Grocery Shopping Package-Free for the first time!

Well, I had quite the adventure this weekend! It all started on Friday! I got off work at 3:30, went straight to Kroger, and then to the Commissary. Saturday I went to Whole Foods in the am and then to a year-round farmer's market in Norfolk, VA. 

First, let me tell you a little bit about how I used to shop for groceries:

I'm a budget nazi. Like, for real. It all starts with meal planning. I create a google document every week and finish it by Sunday. It includes what we're going to eat for lunch and dinner every day, recipes, and a grocery list. 

Usually, I would go to the Commissary and write down all the prices of what I need. Then, I would go to Kroger and do the same, meanwhile loading my cart with everything that was cheaper. I would go back to the Commissary and finish buying anything that costs less there vs Kroger. 

Sometimes, things are cheaper at Kroger. Sometimes, things are cheaper at the Commissary. Sometimes, Kroger has better produce. Sometimes, the Commissary does. 

There is never an item that is always cheaper or better quality at one place versus the other. 

That's why I comparison shop every weekend. It doesn't take as much time as you would think, because Kroger is 1/2 mile from the Commissary. And I BLITZ through the store. I get in, get what I need, and get out. If grocery shopping on a budget were a competition, I would win. 

So, after reading about how people who have started the zero waste lifestyle have saved money, I was super skeptical. I already save so much money comparison shopping! We spend anywhere from $50 to $80 a week for food. It varies, depending on what we're planning on eating that week and what necessities I've ran out of. I save anywhere from $10 to $30 each week simply by comparison shopping.

Here's what I've discovered after this weekend:

1. PRODUCE STICKERS EVERYWHERE. Surprisingly - the commissary had the most produce sticker-free. 
2. EVERYTHING was pre-packaged at the food market, and prices were OUTRAGEOUS. $15 for a small jar of honey?! No thanks! I can get it locally from Whole Foods for $4! 
3. Self checkout was probably not the best decision at the commissary.
4. The commissary doesn't have a standard meat counter, so because of health codes I couldn't get meat in bulk. 
5. Meat at Whole Foods? I see why Bea Johnson only eats meat once a week - expensive! 
6. Kroger was the best place for getting my meat package free <3
7. Whole foods has some awesome items in bulk, but the only thing I ended up getting in bulk was coconut aminos and banana chips(and the banana chips taste terrible).

Lesson of the day - Whole Foods and farmer's markets aren't all they're cracked up to be. You can find what you need at regular grocery stores, but you might have to suffer through some food stickers. Oh well. 

Belle helped me out at the Kroger meat counter - and she was so nice! She thought it was cool that I was getting my meat put into mason jars :-) 

I came home, produce went in the fridge, meat went in the freezer (don't fill your mason jars all the way if you're going to freeze them! Fill them about 1/3 of the way, refrigerate them overnight, and then add the jar - without the lid - to the freezer. The next day you can put the lid on. 

Life, Waste-Free: 4 Things You Can Do To Start

Life, Waste-Free
4 Things You Can Do To Start

Is it possible? While wasting my life away watching youtube last Friday, I came across a TED Talk by Lauren Singer - a girl who has only produced a 16oz mason jar full of trash over the past 3 years of her life.

Then, I came across Bea Johnson - a mom and wife who lives a lifestyle in which she and her family produce zero trash.

What?! How is that even possible?

So, that research led to more research on the effects of plastics and trash on the human body and the environment.

My trash will outlive me. By thousands of years. Before we know it, there will be too much trash and not enough room for us.

Pretty much everything I use is made of plastic or comes in plastic. My toothbrush is plastic. My toothpaste comes in a plastic tube. My contact case is plastic, my contact solution is plastic. My tupperware is plastic. My fridge is made with plastic. My lunchbox is made of plastic. I eat with plastic utensils at work. My water bottle - even though it's reusable - is plastic. The mixed greens I buy at the store come in plastic bags, for crying out loud!!

We're raised to not even think about it - that plastic is clean, protects our food and products.

But plastic is... Ew! All those chemicals leaching into my food and products? No thank you.

So, I've decided to reduce the amount of waste my husband and I produce! I'm not convinced that 100% waste free is completely possible where we live. Our grocery stores don't exactly offer too many foods in bulk. I'm going to focus on a few minor changes, though:

1. Buying spices in bulk - there is a Whole Foods about 40 minutes from us! As much as I love the idea of being waste free, I'm not sure it will always be financially sensical. So - I'll have to compare prices and research other places I can get bulk spices from.

