Monday Q&A | Cooking, Dishwashing, and Piano Teaching
Every Monday, I answer a few of the questions that my readers send me. If you have a question you'd like me to answer in a future Q&A post, just leave me a comment here or email me (thefrugalgirl [at] gmail [dot] com) and put Q&A in the subject line.
Don't you ever get tired of cooking? I've cooked all week and though I realize I've only just started, I am tired of cooking already and just want to take a night off! What do you do when this happens to you?
-Megg
Uh, in a word, yes! I do indeed get tired of cooking sometimes. I also get tired of doing laundry, checking math papers, packing lunches, and sweeping the floor. 😉
If there is something my parents taught me well, though, it is how to keep going when you feel like quitting. I think this was largely accomplished through physically challenging family vacations that involved bikeriding up long hills, and paddling canoes for days. (Hee-hee. I love you, dear parents!) Pushing the pedals of a bike around when you really want to just stop is a lot like cooking dinner and doing laundry when you really just want to stop. And though I was never a big fan of hiking, biking, and canoeing, those activities did help this naturally un-persevering person to develop quite a stick-to-it-and-hang-in-there attitude.
I can't exactly recommend that you reverse time and join my family, though, so here are some practical suggestions.
1. Plan a menu
I know...I talk about this a LOT, but it really, really does make cooking a much easier task for me. When I know what I'm making for dinner, I don't have to stress about choosing a meal, I can think ahead and take ingredients out of the freezer, and I can plan my grocery shopping so that I always have the necessary ingredients. It makes an enormous difference for me, so if you're not already planning a menu, give it a try.
I've already done a fair number of posts on menu planning, so if you'd like to know why I plan my menu, how I plan it, how I come with meal ideas, and more, go take a peek at the posts in the Menu Planning category.
2. Remind yourself how much eating out costs
I know we all have this vague idea in our heads that eating out is expensive, but we don't think about it often enough in dollars and cents. The markup on food prepared somewhere else is really insane, though. For example, it costs around $30 for my family of six to eat a meal at McDonalds. That $30 bill might not seem that bad until you remember that I can feed my family 21 meals a week for $100. That same $100 could only buy us a little over 3 meals at McDonalds.
Consider these numbers. A meal at home costs us an average of $4.76 and an inexpensive meal out costs $30.
-3 meals out per week for a year: $4,680
-3 meals at home per week for a year: $742.56
-Savings from eating at home: $3937
That's almost $4000 over the course of a year! And if you normally eat out more often, or spend more than $30 when you dine out, the savings could be even more tremendous.
3. Cook simple meals
If you're struggling with the motivation to keep on cooking, make something easy and fast. Not every meal has to be gourmet, after all. I make breakfast for dinner once a week to give myself a break, and we eat homemade pizza once a week too because I consider that to be fairly fuss-free.
Another idea is to use some prepared foods from the grocery store. These are generally going to be more expensive than other grocery store items, but they will almost always be cheaper than takeout. Canned soup and grilled cheese can suffice for dinner, as can frozen ravioli topped with jarred sauce.
4. Give yourself an Eating Out budget
If you're used to eating out multiple times a week, it's going to be really, really hard to quit that cold turkey. So, instead of giving it up altogether, talk with your husband and set up an Eating Out category in your budget. Maybe put enough in that budget to cover one meal out per week. Knowing that your night out is waiting for you just might help you to hang in there for the other 6 nights of the week.
5. Remind yourself of your goals
I don't know your situation, but I'm guessing that you're trying to cook at home in order to meet some financial goals. When you feel like picking up the phone and ordering Chinese, remind yourself of what you're trying to do with your finances. For myself, I remember that I want to save up for a van replacement, save for our future and our children's futures, and pay off our house. Though it might not seem like a big thing, faithfully cooking at home is a very helpful way to meet those goals (see the calculations on #2).
Do you use your dishwasher (do you have one?) and if so, how often do you use it? Or do you prefer to handwash dishes? Which is more frugal? For 2 of us (3 at the moment as we have a guest) we are running the dishwasher once a day. Is this a lot?
-Megg
I actually answered that question in an older Q&A post, so go check that out! I personally run the dishwasher once a day, and I hand wash large items like baking sheets and my dutch oven. From what I've read, a dishwasher is, at the very least, as efficient and inexpensive as hand-washing, so I say to use your dishwasher without guilt. 😉
I took piano lessons growing up and would like to teach my two sons to play (they are 8 and 10). I feel like I should be able to teach them instead of paying someone else to do it. Could you give any advice? Are there any books that you would recommend?
-Tiffany
I generally use the Alfred's Basic Piano Series for my students. They're easy to use, the songs in them are entertaining for kids to play, and the books are colorful and fun. Most music stores carry this line of books and you can also find them online.
