$\"The$ <\/div>

Photo: Sarah Kobos<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the store<\/strong>
\nA great way to save a few amounts at the register is to look for fruits and vegetables that are in season. Produce that\u2019s not in season is imported, so you may end up paying more for it. Although you can<\/em> get blueberries year-round in most grocery stores, you\u2019ll pay a lot more for them in the fall and winter than you will in the summer. Use the list below to help you figure out when it\u2019s a good time to buy certain items.<\/p>\n

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January vegetables<\/strong>
\nBrinjal, palak, tendli, tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, radish, beetroot, peas, broccoli, capsicum.
\nFruits<\/strong>
\nStrawberries, grapes, guava, papaya, pomegranate, pineapple, passion fruit.<\/div>\n
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February vegetables<\/strong>
\nCabbage, methi, carrot, radish, spring onion, capsicum, broccoli.
\nFruits<\/strong>
\nChickoo, musk melon, grapes, oranges, guava, papaya, pomegranate, pineapple, strawberries.<\/div>\n
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March vegetables<\/strong>
\nSpinach, fenugreek, capsicum, carrot, parwal (pointed gourd), tindora (ivy gourd), pumpkin.
\nFruits<\/strong>
\nWatermelon, mango \u2014 raw, Totapuri, Badami \u2014 grapes, orange, pineapple, banana, muskmelon, strawberries.<\/div>\n
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April vegetables<\/strong>
\nLady\u2019s finger, cucumber, doodhi, tendli, karela, chawli, beans, parwal, tindora, pumpkin.
\nFruits<\/strong>
\nSame as March + jackfruit.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
May vegetables<\/strong>
\nSpinach, cucumber, doodhi, karela, beans.
\nFruits<\/strong>
\nMango \u2014 Alphonso, Kesar, raw \u2014 papaya, black jamuns, litchis, jackfruit, watermelon, muskmelon.<\/div>\n
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June vegetables<\/strong>
\nSpinach, lady\u2019s finger, cucumber, chawli, gawar, corn, capsicum, sweet potato.
\nFruits<\/strong>
\nMango \u2014 Alphonso, Kesar.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
July vegetables<\/strong>
\nSame as June + round gourd, doodhi, snake gourd, karela.
\nFruits<\/strong>
\nMango \u2014 Kesar, Totapuri \u2014 cherries, peach, plum.<\/div>\n
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August vegetables<\/strong>
\nSame as June.
\nFruits<\/strong>
\nSame as June + custard apple.<\/div>\n
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September vegetables<\/strong>
\nSame as June.
\nFruits<\/strong>
\nGuava, papaya, pomegranate, custard apple, passion fruit.October vegetables<\/strong>
\nBrinjal, tomatoes, dill, spring onions.
\nFruits<\/strong>
\nSame as September.November vegetables<\/strong>Same as October + French beans.Fruits<\/strong>Orange, dates, guava, papaya, pomegranate, custard apple.December vegetables<\/strong><\/p>\n
Same as October + radish, beetroot, yam.<\/p>\n
Fruits<\/strong>
\nStrawberries, orange, sweet lime, fig, guava, custard apple, pineapple.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Overripe fruits and vegetables will go bad faster, so when you\u2019re shopping, choose the\u00a0freshest produce\u00a0available. When it comes to leafy greens you want to opt for anything that\u2019s richly colored, with few to no limp or yellow leaves. When you\u2019re picking out root vegetables like potatoes and onions, weight is a good indicator of freshness\u2014the heavier they are, the better.<\/p>\n
At home<\/strong>
\nWhen I was growing up, my parents threw all the veggies in the fridge as soon as they returned from the supermarket. It turns out not all vegetables like the cold. In fact, storing some vegetables at the wrong temperature\u00a0can cause them to wilt or go bad faster. A few basic guidelines:<\/p>\n
Refrigerate:<\/p>\n
\n
Beets, carrots, ginger<\/li>\n
Leafy greens (don\u2019t wash beforehand)<\/li>\n
Apples and pears<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Don\u2019t refrigerate:<\/p>\n
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Potatoes (including sweet potatoes)<\/li>\n
Onions<\/li>\n
Garlic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
It\u2019s a good idea to freeze any fruits or leafy greens that you know you\u2019re not going to use right away. This will keep them from going bad in your crisper. I usually freeze any fruits and vegetables I plan to use for smoothies. I start by cutting the ingredients into bite-size pieces and then separating them out into zip-top bags, so that one bag contains all the ingredients for one smoothie.<\/p>\n
The most important thing to remember when you\u2019re freezing food is to remove as much air and moisture as possible. This will reduce the chances of freezer burn. Second, you want to make sure you\u2019re storing any frozen foods in an airtight bag or container. We like the\u00a0Hefty Freezer Slider Bags. If you can\u2019t find those at your local grocery store, look for bags that are specifically for freezing. Those tend to have a thicker plastic than non-freezer varieties, so they will do a better job of protecting your food.<\/p>\n
If you do end up with produce that\u2019s almost expired, don\u2019t toss it out! Instead, try some of some\u00a0ideas\u00a0to put those veggies to use.<\/p>\n
Clothing<\/h3>\n
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$\"A$ <\/div>
Photo: Michael Hession<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The cheapest place to go shopping is right in your home. With cooler months approaching, now is the perfect time to go through your closet and swap out your fave\u00a0shorts for your fave sweaters. Take a day to go through everything you own, and create piles for things you no longer want (or haven\u2019t worn in a while), things you want to keep, and seasonal items. For clothing, you won\u2019t need until next summer,\u00a0properly pack\u00a0it in\u00a0airtight containers<\/a>\u00a0to avoid issues like moths.<\/p>\n
