santas Challenge 2016... Gifts, chat, challenges

Hi all

I've decided to do an alternative to the penny challenge - 0.50p daily (backdated to 1st January), it's easier to remember and I could do more than one jar for different things if I fancy.

I'm always collecting £2 coins for my day trips out on the bus and have bags of spare change for craft club fees and other things which I expect I'll be digging into to make the consistent 0.50p.

Yes, the decorations can seem to take a really long time to put away. I've got the pleasure of that starting this evening after I finish watching Holby.

I didn't make the first session of the club today, think I overdid the excercises last night (trying to get back into my daily yoga after about a 4 year gap) so I had aches and pains and bad headache.

It's a weird time of year isn't it, straight after Christmas and NYE. What are you all doing this week?

Lurked around a little last year but would love to join properly this year. After the fiasco that was last Christmas (disorganised, lost presents I'd bought, house a tip) I need all the help I can get.

Hope I'm not being too presumptuous if I make a start wit mini santa challenge

Smoke alarms
Fortunately ours are hooked up to the main electrics following some renovation works so just need a quick hoover which I will do at the weekend

Back up documents
We don't store anything on our laptop, all documents are stored on an external hard drive or on dropbox.

Phone
I got a new phone last year and thought I had all my numbers etc backed up (I didn't ) so once I got back all the ones I needed I made sure I backed them all up to my google account

Existing storage
I'm in the process KonMari'ing the entire house and will be reviewing these once I reach that category

Wedding certs / ins documents etc
Great idea, I will add this to my task for January. Funnily enough my eldest daughter keeps asking for copies of her birth certificates, passport etc for her uni applications so I can just let her have copies of the files and she can print them at college (thus saving me ink )

Passwords / pin numbers
I'm terrible for using the same password for almost all my online accounts (financial ones excluded) so may make a few changes as and when I log in

Hello, hello.

Told myself that once we got past the shortest day the worst was over! Ever since then the days have been relatively dull and getting dark before 4pm- I hate it! As I write this I have just noticed there is a teeny bit of blue sky- wow!! Oh and a mozzie thing sitting on the window (outside!) just waiting to munch me. So a longer daylight day today.
Luckily we haven't had any flooding.
Just before Christmas I heard that Shyla hound's previous owner in Kendal got flooded (the reservoir overflowed so they got little warning) and the kennels were swept away- luckily they had taken the dogs out.

I heard that my £1 challenge present was voted the best by the recipient! my friend was miffed that mine was the best!! but she is still speaking to me.The adults have decided they will all try £1 challenge next year- but not for the children.

Today I went into the village post office to discover all the duvets there have sold! That's probably 6 (I can't remember- early December seems a lifetime ago!) Luckily I had taken 2 with me, but there is only one more made so yet again, no guesses for what I shall be doing shortly. Dogs for Good had over £400 from me in 2015 from the bedding sales.

The shopping bags were very gratefully received and I know some have been pressed into service. I am just thinking I may make a few for the charity& sell them for the same price as the duvets. Yes, talking myself into yet more sewing!!

Other than that I have been swimming (3 times whilst away) and x 2 this week. Plus I have been to pilates x2. I've even signed up to a 4th pilates class this week! See ,that's one good thing that comes from being a skinflint: (70% in the quiz last week!!) - I want my money's worth. If I swim the next 2 days plus the classes it would have cost £31 if I had had to pay at the desk rather than paying the year up front. I think that's what I will do: tot up the week's spend and deduct from the total outlay- that will be really encouraging, and see how much exercise I can get for free as the year progresses!!
Yesterday the instructor let me try using a gym ball instead of the chair and I went to Aldi and bought one for £4.99! The ones shown in Prima from John Lewis are £19.99! heaven knows where I am going to keep it once it is inflated

Finally have replaced the bulb in the fridge- it throws a whole new light on things especially on some black mould that was lurking on the top shelf way above my reach.

I am maybe about to change power suppliers- tariff ends mid Feb. I noticed the power company had bumped up my projected consumption of elecricity by 50%! Last night when I phoned them and was asked to take a reading ... x 2..,. turns out the meter reader made it higher than that end of November!

So engrossed in this I have just burnt the saucepan of potatoes- it's black!! Now to google cleaning a burnt enamel pan!!

MrsCD wrote: »

Sprinkle burnt pan with bicarb cover with water and simmer for 10 mins then leave overnight. Repeat if necessary until pan is clean.

Thanks- I googled our friend and he/she came up with boiling a small amount of bio liquid wash- which pretty much did the trick. There's no bicarb in the house but I did wonder if washing soda would have worked. Anyhow it is done- rather greyish (was white!) enamel but since the pan is 40+ years old it probably doesn't owe me anything!!!