2014 Frugal Living Challenge

Mrs_Cheshire

Thank you ladies for your replies. Most of the time I let things mount up and then it seems to much of a job. Tried to sort the kids toys up but wasn't getting very far as the kids kept taking things and moving them, ended up putting it all into 2 black bags and I'll have to go back another day and sort it all.
Be glad when it's bedtime today, the boys have been particularly wound up today, probably due to the fact we couldn't go out as the weather's not good here.
Our budgets run every 4 weeks for food, so will be able to roughly work out how much I've spent as the budget starts again on tuesday!

icontinuetodream

Mrs_Cheshire wrote: »

I'm still here plodding away. Need to develop more of a routine for household chores. Does anyone have any good tips for getting everything done?

I have two separate routines depending on whether its a work day or not.....here are the basics!!

Work days....

1) I put my clothes washing in either last thing at night or first thing in the morning - now have a washing machine that does an extremely quick 'quick wash' so mornings are now my favourite!! Water the greenhouse.

2)Walk the dogs while it's washing...come back, put on kettle and hang out to dry or stick in tumble dryer while kettle boiling

3)Feed dogs, make coffee, take coffee upstairs and start shower running (its a tap feed over the bath)

4)While shower is getting to temperature, clean teeth, wipe over sink and toilet

5) Have shower, drink coffee then spray and wipe bath while towels absorb some fluid from hair!!

6) Get dressed, sort self out and have breakfast, empty dishwasher and start to refill with brekkie stuff

7) Go to work

8) Come back from work, put dinner on and walk the dogs

9) Feed dogs, serve dinner, refill dishwasher and put on, wash up by hand those things that don't go in dishwasher, use washing up water to wipe down surfaces in kitchen, front room, utility room. Hoover and mop floors downstairs

10) Prepare dinner stuff for next day plus lunches

11) Chill out!! Take laundry upstairs, put away while shower getting to temperature and go to bed

Non work days, I hoover and wipe down surfaces upstairs and mop bathroom floors, clean windows, change bedding, mow lawns, do garden etc. in addition to usual routines.....really doesn't take as long as it sounds, nothing is more than a ten minute job as it is done pretty much every day....

Every week I have a day where I will do one room from top to bottom - literally!! I sweep the ceilings and walls, clean light fittings, pull out furniture and clean underneath, wash curtains, skirting boards etc....I rotate it so that every room is cleaned thoroughly every month - it may sound like a lot of work but it really is only maintenance so doesn't seem too onerous once you get into it!!;)

Incidentally....I don't do ironing...it is the spawn of satan and therefore avoided at all costs!!!! :rotfl:

HTH!!:D

abby1234519

I'm guilty of never cleaning. There are parts of this house that I haven't cleaned in the whole year we have lived here. My other half doesn't help, or when I ask him to clean on his day off he does a shoddy job. Then at the weekends he works and I have our 2 year old so I find it hard to clean and amuse the child

Just_be_2

Treated my little girl to a milkshake today, it was 99p and in a cafe with a free soft play area which she thoroughly enjoyed so it was a very low spend day compared to if we had driven to a purpose built soft play area (as the weather was awful!). As she is now asleep and other half isn't here tonight I'm having to really resist the temptation of a takeaway! I think I shall watch some video on neectar adpoiints instead!

MadamMim2013

Mrs_Cheshire wrote: »

I'm still here plodding away. Need to develop more of a routine for household chores. Does anyone have any good tips for getting everything done?

Hiya, take a peek at Weekly Flylady Thread (sorry can't post a link for some reason, to find it search weekly Flylady Thread 31st March) that's the most recent. I've found it really helpful, especially when my enthusiasm is lacking!

DawnW

Well, I have spent most of the day buying bits for my little business at auction. May have bought too many :eek:

Still, I won't need any more for a month or two.

Other than that, I have:

Eggs for breakfast to use some of the mountain :rotfl:

Made soup for lunch using some bacon bits, a tin of tomatoes, some lentils and pearl barley and some bendy veg

Made smoked trout pate with the rest of the trout, and we had that for supper with bread and butter.

Not done much else - bit of clearing up... and my March spending totals - £1831.49, not including business spends, which are recorded elsewhere for HMRC :eek:

Where did that all go? Must do better I might have double counted a bit though as I relied on adding up figures from my online banking, credit card statement etc. Must have another look!

EDIT - I did double count - I added the payment made to my credit card plus the actual purchases on the card - it that makes sense. Anyway, the result was that the things I bought using the cc were counted twice, so £1491.88, which is bad enough though :eek: This is probably still an overestimate, but better that way than being in denial!

Just had another look - this actually includes the £500 bill for the new kitchen roof! So not so bad after all - phew!

lynnejk

Mrs_Cheshire wrote: »

I'm still here plodding away. Need to develop more of a routine for household chores. Does anyone have any good tips for getting everything done?

Don't know if this will help you but I've just joined and it definitely seems pretty organised. Weekly Flylady Thread 31st March . Don't know how you post a direct link but sure you will be able to find. They start a new thread every week so just put in the relevant date when you go to look.

ALJA wrote: »

Quite pleased with my lot just wish the odd thing was a little cheaper!

QUOTE]
Just wondering if you ever think to look in charity shops. Depends where you live but if you go to a 'well-heeled' area you can often get something quality for the same price as new in the stores.


Had a good YS shopping day yesterday so spent the day batch cooking to freeze away. Reckon I have about 30 HM meals for just over £40 :money:


Hope you all having a great week-end
Lx

his_missus

Hi all!

Back from holiday and ready to get back into frugaldom. Sorted the freezer yesterday afternoon and reorganissed the compartments. No need to buy ANY food for at least 10 days.

Busy making cards with the quilling stuff I inherited from dad, it's just so time consuming...or I'm jut really slow at it. Making bessie's birthday card today.

mrsinvisible

Happy Sunday, Frugalilies, and a whole new tax year opens its jaws.
NSD yesterday, spent it sweating over a hot sewing machine, I am making loose covers for the sofas in the conservatory. Fabric was only 50p metre in a Pl*mbs online sale 2-3 years ago. so covers for £20 home made or nearly £850 made by them.
Also altered a dress for my friend who has lost weight and can't afford to renew her wardrobe.
Dinner was LO HM carrot and coriander soup and tea was LO HM spicy tatie pot.
Today I will roast a YS turkey breast joint, use the liquor for stock and the left overs will make a pie and a curry.
This rain looks like it is here forever, so gardening will be restricted to greenhouse. Off I shuffle to build up the caffeine reserves, xxx

Shortie

Morning all xx

Today was a very spendy day but in a nice way and it was a fab day. Spent money on petrol to go and see a car, have put a deposit on it yay. There are a few bits that need doing on it which thr chap will do (there was an option for me to take as is and it would be cheaper bit I know he'll do a faaar better job than me!)

We then had friends over in the evening and as we'd been out all day we got in a cheeky take out

So today I'm hoping to get out in the garden and deweed either the front garden or the kitchen garden in the back garden if my ankle lets me (it's still not great after I sprianrd iy 3-4 weeks ago)

Ham hocks were taken out yeaterday for today's dinner and I think I'll let Mr Shortie in bed listening to Frozen songs on You tube (yes... you read that right) whike I go downstairs and make my first humanising cup of tea of the day ready to crack on :-)

Have a fab Sunday all x