2. No more plastic bags for all my veggies at the grocery store! Squash, apples, bananas, cucumbers, peppers, potatoes - all things that I usually put in plastic. I'll be putting these in my own cloth bags from now on!

3. Food scraps - I bought an "ice bucket" for $3 from Goodwill that I'm using as a compost bucket. I live in an apartment, so I don't have a compost pile. Booooo. BUT - there are lots of mulch and garden companies around here that I can take my compost to! I'm sure they would take it if I called and asked! AND - Whole Foods has a compost bin! I go there every Sunday anyways!

4. Eggs - I've ordered some REAL eggs from a friend who raises chickens. So that means I won't be buying styrofoam packed eggs any longer! AND - she only charges $3 a dozen! SO CHEAP.

Even these small changes will make a big difference over time. I don't want to be the reason our oceans have so much trash and plastic in them. I don't want kids several hundred years from now to pick up a plastic fork I used to eat lunch and wonder why we didn't stop polluting the planet before it became a huge problem.

See you next time!

Annice

Mundane Monday - How To "Wash" Your Couch

Spring cleaning is happening!

Since we just moved into our new apartment, it was super easy to clean the place. Now I just have to tackle what few pieces of furniture we have!

We are poor people. So we hunted for a couch on craigslist! And we found a great deal! A loveseat and a sofa for $130.

It came from a grandma's house! Grandmas always have the best stuff. Because they take care of their belongings! So this couch was very gently used and pretty clean!

Unfortunately, it smelled like an old lady.

Not my favorite scent.

Sooooo I decided to wash it. Because using Febreeze would've made me feel lazy.... and it doesn't actually "clean" the dirt & dead skin cells off the couch. Yuck.

So, here's what you need!

A plastic bristle brush
1/4 laundry detergent
1 small box of NEW baking soda
Your vacuum
2 tbsp of water
Blender
A couple of rags/cloths

Step 1: Dust your whole couch with baking soda! And leave it sitting for at least an hour.

I dusted the whoooooole couch. It was a powdery white trap! I had to keep reminding Josh not to sit on it because it would've gotten all over the seat of his pants - lol!

We were running errands all day - so I left the baking soda on the sofa for about 6 hours.

Then - vacuum it all off! I used the hose attachment for this, obviously!

Step 2: Add the water and laundry detergent to your blender, and give it a good whir! SO MANY BUBBLES!! I loved it.

Step 3: Scoop out the bubbles onto your brush, and brush them all over your couch!

Step 4: Take a damp rag or cloth and wipe all the soap off! The suds will probably disappear into the couch - and that's okay!

Just try and get most of the detergent out of your couch. I wiped all the soap off about 3 times with a clean, damp rag each time.

This was cloth #2....

Before....

After! I found a tiny ink spot on a cushion! And dirt!

Step 5: Let it dry! Open a window, or just place a floor fan in front of your couch and turn it on.

Yay! All clean :-) And it smells so good! Like flowers and rain and SPRINGTIME!!

Dirty, craigslist couch...

All fresh & clean! 

Workout Wednesday

You know what day it is! That means it's time for me to go work out lol. Ugh. I love working out! But some days, I hate it. 

Today I'm doing cardio! Yay! My Favorite! (Sarcasm)

I chose 21 Day Fix Total Body Cardio because it's only 30 minutes and it kills me every time.  

I love it, though! Because I can do it anywhere. I do need weights, but that's what makes me love this workout. Cardio with weights? YES PLEASE. 

Autumn is super motivating. She keeps me going, even when I want to punch someone in the face.

One thing that drives me nuts is her fake tan. Well, they all have fake tan in the videos. But I just notice it on her because she's the one telling me what to do. It's always coming off around her armpits. 

Classy. And they definitely paint abs on people like they did for the movie 300. But that's okay. I pretty  much feel like Autumn's workouts are Sparta, anyways. Except - where's Gerard Butler?! I would work out a lot harder if he were in the videos. Or - you know- in my living room. Lol. Just kidding. Maybe.

