New start on my OS adventure!!

icontinuetodream

That's us done for another year!! Had another lovely day yesterday - lots of food, played darts and pass the pigs, chilled out in front of the fire etc....:D

Today, I am slobbing!! I have no intention of doing anything today other than walk the puppies and commit my plans for the year ahead to paper.... I am pretty sure that the house could do with a swish and swipe, but it's not being done until tomorrow - I need some me time!! :rotfl:

I am very happy with life at the moment, and, despite the fact that I don't have an extravagant lifestyle, I am really looking forward to living in a more frugal and os way...and it starts today!! :T

Leftovers for dinner anyone???........:rotfl:

mumto2monkeys_2

Watching with interest as I plan to be OS this year although still working FT, so it is very challenging when I feel tired.

I will be planning, planning, planning!

Aiming for an abundant, frugal way of life as real, long-term change needs to happen here.

icontinuetodream

mumto2monkeys wrote: »

Watching with interest as I plan to be OS this year although still working FT, so it is very challenging when I feel tired.

I will be planning, planning, planning!

Aiming for an abundant, frugal way of life as real, long-term change needs to happen here.

It can be really difficult when working FT (at the very least, the temptation to 'cheat' is definitely stronger when you're exhausted!!) but I do think that any change you can make will help - if I hadn't made efforts to be frugal over the past few years, I wouldn't be in a position to be able to have some time away from work and re-group!

Today, I am cooking for Britain again!! :eek: (although, depending on what I have, I may leave some of it until tomorrow!! :rotfl:)

DD is at her bf's now until Tuesday next week, DS is going to his girlfriends tonight and won't be back till Friday and DH and I are away at the weekend.....basically, that means that other than a few slices of meat for tomorrow night, I have to recycle the leftovers into instant freezer food!!

I intend to make soup for tonights dinner - I have made a tomato stock (tomato, onion and garlic skins) which is sitting in the fridge so I will add some herbs, garlic and a tin of tomatoes to that, blitz it and serve it with a baked camembert and the leftover French stick.

Tomorrow, I am out during the day seeing friends, then we are coming home late afternoon...we will probably just have olives, cheeses and chutney with the slices of cold meat I will cut today.

Thursday, I will have hm ravioli - filling is dependent upon what I find in the fridge later!! I am hoping that there is enough chicken to make it a chicken and dill filling which I will serve with a lemon cream sauce.

Friday, we will probably end up having pizza....it's Friday after all!! :rotfl:

I want to make as much as possible from what I have - the more I can get out of the remaining foods, the less shopping and cooking I have to do in the future - what I will definitely be doing this time though, is working the foods that I have made into the meal plans.....last year, the stuff was sitting in the freezer for ages and I just kept adding to it!!

This year, I intend to fill freezers up, then live out of them for as long as possible - to make sure that this happens properly, I am taking a full inventory when I re-arrange the freezer prior to starting my cookathon (need to make sure that I can fit everything in!! ) and I will also do a full cupboard and fridge inventory - that way, I can utilize everything to it's fullest extent and will be very organised for January.....:T

I intend to start the process in the next 30 minutes - I will also be indulging in a cocktail or two (or perhaps a bottle of something sparkly!!) and playing my new cd while I work

mumto2monkeys_2

icontinuetodream wrote: »

I intend to start the process in the next 30 minutes - I will also be indulging in a cocktail or two (or perhaps a bottle of something sparkly!!) and playing my new cd while I work

Sounds lovely!

Your menu is very impressive. I think part of my process is developing a range of meals that the whole family will eat. I do cook from scratch although, as you're rightly said, when the exhaustion kicks in I tend to fall back on ready meal type stuff and takeaways. It's this that will be the biggest hurdle, closely followed by picky DCs! I cook from scratch and they turn their noses up at it!!

Another thing is lack of freezer space for bulk cooking, but no space to put one in anywhere. The garage leaks so isn't safe to have electric and we have no money to sort it out. It's all on my mega to-do list for the next couple of years.

What you say about OS buying you freedom is why I want to do it. I've recently realised the error of my material ways and that I am working hard to drown then struggling to maintain it all. I am embracing a much more minimalist lifestyle. You would laugh if you could see the state of my living room whilst I type, however I started the journey in summer and know it will take a long time. I'm fighting 35 years of conditioning! I want space to breathe and better experiences. I'm sick of living to work and my life passing me by in a haze of tiredness, illness and frustration.

Anyway, today DD is happily baking mince pies and will make some gingerbread with DS whilst I crack on with housework. Fun times!

Tea tonight will be using up more stuff in the cupboards as we're over to my parents' house for the next four days. I'm thinking wedges, chopped salad and some random thing from the freezer when I stocked up on quick fixes. I have some meat free quinoa bakes, so might give them a whirl!

mumto2monkeys_2

should say working hard to buy tat!

icontinuetodream

mumto2monkeys wrote: »

should say working hard to buy tat!

Lol!! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I am definitely guilty of doing that previously!!

Getting to where I am now has been a long and winding road - I have been fortunate that I have been on this journey for a few years now, so I am relatively good at not buying stuff; I can't really say that I was ever materialistic but I didn't think twice about buying anything if I wanted it (or if one of the kids did and I thought that it wasn't a ridiculous purchase!! ) - but my main weakness is for food; Italian blood in me I think....I equate feeding people with caring about them!! I used to spend a fortune on eating out - now, at least, I just spend too much on food that I will cook at home as I frequently go completely over the top with quantities. :eek:

However, I have started to get that under control now and hope to really beat it this year!!

