Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

good_advice

Morning money savers
A brand new day and it looks nice out of the window.

This day in 1968 decimal coins came into use. I read that this morning.
I think it would be a lot easier for travelers if there was just one world currency and one language.

Glad i did the baking yesterday. Oh friend called round. They sat on the patio with tea and fruit cake and had a good old natter.

I had a DIY moment. I went to hang the dog lead in my new decluttered area under the stairs and thought how dark it is.
I went hunting for a battery powered light. Round and press, gives off a small light. Bought x4 a few years ago.
Chuffed with that inspiration. Why is it dark? = fix it then!

One thing then leads to another. Wile looking for the light I found another area to declutter. A small cupboard with things unused and not needed.
Will be turfing it all out and putting unloved items into a toss box.

Anyone got any stories on how they decided what possessions was no longer needed? I seem to be decluttering every spring for the last few years.
moving on to new area's of life from family with children too soon to be empty nesters.
Anything you regret tossing? I now feel I should have kept my knitting pattern stash. Tossed many years ago.

I like watching Small spaces with the people moving into little houses. It must be very emotional to toss 9/10 of their stuff. Then uplifting to know most of the stuff is not needed.
All we need is shelter, food and water. clothes too! and? and?......

[Deleted User]

At the moment I have managed to keep the old format on my computer I really don't like the white'ness of the new one at all.
anyhoo to continue,Maccyds is OK in its place but I am not keen on any fast food at all I much prefer to cook for myself and at the prices charged for 'instant' food I could feed an army :):)

My DGS are allowed to choose only on their birthday what they want for dinner, and rarely do they choose fast food as they are too used to their Mum's or my cooking. Now and again thei will choose a chinese from their local takeaway but MaccyD's or KFC don't get asked for at all.But I suppose there must be people who enjoy that sort of food or they wouldn't make any money.
I don't like pizza either, I just think its a wasted meal and not a proper meal.
But then I grew up without takeaways .The only takeaways when I was small was fish & chips but we never had them as my Mum cooked the most delicious F&C I've ever tasted.

Re the freezer, I have an upright one with three drawers that I don't think I could get much more in if I tried I am at the moment working my way through the freezer in the hope I can get it down enough to defrost it .

I have discovered that by buying long-life milk in a carton of 6 x1 litre bottles in a carry home box I have more than enough milk for cereal's or tea.It keeps very well and I never have to throw long-life milk away as it never seems to go off. The last box I bought in W8rose cost me £4.00 and I am really pleased and have three boxes of milk still left after a month.

I don't use or eat bread I have crackers instead so thats another thing that keeps well I quite like rice cakes as a change sometimes and they also keep well.In this way I have now got my shopping down to only three times a month (about every ten days or so) and consequently have managed to cut my food bills considerably.

I buy quite a bit of fresh fruit and veg and looking at my stash at the moment I have:
three quarters of a savoy cabbage wrapped in foil in the bottom of the fridge (keeps beautifully that way)
a whole celery also wrapped in foil.
a lettuce in my lettuce keeper in the fridge
three quarters of a cucumber
5 tomato's
around a kilo of potato's
(I also have five jacket part-cooked spuds in the bottom of the freezer)

In the fruit bowls I have two bananas
four oranges
a punnet of plums
a box of grapes.
This should last me until the end of the month.I still have cash in my food budget purse which if I don't have to buy anymore shopping with this week will go into my separate holiday fund at the end of the month. I am so please that I don't have to trail around the shops anymore and have got my shopping trips honed to a fine art :):):).Making do with what I have in store makes life so much easier.I do my menu plan for the week on a sunday morning and then its pinned onto the board in my kitchen.Sounds a bit OCD doesn't it but it works for me and frees up more time for doing things that I enjoy.

