NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

Liliyanna

Morning all,

Well it's bright but cold this morning in Shropshire. It was a lovely feeling earlier lying in bed and listening to my neighbours scraping the ice from their cars knowing I didn't have to get up.

OH is playing football at noon so I'm trying to talk myself into going for a run while they're out, it's 50/50 at the mo!

Rosiepup2000, thanks for the link, unfortunately Amazone don't think much of my reading tastes :rotfl:

Bobarella, you've made me think now about the brands in my basket. I took the brand shift challenge when we first became focused on shifting our debt but I'm sure a few have crept back in, will go and have a look through my cupboards in a minute

Well we get paid on the 28th and there is now £2.85 left in the account, something tells me we're going to be collecting a few NSD's in the next 10 days whether we like it or not :rotfl:

How is January's 'Dryathlon' going for those who undertaking it? I stopped drinking just before Christmas and have found it all quite interesting. I tend to buy Kopperberg non-alcoholic cider from the supermarket, £1 for 500ml. So 1 litre costs a third of what I would have spent on 75cl of wine, the savings are quite noticable. I've also noticed how much easier it is to get up the next morning as well The OH is still drinking at our old pace and as an observer now rather than a participant I'm beginning to find it a little worrying. All the Christmas wine and spirits have now been drunk and we're poor until payday so I'll see how OH manages this. If they ask to dip in to savings to buy alcohol I think this may pave the way for a bit of a chat, hmmm will have to think about this one

Enough of me babbling, I can hear OH starting to move upstairs so I'm off to put the kettle on and check my cupboards for brands


Lily x x

Heffi1

I thought I would pop back in and report about a little experiment I did, I have been reading the KonMari thread and decided I would take a look at my messy tops drawer, they have all now been sorted and I chucked a couple of bags away of tops that quite frankly would not even make good floor cloths, I found a scarf that I have been looking for and made space int he drawer, which was overflowing when i started. Also I rediscovered a few tops that I had forgotten about and were buried at the bottom of the piles of clothes, so I do not have to go and buy new tops now, I am so pleased as I was struggling with what to wear to work, now I have some new items (well not new but you know what I mean) and I shall feel tidier with the change over. Woohoo this proves to me I have far too much stuff and need to sort it out before going to a shop! Lesson learned and money stays in my purse.

Rowan9

Hi all. Such a good thread! I have had a peer into the Kon Mari thread and it looks very interesting indeed. Might give it a go.
Made spag bol last night for first time in ages.we have one DS and his girlfriend staying for a few days' hols and it's a thing they like. I did buy garlic bread to go with it as it was same price as making my own with a baguette. However I padded out the bol with quite a bit of soya mince, grated carrot and a good handful of oatmeal. One pack of mince made enough for the 4 of us plus two second helpings and has left enough for us once the young ones have set off tomorrow. No one would have liked the idea of soya mince so that info was not included.
Off to have a tidy up and also make a Kon Mari ish start. I dare not get involved with reading the thread properly or I will end up looking at you tube videos and the hours will go by!
Oh, before I do, I had a look at feb grocery challenge thread and at the recipe list as I haven't looked at this for a long time. I was impressed with the recipe for wraps as that would def save popping to morri£ons at lunch time (next door to work) for a sandwich if I have run out of bread. This doesn't happen very often but I have noticed that it has sneaked up on me this month a couple of times. I love wraps as well so it's good to know that they can be made easily with what I always have in cupboards. It also got me thinking that I could make up some pasta salad to have over a couple,of lunch times. We have a microwave at work but I prefer cold things at lunch time. We also have good home made soup for £1 with bread so if I want something hot I either have that or a cup a soup. We usually have soup as part of our tea so I don't take any in a flask.
Ok, over and out.
Really impressed with everyone's dedication on this ship!

Live_laugh_love

Words of encouragement for those embarking on the KonMarie method. I did all my drawers like this about two years ago and they have remained spotlessly tidy ever since! I used to before have to redo every six months or so when I could no longer shut them!! It is so easy to see what you have, and see what you actually wear and is totally worth the effort!!!

Been to work this morning and now watching footie on the box so no spends today!! Chatting to a customer today on the checkouts who had popped in for a birthday card and ended up getting side tracked by the last of the sales and spent £50 on stuff she didn't plan on buying !!! That's how easy it an be. May have been dearer to go to a proper card shop but at least that would've been all she bought!!!

Butterfly_Brain

Bobarella wrote: »

One small thing but I'm trying out own brand bisto. I thought there was no brands left in my basket except lurpack and marmite but then realised I still do use bisto. I have no idea if it will be any good but for 25p instead of £2 I shall investigate

Large boxes of Bisto are £1.44 in Asda at the moment

Thistle-down

Decided to be ruthless in cleaning out my guitar stuff drawer. I have been reading the Kon Mari thread and thought it would make much more sense to store my strings by standing the boxes on edge so I can easily see what I have.

My first thought was "I wonder if £land has a CD box that would work". My second thought was "what can I make for free that will work?"

