best was made by AceroStudios from New Bedford, MA.

It is rather interesting how personal this became. If I had gone to a traditional store, I may have had a couple of choices. Most would probably be neutral and all purpose. Something that thousands of people would not mind spending a few bucks on. These will be more than just salt and pepper shakers I bring out to spruce up a dish. Or put on the table for some salt loving company. These will be a conversation starter. They will also outlast some cheap shakers I could buy else where, because I will love them and take care of them.

As you see with my few examples there is a special salt and pepper shaker out there for everyone. One that fits you perfect and makes you want to be at home in the kitchen using them.

Shopping ECO friendly and saving money!

My grocery shopping day is finally over. My first stop was Costco. All I could think was, I would rather be on Etsy. It was crazy busy. They keep talking about a recession in our country, well I do not want to go to Costco when we are not in one. With it being SO busy, and trying to shop with 3 kids at my side, I really paid attention to prices. I even wrote some of them down. After which I went to the traditional grocery store. My savings...just not worth it. I also used to go to Costco as an eco friendly option. With the idea if I buy bulk, there would be less packaging. Over the years though, I have seen these major warehouse store cator more and more to the resident rather than the business. Therefore, creating even more packaging than if you buy it at a regular grocery store. For example, bread. I can go to a traditional grocery store and buy 2 loaves of bread individually. However at the warehouse store I am buying the same 2 loaves of bread and being forced to put both loaves together in a larger bag. Frozen pizzas are another example. I can go to a traditional grocery store and buy 3 frozen pizzas individually. However at the warehouse, you buy 3 of the same pizzas, and they have an extra box around them. I am sure this extra packaging is costing the producer a lot, and therefor the consumer is paying for it.

On the other had if you want to save a TON, go to the bulk section at a traditional grocery store. (This would be the serve yourself bins) Most commonly filled with beans, rice, snack foods, and granola. The size and selection will depend on the grocery store. It can be quite surprising if you have never compared the prices. This also goes to prove how much, we as humans pay for our pretty packaging. The fun part of this section is finding your own containers to put the stuff in when you get home. Of course you can always use the plastic bags you bought it in. For any of you that would love to go the extra mile and not even use those plastic bags, you can check out these from Ficklefaerie

These bags are on my shopping list because I take advantage of the bulk section quite often.

Another bulk option that more grocery stores are offering is bulk peanut butter and bulk honey. Whole Foods have offered this for a long time. I refill my plastic container when ever I need more honey. At home I put it into a old katsup container. You know, the ones that are stored upside down, and have the little no spill hole. It's the EXACT same thing as many of the off the counter honey jars have. Therefore I can buy an ENDLESS amount of honey/agave and never have to buy more plastic than my first bottle. This also allows the farmers to have a much lower overhead! As for peanut butter, you can reuse the plastic containers as well. Even if you don't want to do that, I promise you fresh ground peanut butter is better than any other peanut butter. No added oils, no added sweeteners and taste better.

An extra purchase that was made at Costco was Snap containers that are made out of glass.

I love these things because you can put soup or anything in them and they do not leak. However, when I bought them a few years ago, they only came in plastic. When I saw them at Costco, I debated whether or not I could get something equivalent on Etsy, and I decided I could not. There are plenty of handmade and vintage bowls. However the snapping feature of the lid was essential. So, I went ahead and bought them. They are also not local in anyway (made in Korea). However, there are no USA made companies that sell something with the features I am looking for. The money saving they will accomplish for to-go lunches/left overs/ect. will be well worth it. Also, if I use them as storage units for bulk purchased foods, the packaging I will save will far out way the carbon foot print of the overseas travels.

Grocery Shopping Budget! On the Etsy List: Taco Seasoning

While my husband is studiously studying, I will go grocery shopping. I am rather picky so this usually includes 3 stores to get what I want. Cosco, because we are a large family that includes 3 kids on a budget. Whole Foods, because I believe we vote with our money. Also the traditional grocery store, because it's cheaper and I can get organic foods there as well.   Now adding this project, it will at times include a fourth store, Etsy.

Our family has a goal this year of erasing about $20,000 dollars worth of credit card debt. This requires a very tight budget. Therefore we very rarely eat out. I also meticulously plan my meals out a week in advance. I then list the things I need to buy according to the store I should get them. This may sound crazy, but it is a must because of my hectic lifestyle. I homeschool my kids, act like little miss suzy homemaker while the hubby is in school, own my own business (www.enuwbe.etsy.com), and am learning Spanish. If I do not keep the grocery shopping organized to a T, I end up going out to eat quite often, and I LOVE to go out to eat. I have a few other tricks up my sleeve in order to keep this eating-in goal achieved, but keeping things organized and always having food in the house would be the main one.

So, now that my shopping list is done, I had to do a little research. What can I buy off Etsy from my grocery list? After a long search, I found I can order my Taco seasoning from Etsy! There was not a huge selection in my search. Most of the sellers were also selling very small quantities. As I mentioned before, I like to shop at Costco due to having a large family. We also like to make Taco soup about 2 or 4 times a month. Therefore, I tend to go through quite a bit of taco seasoning. I chose to buy my seasoning from  LipSmackinCreations which included free shipping, and what she described as 5 servings. Most stores sell a single serving for a little over a buck. So, the price appears to be VERY similar. I feel so good about my purchase. I can't wait to taste this seasoning in my soup and tell you'll how it is!

One thing I have learned from these recent purchases: When buying food, make sure that you click on the "plants and edibles" category. Otherwise all the listings that include that food name in its description will show up.This could take years to weed though.

Next purchase, Salt and Pepper shaker!

My First Purchase

Last night marked my first purchase of this project. It included edible items that I can not puchase on Etsy. Don't worry it is coming. My purchase last night was for my husband. He is in PA school right now and was required to join the students association. Cost $25. I got the money from the ATM and also got him some study junk food. He is particularly fond of Monster energy drinks. However due to there lack of good nutrition and the cost, he only gets them on Mondays. We call them Monster Mondays. They were on sale, so I bought 2. I also bought him some doughnuts to bring to class and share for the early morning test that was scheduled. Total cost including cash, $36.48.

This purchase included

1. requirements that are not available on Etsy, association dues
2. pre-budgeted monsters 
3. doughnuts

   While evaluating my purchase, I feel like I could have gotten some kind of doughnut item on Etsy instead of the store. They were Krispey Kreme, and therefore made in the USA. That is kinda good, because they would not have been shipped more than about 3000 miles.

Upon further research, I found some vegan marshmallows from Greencraftersforest. Although not doughnuts, they would have sufficed for my purpose for product and comparable price.

• Cost for 8 doughnuts: $5.50 
• Cost for 15 vegan marshmallows including eco friendly shipping: $11.00

They also would have required me to plan ahead. In her description she kindly announces the processing time of her wonderful treats. Therefore if I planned ahead, I would have been fine. Of course my doughnut purchase was a spur of the moment spending. But isn't that the point? To buy on Etsy means to stop quick purchases, and think about what your doing. So shame on me! As a result of this stumble, I have discovered a wide range of awesome snack/student food on Etsy. I will try to budget these in and replace my store bought studying/snack foods with Etsy ones.

The price is $5.50 higher. However, here is how I justify it. I will be saving quite a bit, by not buying spur of the moment items. However, I will always have to look ahead on the calender.  I feel like instead of buying 2 pieces of junk, I am buying one nice item.

In order to justify make up for my rookie behavior, I will purchase these marshmallows for my husband to take to class for his next test.