Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

[Deleted User]

Welcome EmberJ I am sure you will enjoy it on here. We are quite a matey bunch and no question is daft or silly.

I too rememeber being 19 ...just :)as it was a very long time ago (1961) an I had just got married. Not a bean to bless ourselves with but luckily growing up with a canny scots Mum and rationing meant I cooked from scratch (never owned a freezer back then) and when we moved to Mersea Isalnd off the Essex coast we were a mile or so from the nearest shop, so I had to make sure I didn't run out of anything
We did grow quite a bit of stuff though (always put mint in a large pot in the garden or it can overtake almost everything else ) we used an old barrel.My OH used to enjoy growing tomato's and spuds though, and we had a farm near to us where we got a lot of fresh stuff that we didn't grow ourselves.

Now 54 years later I live alone as I'm widowed and my children are grown up and have children of their own so I don't grow anything to eat, but I am still frugal and cook from scratch(far nicer and you know what your eating).Keep a sharp eye out for stuff that is on special offer. I have a notebook which I try to list the price of stuff so I know when its a genuine reduction.In bulk I suppose I would buy larger sizes of rice,pasta,tinned tomatos,beans,lentils and a good supply of stack cubes I use the value ones when making soup if I haven't any left over stock from the chicken carcuss.

I always buy a whole chicken as you get soo much more meat. I cook it in my slow cooker and the meat just falls off the bones.I use my slow cooker quite a bit ,especially in winter time as it does a two fold job.It cooks meat more slowly, so cheap cuts are more tender and if I switch it on last thing at night before I go to bed the kitchen is warm in the morning
Lots of things on here the more ...err older folk do as a matter of course, and you will pick up lots of hints as you go along Have a look in the shops for a large A4 lined book and keep it by you in the kitchen and write down anything that takes your fancy ,whether it is a recipe or hint to help you streetch your cash out. I am still learnin things every day even now and I love to have a go at a new recipe.But above all, enjoy what you are doing and see how you are making things last longer and having less waste.
good luck honey
JackieO xx

EmberJ

Thanks ladies, ended up not doing my shopping due to my back acting up, so will be doing it the weekend when my partner has another day off. He did bring me a couple of books back from a charity shop though as he knows my copies got ruined by age, looking forward to reading them again. I use the library alot, but i love having my own books too, mostly collecting Enid blyton stuff. I have a hardback notepad I use for recipies currently, and I have a small monster one I used to keep in my bag when I used a bag. Its just sat near the sofa now, I used to make random notes in that. A friend gave me a strawberry plant today as she was over run with them, and has said she will grow some seedlings from cuttings for me of herbs and other veg if I'm happy to wait, and to look after her little one occasionally. Which suits me perfectly, her daughter is a darling, and I've asked her to be a bridesmaid. Which brings me to another point, does anyone have any ideas for a thrift wedding? My step mum and I are going to make my dress and the bridesmaid ones, so I can have the untraditional colours i want c: The wedding is planned in for march 2017 if we can book a venue. Sorry for the long post

vulpix

Welcome new joiners,and congratulations Bluegreen,lovely news.Well done jackie a great achievement for you and your lovely family.

Ember what style of wedding do you have in mind?I got married 4 years ago on a shoestring and it was a lovely wedding.I am quite crafty so could do a lot of things myself.Look on ebay lots of canny summer brides will be selling stuff off that they used for a few hours.

I have been very busy as you can imagine.I am cutting the front garden back and starting again with it.My brother is coming Saturday with a chain saw to cut the tree down which is outside the sittingroom window.I am sure it looked lovely at the garden centre 10 years ago,but it's massive now.I have unearthed a lot of large rocks which he will move for me,then its digging roots and ornamental grasses out.We both like gardening,Mr V doesn't have the temperament for it hahaha.He will be there in a supervisory capacity.The whole family is coming later and I plan a big spread for tea.There will be about 12 altogether.

I am being interviewed later for the radio about my weight loss.It is a programe they are making about obesity.So that mucks me up a bit today.Can't do any decorating or gardening as I want to be half presentable when this woman comes.

Tomorrow Mr V and i are off on a road trip to collect a sofa i bought off eebay.It is a multiyork suite in off white.I have sold loads of stuff I can't find room for here on FB.It has paid for £50 of paint and the sofa with perhaps enough for a bag of chips after.As I decorate each room and unpack things any excess will be sold on.When I leave this house it will be with less things than I came with!

Have a lovely day,Vx

GreyQueen

Emberj, I'll give you one tip which will save you money if enquiring about booking venues for your wedding. DON'T MENTION THE 'W' WORD.