Anyways - I love this program! It's my favorite. Here's my cheat sheet for today's workout below! Yes. It is 1970's themed. Get over it. 

How To Find An Apartment You'll Love

Ugh. Moving. That dreaded "our-lease-is-almost-up" feeling. I hate it!

But you know what I hate more?

The apartment complex we are currently living in.

So that leaves us with two options:
         Be fabulous homeless people
         Find a new apartment to call home!

Obviously - we are finding a new apartment complex.

But what do we dooooo!!! How do we find an apartment complex that is as nice on the inside as it is on the outside, with awesome tenants and a great management team?

Don't worry. I'm going to tell you how!

1. Do your research

Seriously. How does anyone skip this step? DON'T EVEN LOOK AT A PLACE WITHOUT:
- checking reviews online
- checking nearby crime at crimemapping.com or the local police department's website
- looking at the apartment complex's website (if it doesn't look nice in the pictures, don't bother)

2. Set your budget
You should make 3 times the amount of rent. YES. 3 times. So if you make $3,000 a month (you big shot!) then you can afford to rent a place for $1000 a month. INCLUDING UTILITIES.

3. Know what you want
And more importantly, what you DON'T want! What amenities are important to you? What kind of neighbors do you want to have? What grocery stores do you want nearby? What neighborhoods do you want to be close to?


We started looking for apartments about 60 days before our lease was up! And by the end we were cutting it close.

Always keep in mind:
- your commute to work, family, friends, your favorite restaurants, etc
- the office team... are they nice? Do they make you feel special? Because whenever you have a problem - those are the people you're going to be dealing with
- is section 8 housing part of your apartment complex? You can actually ask that question. And you're going to want to know - because some people who use low-income housing aren't the greatest. We live in an apartment complex that's in a great area! The apartments are SUPER nice. But the tenants suck. Our neighbors have had things stolen from their cars, apartments have been broken into, and there's always a bunch of shitty cars with ridiculously huge rims broken down with flat tires in the parking lot.
- speaking of parking!! HOW MUCH PARKING IS THERE??? There is nothing worse than coming home on a Saturday night at 10:30 pm after a romantic dinner and not being able to park in front of our building. Because then we have to walk (who likes walking? Psh.) AND we can't see our car from our apartment or hear it if the alarm goes off.
- "crime has no address" is complete bullshit. Apartment complexes legally can't tell you about the tenants or the crime in their complex... but this line is just ridiculous. Crime DOES have an address. And it's the ghetto. KNOW the area - or GET to know it. Yes, crime can happen anywhere. But usually, it happens in a well-known and well-avoided part of town. Do you really want to live in the ghetto? Or even ghetto-adjacent? Nope. Probably not.
- What's the average electric bill? Water bill? What does it cost for trash? What utilities are included? Are there washer dryer hook ups? Does the apartment come with a washer and dryer in it, or do you have to rent them?
- can you paint or put holes in the walls to hang things? Do you lose your deposit if you do?
- do they have a military discount?

I do laundry DAILY. So having a washer/dryer in my apartment was crucial! We saw some apartments that had coin laundry rooms, and even coin laundry on the bottom floor of each building. No thanks. I don't want to have to leave my apartment to do laundry!

One thing you should definitely do is talk to the tenants - if you can. We visited our new apartment complex at 4:30 and ran into some tenants on our tour. We asked them about their experience and they told us they loved it! That was a big help to us in making our decision. DON'T FORGET to ask them what their average bill for utilities is!

If you don't want to or can't do all of the things on this list, at least look up reviews of the apartment complex online and check the area at crimemapping.com ! That website was a HUGE help in choosing our new apartment complex. I was actually shocked when I used it to look up our CURRENT apartment complex. Lot's of assaults in these apartments! Yeesh!

We ended up choosing a beautiful apartment with screened in porches, a salt water pool, a brand new gym, and brand new grills right next to a wildlife preserve. We specifically asked for a corner apartment on the second floor! Why? Corner apartment means fewer neighbors and more windows! Second floor means no peeping toms or burglars. Woo!

I hope this helps you find an apartment of your dreams! Take your time looking. Some apartment complexes will make you feel like you have to move in and make a decision within a week or you'll miss out on a great deal. Don't fall for it. Take your time deciding! After all - you'll be stuck there for a year after you sign the lease!

XOXO
Annice
Sprightly Life