Having more time because I’m NOT going out to dinners, walking on the beach, and hosting parties has its benefits. Yesterday, I finished a 3-month weeding project on my 2.5 acres. I just logged in 140 hours of weeding thistles and poison oak. This is definitely NOT something I would have done without the shelter-in-place order that forced me to stay home.
This year’s thistles consumed our property. Instead of having a few here and there, we had thick forests that were taller than me. I realized that simply weedwhacking the problem away each year only lays the perfect environment for seed propagation. Normally, I’d gasp at the crop of weeds and then hire a weedwhacker to level them, but this year I stepped up to challenge myself and handled it myself.
I started at the top of my property and spent 2-6 hours pulling thistles before work. I doubled up on leather gloves and bought every variety sold. After donning my knee pads, hat, and sunscreen, I hand pulled every thistle plant on my property and when I found huge pockets of fluffy seeds, I put them in trash cans. I shoveled poison oak by the roots and put them in cans to dry. My fingers are swollen from embedded thorns and my arms are covered in rash.
Somehow I feel a sense of accomplishment. While this isn’t exciting and it’s something most people don’t understand, getting up at the crack of dawn and racing to pull weeds – section by section – before the sun comes up over the ridge was challenging. I didn’t have to think and there was no stress. I saw insects – even a black widow! – and a snake. Normally they would scare me but they quickly moved away and I just kept weeding. Looking back at the piles of weeds I pulled each morning and evening made me feel proud. Yeah, it sounds odd even as I write this blog.
For now, I love looking at my weed-free rolling hills, and I’m hoping that next season will bring fewer thistles and poison oak. I’ll keep you posted next April!
Having more time because I’m NOT going out to dinners, walking on the beach, and hosting parties has its benefits. Yesterday, I finished a 3-month weeding project on my 2.5 acres. I just logged in 140 hours of weeding thistles and poison oak. This is definitely NOT something I would have done without the shelter-in-place order that forced me to stay home.
This year’s thistles consumed our property. Instead of having a few here and there, we had thick forests that were taller than me. I realized that simply weedwhacking the problem away each year only lays the perfect environment for seed propagation. Normally, I’d gasp at the crop of weeds and then hire a weedwhacker to level them, but this year I stepped up to challenge myself and handled it myself.
I started at the top of my property and spent 2-6 hours pulling thistles before work. I doubled up on leather gloves and bought every variety sold. After donning my knee pads, hat, and sunscreen, I hand pulled every thistle plant on my property and when I found huge pockets of fluffy seeds, I put them in trash cans. I shoveled poison oak by the roots and put them in cans to dry. My fingers are swollen from embedded thorns and my arms are covered in rash.
Somehow I feel a sense of accomplishment. While this isn’t exciting and it’s something most people don’t understand, getting up at the crack of dawn and racing to pull weeds – section by section – before the sun comes up over the ridge was challenging. I didn’t have to think and there was no stress. I saw insects – even a black widow! – and a snake. Normally they would scare me but they quickly moved away and I just kept weeding. Looking back at the piles of weeds I pulled each morning and evening made me feel proud. Yeah, it sounds odd even as I write this blog.
For now, I love looking at my weed-free rolling hills, and I’m hoping that next season will bring fewer thistles and poison oak. I’ll keep you posted next April!
Even before the shelter-in-place (SIP) orders, most of us shopped for groceries a couple of times per week – even if to just pick up some bread. Back then, these frequent trips to the store actually increased our monthly spending because we usually bought more things than we intended to buy. But today, planning out our meals for 2 weeks and creating a good shopping list can decrease our exposure to coronavirus AND save us money.
I created a “Weekly Menu and Shopping List” to make it easy to plan out meals and shopping lists all at the same time (link below). This list is part of the Busy Woman’s Organizer that I wrote and Prentice Hall published back in 1997. Here’s how it works:
Step One: Plan your Meals
Enter in breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for the entire week. Include your family favorites as well as new meals that you’ve always wanted to try. Check online to get recipes to spice up your menus.
Step Two: Check off your Ingredients
Using the Weekly Shopping List, enter each ingredient you need for every meal. I’ve made it easier for you by listing vegetables, fruit, meat, frozen foods, seasonings, packaged goods, canned goods, bottled goods, bakery, toiletries, kitchen supplies, pet supplies, and cleaning supplies.
So if you’re planning to make chicken tacos, you’d check off chicken breasts, taco seasoning, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and corn tortillas. Continue to do this for all of your meals.
Step Three: Check your Fridge and Pantry
To reduce waste, check to see what you might already have in your kitchen before heading out to the store. My husband loves to cross off items I put on the Shopping List when he finds them in the pantry…
Step Four: Order Online
By ordering online, you’ll save lots of money because you won’t be impulse buying as you walk around the store. They’ll deliver exactly what you ordered and nothing more.
Step Five: Shop at the Grocery Store
Now that SIP restrictions are easing up a bit, you can venture out to the grocery store to do your own shopping. Still, wear a mask and gloves – and don’t touch anything unless you plan to buy it. Careful not to touch your face.
You want to get in and out of the store quickly so stick to your list. You know where things are located so put them in your cart and then check them off your list. Don’t buy anything that’s not on the list and you’ll save money and time.
Step Six: Place your Weekly Menu and Shopping List on your fridge
With your Weekly Menu and Shopping List on your fridge, you can easily remember what you’re preparing for all meals during the week. Also place a new Weekly Menu and Shopping List on the fridge so you can start planning the next week’s meals and add to the shopping list as you run of staples like mayonnaise, butter, and milk.
With the SIP order here in Santa Cruz, CA, I plan menus for 2 weeks. The first week has more fresh salads and vegetables meals, and the second week has more lasagnas, chilis, stews, and soups that require less fresh veggies. I’ve save hundreds of dollars on food while I SIP.
Click here for the 1998 BWO Shopping List and Menu
During the chaos that the coronavirus pandemic has caused, take this time to reinvent yourself. Listen to my 10-minute podcast as I discuss where this really started and how we can use these lessons to rethink how we do things in the future.