Seriously, the word 'wedding' translates into venue owners' ears as Oh great, let's hike up the price as no one watches the pennies when planning their wedding.

If your lips are tempted to form the words 'wedding', pause and replace them with 'family party'. It's not actually a lie. This is inside gen from persons in the hospitality industry. The W word gets you an instant price hike, usually 20-50%.

One of the most fabulous weddings I ever attended was done on a shoestring. One person with a large and handsome garden donated the use of it for an outdoor reception (it was a summertime wedding). Several other persons grew and arranged the flowers as their wedding gifts, someone else did the same with the cake. The bride looked ravishing in an Oxfam frock and the wee bridesmaids wore supermarket fairy dresses. Small children do adorable naturally and wee lassies in any simple frock with a coronet of flowers and a posy always have the ahhh!!! factor.

The wedding party walked across the city centre from the registrar's to the house with the handsome garden, almost stopping traffic and causing many teary-eyed strangers to wish them well.

And marrying mid-week is cheaper, too. And you can announce that you are honeymooning at 'an undisclosed destination' like my parents did back in the early 1960s. They were tucked up in their first home and never have missed the honeymoon they've still not had, and they've gone past the 50 year mark.

ivyleaf

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Welcome back Monna
So pleased to see you again
Making life brighter!

Wonderful, Lyn! Your haiku made me

Monnagran So lovely to see you back. You have been missed.

Welcome Ember You certainly have a lot more skills than I had at 19!

bluegreen A baby boy, how lovely - though baby girls are lovely too, I had both Congratulations!

GreyQueen

Righty, I have minimised my life by two carrier bags of misc to the chazzer and one print cartridge to another chazzer.

I am in the process of baking bread rolls and will let them cool for a while before heading up to the allotment for a few hours of weed-wrangling and harvesting.

Haven't yet got any plans for mending anything, but you never know what might be necessary, so I can live in hope.

Nothing came into the house bar a bagful of fruit and veg for £1 - five peppers, 5 big tomatoes, three bananas and a satsuma. I will be minimalising all of those over the next few days, of course.

Siebrie

Hi EmberJ,
We got married on a budget of EUR 2,000, because that was the amount my parents contributed to our wedding. We got married at the registrar's at 11.30, then went to the city farm for a picknick. When the city farm closed at 18.00 the party was over. We only invited our friends, my parents and sister. They all brought partners and children along, so we were a party of 35, I believe.
We hired a friend to cook lunch, which was served on large oriental dishes, which were given to the witnesses as a 'thank you'.

I was 8 months pregnant at the time, so 18.30 was bedtime for me. Next day at 3, my waters broke and dd was born just after midnight :-p

nursemaggie

As far as I know this is the cheapest you can do a wedding. What ever it costs to be married at the register office. After the ceremony we walked across the road and had lunch in the pub opposite. My friend wrote a poem called "Chips with everything" on a napkin.

Some idiot said "I didn't have chips". Cost us about £200 all together including my new dress.

We had already booked a holiday so we arranged the wedding for the day before. Did it all at 3 weeks notice.

EmberJ

my partner wants a fairly big wedding, with all of both out families there, which works out at about 100 guests. we've picked colours of red and black, two bridesmaids, my youngest sister and my friends daughter. Matt, my partner wont currently accept that we cant have all the guests at a registry office as our local one isnt big enough, so looking into churches. my mum owns a tea shop, and has offered to do the buffet, my stepmum is crafty like me, and has said she and her mum will help make dresses, and suggested a ribbon flower bouquet, and even has the tool to make them. I want a tea length dress, as a floor length one will send me flying, the dress will be red. thinking of hiring the local pubs function room, but unsure. honeymoon we're putting off until our summer holiday anyway and will be either scotland or cornwall. Will keep in mind not mentioning the wedding word when booking a function room. i guess the main thing here is finding a midway point between what he wants and what i want.

misstara

Nursemaggie - how was your holiday in Malta?

Ember - if you have a look around MSE I'm sure there are heaps of tips of having a budget wedding. Pinterest is usually worth a look too.

A day off today so of course was up super early was hoping for a lie in but there's always tomorrow. I've been to the gym and made blueberry pancakes for breakfast using up some rather squishy blueberries. Still some blueberries left so will have pancakes again tomorrow for breakfast

I'm currently on my way to see my gran, we'll have some lunch and then probably go for a wee walk. Once I get home, I've got some more paperwork to minimise and a huge ironing pile to get through. Planning to have steak pie tonight so I'm going to attempt to make gf pastry. Might try some scones at the same time.

Hope everyone has a good MMMing day