Frugal Friday stuff

Thanks to my friend   Wendy, who notified me og this deal, DH picked up 24lbs of carrots at Aldi for .49 a pound!!  The kids love them with or without ranch dressing.  I will cook some, can some, and dry some.

We went to Ashville this morning, and found a roadside stand right off the interstate.  There we got 50 lbs of potatoes for $12...a 10 lb bag at Sam's is over $6; savings of over $18.

Also got the lemons pictured below for $1....I'll tell you about my use for them a little later.

Also pictured below is almost 20 of the 40 lbs of sweet potatoes we got for $16.

I put those in baggies and into the frezer they went.  That was enough for 4 sweet potatoe casseroles (9x13 size), plus the one we had with dinner, and a cup full for sweet potato biscuits I made for tomorrows breakfast.

Update on the honey-bananas the we put in the dehydrator.  They are good, but each slice had to be peeled off the rack.....as Emmi is doing below.  It was a aggravating (even though she is smiling), and we decided they were not yummy enough to warrant the extra work.  Notice on the right, front of the picture, 4 pints of strawberries in one jar, and 7 good sized apples in the other jar...dehydrated.

 I am too tired to go into all the gardening prep we're doing, so instead, here's a frugal tip.  Background info:  I have started cleaning with vinegar, but the smell can be overpowering.  After using the happy little bubble guys for years, I have to say that I am surprisingly satisfied with the vinegar...it is a natural disenfectant.  I'm adjusting my cleaning schedule, stretching it to two weeks, opposite monthly grocery shopping and Sam's shopping weeks.  So after my major cleaning this week--to get things on the right week--to keep the shower cleaner for longer, I am spraying it--after my daily shower--with citrus infused vinegar.  Yes, that is a pathetic sentence, and I am a homeschooling mom.

 See the sparkly clean shower!   So here's what you do.  Put any citrus fruit rind into a jar.  Fill the jar with vinegar, and let it sit about 3 weeks.  Then empty the vinegar into your spray bottle, and add 1 jar of water.  Depending on the spray bottle, I suppose you could leave some peels in the mix, it might keep the scent stronger for longer, but the particles from the rind might clog the sprayer....so I didn't.  My shower looks and smells great.

The lemons I got today will be used for this, after I use the juice.  I got the basic idea from this great site.