Once your clothing is separated, you\u2019ll probably have some items that are showing signs of wear. There are\u00a0a few things you can do\u00a0besides tossing them out: It\u2019s surprisingly easy to\u00a0re-dye clothing\u00a0that has started to fade. For stubborn stains, try soaking items in\u00a0 OxiClean<\/a>. If you noticed that your workout gear is not looking as spry as it used to (or that it\u2019s retaining a funky smell even\u00a0after<\/em> washing), bring it back to life with our favorite Stain Fighter<\/a>.<\/p>\n
If the idea of going through your wardrobe doesn\u2019t fill you with joy, get some friends together over Zoom for a virtual\u00a0clothing swap. You might be able to nab a couple of \u201cnew\u201d pieces from pals and rid yourself of stuff you don\u2019t love anymore.<\/p>\n
Home<\/h3>\n
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$\"A$ <\/div>
Photo: Sarah Kobos<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
If you\u2019re itching to do some remodeling (seems like everyone\u00a0is doing it these days!), try something that doesn\u2019t cost anything at all: rearranging your furniture. Start by\u00a0figuring out\u00a0what\u2019s not working in the current space. First, decide what you want the focal point of the room to be and concentrate on that. The focal point could be more functional, such as prioritizing where the office desk goes, or aesthetic, like moving furniture aside to have access to bay windows. You\u2019ll want to position the largest pieces of furniture (such as the bed or sofa) first, and work outward from there. Try different layouts by moving things around.<\/p>\n
When I was living with a roommate, I used to rearrange the furniture in my room once every couple of months just to keep it feeling fresh. One thing I found especially helpful was to exit the room, turn around, and walk back in. This allowed me to do a \u201cvibe check,\u201d to see how I would feel just walking into the room on a normal day.<\/p>\n
After rearranging everything, you may find yourself in need of a new piece of furniture. But before you go out and buy something, take a look around to see whether there\u2019s anything you can repurpose\u2014could\u00a0that old bookshelf\u00a0be your new standing desk?<\/p>\n
When you\u2019re all done and the room feels new, why not take the extra step of making the furniture look new? To tackle\u00a0lighter stains, a little warm water and dish detergent can usually do the trick (depending on the fabric). If you need something stronger, or you need more than just a spot treatment, it may be worth getting an\u00a0upholstery cleaner. Since I have pets living in my home, I try to clean all of my furniture at least once a season. It makes a significant difference in how clean everything looks and smells (plus it\u2019s kind of fun to see how much dirt it gets out!).<\/p>\n
An inexpensive way to give your bathroom a facelift is to organize anything sitting exposed on shelves. Tidying up (and hiding things out of sight) is especially rewarding if you have a\u00a0smaller bathroom\u00a0because it creates the illusion of having more space. If you\u2019re feeling crafty, you can\u00a0DIY a new shower curtain.<\/p>\n
Instead of buying new kitchen tools, revive what you\u2019ve already got: Give your pots and pans a\u00a0deep clean\u00a0to make them sparkle, and\u00a0sharpen your knives\u00a0so they feel as good as new. A honing rod, like the\u00a0 Idahone Ceramic Sharpening Rod<\/a>, is an inexpensive way to lengthen the life and usefulness of your knives.<\/p>\n
Some of the biggest monthly expenses come from utility bills. There are some ways you can lower them:<\/p>\n
\n
Skip the pre-rinse\u00a0when loading your dishwasher<\/a>.<\/li>\n
To keep cool air from the AC in,\u00a0check your window\u00a0seals for drafts.<\/li>\n
To keep the heat out when it\u2019s hot outside, keep the\u00a0blinds down.<\/li>\n
Run your\u00a0 ceiling fan<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0room fan\u00a0to circulate the air instead of running the AC.<\/li>\n
With\u00a0 smart plugs<\/a>\u00a0you can schedule lights and phone chargers to turn off automatically when you know you won\u2019t be using them.<\/li>\n
Use Smart Wifi Bulb<\/a> compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We\u2019re seeing record rates of\u00a0unemployment, and additional government aid for the jobless is\u00a0still in doubt. So a lot of people are looking for ways to save some loot. We\u2019ve compiled several of our favorite ideas and resources to help you cut back on spending, from breathing new life into old clothes to keeping your produce […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7,8,27],"tags":[34],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gemquotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gemquotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gemquotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemquotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemquotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemquotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5024,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemquotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589\/revisions\/5024"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemquotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gemquotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemquotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemquotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

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