Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2016

tboo

nicki wrote: »

Has anyone got any ideas of what I could recycle a double wool blanket into? Its a heavy weight one from back in the 20s/30s I think. It was given to my nanna when she got married, and rather than pass it on to the charity shop I'd like to do something useful with it but I'm not sure what.

Not that I can sew - what about a blanket wrap, all depends on the colour though
I have this saved for a project when I have a nice blanket to use and I'm feeling brave
wool coat

mrs-moneypenny

Tboo that blanket coat looks fab, I can see why you want to make one

FairyPrincessk

Nicki I've seen instructions in vintage magazines for turning a wool blanket into curtains. I think in this case it was an army blanket and was promoted as a way to beat shortages in WWII. Depending on your style you might give it a go.

HOWMUCH

Good evening MMMer's

Make do used left over mash and savoy cabbage mixed together and fried to make bubble and Squeek.
Minimising still knitting using my stash with the baby bunting bag.
Mending some more shopping bag handles.
The weather has been lovely and sunny today and we even got outside to play with DGS. We was called in to do sitting service on DD day off as she had hospital appointment and couldn't take him.
JackieO the cottage sounds great in Leek next to a brewery.
Have a nice evening everyone

Ch1979

Hello everyone
I'm a Newby but love arty, crafty stuff. Is this the right place as I'm overwhelmed by the amount of sub forums. This month I have..
Made mushroom pate tonight out of past their best mushrooms.
Made a purse for my budget
Used old socks instead of dusters(on the hands, dampen, rub everything)
Dyed a pair of shoes
Turned a dress into a skirt.
Took apart old necklace to make earrings plus jewellery supplies.
Turned a bag strap into a belt.
Mended my toilet again..
I have loads of scarves (cotton type) and only wear about 25% of them. What can I make? I thought about cushions but the colours totally clash with my decor.
I can do basic sewing on my trusty singer machine.. Darts etc seek beyond me. i have mod podge, textile, acrylic and spray paints, jewellery making stuff, canvasses, lots of old clothes etc....
To wear, as art, household items, accessories.., what do you think?

Lynplatinum

Evening All!!

Jackie O - you will have to let me know if cottage turns out OK - right by a real ale pub!!!:cool: - unless pub is noisy and keeps you awake but most real ale pubs are not like that (except Wspoons!!) Thanks for thinking of me! :A
If anyone is ever heading for Buckinghamshire or Cornwall or Hastings or Northampton - I know quite a few good pubs in those areas and am happy to share my knowledge folks!

FPK - nice to hear from you again!Your idea of a screen free evening is a great one - So while I am on here (usually after 10pm) I am now switching TV off rather than having it babble away at me. I know it is not screen free but it is a start to break away from the information overload!
Capplla - great way of making savings as all motorway places charge inflated prices!! Driving to see DS2 or down to my friend in Cornwall -if I havent been organised enough to pack food the prices horrify me! Once treated DS2 to a Bu!er King meal which was about 1/3rd more expensive!
Ch1979 - welcome - I seem to remember somat about using scarves as wrapping for presents - think it was on a Kirsty Allsoppy programme - if you dont want them any more it could be a great way of using them up???

Well today have been v good - photocopied all stuff for conveyencer +had long soak in bath and finally cut toe nails before they went through socks! + did freezer audit - to see if I can put candles in there to preuse the wax as another candle!! I only bought freezer in autumn and already its full!!! :eek:
Most of it consisted of breadcrumbs/bread for breadcrumbs so I feel a Queen of Puddings coming on when son comes to stay in a few weeks time!! But it made me aware of what I had to use up again!! No veg left but 3 HM ready meals - 2 currys + an Asian Beef - so when Im working a lot next week - there are some meals ready for me.
Make Do: lemon and chicken risotto (chicken found in freezer audit) which includes enough for tomorrow
Mend: nowt
Minimise: Me - hopefully as went for a long walk with my friend up several steep hills in new walking boots - about a 8 mile trek - this was in leu of our Sunday walk as I was Baby Showering! (Wonder where the word came from???.......... potters off to mosey round the net to find out
Will report back tomorrow folks
Nite all sleep tight! :A

FairyPrincessk

Morning all,

Lyn--I'm glad you like the idea and have found a way that it suits you!

Ch1979--presumably the scarves are closer to your taste in clothing than decor. I'd probably consider making clothes out of some of them. This depends on how big they are and if any of them complement each other, but you could make skirts, kimono tops or a beach dress.

For not wearable stuff--small laundry, fruit and veg or shopping bags.

savingpennies

Good Morning all.
Minimising (well I hope it helped me lose some weight). On Monday we went to a wildlife/country park run by Blackpool council that I didn't know about. We spent several hours walking about with a 'birdie' friend of OH's. He is one of those who counts all the species he sees and we counted nearly 50 different birds. It was a bright sunny day but when the wind got up it was bitterly cold but we had wrapped up well. As it was council run it was free and was well used by people.
More minimising: Yesterday OH and I went through our budget, as my retirement is getting closer (April): We have a good idea of our retirement income and knew what our current outgoings were so used the site's budget planner to input all the information. We didn't just look at the usual bills i.e. fuel, water council tax but also worked out how much we spent on haircuts, birthday presents, etc. The conclusion was that we will have some surplus:j It was a really good experience as we sat and questioned some of our spending and habits. OH updated his diary to record when things expire (car/house insurance, utilities, etc) so that we can do our research for cheaper deals well in advance. Today I am off to open some easy access savers and set up regular payments into them for car/birthdays/opticians&dentist We already have a regular saver for Christmas.
It took us quite a while to do but I feel so good now we have done it to see that we are going to be ok and be able to do the things we want to do.
One other thing I have done is change dentists. We were private patients but we're dissatisfied with the practice. Another local dentist had set up a waiting list for new NHS patients and I had put all our names down. Yesterday they rang to say we had been accepted and when did we want to make appointments. I've calculated it will save me about £50 a year (comparing on two checkups and two hygeinists visits). But the money I have been paying out is going into a savings account to allow me to budget for them and any other dental treatment.
Making do- We had some beef stew left over from the previous day, so with a couple of jacket potatoes we used it up.
Sorry it's a long post but I am on a roll with our retirement planning.

Floss

savingpennies wrote: »

Good Morning all.
Minimising (well I hope it helped me lose some weight). On Monday we went to a wildlife/country park run by Blackpool council that I didn't know about. We spent several hours walking about with a 'birdie' friend of OH's. He is one of those who counts all the species he sees and we counted nearly 50 different birds. It was a bright sunny day but when the wind got up it was bitterly cold but we had wrapped up well. As it was council run it was free and was well used by people....

Was that Marton Mere, at the back of the De Vere & Lawsons Field?

MrsCD

Savingpennies, I retired last October, my DH having retired a few years ago. I looked at all our direct debits and cancelled the ones that really weren't necessary such as the weekly tv magazine which was hardly read. It was a good exercise, and calmed my money ocd feelings and I then knew exactly how much money we would have spare. Hope you enjoy your retirement.

A couple of weeks ago, I gave some clothes to our friends who have a charity shop.. I was told last night that one of the outfits I sent had been bought by a lady looking for a suit to be married in!
I'm really ridiculously happy about it. Silly, isn't it? :rotfl: