Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2017

Well done Pandamonium with the storage unit of doom! Your box of cables made me chuckle, we have one very similar full of random cable OH insists may one day be useful! And well done everyone, lots of good mending and minimising going on by the sounds of it!

Making do this week has been living off the slightly manky veg at the bottom of the fridge, we've had delicious veg soups, tomato/onion/pepper salads, and veggie bolognese, and it's now all gone. i've minimised rice, turkey mince and meatballs, HM bean patties and pittas from the freezer too. Did a big shop yesterday to replenish the fridge and cupboards as we had no veg and were almost out of some staples, but i was more conscious than i would usually be about not buying stuff (mainly fresh veg which i often get carried away with) that are not in the meal plan for the next week.

Finally got round to some mending in the form of sewing up holes in a skirt and a top to make them wearable again, there's plenty more to do though! i'm away with work for some of next week so will take anything small enough to carry with me on the train. It seems to be where i'm best at getting things done! Made some of OH's plain tshirts more interesting while i was teaching a friend to screen print last weekend, used mostly my own designs but 'borrowed' a couple of hers too. She is setting up her own small business printing children's clothes, i'm sure she'll do well as she has a really great eye for cute designs.

Minimising - having 'new' loo and sink unit fitted today (sink unit used from ebay; loo was unused but second hand from someone who'd bought it then changed their mind and put it on preloved) so that's clearing the space they were taking up in the garage. Debating whether to tip or try and ebay the old ones - they are grey which is fashionable at the moment and in reasonable condition so someone may be able to use them, but not sure i can face the cleaning out and then them hanging around for weeks until they're sold. i know that's really lazy! Has anyone had experience of selling used bathroom furniture?

Happy MMMing everyone

northern_star – I really admire your thinking on not replacing your defunct washing machine and am glad it works for you, but I think I’d have a hissy fit if I didn’t have one!

misstara – IMHO, reading a book beats ironing hands down, anytime. Tbh, nowadays I only iron what really needs ironing; the rest gets folded and put away PDQ so the guilt doesn’t stand a chance of getting its foot in the door.

CAZBEAR – You’re right; small achievements can bring an almost disproportionate amount of joy into our lives.

The weekend passed fairly uneventfully, with just some general “pottering” including making up this week’s meal plan and an attempted mend that quickly turned into a make-do. The liquid handwash dispenser in the kitchen wasn’t pumping out any soap, so I dismantled the pump bit/gave it a thorough clean/re-assembled it and .... nowt! Well, I’ve had it a long while and it doesn’t owe me anything, so into the bin it went. I poured the soap into a rather nicely shaped empty glass bottle with a screw-top lid (I think it was a salad dressing bottle originally) and, on the plus side, I can see how much is in there.

No grocery spends this week as all meals have come from stores so minimising food stocks; I’m doing the Love Food Haste Waste campaign for Lent and can see it will probably continue way beyond that.

I had great plans for minimising “stuff” from the house this week but they went pear-shaped, thanks to my poorly back. No idea how it happened – all was fine when I went to bed Sunday but not fine when I woke on Monday. This is the fourth time it’s happened in the last two years and according to doc, it’s a non-specific back pain (in other words, they don’t know why it’s happening). Advice is to take OTC painkillers, keep moving and be patient. Now, I’m normally a very patient person but not when I’m in pain and can’t sleep!

I think I had about an hour’s sleep last night in fits and starts and gave up at 5am. The birds were singing, even an owl hooting (nothing wrong with my ears) so I got up and made a cup of tea. Then I had a brainwave that heat might help so I put a small folded towel to warm in the microwave. I’m guessing I overdid it a tad ‘cos it came out very hot and burnt, and promptly set the smoke alarm off! Anyhoo, I managed to get comfortable in the armchair and was just beginning to nod off when the Council grass-cutters came around, quickly followed by some workmen putting up scaffolding around a nearby block of flats. My eyeballs now look something akin to those you see on cartoon characters, bloodshot and crazed.

Oh well, nice easy meal tonight – salad with ??? – haven’t decided yet.

Keep well everyone and carry on the good work. Bye for now. :wave:

Eventually decided to have tuna with last night’s salad and tonight is another nice easy meal – battered cod and mushy peas (from freezer), b&b and tinned pears & ice cream if we fancy a little something to finish with.

I managed to get a better night’s sleep last night but was still up with the birds at silly o’clock this morning. I think my back must have locked pretty solid as it took me ages to get going. I know you’re supposed to keep mobile but by ‘eck, it’s hard. A quick wash (no chance of getting in bath or shower), getting dressed (undies, top, cardi and jeans) and making a cup of tea took almost an hour and even then I had to wait for DH to surface to put my socks on for me! Lors, I think there are 90-year olds out there who can move quicker than I can! I don’t really like taking pills but have had to give in; thank heavens the little blighters have kicked in now so some respite, for a little while at least.

Needless to say, I haven’t managed to do much at all today apart from a bit of light dusting and making a wholemeal loaf in the BM. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow I say.

Have a good weekend all, bye for now.:wave:

YorksLass, good luck with your back! There is something called a 'sock horse' or 'sock helper' which does not cost too much, maybe it's useful for you.

Lots of sympathy to all those suffering from back pain.

I too hate taking painkillers as I think the pain is there to stop us doing more damage. What I found helped me and unfortunately isn't a cheap option, was going to a chiropractor. I prefer the McTimoney version.

The first time I went I did wonder if I'd been fleeced - I really didn't think he'd done anything, but the next day the difference was incredible. It's a very gentle form that looks at the whole body not just the spine.

Well that's my 2-pence worth :rotfl: but I seriously hope all those in chronic pain feel better soon. xxx