2014 Frugal Living Challenge 10 December 2013 at 12:13PM edited 19 September 2014 at 10:50AM in Debt-free Wannabe Challenges 4.3K replies 391.6K views

Boomdocker

Buffythedebtslayer wrote: »

thanks


I don't really cook so will probably ask a lot of silly questions

Hey no worries, not a silly question at all

teabody

Hiya, I have an under stairs cupboard which opens into the kitchen like a pantry however since i have lived here the tumble dryer has lived in there, but have been thinking about making it a proper pantry as storage is tight and i invested in an over bath airer to save on electric as the tumble dryer is a guzzler!!! I too want to bulk buy and stock up on dry foods....something one of my aunties used to do....she was quite thrifty! I wish she was here to teach me a thing or two...

alja

A pantry sounds like a good idea

Once Christmas is over I shall be cutting up the Christmas cards I have received to reuse as gift tags for next year and will check to see if I need any cards or gift wrap from the sales. None of which I think I will need to buy thankfully!

I think I will create a spreadsheet for my expected expenses for the year (e.g. birthdays, holidays, mothers day, fathers day) and start planning what I need to buy for each or checking to see what I already have to give as presents. I know I already have some things.

I also have b*ots points, s*perdrug points, vouchers from doing surveys etc. which I will put towards necessities and presents throughout the year too. Determined to not be such a fool this year and not fall into the trap of buying too many little bits that I just don't need! Bring on 2014

Goldiegirl

A pantry / stock cupboard is on my to do list for next year - I'll be starting in January - it'll mainly be the cupboard under the stairs and a couple of kitchen cupboards (going to be moving things around a bit, to make room).

I have visions of neatly stacked shelves with tins, jars and packets, not to mention bulk bought loo rolls!

thepennyfarthings

I have a pantry:D. When we bought our current home the room next to the kitchen was a study. As much as I love the thought of shutting myself away in a study for hours on end it isn't going to happen with two small children! It is great for storing bulk buys and larger items of kitchen equipment.
We have turned our box room into a reading room, much more family friendly:j
tpf

Goldiegirl

alja wrote: »

A pantry sounds like a good idea

Once Christmas is over I shall be cutting up the Christmas cards I have received to reuse as gift tags for next year and will check to see if I need any cards or gift wrap from the sales. None of which I think I will need to buy thankfully!

I think I will create a spreadsheet for my expected expenses for the year (e.g. birthdays, holidays, mothers day, fathers day) and start planning what I need to buy for each or checking to see what I already have to give as presents. I know I already have some things.

I also have b*ots points, s*perdrug points, vouchers from doing surveys etc. which I will put towards necessities and presents throughout the year too. Determined to not be such a fool this year and not fall into the trap of buying too many little bits that I just don't need! Bring on 2014

Fab idea regarding recycling the Christmas cards. You've taken me back more than 40 years. As a kid I always used to cut the old cards up, with my mum's pinking shears, for the next years gift tags. We've recently bought some tags, £1.95 for 50. We only give a couple of presents to each other, and to 2 friends, so the tags should last years!

I'm a big fan of points and vouchers. Our Nectar and M&S points have paid for the additional food goodies for Christmas.

armchairexpert

Oh, I'd like to join this one too. I've had an offer accepted on my dream house, but when I say dream house; it's in an astounding location, and the garden is huge, but the house itself is very shabby and dated - old carpets, rust old curtain rods, that sort of thing. Eventually it's going to need a huge architectural renovation, but that's 10 years down the track. Right now, I just need the frugal inspiration to be able to pay down the mortgage and have a comfortable cushion of money in there while scraping up enough pennies to do a bit of painting and decorating along the way.

I'm in Australia, though, so you will all have to promise not to faint with shock at my prices. It's not as simple as a straight currency conversion: my 10 year old Peugeot, with 150,000 km on the clock, cost me $11K, for example. The new mortgage is going to be $250,000, taking into account all purchasing costs, and that's the difference between the old and the new house, not the price of the house. Etc.

I also partly support my mother in a rental property, and that's a fixed expense.

I'll have a look at the other threads and come back with a budget in due course, but it's not going to come in under $50K!

COOLTRIKERCHICK

I totally agree with having a pantry if poss, we will be using one of the rooms next to the kitchen in our smallholding, will be racking it out with garage shelving...


as I am a short !!!!!... I cant reach the top shelves in the wall cupboards, so I tend to plonk things in there, and then once they get pushed to the back I cant see them...


Being organised with your cupboards/pantry etc def saves you money. It also gives you peace of mind knowing what you have in, especially in case of an emergency bad weather etc...


Even though I am frugal in general, I really do need to be 'SUPER FRUGAL' in the new year...and also try and declutter an sell our unwanted crap...we are still debating on weather to invest in a poly tunnel

sweetpea26

Morning all

I agree comletely its great to have a pantry/larder. I have my freezer in there plus its all shelved for pots , electric items, dishes, dried foods cans bottles.

I keep my printer and have a space to hold my ladder which enables me to access the high shelves. On the top shelf I store empty jam jars and a stock of cleaning products if they are on special offer. Also all my cookery books too.

The lowest shelf has enough space beneath it for bottles of water etc. I also keep bits and bobs for lighting my fire. So I know if I didn't have this I would be even more disorganised than I already am.

I am using my cut up Christmas card gift tags this year. They are all different sizes and they look so lovely.

Got 2 bags of chopped carrots and parsnips for 13p each. Made a soup adding onions, mustard seeds and chilli .... I have bagged it up and now have 8 lunches in the freezer. Hubby didn't particularly like it and son does not eat chilli. So its all for me

All the best to everyone. Its lovely to have like minded people to share this thread with.

allie23

I love the idea of having a pantry again. I used to have one in my cupboard under the stairs but since I got a combi boiler put in there and put a chest freezer in there its not used as a pantry any more. I think I will look into getting some shelves put in to better use the space next to the boiler in the NY.

I started re-using christmas cards as gift tags several years ago and now look at any cards that come in with an eye to this. The fronts of the really small ones are great to use as gift tags but I also get the pinking shears out and use the bigger ones.