Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2017

Wow, Mrs MP the jeans are fantastic, love the visible mended look and they are so colourful and look very sturdy too. Very impressed!

LynP i can't believe it's been a year already! Well done to you for following your dreams and making them a reality, you're an inspiration :beer:
JackieO well done with the poppies, i bet there's a mountain of them!!

I've not posted for ages due to things being super busy at work and doing lots of extra hours, but have been reading along when i can. The busyness shows no sign of abating, but i feel i've recently been doing more productive things in my 'down time' rather than just wasting time reading rubbish online (present company excepted of course!) because my brain's too knackered to do anything else!

I have done a bit of MMM over the last few weeks - inspired by all of you on here i raided the shed for my ancient veg seeds and have been pleasantly surprised by how well they're doing - we now have carrots, courgettes, tomatoes, sprouts, and loads of salad leaves planted into pots (our garden still needs too much doing to be worth planting directly into the ground this year as we'd only end up moving them) plus strawberries and some herbs still going well from last year. Silva - how satisfying it must be to survey your garden kingdom and be proud of what your hard work has accomplished! I bet your garden is lovely For me i think that state is a long way off but it is progressing (very slowly) and i live in hope i'll get there one day!

Got a big bag of stuff to go to the CS which i'll drop off on Wednesday along with some other errands. Also slowly working my way through sorting out various bags of random crafting stuff in the odd 10 mins here and there between work, and have sorted my sewing and crochet patterns into folders which was very satisfying and i have been meaning to do for years (folders and file dividers donated by my dad when he retired earlier this year and cleared out his home office). Sorted a pile of OH's old clothes i had been planning to upcycle, but many are in good enough condition to go on fleabay. I've discovered men's clothes seem to do very well and almost always sell first time, and it's unlikely i'd have time to sew anything with then anytime soon. Have kept the things i have plans/patterns in mind for including some new summery tops for myself from old shirts of his, and a couple of gifts, plus damaged/stained things i can't really sell but can be made into shopping bags/cut up for patchwork.

I've had a lovely trip to Bath and Bristol this weekend just gone, for a friend's party and to catch up with lots of other old friends in the area, all in as OS a way as possible. I went both ways by coach (less than half the price of a train journey and barely longer) and spent the journey crocheting gifts - on the way there finishing a huge blanket as a housewarming gift for my recently-moved Bristol friends, and way back starting another blanket as a christmas gift. I could probably drive in less time and for roughly the same cost, but i just love traveling by public transport - being able to enjoy the scenery, relax and of course crochet! My other friend loved his birthday gift - a home made brightly-coloured bow tie. He and his wife go to a lot of festivals and love dressing up so i know it will be well used! I stayed with some other lovely friends who i rarely see and they kindly drove me back to the bus station on my last day. Other than that i did a lot of walking to and from places so was very grateful for the nice weather.

Hope you all have a lovely week, i'll probably disappear again for a while but will enjoy reading along and keeping up with all your MMM adventures xx

Hi, I'm Tree
I'm hoping that joining this thread will help me clear out the clutter in my house. My other half hoards loads of stuff although he is making more of an effort to keep it contained. But since my two kids moved out three years ago their rooms have become storage for vast amounts of junk.

I'm trying to get rid of some of it on "a well known auction site" but a lot of it hasn't sold! So when the auctions are finished I need to take it to the chazzer rather than leaving it to gather more dust!!

I've a week off work and I'm not going away so I plan to list some more stuff for sale and get Himself to make some decisions about his stuff!

I've been following this thread for a while and have been inspired by how well you all seem to be doing :T I'm hoping this will help to focus my mind on decluttering.

T

I am trying to minimise both DH & I, and also the freezer, so had 2 ys M&S curries with naans last night, Peking duck wraps for lunch and king prawn stir fry for tea, all mainly from the freezer. I also want to make some caramelised onions to use some of the frozen stash, and something with filo pastry - any ideas?

I am currently patching my allotment jeans as the inner thighs are held together by Lycra ...soon they will have a patch on each leg (from a pair of CS toddler jeans, 49p) sewn on and then blanket stitched around in bright yellow embroidery silk

Not done much other mending, but when I've finished my needlework I will be cleaning out the fridge& clearing the bunged drain - does that count?

Hiya all

Welcome tree! Its a very friendly and supportive community!:A
villagelife - wow you have had a turn out! I too got rid of old CDs a while ago. The trouble is i keep on seeing albums in charity shops which I remember from years ago and end up buying them in a fit of nostalgia.

My other expenditure was at the Royal Cornwall Show. (Boasting mode engaged) My friend's partner (a farmer) got us free tickets and because his daughter was working there she kindly drove us there in return for staying at my friend's house. She parks nearby because she is working with the sheep so we didnt get too wet . then we got free coffee and biscuits and a free lunch (wonderful buffet). As John says - its not free it comes out of the profits they make from him and other farmers. :rotfl: but it feels it at the time! I stayed within budget with 50p left over!! Wow! But I bought some lovely cordials for DS1 and DIL as they are not drinking alcohol anymore; some clog type things to pop out into the garden with and some unusual spices (Ras el Hanut is one which I have always wanted to try!). Also found the Association of Cornish brewers/CAMRA beer tent - I only had two pints which was very restrained of me!!!

However, back to frugalling now - no adventures anticipated until October so it is time to GET RID OF STUFF. Started today and took a steering wheel and foot pedals for an X box 360 to a chap in Redruth. Although his shop was open he was away :eek: and we had paid 4.70 to park (yes it does cost that much!) still went to the Nationwide (its one of the nearest!) and Wilco (they sell cheap versions of Bonios for the dogs that have very similar nutrition on them). Hopefully the chap will get back to me and offer a reasonable price for it/them! (Checked em out on e of bay first!)

So I begin the minimise but make monies from it!! campaign!

Wish me luck!

Make do - slept on my friend's floor as she has given away her single bed and her partner's daughter had the other one - friend most worried but I sleep like a log on floors - must be the 40+ years of yoga Also v late home today so had frozen pizza from Lidil's rather than a take away - which saved a lot of money!!

Mend - my car got scrapped (not due to me!) so I have managed, between rainshowers to rub down the scrape and will paint it if the weather is better tomorrow!
Frugal onward folk!

JackieO wrote: »

Yay I have finished the poppies and sewn all the buttons in place 100 i

JackieO xxx

Where did you get the pattern please?

May i join this thread please as i am a great fan. Today i covered my larder selves with the old kitchen table oil cloth, as bought a new one. Looks smart if i say so myself, still plenty left to make a cushion to knee on in the garden. The new oil cloth table cover i cut in half as a spare, so 2 table clothes for the price of 1. Getting a real penny saver in my retirement.