Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2016

CathA

When sorting out the furniture for the charity shop, I found a big mirror that I'd slipped behind the cabinet and completely forgotten about. When the collectors turned up, I got them to take that as well!!

A friend of mine is moving and she has a LOT of stuff she'll need to get rid of-hostess trolley, anyone? Lol. Anyway, I've given her details of both lots of charity shops contact details who will come and collect furniture, so that will help.

meritaten

Cath I would LOVE the hostess trolley - the problem being it would only get used on Christmas day, and I have nowhere to store one for the rest of the year!
childminding day today and the little one totally exhausted me! she is 'into' EVERYTHING! lol - can you believe she starts crying when the Twirly rings appear as she knows the show is ending? I mean really crying with tears and all! it also takes me a good half hour to tidy up and put things back onto shelves and places she can reach - and she is tall with a helluva reach - the phone now lives on the top shelf of the glass chrome unit! I love to play with her as she is so funny and affectionate - all games end with kisses and cuddles!
so no baking today - if not too tired tomorrow I will have a go at some biccies or cakes with the rice flour.

iamsalt

I have my mums hostess trolley. I love it but it only gets used a handful of times, I have some pretty china in it for Safe keeping until I have my kitchen redone.
Minimised a book back to the village hall book swap shelves - and managed not to pick up another!
Made do with food in the freezer. OH was keen on McDs for supper as we didn't have much time, but home made chips, breaded fish and frozen veg took less time than going to the nearest town.
Mended - it's piling up more than getting done at the moment. I am sure bras aren't as sturdy as they used to be, two more have made it known they need me to become an underwiring tamer!

S x

milasavesmoney

Made do with what I have on hand to cook supper. I needed tortillas but instead of going to buy them, I made them, not from scratch but from a mix I had. They aren't as good as HM but still good. I also found a seasoning packet in the back of the cabinet and used that to spice up the burrito filling.

iamsalt

Morning.
Hope everyone is well.
Few jobs on the list for today, first is clearing out the clutter under the bed, I was woken up last night by one of the cats shredding something paper-like under there, and I don't want to have that happen again as I am much friendlier after a good night sleep. I think she is trying to tell me something, as any bit of paper left on a flat surface is fair game to her...newspapers, flip charts I am in the process of typing up, bills receipts....nothing is safe.
Down helping at the village hall most of the day, which also means a huge bag of stage curtains will leave my dining room. so I will shop later on - mum gave me a voucher for lidll, I need to think whether it is worth going to that side of town.
Plant watering to be done, and I want to put the breadmaker away. I think I want to get rid of it but oh is quite attached to it as it was given by his mum. I find I make better bread manually, but infrequently and so it's not worth taking up precious worktop space. If we appreciate the space he might have less concern about it being passed to someone who will use it.
Righty Ho, need to get up now
S x

charlies-aunt

Another Hostess Trolley owner here! Mine was bought for me over 30 years ago and apart from a new element, still going strong! Mine gets used frequently as DH, DD and I come home from work at different times but then go out to muck out, dog walk, garden etc so its great to precook a meal that is instantly ready to eat when we are all finally in for the evening. It is really handy at Christmas and for family Sunday dinners.


If you have chance to acquire one cheaply or for free - go for it!

CathA

meritaten wrote: »

Cath I would LOVE the hostess trolley - the problem being it would only get used on Christmas day, and I have nowhere to store one for the rest of the year!

It's from John Lewis, hardly used, am I tempting you yet? Salisbury way, any good? x

Lynplatinum

Hiya Folks

I am still alive and kicking but been v busy minimising anything that actually doesnt move in the house 4 bags of shredding this week + have now got food stocks down to one shelf in an ordinary size cupboard + storage boxes of biscuits + drinks cupboard (not alchol but coffee - I have 3 types - real/espresso/plastic - tea - posh squash and coca). Freezer is weird - boxes are rattling round in it and you can easily find stuff in it!!
Also been dealing with flippin solicitors and surveyors. They are stretching stuff beyond a joke. I realise that they are covering my buyer's issues but honestly - playing silly whats its about every little thing is driving me nuts!!! Its an old house - of course it hasnt got original tiles!!! Its not listed or in a conservation area but the way they are carrying on you would think so!! I recon they are just trying to get another kick-back from a structural surveyor (which might be the next stage!! :mad: )

Anyway mending - socks all developing holes all at once!! So several pairs sorted!
Making do - interesting meal combinations as I try to use stuff up!!!
Nurse Maggie - sorry I missed your birthday - hope you had a good one
iamsalt - I now buy non underwired bras which have loads of support from 'Yours' as my wires kept on popping out. They use doubled up seams instead and hold a larger lady really well and cost about £10 and are quite pretty. They certainly have a high street presence in Milton Keynes and area and apparently have an on line shop - you could have a look and give em a try - saved me from much discomfort.
Must go - need to get up early and make a cake as am bringing it as Ive been asked out for lunch tomorrow (really looking forward to it!!)
Nite all

IrisViolet

Hi all! I hang my head in shame as I've been avoiding logging in for a long time and finances have got a lot worse.
More determined than ever, we have just done a new budget and realised if we have some actual willpower then we can be debt free in 16 months. Which is just insane so we need to do it, desperately. Once that's done the breathing room will be amazing.
So anyway here I am! My biggest problem is overspending and feeling like we deserve all nice (expensive) stuff and it needs to stop. I actually love the make do way of life once I get going, just need to block out the adverts etc and stop comparing myself to others!!

So first step is getting my food spends under control, I have lost of food in, so need to be making do there.
Going to catch up on the thread now x

dND

Finally something to report and a bit of time to report it !!!:j
I'm just heading into alpaca shearing time here which means a week of manic work getting the barns empty enough to put the alpacas in for a week and to also have enough usable space for the shearer to shear in the dry. A very stressful time for me

but in the middle of this I decided to start sorting out the kitchen too :eek: :rotfl:

In preparation for summer I collected together the bits of dried fruit and vegetables I made last year. One of the things I dried was courgette strips to use as pasta substitute. Somehow, I could never bring myself to use them as they just looked unappetising. So I now have a pot of courgette and red pepper soup bubbling away which has used up all the courgette and a good portion of the red peppers I dried at the end of last year

I also turned up some tomatoes I'd dried a couple of years ago. they were still brittle and smelt fine so a pot of tomato soup is also on the go and the storages pots washed ready for this year.

So making do and minimising covered; mending is really a bit of an ongoing process on a farm, I get through and awful lot of glue, nails and bailer twine!:rotfl:

Have a good Sunday everyone :beer: