One frugal year = freedom and choices

lobbyludd

lobbyludd wrote: »

To do this evening

finish making chicken/celeriac soup. yum. in progress

find something to feed the kids with done

print off a couple of restaurant vouchers, am taking a friend out for dinner as a thank you next week, but it has to be cheap!

My kitchen patio door curtain is cut to size and pinned (material, lining plus interlining) and just need three straight rows of easy-peasy machine sewing. I WILL do that tonight. The curtain pole is hung, I have enough buckram left to do the pinch pleats and have the hooks so really I just need to blooming well do it. seams sewn, pleats measured out, have to find the right colour thread and iron tomorrow then can finish

I had wanted to apply some hand embroidery to it, but frankly I can get round to that (or more likely not:p) whenever, so for the moment it can go up plain and keep the heat in.

and I WILL NOT watch any more of the killing dvds that a colleague lent me, I have been late to bed and grumpy in the mornings every day this week, after "just watching the next episode" NOT watched - hence being able to get on with other stuff:j

found 25 books that zapper will accept (pending condition) for 17.00 - will check they are OK and submit on saturday, but they are all stored in a box ready to do this.

sb done, and have recieved a flyer for a tesco clubcard BT credit card, I have filed for considering next month.

finished dd's hot water bottle cover, so all three are done now, heating off and kids tucked up cuddling them. next knitting project is to create a cosy for the coffee pot as it plummets in temperature after the first cup and I have keep microwaving the contents.

lobbyludd

this weekend I will.

GIVE UP SMOKING AGAIN.

get bits and bobs froms sainb*ggers using nectar points (or cost out spending 40 to get the 12p off petrol voucher then fill up car for funeral travelling and juggle budgets around accordingly) DONE - car filled.
submit zapper books,
find and wash nappies DONE and upload to UNC.
finish and hang kitchen curtains and cut out blind to match
get to cash out at swagbucks - 180 to go should be easy peasy. DONE

check bank accounts, DONE

ring virgin to complain that on instructing them to CLOSE my account they have instead sent me a new credit card.

clean house for ds's friend visit on sunday.DONE

Make fairy cakes, welsh cakes and rice crispy cakes with the kids and home-made pizza on saturday. stretch them into the week as treats and for lunch-boxes.

look into matched betting for feb payday.

find a box to put random things earmarked for ebay into.

start knitting coffee pot cosy. DONE

lobbyludd

it's hailing! cold snap predicted so definitely going to get the curtains and blinds sorted out this weekend!

have also decided to root around in the fabric stash and list those things I don't like on ebay. Or at least store them in a box for consideration....

hm soup for lunch, which was lovely.

lobbyludd

good news: have redeemed my first swag bucks amazon voucher, having done some surveys (which weren't boring for a change!).
have found 12 cloth nappies, only 4 wraps for some reason, and only half of them have inserts, I knew I'd used sonme as dusters (LOL) but not 6, oh well, we'll see if someone wants them. They are washed and just need dd's name tags unpicking from them before loading up.

less good - life-throwing curve balls - or more accurately dd acidentally throwing the wii remote at the 3 month old LCD TV and ruining 1/3 to 1/2 of the screen (it pulsates between the 2 states).

so I now have to find enough EXTRA money to get a new one. I am not going to put a new on on a credit card, I'll just have to take it as a challenge to really focus on decluttering, tomorrow is going to be a 99p ebay day. I wonder if there is a market for b*ggered LCD TV's?

wireless router has arrived, and I cannot for the life of me get it to connect no matter how many times I follow the set-up instructions and wizard: this may end up being ebayed as well if i can't crack it soon!

lobbyludd

£23 of books logged into the zapper tool now. not feeling so great about this tbh. 1) it feels a bit rubbish to be selling my books towards getting a new TV. but we only have one in the house, and I watch it as much as anyone else so there we go, some of them were in the charity box ayway so I've no qualms about those, but most of the ones they'll accept are the more interesting ones (although I'm not even trying my favorites), and although I won't get round to reading them again (here's the embarrassing bit:o): 2) I'm left with a lot bigger ratio of "trash" to "literature" and I feel like when people come round they'll think that's predominantly where my tastes lie: what a snob!

