Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2016

TheGardener

Despite being a tiny bit devastated my dishwasher rinsed it final load last night (no, I wont try to fix it - the smell of burning signals the end of its safe use in my view) However, I was cheered up by the fact I paid £50 for it 2nd hand in a charity shop and it has worked hard for the family everyday without fail or repair for 6 years and 2 months. So I reckon that was a bargain
I know it costs way more than doing the dishes by hand but the saving in tears, tantrums (kids arguing about whose turn to do the dishes) and my sanity has made it a well loved member of the family and the scrap man even gave me a quid for it :rotfl:

elona

Took dd out for a lunch as it would have been DH's birthday today and difficult for us all. DD had a 40% off voucher and we raised a glass in his memory.

Found a nice dress for dd suitable for smart occasion at work at tkmaximus and treated her to it.

DD has a cool box she uses for work but it had the logo of previous employer on it (competitor of present employer) which was awkward for her. I had a scrap of polka dotted toning material left over from a banner making project so ironed it, folded it over to make a square and hand sewed it over the logo, making sure I did not sew right through the insulation material. It now looks a little bit C*th Ki****esque

DD needs a nice dress for a work posh function and had an e mail from a site that does nice dresses etc and are having a sale so identified some things she might like while she was working from here so she could then narrow down what she liked. Ended up ordering three dresses to be delivered here so she can try them on and they can be returned if not right and all of them are half price or less.

Could not decide what to make for myself tonight so used up a tin of sardines and had them on toast.

camelot1001

Thanks CathA, your instructions were spot on! I have successfully made 2 pom-poms! They seem to be huge but the hat looks cute. Can't believe how much wool they take.

FairyPrincessk

Morning all,

Looking forward to a work from home day and the weekend! I'll be making do for lunch today as we ate all of the veggie chili last night. I'll have a poke around the kitchen and see what I can scrounge up. Salmon tacos for tea tonight.

I'm not sure what mending and minimizing might be on the horizon today, but I'm sure something will come along.


TheGardener--don't feel too guilty about your dishwasher. They're actually supposed to be more efficient than washing by hand. I suppose this depends on how you wash, but it sounds like it has been a faithful helper and a bargain! I hope you'll be able to find a comparable replacement.

mrs-moneypenny

Morning all

Busy all day today and out tonight so nothing much by way of mmming will be achieved
Weather not looking brill for the weekend so plan to do some crafting and stay in in the warm.

Have a good day all.

HOWMUCH

Well today should have been my day off from looking after DGS but because he's not well he will be getting dropped off her for a change for an hour or so. DD has got her 12 week scan this morning and children are not allowed to attend. So he's coming over, depending on how long they are here after will depend on what gets done. I want to make a large vat of corned beef hash, we do the stew type one. I take a crafty 3 slices off the tinned corned beef which is put in the fridge for a couple of days, so that it's easy to cut. This is used for 2 sarnies for our lunch. The rest is added to onion, carrot and turnip, potatoes and hot water and oxo cubes and cooked on the hob for about an hour on a low heat.
Have a good day everyone x

silvasava

Busy day yesterday & plenty to do today too. First of all thank you to AOT for the info on the gloves. It rather looks as if the neoprene fishing gloves I bought will do the same thing - heat and compression. They do seem to help ease when his hands are painful.
Spent yesterday taking photos of household objects, cropping them and changing to black and white for the picture round for the quiz tomorrow at the club. Did my couple of hours at our local Help the Aged centre and then did my yoga class. DH fended for himself (his favourite - baked spud, cheese and beans) he got my tea ready - sardines on toast with cheese on top.
DS1 bought us tickets to see the Alter Eagles at our local little theatre for Christmas - we've seen them a couple of times before and they're brilliant. We're going tonight so I think it will be quite poignant too.
Got to finish the pictures this morning and cut the vynyl from the templates DH & I did on Wednesday - that will be another job crossed off the list. Not sure what of this lot counts as MMM though!

Minihauk

Lots of minimising being done here. Five bags for the charity shop and two for the bin.

I retired last year but cannot get my pension for another four years, and although I have a small private pension I am dipping into my savings, so I need to remedy this, so have enquired about taking in students for a few days a week. All going ahead nicely, hence the minimising "stuff"! It doesn't pay brilliantly, but means I don't need to go out to work and can make use of two otherwise empty bedrooms. It will also give me a reason to cook and clean, and some company during the evenings - win, win. :money:

Still eating from the cupboards as fridge freezer still not replaced yet, but am managing ok.

Have crocheted a couple of little hats of a friend's twins, just making some flowers to embellish them.

Hope you all have a good day.

CathA

camelot1001 wrote: »

Thanks CathA, your instructions were spot on! I have successfully made 2 pom-poms! They seem to be huge but the hat looks cute. Can't believe how much wool they take.

No worries. Years of writing and reading instructions for the MOD came in handy! Pom-poms away! X

HOWMUCH

Well little man DGS is back home with his mummy and we have a lovely scan picture to look at. The hash is happily simmering in the large pan, I've got of the vey cheap puff pastry out of the freezer and will make apple turnover's with the rest of the tin of chunky apples I got for 49p.
I've been sorting and recycling some paperwork so I've done a large bag ready for next weeks collection.
I've printed off the booking confirmations for the holidays I've book via Bre@kfree and locals. Booked a Mon-Fri in the middle of July on the east coast Yorkshire for a grand total of £108.68 so just over £27 a night. Also booked our usual 11nights in North Norfolk in early October for a grand total of £145.59 for just over £13 a night. Our March and May breaks were booked and paid for last year in a similar offer with them. I know caravan holidays are not for everyone but it suits us, we can do as we please when we're there. We take an oil filled heater and use that to help keep us warm if it's chilly. There's a swimming pool and the beaches are in walking distance, we use our bus passes to get out and about, leaving the car at the site it's all part of the adventure. So it's very make do and minimise lol x