Freezer Meals - Great Easy Way to Feed a Large Family

I have to admit. I've been large scale cooking and freezing meals all my adult life. There are days I just don't feel like cooking. Now that I'm living alone, I still like to buy a big pack of meat or veggies on sale and make a huge crockpot of whatever.

This week I made a massive serving of Ratatouille. Well, there actually wasn't much of that left over, but enough for a lunch. I love Ratatouille.

I really would love a small chest freezer, but I think I just ran out of room in the laundry. I guess If I got one small enough, I could have it in the kitchen and just have more "counter" space. Now I have to look for a tiny chest freezer. See what you made me do?

I was browsing on pinterest and saw this blog by an amazing woman who has it down to a fine art. She spends one day every 2 months making all her meals ahead of time. They just need to be cooked and they are ready to go. I admire her commitment and the free time she must have to spend with her family on a daily basis.

You can click on the picture to go directly to the blog, or this link A Turtle's Life For Me - Freezer Meals on the Cheap

Economy - Changing Your Perception

The goal of Marketing is to make you believe that you really need something. It would be unfair of me to say that I don't try to persuade you, that you need my lovely flowers. I don't do a very good job at it though. Maybe I don't sell my flowers much, because I truly believe that they are a luxury and not a necessity. (See akaCINDERS over there --->)

I was watching a commercial for a NuWave oven and thinking to myself, that that monstrosity that we have taking up half our kitchen is a totally unnecessary thing. We have the tiniest kitchen, and we could use more storage. If we had a cupboard, with a counter top oven and electric range, we would have more room, and more counter top. OK, maybe you can't cook a large turkey in it, but I've cooked them out on the grill in the middle of winter before, and they're great. The perception is that you NEED an oven with 4 burners to feed a family. We NEVER use more than one burner at a time. Do you?

Now lets look at your house. How much does it cost to heat your house in the winter (cool in the summer)? Look at your family all sitting together watching TV. How much space is there around them, and between them and the TV? Is all that space necessary. The bigger the gap between them and the TV, the bigger the screen needs to be. Now look at the TV, hold your hands about 15 inches away from your face and frame your TV. How big is that?

I usually watch shows on my laptop. We have a tiny house with a 36" HDMI. My laptop screen at viewing range is 4 times the size of the TV. I usually watch TV on a teeny tiny portable TV. Last night the boy wasn't in the room and I thought, what a great thing, I can watch on the big bedroom TV. As I was watching I did this measuring thing. The big TV at it's distance was half the viewing size of my teeny TV when I watch it.

I realize that some of these suggestions are impractical for a larger family. You can't all sit around a laptop, but you can consider a smaller, not larger house if you are buying. They are easier to maintain and cheaper to climate control. And you can use a smaller TV.

Consider alternatives to your kitchen, or bath to make them more economical and spacious. And my very favorite, hang your laundry and fluff in the dryer to soften. You can even do this in the house in the winter. After all, you have all that extra space.

My point is, that we've all been brainwashed to think that we NEED certain things. We need extra space and a larger TV and a large capacity dryer and a smooth cook top range and the biggest fastest newest car. It's not that I don't think that if you have the money, you don't need to spend it to help the economy. It's just that if you don't have the money, you should check your perception of what you're actually using and need. Then you'll have enough money to come to my new shop and buy my lovely flowers.

Down Economy Inspiring Creativity

When I first discovered Etsy, there were only about 1000 members, including buyers. Now there are over 160,000 sellers worldwide.

Can this be bad? Well, maybe for those who have been living on craft for years, competing with the newbies is tough, but maybe idle time inspires creativity.

I for one, was a commercial artist who lost my job as a lighting designer due to cutbacks. I went from designing tiffany inspired floral lighing to designing floral inspired eco-friendly jewelry. Although I am an artist, I wasn't really selling on Etsy before the economic downturn.

My delema, I live in a town where cost of living is managable. To continue in the lighting field, I would have to relocate and live even leaner than I do where I am at. So here I stay and sell on Etsy.

So the downside? So many sellers and not enough money for buying. The upside? Maybe with imagination, the artists and crafters of the world will find a new way to make the world work for us. I see it every day in the creative uses of upcycled and recycled materials.

Hang tight Etsyians, be creative, make our world a better place. If you have food and shelter and good health, isn't that all you really need? Share your craft, be the light in a darker world.