IrisViolet

Hi all.
A few people have said the cloth nappies bring back memories, I bought mine as I thought it would be money saving plus looked so cute, but its saved me an absolute fortune. My mum said nooooo don't do it they are awful to wash etc, but they are different now than what she used. I have two partners, the inside bit is white bamboo and has Velcro straps, Popper's down the front so you can use from birth to older toddler, bamboo inserts for the inside for extra absorbance, fleece liners to keep bum dry (I cut up an old blanket!) And wraps over the top which popper at the side. They all go in a bucket lined with a netbag and when it's full I pull out net bag, put straight in machine, wash and done.
I find it so lovely all of it, my mum doesn't understand!! But about 100£ spent on it all and they go through child after child.

Been enjoying the weather, out all day yesterday and off out shortly to DDS ballet class then park.
Will be taking picnic including the lemon drizzle cake I made yesterday morning.
Washing has been going out every morning, not used my tumble for over a week (major achievement here!)

Been lurking on Marie kondo thread and trying it out, the house seems so much easier to managed now its all de cluttered and most things have a place, not done yet.
Was gonna buy more storage for bedroom as need space for new baby things, but by folding all our things MK and clearing out managed to reduce the space used and freed up a drawer for baby!! Yipee, so made do there.

Must do some gardening soon, have lots of old tyres to turn into planters, and I have saved some little butter tubs etc for seedlings and a few containers we don't use I'm going to repurposed into planters too. Need to get a load of seeds and compost.

Have a good day all xx

silvasava

Morning all - Happy St Georges Day!
Thank you for all the great suggestions for the birthday present. Hovering between an experience day or a subscription at the moment.
LynnPlatinum is absolutely correct - produce can be certified as UK origin if the last process was completed in this country. So if the meat came from the US or Argentina and was then made in to burgers in NI - you can claim UK origin. This is perfectly legal and applies to many other products apart from food - I generally look for the red tractor mark instead on meat.

VJsmum

Re birthday present - some things i have done in the past for similarly "awkward" people

- a good night in - DVD,wine, chocs, or if he has a family some kind of game (i have bought horse racing videos for mock betting, or a quiz game)
- "afternoon tea" - nice mug, nice tea bags, biscuits, jam, chocolate, maybe some relishes


I think i actually do need to go shopping today,we are out of everything.... Anyone know if today is Aldi voucher day?

vhalla1478

Morning All,

Sorry I didn't get back and post last night, but for some unknown reason I was tired - maybe it was sitting round in the sunshine yesterday that did it and then I decided to have a quick sweep through the house as I have visitors today and want to keep on top of things as hopefully my DB is here this weekend.

Anyway, here's a traybake recipe. My point that I was trying to put across yesterday and that Cheerfulness so correctly interpreted was that Meditteranean countries and many parts of Asia, for example, use meat/fish as a flavouring more than the main ingredient. Therefore as far as our cuisine goes, traybakes, casseroles, pies etc will always stretch your food budget as they have built in padding.

Sausage Traybake - serves 4 - 346 calories per serving.

Pack of good quality sausages, kilo baby potatoes, scrubbed and halved, 450 grams carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal, 2 tbsp. olive oil, 2 red onions, peeled and cut into wedges, 2 conference pears, peeled, quartered and cored (try apples instead), Morrisons 495gram jar honey mustard sauce, (I just mix honey and mustard together), fresh thyme sprigs.

Heat oven to 200 degrees/gas 6. Mix the pack of sausages (I cut mine into thirds), the potatoes and the carrots with tbsp. olive oil and then arrange in a large roasting pan. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss well. Toss the red onion and pear quarters in the remaining oil and add to the pan. Spread the ingredients so there's an even mix across the pan. Drizzle the sauce over and return to the oven for 20-25 minutes until cooked through, bubbling and golden. Serve hot, garnished with thyme sprigs.

Good Advice, when I had my running away to sea aberration, I just kept, a bed, bedding, curtains,a settee, two chairs, an antique bookstand and desk, table lamps, kitchen tools, cutlery, porcelain, my recipes, my sewing machine, my books, gifts bought by my children when they were young and most of my clothes. When I returned, just over two years ago, I gradually bought the bits and pieces I needed. I don't regret getting rid of anything as the world is not about to run out of goods. In fact, I've had great fun putting this cottage together and making it into a home. The things I kept were the things I really loved and also what would be expensive to replace.

