Welcome to Starting New Starting Fresh, a community for thriving solo seniors. This blog is all about living our best simple life within our means and on our own terms. We’re rediscovering ourselves after 60. Peace. JoAnn
Solo Seniors, Stretch Your Pantry Food: Make 4 Meals with Minimal Ingredients Before Payday.
It’s 24 hours before your pension money is in the bank, your SNAP benefits refill or the food bank opens, and you’re looking at a nearly empty pantry. Your pantry could give Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboards a run for the money. We’ve all been there trying to stretch the small amount of food left to…
How Much Water Do You Drink? Tips for Staying Well Hydrated.
As we age, our bodies may not signal thirst as clearly as when we were younger. Meaning we need to be more mindful of our hydration needs as seniors. Are you drinking enough water every day to stay healthy? Let’s look at some simple strategies to make sure you’re staying hydrated and feeling healthy. According…
Make Your Grocery Dollars Go Further: 18 Practical Tips.
As solo seniors on a fixed income, we sometimes struggle to make ends meet. Money is tight. We know how hard it is to stretch every dollar. With rising costs of life’s essentials and unpredictable food prices, staying on a budget can feel impossible. In this blog post, we’ll share 18 tried and true ideas,…
How to Revive a Stale Baguette.
Have you ever reached for a baguette only to find it has become rock-hard? Don’t worry; reviving a stale baguette is quick and easy. We’ll show you two effective methods using the oven and microwave to bring your bone-dry bread back to life. Perfect for some cheesy garlic bread (recipe below), croutons, or chewy slices…
Strut don’t tiptoe.
Early one Sunday morning, while shopping for groceries, I overheard a young woman talking loudly on her phone. The store was quiet, and she was nearly shouting as she swiftly passed me, pounding her feet on the floor cruising fast down the same aisle where I was shopping. I couldn’t help overhearing her (loud) end…
Let Gratitude Help You Through A Bad Moment.
Every month on the blog, I publish a post listing a few things that make me grateful. I write my list as the month goes on. The gratitude list reminds me that while my life is like everyone else’s, not rainbows and unicorns, I can still find things to be thankful for even when things…
What Do You Carry In Your Purse?
When was the last time you looked at the contents of your purse? Are you carrying as much today as you did five or ten years ago? I don’t carry nearly as much as I once did. Four years ago, when Mom was still with us and going to dialysis, I had a large purse…
You made a mistake. You’re not stupid.
Sometimes when I make mistakes, I will call myself stupid. Nothing Earth-shattering here, just me insulting myself. Except, recently, I’ve come to realize two things happen when I insult myself. First, I open the door for other people to insult me too. Second, I always feel as if someone had punched me in the gut…
Change your words, and you will change yourself.
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle” (Plato). I’d like to tweak this quote a bit if you will: Be kind and loving to yourself for you fight a hard battle. Think about what you’re thinking about when you think about yourself. Yep, that was a mouthful. But seriously, have you…