Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2016

celtic_moon

bargainhuntress try the recipe from this week's eat well for less - frozen fish and veg in paper and microwaved - obviously can be done in oven too! :-)

Lyn - many congrats on your new home. Hope it is everything you wanted it to be :-)

bargainhunterss

Thanks Celtic_moon, will do!

iamsalt

Bargain huntress
I use frozen pollock for a tom Kerridge recipe with chick peas, tinned toms and smoked paprika. I leave out the chorizo as I can't be bothered to buy it just for that, I suspect I don't follow it all that closely actually, more a guide rather than a recipe!

dND - thanks - I have been judged before (in RL) by an ex because I am not the best housekeeper in the world, so I do worry. I have been amazed at the difference too - hence I am on washing frenzy while it's nice here. Interesting that there are washers in some supermarkets, I had been told to get new ones, but it felt wrong to buy when they just need a good clean. My duvet is one of the ones you can connect together so you can vary the thickness for the seasons so I don't want to get rid of it.

I really ought to be typing up mins of a work meeting right now but I am struggling to concentrate today so having a quick break now and will shorten my lunch break to make up for it. The weekend can't come soon enough for me so I can recharge.
S x

bargainhunterss

Thanks iamsalt!

iamsalt

Hello everyone.

Felt motivated this morning so have been in the garden - this will be me making do, and minimising. There is an area at the bottom of the garden that has been overgrown with elder, unscented mock orange and nettles with some brambles and couch grass grown in for good measure. It also was the compost heap which OH used before i moved in. Our patio is north facing and rather windy so I had a thought of clearing this area, which gets more sun, backs onto fields and is sheltered into a seating area which can be used in the evenings.

I have been minimising the plants with relish this morning. Still a long way to go, but the garden seems to be lighter (some of the branches were 10' high) and I am feeling good about getting it started as I have thought about it for a while. When it's clear I will put down some York stone flags I found buried at mums when clearing that for the new drains. So that will be a lovely making do but is still some way ahead.

I wanted a no spend day today - its been a while since I managed it - but really wanted something sweet to eat, a rummage in the cupboard found an old (2012) angel delight and I have made that and am on here while that sets.

Mending - we will see but it will probably be mending me in the bath later when my muscles start complaining about the work I have been doing!

S x

Lynplatinum

Morning all

thanks dND and Celtic Moon - yes thus far house is everything that I wanted!! Have been able to leave it with a kind new neighbour offering to water my few plants in pots (it only has a courtyard garden - deliberately)

dND - declutter, declutter, declutter and you will still move with stuff which when you are unpacking you find yourself saying 'seriously??? I moved with that!!!' :rotfl:

I have often used frozen fish but added a few more moments to the cooking time btw.

Am still in Milton Keynes. the funeral, if any such thing can be, was very good. Far more a celebration of her life than anything else and everyone understood that at least, at last, she was out of pain. We were all laughing during her husband's eulogy and that is very much what she would have wanted.

Am still staying with friends. Am off today with other friends to see the new Star trek movie (am a massive Sci Fi fan) will feel the cold in the cinema whereas its pleasantly warm indoors here today.

Even if I was home I could not be washing duvets because I dont have a washing line yet (just a short bit tied to 2 fences) and also dont have a washing machine yet Am doing personal washing by hand each day. I may manage to wash duvet covers etc by hand too when I get home as so far they are all single covers! Back to the good old days eh??? Saves the electric I suppose!! :j

BTW - can anyone advise on size of washing machine to go for (live on my own but have double duvets and occasional visitors who will also have double duvets), please :A

Wishing all washers well!!
Have good day folks

iamsalt

Lynplatinum- I have one which takes 9kg, it takes a 9tog king size duvet under duress. I also don't particularly enjoy washing so I do 2 loads a week one whites and one colours, and being so big it all fits in. I can also do the duvet cover set, including pillow cases,sheet and mattress protector in one go.
Others may have better ideas
S x

silvasava

Iamsalt - good idea to move your seating area to a sunnier part of the garden. Our back garden faces east and at the end of the day our patio is shaded by the house so we built another one halfway down the garden on the north side that faces south. It was a lot of work at the time but we love it and it gets used far more often. I've been sitting g there top & tailing gooseberries and Blackcurrants as its sheltered.

Lyn - as you are on your own I would suggest that you look for one that does a half load - not to be confused with a quick wash! TBH i have a 9kg WM but would have preferred one that the quickest wash isn't an hour because it doesn't do a half load. My duvets are always do e at the local laundromat as they have a couple of the big Westinghouse machines and they just get do e once a year and dried at home on the line.

dND

Lynplatinum wrote: »

dND - declutter, declutter, declutter and you will still move with stuff which when you are unpacking you find yourself saying 'seriously??? I moved with that!!!' :rotfl:

I've been decluttering for a year and I still have too much junk :eek::eek::eek:

But seriously though it is the best piece of advice. I discovered there are things that are millstones too - like all the 'I'll wear that when I loose a bit more weight' clothes. I finally ditched (via the clothes recycling) bags of those and somehow I also ditched 10 Kg of weight shortly afterwards :rotfl:I didn't mind at all about the clothes as I'd realised that I was up to 25 years older than some of the clothes but they weren't quite old enough to be classified as vintage :D Still going, sifting through and then returning and sifting through another time but trying to make sure I don't throw out the baby with the bathwater!

silvasava wrote: »

Lyn - as you are on your own I would suggest that you look for one that does a half load - not to be confused with a quick wash! TBH i have a 9kg WM but would have preferred one that the quickest wash isn't an hour because it doesn't do a half load. My duvets are always do e at the local laundromat as they have a couple of the big Westinghouse machines and they just get do e once a year and dried at home on the line.

Lyn, I totally agree with silvasava, look for a large capacity machine with a proper half load option. The 'normal' wash on my machine is a bit over 2 hrs but there is a one hour programme as well. I timed the actual wash part of it the other day and was surprised/shocked to discover it was a little over 10 mins :eek:

I suppose that is why the instructions drop the maximum weight of the wash so much as the clothes would need a lot of space to thrash around in order to clean in that short a time. As a follow on, a larger capacity machine that gives clothes room to move should wash cleaner than an overfull smaller one.

And they said automatic washing machines would make our lives easier - you need an engineering degree to sift through all the publicity blurb to filter out what will actually benefit you!!! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

hollysnan

I hope you dont mind if I join in.
I really need to declutter and mimimise lots.
My mobility is very bad and will only get worse as i age 60 now.
So I need to go through each room and declutter and make it easy to clean and dust.
We are also making some changes to the bungalow to make it easier for me.

I have been reading along for a while and though instead of reading.
I should been joining and doing.