I have done really well so far though on the frugal living - everything we have consumed since solstice has been from current stores Haven't even had to buy milk yet as I found another couple of cartons in the cupboard :T

The fridge is slowly being de-stuffed - I made a big cottage pie last night with a combination of beef mince, tvp mince, fresh sage, onion, half a tub of lo beef stock, frozen carrots and gravy powder. I topped it with mashed potato and some white stilton with quince and fig (dh doesn't really like cheese with fruit and I won't be able to eat it along with all the other cheeses in a reasonable period of time!!) - really put a new twist on the flavour and there is plenty left over for dinner tonight

Tomorrow, my lifestyle is going to change somewhat - I have decided that I am going to give myself a few weeks from all the really toxic stuff in my life - drinking and smoking basically ...I am certainly not giving up forever - this is a 'give myself a break and get out of bad habits' deal; I will still drink when I socialise (and possibly smoke) but I am knocking it off at home for the time being.....it will do me good to have a clear head and body for a while!!

So, all that is left to say is - I hope you all have a fabulous new year and everything you wish for comes to fruition!!! :beer:_party_

icontinuetodream

sitting in front of the open fire, drink in hand, wizard of oz on the telly, puppies snoring after a long walk, fridge and freezer full of food and no plans to go anywhere or do anything....I love 2015!!

I have spent the day being lazy....dh is back at work tomorrow and I am going to have a day pottering around the house - next week is the 'big clean'...I have allocated a day per room and I am going through each one with a fine tooth comb - there will be nothing which has not been washed or sorted by the end of next week!! I must admit that I am looking forward to having the place to myself again....I love having everyone at home, but I miss the 'me' time!!

I haven't cooked anything really since the cottage pie - we had leftovers last night and this morning for breakfast/brunch I made potato cakes (lo mash, red onion, diced chorizo, spring onions, breadcrumbs, French mustard and an egg) which I served with bacon and poached eggs.... I am not sure of what we will eat later, but I have a feeling we may just have some cheeses and biccies....I don't think I can cope with too much more food!! :rotfl:

This means that still no shopping done since Solstice - 12 days and counting!! I have so much in my freezer that I really can't see us needing anything other than milk for the rest of the month!! :j

Thinking about my shopping - I am definitely going to avoid supermarkets as much as possible this year; I am going to do my shopping on a Saturday from now on which will reduce the need for dh to go to the shops - he has improved, but we still end up with stuff that we didn't need!

Right, off to replenish the drink and chillax a bit more!! Enjoy your day!!

Physicsfiend

OK, I give in......what is OS???

icontinuetodream

Physicsfiend wrote: »

OK, I give in......what is OS???

Old Style

icontinuetodream

I have realised that I have been remiss and not actually completed my food inventory!! I meant to do it ages ago...the middle of December in fact!! :eek: Oops....oh well, at least I have acknowledged my failure and I will complete it and move on....;)

I have been thinking a lot about meal planning - it is incredibly difficult in this house as we all have erratic eating patterns...I think that the best option for me is probably getting a maximum of a weeks meals planned and then just pick something from that if we are eating - I am going to try to get a bit more order on the food front though; I think that if I am going to improve my overall health, I need to eat more regularly - I'm just not good at it!!

I have told dh to get some milk today - we have completely run out and there is no way that anyone in the household will drink re-hydrated dried milk so my run has finally come to an end...:( Pretty impressed with it though and I will make sure that we keep visits to the shops to a minimum....

As I am looking to stay out of supermarkets, I am going to trawl the boards for hm laundry gloop, cleaners, body treatments etc....checking my stocks, I have a 5 litre tub of white vinegar, 6kg of magnesium salts and an inordinate number of essential oils - I will use the magnesium salts in the bath to help eliminate toxins, essential oils for bathing and for 'perfuming' hm cleaning products and the vinegar for making cleaning products. I still have a couple of bottles of stardrops under the sink so I am pretty confident that I can probably make most (if not all) of my own stuff this year!! :j

I have had a really good couple of days planning the year ahead - it's surprising how much I want to achieve both at home and on a personal level considering how incredibly happy I am already! :think: If I am honest, a lot of what I want to achieve is more 'window dressing' than anything else....if nothing at all changes, I won't be disappointed - this is about introducing a way of life which I have been moving towards for a number of years - it's more finishing touches than monumental change but it is still a challenge for me and I shouldn't underestimate that

I have a long list of things that I want to do today - first is the food inventory, then I am getting myself sorted out - I am having a very long, very hot shower (no, not mse but one of those real pleasures in life that I will never give up!!) then I am moisturising, doing a hair treatment, face mask and half an hour of stillness. Tonight, I am going to have an early night - I intend to find a book and curl up with a cup of green tea and some pumpkin seeds and pine nuts to snack on!

Tomorrow, I am going to start sorting the greenhouse - I have eight butternut squash in there still and the old tomato plants; they all have to be relocated and the glass cleaned. I didn't get the seeds planted that I wanted to get done on Solstice - time got the better of us - so I want to get them planted this weekend. The butternut squash will have to stay in there until they are used up - I can't bring them into the house, I just don't have the space!! They are absolutely lovely though, I will definitely be growing them this year too!!

Anyhoo, I have noticed that I ramble incessantly (I can tell that you are shocked by this revelation!! ) on this thread - I think that I need to have a bit more structure to my posts in future - Food, Home, Garden, Self, Craft, Money. It will make it easier for me to chart progress and mark achievements....it may even make it easier to read!! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:


ETA - I have completed the freezer inventory - now I will look at what I have in the cupboards and see what I can make out of what I have - its quite an impressive list!! Also, just looked n the greenhouse and it looks like three of my butternut squash have caught frost and are starting to go Oh well, I will cook them tomorrow - I will mash one and use it in ravioli, make one into a soup and bake another one and serve it with the tub of shredded beef in red wine and damson that I have in the freezer...pain in the backside but at least it sorts out dinner for tomorrow!