There are a lot of different books that Alfred offers, but I generally use the Lesson Book, Theory Book, and then I supplement some with the Hymn Book, Fun Book, and Recital Book, depending on what each students needs.
As far as other advice goes, I'd just say to make sure that your children practice consistently. This makes such an enormous difference. I tell my students not to set a time goal for practicing but rather to set a goal based on playing each piece a number of times. Usually I assign three pieces at a time, and we have a goal to play each piece 4-5 times a day, 5 days a week.
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Readers, as always, feel free to add your advice to mine in the comments!
I wanted to thank you for writing. I have been reading for some time now and until our move many things have not applied to our lives. Things that have helped or help keep me on track are: Menu Planning/Budget; Composting/Food Waste; and to keep in mind my overall purpose in life is to serve my family and be happy.
Last night my husband and I got a free invite through his work place to a cocktail hour. It was in a museum/mansion that was beautiful and we got to dress up. It turned out there wasn't a lot he could eat due to his celiac but I had a $15 giftcard in my purse for Applebees. (We won it by dropping his business card in a bucket at our chiropractic office.) Right now Applebees has a 2 eat for $20 special right now, rock on. Oh, and we traded child care with our neighbors.
You can see the conclusion of this story... I thought about you, coupons, deals, and being smart about our spending. Thank you.
Oooh, that's awesome! Yay for a cheap night out to eat. And I'm so glad my blog has been helpful to you. 🙂
One way to not have to cook every night is to cook double batches some nights and then freeze half. It's very little additional work to double a recipe, and it's so nice to pull out a meal in the morning to thaw and know that your dinner prep is mostly done! You can find lots of cookbooks at the library about cooking for your freezer. Also, most soups freeze well, as do pasta dishes (cook the pasta al dente or it will be mushy). You can also pre-cook and freeze hamburger or chicken to speed meal prep , and you can put meat and a marinade into a ziplock bag, freeze it, and when you let it thaw, the meat marinates itself. Then toss it into a baking dish or crockpot--easy!
Trying to focus on financial goals keeps me going most often. I may remind myself that such and such is just a distraction - stay on track. Cooking at home and menu planning has help me to acheive some of our financial goals. Yes, there are nights when I just don't feel like it - on these nights I tell the kids to get a snack an let a couple of hours go by. Usually, I don't feel like it cause I just need a break in my day. Once I focus on taking a break I'm normally up for making something.
As with anything, I believe "it" is what you make it. Keeping it simple helps alot - sandwiches, soup, frozen dinners, etc. I like the double batching it idea also. I have a friend that cooks for an entire month - not so appealing to me. I do keep left overs in the fridge, and depending on how that works out, we may have what I call a "smorgie" towards the end of the week. We may eat the leftovers as is or I try to reinvent them.
Menu planning is a terrific idea. For me, I know what days tire me out the worst. I plan accordingly. Keeping it repeatative helps as well - Thursday is our pizza night. Sunday is a really late lunch after church and then lighter fare/snackies in the evening.
Occasionally, I just crack or the family wants what they want. After we purchase our overpriced take-out, I sigh and begin menu planning in my head again. For instance, this past Saturday we had pizza (too busy working on the house to stop and cook). $40.00 later ( I did get a salad), it occurred to me that we had plenty of things that could have sufficed. Ultimately, poor planning, temptation, and lack of effort won over. It happens.
I just started planning my menus a week in advance and it has been a huge money and stress saver. I thought it was unnecessary since I'm home full time right now but knowing what's for dinner makes my days so much easier. And I can always answer my husband when he asks (inevitably around 2 pm-- it's like he's trying to decide whether he'll eat here or go out without us!) I might even start posting my weekly menu plan for accountability. Hmmmmm.
Oh yes! I stay at home too, but I am a wreck if I don't plan my menu. I hate actually doing it, but I love the result.
I was watching one of those "First Time Homebuyers" shows on T.V. and the couple had spent $12,000 in the past year on eating out! Lesson: If they had saved that money, their down payment would have bought them a significantly larger, nicer home in a much better neighborhood. I think of that episode often as I'm preparing yet another meal.
My girlfriend and I started out our relationship the usual way: eating out at restaurants at least once or twice a week. Now I try to have at least one home cooked date per week, preferably more. I find that eating out loses its luster after a while and I have more fun cooking.
I actually offered her the option that after we're married I'll do the cooking so long as she does all the laundry. I think that sounds like a fair trade, don't you?
The question is, who will do the dishes? lol
Did you pop the question yet? 🙂
I love this post, especially the first part about persevering. I also grew up in a family whose vacations seemed to frequently involve hard physical labor (biking, hiking, canoeing, helping Grandma and Grandpa build a house, building a boat, sailing, etc.), but unfortunately, I didn't properly learn the lesson about just sticking things out. Oddly, owning our first home and doing tons of work to it (painting all the rooms, ripping out 700+ square feet of carpet and refinishing the oak floors underneath, etc.) has taught me a lot about seeing projects through to the end.
