Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2017

silvasava · 10 March 2017 at 3:38PM

Will be minimising my oven in the next week or so - DH said not to use the grill as its starting to flare and the deflector plate is breaking down. Its well over 20 years old & given good service & I've had a replacement in the garage for three years so very happy to be maximising the space!
Lunch today was soup from the freezer and I used up the last of the 'cretins' as we call them.
Put some more stuff on fleabay so hopefully some minimising there too
Still not done any mending

YorksLass · 10 March 2017 at 8:19PM

(((Hugs))) to the poorlies, those of you having a hard time and anyone else who wants/needs them. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make you all better.

Still minimising food stocks chez nous, so much so that I didn’t do my usual weekly grocery shopping today. There was nothing we needed and tbh I can’t see me buying much for the rest of the month either.

Wed dinner was salad, DH had pilchards on his and I had mackerel.

Thurs we had chicken & veg pie with mash and cauliflower.

Tonight is fish shop battered fish (our Fri treat) with hm mushy peas.

Tomorrow will be beef curry (the last of the joint from the weekend) and rice. That will also use up the last of a bag of sultanas and an eating apple.

I have chicken thighs defrosting now and tomorrow will cook them in the sc with an assortment of veg for Sun dinner; there will be enough for three meals in total, so – thighs out of freezer, two hm ready meals going back in. (And yes, Jackie, I will be using a packet of casserole mix for this!)

Used up one of two bananas this morning with cereal for breakfast (I only ever buy two at a time as DH doesn’t like them and I prefer them before they get too ripe); I think the other one will be turned into ice cream tomorrow.

This morning DH toddled off to the GPs for his annual MOT; all well depending on results of blood test that he has to have every year to control his gout. He suffered with it for years before he finally gave in to see the GP about it (why are men so stubborn?) so now it’s just one pill a day.

While he was out, I vacuumed downstairs (much quicker when he’s not under foot

), put two sofa throws in the wm (line dried as weather was good) and then emptied and cleaned out the vc including washing the filter that’s now drying on the kitchen window sill. So, whilst not technically a mend, it’s maintenance so I’m counting it anyway.

DS called in the other night on his way home from work so I was able to pass on the large casserole dishes that I’m parting with, so another minimise.

Bye for now, have a good weekend. :wave:

iamsalt · 11 March 2017 at 8:19AM

Good morning.
I was very pleased yesterday to mend the car seat, the fabric had worn through on the edge and the sponge was starting to wear away. I bought an elbow patch and sewed that over and around the hole so it looks much better. This was really disappointing to have to do as the car is only 4 years old. I am also going to have a try at fixing a mini moulinex coffee grinder.

Minimised - one bag to a charity shop, a bookcase that finally gave up in relief as I took its heavy load of books off, it went to the wood part of the recycling centre. I need to continue the process of minimising as we should be moving before the summer.

Made do - I am sowing lots of the old seeds I have bought over the years-it's also minimising I suppose. The house we are moving to is run down and I thought it would be nice to have some bright flowering plants in pots and to pop in the ground as soon as we move there. It will I hope save me money as I won't want to buy bedding plants which are already grown.
S x

villagelife · 11 March 2017 at 9:34AM

Reading this thread but not posting very often.

Minimizing slowly the contents of the house. I'm making an effort to her rid of something every day and managing mostly. DS1 has taken a few things that he needed. A couple of things have gone on ebay and some only fit for the bin!
I have mended another couple of jumpers for DH. Not sure what he does to them.
The bathroom basin is now draining properly after I cleaned it and also 'mended' the outside tap that was dripping by turning off the water to it.

I have made do with food in the fridge and freezer. The eggs from the chickens do come in very useful at times as a frittata helps with using up small amounts of past their best veg.

[Deleted User] · 11 March 2017 at 1:50PM

minimal shopping bought this morning only spent £3.78 on veg, had a couple of slices of cake and a large cheese scone given to me as I was leaving my local coffee morning (it was going to be binned ):):)part of it will be making do at lunchtime along with some leek and tattie soup thats cooking at the moment and the other slice of cake will do tomorrow morning for my elevenses

No mending ,but a bit of ironing to do later then feet up and relax with some knitting

:):)

Have a great day chums its beautiful and sunny here in north Kent

JackieO xx

osbornbiscuit · 11 March 2017 at 5:39PM

Have been reading through everyones posts and realised it is a while since I posted. Unfortunately 'Doris' managed to take one of my fences as she flew through. Hoped it could come under mend but no such luck. Minimised the rotten wood and soon to minimise my back account. Luckily my neighbour and I are good friends so we are making do with a piece of chicken wire stretched across the gap to stop my yorkie going to say hello to her and leaving little presents on the lawn.
Have been pottering about in the garden minimising the weeds, leaves and the ivy that is dragging one of my fences down. Although it is on council land they say they don't have the time or labour to clear from behind the fence. Any ideas for permanently removing ivy?
Minimised some stuff in the loft. Sold my collection of Victorian photographs to a fellow collector. I realised that although I loved them but they have sat in the loft for at least 8 years and my kids wouldn't have what to do with them when I go and to be able to sell them on to some I know will love as much as I did meant a lot. Just need to sort out the other three large boxes of 'junk'
Solved the problem of not knowing what was in the food cupboards. Emptied them and wrote down what was in and the use by date and stuck the list on the inside of the door.
Have been making do with what is in the freezer which has made for some interesting meals but still saving me money.
Love and hugs to those who need them. Positive thoughts that spring is on the way and better days ahead.

YorksLass · 11 March 2017 at 6:49PM

I thought it would be nice to have some bright flowering plants in pots and to pop in the ground as soon as we move there.
Originally posted by iamsalt

Growing seeds instead of buying bedding plants definitely saves money. Even if they’re old seeds and only half of them grow, you’ve nothing to lose by trying, have you?

Some bright flowers are sure to cheer up your new home.

Any ideas for permanently removing ivy?
Originally posted by osbornbiscuit

Oooo, that could be a toughie. If you cut the stems near to the ground, the bits above ground will eventually wither and die so you can easily pull it off the fence without causing damage. But of course then you’re left with the problem of the pesky roots.

The organic (and hard) way is to dig them out – and even then, if you don’t get all the roots out they will grow back. If you don’t fancy that, then you may need a stump and root killer containing glyphosate. I’ve also heard that white vinegar or boiling water might work but I can’t vouch for them. Good luck!

Athome1 · 11 March 2017 at 9:12PM

I killed a huge ivy plant by pour 'path clear weedkiller' right onto the soil where the stem of the ivy grew. It died very quickly and never came back I'm pleased to say. But I guess you can only do this if there are no other plants close by.

silvasava · 12 March 2017 at 11:35AM

I cleared Ivy from my Mum's fence by spraying it with glyphosphate on her side - it took a couple of sprays but worked. I'm not a fan of using chemicals but sometimes needs must - especially when it's potentially doing damage.

northern_star · 12 March 2017 at 11:46AM

It's been a while since I posted as a bout of flu has kept me under the weather :sad:
We've made one big change which probably counts as 'make do' & 'minimise' together. Our washing machine broke beyond economic repair and we've decided not to replace it. With only two of us at home now, we don't generate that much washing anymore, so we've opted for hand washing smalls (we have a spin dryer which gets lots of water out and means they dry overnight on the clothes horse) and taking larger items to the launderette. It's proving cost effective and efficient. We scrapped the old machine and have used the space for our under counter fridge, giving us more room in our small kitchen.

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2017

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