Things I still buy, and maybe should

I admit it - I'm frugal, and yet I buy juice boxes.

Back a few months ago, I wrote a post called Things I Buy, But Shouldn't.  In it, I listed several items that I purchased, but felt like I should find a more frugal substitute.  Included were juice boxes, applesauce cups, fresh herbs, instant oatmeal, tortillas, and sandwich bread.

Since then, I've made progress on none of them.  Why?

Juice boxes - This one I tried, I really tried.  I purchased small plastic juice bottles from Walmart, and filled them daily with cheaper juice.  But...the kids never drank all the juice in the bottles, and the bottles leaked.  I tried asking them to put their juice bottles in a zippered plastic bag, but they still forgot.  And the juice spilled all over their lunch bags, and sometimes out the lunch bags and onto their homework.  Not good.

So we're back to juice boxes.  Although perhaps I could try a thermos, which might not leak as much.  Hmmm...

Applesauce cups -  I did use some reusable cups to spoon applesauce in.  But then, I found a great deal at Target on applesauce cups, which made them cheaper than buying a jar of applesauce.  So we are back to cups now, but when they run out, I might go back to making them myself.

Fresh herbs - Another one I tried.  I purchased a window herb garden from Home Depot and put it on the sunniest, south-facing window ledge.  And of the four herbs, two grew okay, but spindly, and the other two failed to sprout.  Yes, I could plant outside, but then I'd have to battle the bugs.  So we are still on dried herbs, with occasional purchases of parsley, basil, and cilantro (like for my Cilantro Pesto).

I'll touch on oatmeal, tortillas, and bread in my next post on this subject.