Wow. Ok, what I signed on to say is that my technique for taking a break from the repetitiveness of cooking is to have Leftover Night. Hubby and I live at home with Mom and Dad while we work on our house. Three of the four adults work, Mom's job keeps her away from home one or two nights per week, and my dad's job takes him away from home 4-5 nights per week, so the number of people home for dinner is not reliable. Inevitably, we end up with one or two servings of something from every meal - sometimes the main course, sometimes a side. So once or twice a week, depending on the leftovers, we have Leftover Night. For example, on Thursday I made bolognese sauce (2 servings LO), on Sunday we had meatloaf and potatoes (3 servings LO), and today we had 2 servings of baked apple chunks left over. Tomorrow night will be Leftover Night to get rid of what's building up in the fridge before it can go bad!
I love Leftover Night because it means no real cooking, just reheating a couple of items.
My daughter and I are taking piano lessons together with Simply Music. I love, love, LOVE this program. We have been learning for about a year and our playlist consists of jazz, blues, classical, and accompaniment pieces. It's fun and you learn fast. http://www.simplymusic.com
I second Left-over Nights. I usually cook a bit more than we need, and either freeze it or eat it later in the week.
Kristen- Thanks for writing about the huge savings of cooking at home. Sometimes I can't believe I have to convince people of this. I enjoy eating out, but I want it to be special, not just throwing away money because you don't feel like cooking.
I applaud you for feeding your largish family homecooked meals every night, but for my husband and I, here are some ways I manage to cook less often, which makes it less of a chore for me (I think this could work for couples with just one or two kids as well):
1. I make one meal that will be leftovers: soup, chili, lasagna, etc.
2. My husband makes pizza or pasta one night.
3. We generally go out about once a week- either to a restaurant or a friend's house for dinner, or a party.
4. We usually "graze" one night- which could be sandwiches or Trader Joe's meals, or just a baked potato if we had a big lunch.
With this method, I usually only end up cooking 3 times a week, which makes it much more fun and creative and much less of a chore or drudgery. I realize it wouldn't work for everyone, but it works quite nicely for us.
Sometimes, I cook two meals at once. Tonight I made sausages rice and peas for dinner. Then in another pot I made beans with a tomato based sauce (left overs) and three of the sausages. Sausages + beans = something totally different for dinner. That's a big pot o' lunch for tomorrow, which will be busy. The Olympic torch is coming through our town and we are going to check it out! Vancouver 2010~!
Planning out meals once a week has made all the difference in the world to me! It seems to have been the missing link...changing what used to be drudgery into something that I actually look forward to.
Thank you also for the piano advice. The idea of practicing the song a certain number of times rather than playing for an allotted time also changes the entire feeling of the experience. It focuses the activity on the actual moment rather than watching the clock. I love ideas that can actually change the way we look at things!
One word for the cooking blues - CROCKPOT! It's so simple to throw something, go to work, and then come home to a already prepared meal. And bonus - you can use/better off to use the less expensive cuts of meat in them so it's very frugal as well.
The dishwasher can be very efficient if it is properly LOADED. We are a family of four and only run it every other day (during the week, when nobody is home at lunchtime). The key is to use every slot and space. This means that you should put like objects together (large plates with large plates, bowls with similarly shaped bowls, etc.) so that the space is used efficiently. When I'm done in the kitchen, the dishwasher is well-packed, but not so much that the spray can't reach the dishes.
We handwash pots and pans because they take up too much room (and often don't fare as well in the dishwasher anyway).
My only regret is the racks in our dishwasher are kind of far apart--I could go three days if we had better racks! Of course, you have to have enough dishes and silverware for that, too.
We do not rinse (wastes water) but we scrape--I always tell my kids we have no need for dishwasher cleaned rice and lettuce!
Really great points on the reasons for why to keep going with cooking at home. I, too, found that planning out meals really, really helped me deal with cooking fatigue. Turns out a lot of my stress had to do with trying to come up with a creative plan on the fly every night.
Because there's just the two of us and neither of us are easily bored by food we like, I tend to make at least two meals a week that will feed us for two days in a row.
I'll be linking back to this post from my blog. 🙂
Just wanted to mention that I went through the Alfred piano books, I took piano lessons from when I was 10 to 15, and I really enjoyed them all!
I love the numbers you ran! We don't eat out at all. I can fed my family of 7 for $2-$5 per meal; eatng out would be really expensive for us!
I plan for leftovers; that really helps with time.
I love your website!
I too taught piano. I found it very effective to expect my students to play each piece 1x for each year of their age. ex. A seven year old would play their piece 7x, a ten year old 10x etc.
Warning! This somewhat dampened their enthusiasm for birthdays... I could never figure out why? LOL!