I found an old cardboard box, then cut and taped it to the exact size I needed to store the strings. Job done. :j

should add that I thought I had enough strings to see my through the year without buying any more. By putting them all in the same place, it turns out there's more like 2-3 years worth

natnat13

I had a quiet night shift last night so got a good night's sleep and was home just after 8am. I cracked on and totally blitzed my house including cleaning my oven, carpet cleaning the big rug in my lounge and having a general clear out.
The KonMari principle sounds interesting although I don't like clutter or hoarding.
Waitrose order came, my freezer is now very full, was chuffed they had run out of normal half price chickens so I got organic ones, 4 of them, 4 pks mince, 2 lots pork chops, 5 pots coffee, 2 boxes of tea bags, 4 boxes of cereal and lots of other store cupboard stuff. £81.25 in the end, I reckon I'll only need to spend £30 ish in Feb on fresh stuff.
I'm going to do roast chicken in the slow cooker tomorrow, make soup with the stock and curry with the leftover chicken on Tuesday, it feels good to be organised.
So I have a clean house, cleaned my car, laundry done, just my love life to sort, bf coming round to talk tomorrow, probably too much to ask that that goes the way I want as well!
I do seem to have hurt my knee, I can't walk very well, so no running today, too much housework I think!
I will spend £10.30 on clubs for school tomorrow, hopefully that's it and I will put a few bits on a fb selling site and hopefully make some money.

Rowan9

Natnat I don't have much in way of clutter thanks to the simplifying thread a few years ago but I like the sound of seeing your clothes easily re Kon Mari. I love feng shui and also find that space and order really helps to clear my mind. V calming. So I will enjoy sorting, folding and admiring. I think anyway! Had a quick sort through underwear drawer and am delighted to have cast off some tights, some faded previously black socks and also a black bra. I quickly did a do I love this and the answer was no son off they went. It obviously helps that I had cleared them all previously but still feels good!
W

darwins_mum

wmf wrote: »

Hi all. Such a good thread! I have had a peer into the Kon Mari thread and it looks very interesting indeed. Might give it a go.
Made spag bol last night for first time in ages.we have one DS and his girlfriend staying for a few days' hols and it's a thing they like. I did buy garlic bread to go with it as it was same price as making my own with a baguette. However I padded out the bol with quite a bit of soya mince, grated carrot and a good handful of oatmeal. One pack of mince made enough for the 4 of us plus two second helpings and has left enough for us once the young ones have set off tomorrow. No one would have liked the idea of soya mince so that info was not included.
Off to have a tidy up and also make a Kon Mari ish start. I dare not get involved with reading the thread properly or I will end up looking at you tube videos and the hours will go by!
Oh, before I do, I had a look at feb grocery challenge thread and at the recipe list as I haven't looked at this for a long time. I was impressed with the recipe for wraps as that would def save popping to morri£ons at lunch time (next door to work) for a sandwich if I have run out of bread. This doesn't happen very often but I have noticed that it has sneaked up on me this month a couple of times. I love wraps as well so it's good to know that they can be made easily with what I always have in cupboards. It also got me thinking that I could make up some pasta salad to have over a couple,of lunch times. We have a microwave at work but I prefer cold things at lunch time. We also have good home made soup for £1 with bread so if I want something hot I either have that or a cup a soup. We usually have soup as part of our tea so I don't take any in a flask.
Ok, over and out.
Really impressed with everyone's dedication on this ship!

Where is the Kon Mari thread?

fairy3

Hello shipmates - been reading but not posted for a couple of days.... but time has been spent productively and no spends apart from milk, veggies and bread. Total for groceries since December 31st stands at £51.89 and included dog food and washing powder.
Menu planned for rest of month plus have a YS turkey and chicken bought form Waitro*se sitting in my father's freezer!!! Have been seriously reconsidering my habits and will continue to run stores down as have too much stuff and enjoyed the Forbes article thank you 115 K, also enjoying the minimalist blogs and have bookmarked a how to organise paperwork in a 3 part series.
Re Bisto - has anyone tried Compton gravy salts? I have some from Tosco think they were 60p and they are currently in the slowcooker with stewing beef and fridge veg smelling lush.
Haven't got to the Kon Mari method yet as still decluttering and sorting clothes out, mine and the DS 1&2 no mean feat.
For the OP looking for a hallway desk (sorry keep losing posts trying to go back and check names) have you tried preloved or gumtree? I have had a few (too many) pieces and found them to be less hassle than e*ay as can pick things up locally and usually a set price.
As part of my quest for happiness have also planned one day a week to visit a local landmark, museum, art gallery or park which are all free and (weather permitting) a good opportunity to explore the area as opposed to going to work and complaining that I never have chance.
On Tuesday will be three weeks of no SM's so will do a post on what lessons have been learnt.
Am on the lookout for a decent pair of walking boots as on inspection and reflection mine are 11 years old and pretty worse for wear but have xmas money and think this will be an investment for a good few years.
Everyone is doing fantastically well and love that the good ship NoBuy has such a clever and inspirational crew!