I like to make things. I get a great sense of accomplishment when I can make something as good as or better than purchasing store bought or pre-made. It throws me right onto cloud 9 when I can make something better that’s ALSO less expensive. I’ve posted about a lot of things that fit into this category. More and more, I’m finding things I can make cheaper than buying them. I love it. However, there are a few things I haven’t attempted because … well … I don’t really want to.
I had in mind for a while that I was going to make homemade yogurt and post about it. We eat a lot of yogurt in our house and I thought it would be a great idea. There are some great how-to’s on the Internet, so it’s not like I’d have to figure it out on my own. (Follow the link above to Kitchen Stewardship if you’re interested in making your own). However, I buy my yogurt in 32-oz. containers for $1.75 and honestly, I don’t feel like that’s a bad price and I’m comfortable paying it for the convenience. I know there are health benefits to making your own – but I’m just not there yet.
Another example, many times I buy jarred spaghetti sauce and just add a few more spices to it rather than making it from scratch. The ease of pouring a jar of it into a pan to heat up can’t be beat on busy nights. I know that homemade sauce is better for you and, if you can get the hang of it, tastes better, but for right now it’s a convenience I’m willing to pay for (and actually, I can get jarred sauce less expensive than the ingredients to make it from scratch anyway).
Need more examples? I make my own greeting cards when I have a chance to, but sometimes I just buy them at Walmart for 88 cents. I know how to sew but I only sew clothing that I want to sew. I am happy buying everything else.
If you’ve read my blog much then you KNOW I am not against homemade things – I am actually a little obsessed with trying to make things myself. My point is that every family has different needs and unique demands. What may be worth it and fulfilling to one person may seem frustrating or like a waste of time to another. Although there are still plenty of things I purchase pre-made, I find I’m still mostly on the homemade side. I frequently find myself wondering – could I make that instead? Sometimes, the answer is, “Yeah, but I don’t really want to.”
What about you? Do you make something homemade that most people purchase pre-made? Do you avoid making anything in particular?
Why I do what I do ~ Chloe loves to color and draw. Today she handed me a card she made and said, “Look Mom, it has your name.” I opened it and saw “M O M” written inside by her. No help from me. I almost cried.
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I make my own seasoning mixes (like taco or cajun), I also make our chocolate syrup. WAY better than Hershey’s
I’ve always wanted to make our yogurt but we don’t eat enough of it to make sense. I’ve made homemade granola and granola bars but I’m the only one that eats them! I try to make my own spaghetti sauce, but I often grab a jar if I don’t have any sauce frozen.
Lately I’ve been making my own rice-a-roni, which you know. I also make our soups, big money saver. I make bread too, but haven’t found a sandwich bread we love. Oh, and mac and cheese, but it isn’t cheaper to make, just better.
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My husband just emailed me and told me that he was reading the comments on this post and that I needed to find out how to make my own chocolate syrup!
I learned how to make it from “Small Notebook”; super easy and yummy.
I tried making yogurt in my crockpot, but it didn’t work. I just buy the big tubs now instead of little cups. I make bread in my bread machine when I feel like it, but I don’t stress if I don’t feel like it. I sew and knit, but I try not to make too many clothes for the kids (especially knit) or size them up so that they’ll still fit when I eventually finish them. Accessories are a better choice. I still use jarred pasta sauce, but I’ve been making my own pizza sauce and even tried making BBQ sauce.
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I kind of go through spells of trying to make everything homemade to not making much at all homemade. I guess it depends on what’s going on in my life at the time.
One thing that has really affected my “making homemade” over the last year is I learned to use coupons to get so many things for free or almost free. It’s hard to pay for the ingredients to make something that you can get pre-made for free.
For example, the last 6 loaves of bread I’ve bought were free and they were really good tasting whole wheat bread loaves. It’s hard to make you’re own when you can get good bread for free.
The one thing I struggle with most about buying pre-made is that it is not as healthy a lot of the time as homemade.
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Amanda- I struggle with the same thing. The trade off of a less expensive purchase for something that isn’t quite as healthy. It can be a tough decision to make sometimes. I think the important thing is to do the best you can and give yourself some trade-offs. Boxed Mac ‘n’ Cheese is disgusting stuff but I still buy it because my daughter absolutely LOVES it. Oh well
I’ve tried a few times to make my own yogurt but the kids aren’t too keen on the taste and neither am I. I just buy the tubes and rotate the brands with the sales and my coupons.
I’ve made a few batches of bread in the bread maker but haven’t come up with a favourite yet so I stick to buying them. I have converted the family over to homemade pizza dough, it’s now their favourite kind.
Other things I made homemade are soup, applesauce, cookies, quick breads, muffins and cake. So much better and my family loves it when I bake.
Nice article by the way. Sometimes I get to feeling guilty about what I buy, etc. because I read blogs like yours and feel like I’m not quite doing enough but you just made me feel better about what I am already doing. Thanks.
Debbie- It’s funny because I just assume people know that I’m a hack
I do the best I can and I’m leaning a lot, but by NO MEANS am I the homemade Queen!
This really got me thinking. Food prices are expensive here, and coupons almost unheard of, so I do what I can to make things. We haven’t wanted to spend much at all on prepared food, and our diet was hopelessly dull. As I learn to make things, the variety of foods available to us in our budget is increasing and that makes the time and effort worth it to me.
I would also love to make my own clothes – I’m quite tall AND constantly breastfeeding with commensurate weight shifts, all of which complicate my wardrobe immensely. The learning curve for sewing clothes is quite steep, so I’m making do with what I have while I try to figure out what and how I will make a few key pieces.
And Chloe’s card? Amazing!!
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I don’t want to make my own lotions, lipbalms, etc. but prefer to buy organic versions (and use them sparingly). I don’t want to make my own clothes – apart from the occasional project – as I can shop off-season at my favorite shops and buy new cheaper than I could make them. I make most of our bread and buns (grinding my wheat) and make my own cards. Most of our meals are ‘from scratch’ but I do still buy some packaged things – my sanity is more important than being perfect in this area. I tend to make my own very simple curtains and throw cushions.
I have to admit that I am not good at altering the original products or attempting to make my own items. My daughters and sons, on the other hand, love being creative and altering products that they buy or make on their own. I am creative in certain areas, but when it comes to foods or sewing, I don’t get any brownie points. To be honest, my experience with sewing ended with me taking the item that I had to make in home economics to my boyfriend’s mom and then asking her to finish it up. Shhh! Don’t let Miss Rogers know that I did that.
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