Lots more Sneaky Ways to save the pennies

-taff

@Primrose Put them in the freezer already prepared and take them out when you need them.

oldhaggis

Another one here who saves Christmas paper.

My mum used to work as a hotel housekeeper when I was young and she would bring home all the (rather posh) Christmas paper that the guests had discarded. My post Christmas entertainment was to rescue as much of it as possible for re-use and then iron it. It would then be put away for the following year.
 
Money was short in those days and we re-used  and re-purposed as much as possible out of necessity. To this day, I still re-use our Christmas paper for DH and the offspring. When my kids were young I would use the smaller scraps of paper for pass the parcel at their birthday parties.

Toonie

For quite a few years I've been using brown paper to wrap presents. And as long as I'm seeing the person to give the present to it gets tied up with string or ribbon (I bought a big bundle of ribbons from a local charity shop many years ago, they were all tangled but some were several metres in length and the carrier bag full cost me £1). The shorter pieces have been used in crafting projects with children (when making a house out of an old cardboard box they make useful tabs to open and close windows and doors).

Primrose

I posted this on another thread but if you're a marmalade maker, in advance of the Seville oranges arriving in January, chop and save your surplus orange peel now and freeze it you like thick marmalade with lots of extra peel.

Lemon and grapefruit peel added to a mixture will make a lovely citrus flavoured marmalade which is a pleasant change.  Don't use lime peel though as boiling will make it as hard as a rock and could be a tooth breaker ! 

Nonnadiluca

It's a good idea to use recyclable brown paper for wrapping, but I m not sure if it can be recycled if it's got gold paint all over it. If being eco friendly is your aim, it might be worth checking.

Gem-gem

monnagran said:

I'm so pleased that I'm not the only Scrooge when it comes to wrapping paper.  My boys still remember being made to open presents VERY carefully, and me ironing this year's paper in preparation for next year's presents.

Brown paper can look very festive if you  make a star template and paint gold stars all over it.
Grandchildren are quite useful for this little job

I have ribbon ( not plastic ribbon) that is reused to brighten the parcels up. 

Gem-gem

Toonie said:

For quite a few years I've been using brown paper to wrap presents. And as long as I'm seeing the person to give the present to it gets tied up with string or ribbon (I bought a big bundle of ribbons from a local charity shop many years ago, they were all tangled but some were several metres in length and the carrier bag full cost me £1). The shorter pieces have been used in crafting projects with children (when making a house out of an old cardboard box they make useful tabs to open and close windows and doors).

I used sellotape this year - but tried to use the minimum. From next year, I have garden twine that I will use, if not using ribbon. 

Primrose

Straying a little from the topic of Saving pennies, but for anybody of an economical mind who enjoys reading and who has access to a library , I can thoroughly recommend "Nella Last's War" and "Nella Last's Peace".   She was a lady who participated for many years in the government's  Mass Observation project to get ordinary people to record the trials and tribulations of living in wartime and the post war austerity years which followed.  Her diaries were published after her death and are a fascinating read about the limitations  of living through this period of history. 

She records the frustrations of trying to live with rationing, food coupons, shortages and the general moods of the time through the eyes of a housewife who was frustrated by the mantra that women were always expected to be subservient to their menfolk, even when they were more intelligent.  Her recordings of the meals she cobbled up with the few ingredients she was able to obtain on her ration book will surely ring a bell with people on this forum ! 

moving_forward

Thank you @Primrose that book sounds right up my street. My library doesn't have it but it's not too bad at 3.49 on Kindle so have downloaded a sample to see if I want to buy it.

angela110660

Oooh Nella Last - Housewife 49 with Victoria Wood. What a beautiful programme if it gets repeated on tv. I have read the book too. Fascinating.