Bl6‘Lancastar Farming, Saturday, July 10, 1993
Shop Smart: Save Money
In The Supermarket
How would you like to pay $23
for that basket of groceries,
instead of $43 as test shoppers did
recently? No, you do not have to
win a sweepstakes to realize that
44 percent savings. All you have
to do is follow some shopping
strategies that will cut your food
costs.
The two test shoppers bought
basically the same foods. One fol
lowed a six-step strategy to reduce
food costs; the other did not The
result was that the shopper who
was careful spent almost less than
one-half the amount spent by the
careless shopper.
Although saving 44 percent on
your grocery bill may not be pos
sible every shopping trip, most
shoppers can regularly save a
minimum of 15 percent All you
need to do is invest a little time to
examine your current shopping
practices and then sharpen your
shopping skills. A businesslike
approach to food buying can help
you use both your time and money
more efficiently.
Try these recommended groc
ery shopping strategies before
your next trip to the supermarket
* Know what you want to buy.
Plan the shopping trip before you
go to the store. Keep records and
try to eliminate or cut down on
food items that are expensive and
not particularly nutritious.
* Buy when the price is right
Here, keeping good records really
helps. Knowing the regular price
of an item lets you know when the
item is on sale. But do not buy
items you do not need just
becauses they are on sale.
* Buy in quantity when the
Heard?
By Doris Thomas
Lancaster Extension
Home Economist
price is right. When a nonperish
able food staple or non-food item
goes on sale, stock up on it. Try to
set five to ten dollars of your groc
ery money each week for stocking
up on staples on sale. Once you
start building a supply of specials
at home, shopping trips will be
shorter and centered around buy
ing new specials to replenish your
stockpile. You will not be forced
to buy a lot of items at regular
price. Do not try to stock up on
perishable items like milk because
they may spoil before you can use
them.
* Compare price and size.
Check unit price stickers for the
best price. Larger sizes are usually
cheaper per food unit...but not
always.
* Buy the product not the
name. Buying a low-priced, rather
than high-priced, brand is an
important shopping strategy.
* Consider the competition
before you shop. Compare adver
tisements from several stores.
Make a list of 10 items that you
regularly buy that are featured in
the ads, and see which store offers
the best prices on those items.
* Make a grocery list before
you leave home, and stick to it.
Make it out according to the lay
out of the store. This will save you
time as you won’t have to back
track .to find things on your list
* Use cents off coupons for
items on your list
* Don’t shop when you are
hungry.
Do not be discouraged by the
fact that some purchases made
using these strategies will involve
saving only pennies. The'money
will add up over time. Over the
course of 30 years a family can
Former Dairy Farm Transformed
(Continued from Pago B 14)
place in every room,” pointed out
Mrs. Schmidt. The family makes
good use of them on chilly fall
days.
“One of the first things I bought
was a ladder," mused Mrs.
Schmidt. The 12-feet high ceilings
made her stenciling project a chal
lenge. Using her new ladder, she
climbed to the top of the kitchen
cabinets where she was then able
to apply her stencil design to the
top edge of the walls from her lof
ty perch.
The parlor and dining room
both feature ornate fireplaces with
side cupboards. All of the doors in
the house carry the original faux
grain finish. Rugs, hand-braided
by Mrs. Schmidt’s parents, cover
some of the refinished pine floors.
The open staircase rises from
the grand foyer to the third floor
attic. At the second level, a set of
side steps goes off from one cor
ner into a bedroom. “We had to
buy armoires," explained Mrs.
Schmidt. Like most homes of that
era, there are no original closets in
the bedrooms.
Each of the three bedrooms
show the design and handiwork of
spend more than $lOO,OOO in the
grocery store. Saving IS percent
of that means an extra $15,000 in
tax-free income.
Mrs. Schmidt and her daughter.
“We did all the window treat
ments.” A quilted wall-hanging
featuring wildflowers, hand made
by Wendy Schmidt, hangs in the
master bedroom. Vintage clothes
are draped on the original peg
board in the guest room, and anti
que dolls, marble-top furniture
and collectibles complete the
decor.
Just over the threshold and
around the comer is “Wendy’s
place,” located in the attached for
mer slave quarters. The furnish
ings and decor of the spacious
time-level home reflect Wendy’s
love of books. One small volume
on the shelves is BRUISED
REED. “It was found in the attic,”
explained Wendy Schmidt.
Inscribed on the inside is, “Oak
Orchard Sabbath School.”
Another hand-braided rug cov
ers a portion of the chestnut floor
in the dining area. Wendy’s win
dow treatments frame a wonderful
pastoral view of the neighbor’s
dairy cows through the wavy
panes of glass.
Old editions of the' BALTI
MORE SUN newspaper dated
1885, were found rolled up. used
as insulation around the deep win
dow sills.
One of the most interesting
rooms is the kitchen. Most of one
wall is devoted to the large fire
place, which, according to Wen
dy, was the site of cooking for the
main house and for the crews. The
original crane is still in the hearth.
“1 just started collecting harness
brasses," added. Wendy. Some of
her collection decorates the man
tel of the fireplace. It may be diffi
cult for visitors to believe that cars
were once parked on the original
herringbone brick floor, “ft used
to be a garage.”
The tiered porches overlook the
vast rows of trees in the family’s
nursery. Just a few steps out the
door, across from the smoke
house, Wendy has established a
rock-walled garden. Her mother’s
herb garden is nearby. And Mrs.
Schmidt has only to ring the loud
bell outside to summon the family
for dinner at the homestead. *
Schmidt’s Autumn Breeze
Nursery is located at 9932 McKin
slry Mill Road, New Windsor,
Maryland 21776. The business
telephone number is (410)
635-2634. For more information
about the New Windsor Heritage
Committee’s Tour of Historic
Homes coming on October 3, call
(410) 875-2054.
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