Frugaling it!

I haven't changed the name of this blog yet, but I've decided to record some of my ideas and lots of tips on becoming more frugal, especially as it relates to living in OH!
Here are some things I'm working on to stretch the bucks
1. I joined Swagbucks and am using my free Amazon certificates to buy Christmas gifts.
2. Become obsessed with gas mileage and kind of hyper-miling. We drive A LOT so this is a big expense. I'm not talking about driving on the butt of a semi to decrease drag. I'm shifting to neutral going downhill, trying to keep my RPMs under 2500(my mom always did this), turning off the car if I sitting for any length of time, driving slower than the 72 mph I usually do, planning ahead so that I ease to a stop, and planning trips to I don't back track. The last is easy for me because I'm totally OCD when it comes to back tracking. It makes me crazy. Ironic, isn't it.
3. Making as much of our food from scratch. This means running the bread machine I bought on Craigslist at least 3 times a week to make bread.
4. Making an effort to improve my use of coupons. There are a ton of sites out there that explain this better than I can. I'll try and list some soon.
5. Eating in season and buying enough to preserve for the rest of the year. This means picking blueberries in July and freezing, strawberries in June, etc. I'm currently taking advantage of the cheap cheap cheap apples!! I've already purchased a bushel($24, U-pick @ Hillside Orchard in Brunswick). Made a batch of applesauce for the freezer. I'm going to need more to freeze for recipes.
6. I just ordered 25 pounds of rolled oats from Shaffers Market. Not only will this save money buy getting it bulk, I won't have to make a special trip just for oats. DD14 loves her oatmeal! Oats can be frozen indefinitely, so storage isn't a problem. The only problem is that I'm starting to run out of freezer space. I currently have about 75 pounds of ground local beef, 8 local whole chickens, applesauce and some other stuff I can't remember in the upright freezer.

I welcome any money saving comments or ideas. Tips for local places to get some good deals would be awesome!

Pics to be added shortly

I'm thinking of changing the name of this blog. Something a little wider in scope. As you may have noticed, our growing season here in OH isn't the longest. For example, currently at the local farmer's markets are greens, peas, garlic and strawberries. I'm sure there are a few other things, but not much. In my garden I've gotten...lettuce. That's it. I didn't plant radishes this year, because they rarely get eaten. My peas aren't ready yet. In fact, my garden as a whole is much less diverse than in recent years. Here's why... I was lazy and didn't want to spend money or more rare, space, on plants that don't do that well in my yard or could easily and cheaply be purchased locally. This is why you'll see(when I post the pics) that I have a lot of tomatoes,peppers, brussel sprouts, broccoli, some peas and beans and squash. This year I planted the squash outside of the raised beds. I'm hoping this will give them more room and not crowd the other plants.
Once again I tried starting my seeds. Once again I bought plants. I'm done with the starting. I don't know why, but I suck at it. I'm officially giving up.
I have added another compost bin. This is a garbage can with holes cut in it. We are using this one for food scraps. I add in newspaper to increase my "browns". When I say "I", what I mean is the child that I brought into the world for just this kind of task. Ya know, the task I feel is vitally important to our home and environment, but don't want to do. This is the same child that does the daily dusting for the same reason.
I recently found out about a new restaurant I'll be trying soon. It's called the Treehugger's Cafe. I believe it's in Berea, but don't quote me on that. I will let you know what I think. If you've already been there, please pass along your comments. This site has a half price deal on a gift card. I'll be purchasing one soon. http://www.mimivanderhaven.com/index
I got my strawberries picked and processed last week. I picked less than I have in previous years. I still have some "no sugar added jam" left from last year. This is because no one in the house will eat it. I will use it on ice cream and in smoothies. Other than that, the texture is weird. It gets really runny. Not a good thing for jam. This year I only made regular and "less sugar" freezer jam. This was much faster, easier and didn't involve heat, which was especially important since I made it on the 90 degree day last week.
I have been begging i.e. harassing my DH for about a year now for chickens. Live ones, that is. He's not opposed to them for eatin'. I've read article after article on "urban chickens". I've found blogs that I read and grow green with envy. I've discovered cool "runs" for the chickens and of course, the chicks themselves. Still my husband, because he's mean, is standing firm against them. He really has no good reasons either. Well, except for our 2 dogs, our terribly tiny yard, close quarters with elderly neighbors and my penchant for losing interest in things. Poor me. I really don't think he'd even notice them. Hhhmmm
Alrighty, I think that's enough yammering for one day.