I've never really thought I was a "keeping up appearances" type re house-style, clothes, cars, gadgets, technology etc, but it's not so nice to realise that I am a snob, and a fraudulant one at that because clearly I have read and enjoyed the Ian Rankins and Anne Rices et al otherwise I wouldn't have so many of them: I just have to get over myself really, not using the chance to get a little more out of debt just so that people get the "right" message from my bookshelves is bloody ridiculous, especially given the number of visitors I have - who am I trying to impress?!. ho hum.

more space in the box, so am going to see if I can fill it before submitting, still 2 more book-shelves to go through.

found 3 more cloth nappy snap in inserts, so I only used a max of 3 for dusters!

son delivered to friends house for afternoon so cake making with dd this pm.

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi LL, I am going to look into this book selling too - let me know how straightforward it is will you?

On the bookshelf front, it sounds like you maybe wrestling with the letting things go aspect, rather than perhaps the authors/genres etc. I am sure most people who pop round don't even think to look at your bookshelves.

By the way, how's the stopping smoking going?

Good luck with your week, Tilly x

lobbyludd

hi tilly,
not smoking: not going well. have to have at it again tomorrow.
Books: I've got over it! you're right, who cares LOL I'm fine now they are all in the box for selling, think I've got 50ish books which are priced at around £30 for the lot, assuming they accept everything, and I had to go through a lot of ones they wouldn't accept, so there were plies of books near the computer for most of the weekend, but you can do it in dribs and drabs after you've registered so that's easy.

I'll update you on the rest of the process, slightly disapointed that I don't seem to have liberated ANY space on the bookshelves! the remaining books must have fattened up to fill the space LOL

and bless ds he came down with some harry potters to sell to put towards a new TV (I thanked him but declined)

londoner01

lobbyludd wrote: »

and bless ds he came down with some harry potters to sell to put towards a new TV (I thanked him but declined)

that's so sweet! why don't you propose that he thinks about toys he may no longer want, and puts them in a box to hide in the loft, and then if six months down the line he doesn't miss them you will sell them and use the money for an extra treat. i think something like that would have really helped me as a child, to learn not to develop immense levels of attachment to the silliest things. (and i'm not a person that likes owning, I buy little, I just get so sentimental about a post-it or pieces of clay friends playfully shaped into a braid at a party)

anyway just wanted to tell you how inspiring you are, i'm luck not to have debt to struggle with but i could really do with your get up and go at the moment

stick to the no cigarettes, you can do it! next time, look at them in the same way you did with all that stuff in boots.

brizzledfw

Hi LL

Have just stumbled on your diary and have subscribed...you're doing fantastically..the TV saga though is a right pain. 3 Christmases ago ( and still have the broken lampshade in the front room) an over enthusiastic lob from my BIL who was playing my OH at wii tennis shattered a part of the glass lampshade :rotfl: it was a hoot..but one day..yeah.. one day we will get around to replacing it!

The OH and CM sounds stressful...hope that evens out and he gets less angry as time goes on. I used washables too..luckily after about going around 4 children ( only 2 of which were mine!) my sister offered me cash for them..a result for me and the environment!! Having said that if the listing doesn't work I would try your local GP surgery..always lots of baby stuff there. Or Gumtree. Best of luck with the decluttering..! I am still trying..yes it's very trying :rotfl:

Brizzle x

mum2one

Hi

Hope you don't mind a hanger on, your doing brilliantly, I'm a single mum, my DD is 9, but as for child maintance I'll have more chance getting to a size 8 overnight, (I'm a plus size lady!!).

You've got some brilliant sales going, I don't know if its any help, but when I sold DDs stairgates, bedside thingie, etc, I put them in our local free adds paper, generally they went the 1st week, sometimes had to put them in twice, just if you sold them at a carboot your get offered a £1, and there be offended by you refusing it.

Good luck with the decluttering!! We're slowly working through the house, delcuttered the airing cupboard, cleared it by half, the local dogs trust had old blankets and towels, the sewing club at school had the duvets, and old curtains, and all the knitting wool, (4 x 400g aran, 6 x 400g cerise dk, (only pd £1.99 ball), plus about 20 other balls of wool, so set myself a challenge no more wool till knit them up.

I hold my hat off to u putting the Boots mascara etc back, that is my downfall, esp when theres a free gift, and the £5 voucher. But what I did this time (v proud!!), brought some accessories like gloves, eye lash curlers, sponges, and doing a little pamper hamper for a friendsd bday. All helps.

Wish my debt free date was nearer.... xx