Have a good day, All.

Viv xx

TedC

COSTCO Chickens are the best, BUT why do we have to pay 20% tax on the Chicken when it is cold by the time I get home. The regulations say tax is payable on HOT food. COSTCO should offer a chilled section on their Rotisserie counter. Then I would get a free chichen with every five I buy. Maybe there is a TAX fiddle do Costco pay thier vat through Luxembourg, they ignore their suggestion box its only a marketing ploy.
Father Ted

MrsCD

Happy St. George's Day!!!

Lyn- I agree that meat can be labelled as UK or Ireland if its final process is in that country. Maybe I was too quick to believe the hype?
However, I still think that if you want something in a hurry McD's are as good as anywhere else, and you don't have to add the dressings or croutons to the salads if you're counting calories. I don't eat meat other than at home, where all the meat I buy is from local butchers that I trust. I eat free range eggs, cheese, or sometimes salmon, although that's another kettle of fish, (if you'll excuse the pun) when I'm away from home!

It just shows how different we all are, and it would be an strange place if we were all the same.

I used terry nappies when our girls were little, but occasionally used disposable if we were going out somewhere, as I didn't like carrying soggy terries back home. I preferred the terries because the girls got less nappy rash with them, even though they were a pain to clean those days! I used to rub the stains with old fashoined household 'Fairy Soap', then put them in the wash, and they came up like new each time.

I'm also trying to use up food from the freezers. I have a small chest one in the garage, and an upright under the counter one in the kitchen. I still have 2 packs of Christmas snacks to use up. They will come in handy when we have visitors in the next few weeks. I also keep bread and milk to fill any freezer spaces to save on running costs. Apparently, it costs more to keep a freezer cold if there is a lot of air in it, so I try to fill spaces with cheaper items that can be used regularly.

I've made a very late start on the borders in the garden this week. They still have last year's dead bedding plants waiting to be pulled up, then I can look out for some bargains to bring a bit of colour to the garden.

bargainhunterss

VJsmum wrote: »

Re birthday present - some things i have done in the past for similarly "awkward" people

- a good night in - DVD,wine, chocs, or if he has a family some kind of game (i have bought horse racing videos for mock betting, or a quiz game)
- "afternoon tea" - nice mug, nice tea bags, biscuits, jam, chocolate, maybe some relishes


I think i actually do need to go shopping today,we are out of everything.... Anyone know if today is Aldi voucher day?

Info from another thread:
Daily Mirror Aldi Money Off Coupons - Valid to 30th April


50% Off Premium Washing Up Liquid - Now 39p
50% Off Mamia Apples,Carrots,Parsnips 120g - Now 29p
50% Off Mamia Just Apples 5X90g - Now 89p
30% Off Scotch Eggs - Now 43p
30% Off Spreadable Butter - Now £1.04p
30% Off Ham Joint Roasted/Breaded - Now £2.09p
30% Off Roast Chicken Drumsticks or Thighs - Now £1.39p
30% Off Specially Selected 4 Quarter Pounders Now £1.39p
30% Off Meat free Burgers - Now £1.04
30% Off Premium Fabric Conditioner - Now 90p


No £5 Off Coupon this week

VJsmum

bargainhunterss wrote: »

Info from another thread:
Daily Mirror Aldi Money Off Coupons - Valid to 30th April


50% Off Premium Washing Up Liquid - Now 39p
50% Off Mamia Apples,Carrots,Parsnips 120g - Now 29p
50% Off Mamia Just Apples 5X90g - Now 89p
30% Off Scotch Eggs - Now 43p
30% Off Spreadable Butter - Now £1.04p
30% Off Ham Joint Roasted/Breaded - Now £2.09p
30% Off Roast Chicken Drumsticks or Thighs - Now £1.39p
30% Off Specially Selected 4 Quarter Pounders Now £1.39p
30% Off Meat free Burgers - Now £1.04
30% Off Premium Fabric Conditioner - Now 90p


No £5 Off Coupon this week

Thank you - typically I don't use any of that !!