Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2016

camelot1001

Minimised LO veg for tea with some chutney.
Transferred birthday dates, etc to new calendar, old one in recycling bin. Also emptied gifted toiletries from boxes and put in cupboard, wont have to buy any hand cream/hand wash or body wash for a while!

CathA

I had a go at making banana ice-cream with some bananas that were going brown. You cut the bananas into chunks, freeze them and then put them in a blender with some milk (or left over cream). Be warned, it makes a mess when you blend it (well, I did anyway!). My little grandson is with me for the next 10 weeks so I'll see how he likes it. It is a bit solid, so I'll have to get it out the freezer well before I give him any, break his teeth otherwise, poor baby! I'll report back.

nicki_2

I'm going to try and join in with this this year.

My biggest expense has to be clothing for my daughter (she constantly puts holes in her t-shirts where her belt sits despite her being 14!) and food. My daughter is also a culprit there. Trying to get her to eat fruit or veg has become a battle field which I am going to tackle this year and she's becoming increasingly picky so I end up throwing away stuff as its gone off. I'm hoping that by MMM I'll be able to "find" the £500ish that I need according to my budget, to get my bank account into the black for the first time in nearly a decade

vulpix

Gosh Hester,I think your Doctors weightloss advice is dreadful.Even if you were to do the programme recommended it doesnt change ones eating habits or ones attitude to food.I know someone who lost 7 stone doing it and put every ounce and more back on.The best thing for me was no processed food and just being aware of how much I was eating.I am back on the bandwagon from today.I have put a few pounds on since my op and then Christmas.

Am loving everyones posts about their hopes and intentions for 2016.

My Mum and I have decided to make things for a craft stall next Christmas without spending any money.She is so skilled at any craft and has a massive stash of wool and fabric.I have had a brainwave to use my small stash up.Shopping bags! In our last house we had a superking duvet and I battled with it every time I changed the cover.I had a plain white cover and an orla kiely one.I gave the duvet to a doggy friend for bedding and made the duvets into singles for duvets I had.I made 8 pillowcases but have material left.Hence some groovy shopping bags are on the cards.Ooo I have some scraps of Sanderson fabric too from my curtains.I am chuffed to have found a use for it.I have been saving a deep red piece of velvet for years and will make a Christmas tree skirt with it.The plan is to make nice things from what we have,and only things we would buy ourselves.

Vx

nicki_2

Hester - My doctors referred me to a health trainer (Council scheme which was based in the doctors) to undo a lifetime of overeating and he basically gave me booklets available from the british heart foundation about portion size, changing the types of fat I consumed, cooking from scratch instead of processed stuff etc. I lost 2 stones in a year doing that but fell off the wagon due to ill health in April and never got back on it. Now I've gained 1st 5lbs back so I need to go through all the literature again to refresh my memory. I'd never go for one of those "quick fix" options because as soon as you start eating "normally" again you pile all the weight and usually some more back on.

Lynplatinum

Hiya All

Misstra - thank you so much for starting this thread again for 2016! May I once more join in? The 2015 thread certainly saved me money and at times my sanity!! Thanks to all the excellent advice and friendlyness on here :A

Minihauk - start decluttering now!!! I thought I had made great strides in this direction but having had to move loads of stuff out of front room for decorating purposes I realised just how much clutter I still had left!!! These guys are a bit extreme but it is worth following their 'how to' to an extent http://www.theminimalists.com/ (sorry its not hot linked but if you cut and paste into your browser it works)

Jackie O - ha - you said last year that you had managed to loose weight - well done!!! I have lost weight OVER CHRISTMAS!!! 4 lbs to be exact!! But ate mostly meat and veg and only a few treats and was rushing around like a blue a*sed fly with all the drama re DIL and unexpected pregnancy! Lesson to learn???

Minimising - got home on 28th Dec and haven't been shopping yet. I do get milk delivered tho. So used up aged carrots in a carrot, cumin and lentil soup - which has been lunch for several days (with egg on toast one day). Also made baked butternut squash with Feta and ( should have been walnuts but used pine nuts cos had run out of walnuts) - for tea for 2 days and tonight have made parsnip curry which will serve for tomorrow as well!

So thats also Making Do
Mending - have painted middle bedroom; got rid of all plaster dust and cleaned house; also painted front room wall which had been replastered. Also making do here in a way as because I had looked after old paint brushes and pots and ladder and rollers and tray I did not need to buy any new ones :j

New year goals:-
1) to be in bed by 12 everynight
2) to not lounge in front of mindless tv (to choose what to watch actively and wisely)
3) to do one household chore every evening
4) to do one thing towards making money very day I am not actually working (2/7) e.g.e-bay/craft/surveys rather than just saving money

Good luck all
Nite - sleep tight! :A

Dizzy_Imp

*nervous wave from the sidelines*:wave: is it OK for me to join please? Dipped into last year's thread as a lurker, but would love to be part of the chat this year x

misstara

Of course Dizzy Imp the more the merrier

Lyn you must be the only person I know who has actually lost weight over Christmas :rotfl: love the goals, should probably incorporate the household chores into mine.

vulpix great plan, good luck with all the making

nicki good luck 'finding' that £500.

Morning everyone
Finished a body lotion this morning so have taken out a new one from my christmas stash. Usually I get heaps of toiletries for christmas which keep me going for months but didn't get as many this year.

I've just had a wee fridge raid to see what I can take for lunch so oatcakes with brie and chutney will do very nicely. Tonight for tea we're having sausages with roasted sweet potato and veg which will use up some veg that I bought before christmas.

Right I better go and get organised for work. Hope everyone has a good day

camelot1001

Good to see you all again, some new folk too, always good to hear your ideas and achievements.

Minimising a few cartons of orange and apple juice, bottles of wine and beer and various other bits to DD today, including her bike, she left it here over the holidays as she didn't have room for it with visitors and a christmas tree! The fridge looks healthy enough and I can actually see what is in there.

One of my aims this year is to do some exercise, I started taking myself for a walk in the evenings if the weather wasn't too bad. I want to start swimming again too as I do enjoy it, just hope my cossie fits!

Making do with food left, may have to get some fresh veg later this week but can manage for now.

fuddle

Come on in Dizzy Imp

I'll be mending school tights today. Lovely black ones that you can't really see that my stitching skills or lack there of.

Beef and shallots in SC today. I'll serve with rice and broccoli.

I will be scrubbing a little more of the kitchen lino today but not a lot as my knees are acting up. I've had blood tests and x-rays which came back negative for arthritis but I swear it's worse when it's damp weather.

It would have been a NSD but I need tweezers. DH MM&Med my set into a handy tool for assembling his model. 'tis now covered in paint and glue. :mad: See MM&Ming has it's consequences too :rotfl: