Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2016

dND

MMMing continues here

First up is minimising me. Just before Christmas I realised that I really had to lose some weight (20kg to be more precise :eek:) and my son pointed me in the direction of myfitnesspal which is an online food and should you want it, exercise diary. By logging what I actually eat I've managed to drop 5kg :j and I won't lie and say it is easy but it hasn't been that hard either Logging everything and seeing the calorie/fat/sugar values of what I have eaten has really helped me stop the excessive snacking I was doing.

I didn't bother to track what I ate on Christmas day or Boxing day (which was my birthday) but I still managed not to put any weight on over the week. Best thing is that the programme/app (PC or mobile) versions are free for the basic version which is all I need.

I've tried so many diets over the years and some of them have worked for a short time (5:2 being the best for not piling back on afterwards) but none of them really train you as to what you are actually putting in your mouth whereas this has for me - weighing portions for instance, what I used to think was about a portion, was sometimes nearer 3 :eek::eek:
Further minimising is continuing on all the junk I have managed to accumulate over 40+ years of adulthood. That is slow going :rotfl:

And I'm currently minimising my fridge and freezer stocks - difficult when dieting but hey ho

Making this year is mainly going to be about using what I have to hand and already purchased to finish off what renovation work I can and hope that the house sells before very long.

Mending follows on with trying not to purchase anything more so I see an increase in super glue purchases :rotfl: Apart from that I have to make a start on the sewing pile; my winter work trousers are in there and the weather looks like it is finally going to get cold and I will need them.

Good luck to all returners to the thread and hello :wave:to all newbies, this is a great thread, and a big 'get well soon' and :grouphug: to all those who are feeling under the weather.

savingpennies

Just read an article on the Guardian website about 'affluenza' and the Couch case (rich kid, kills 4 and gets community service). Why? 'Cos being rich is now a social/psychological problem. The problem is: “a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more”.
Looks like this thread is the antidote:T

On another note, I feel really virtuous after sorting out my seed boxes and have thrown out a lot of old seed packets. I had packets going back to 2009.
Spag bol last night as DD2 was home, tonight salmon with goats cheese as it's DD's favourite and it is her day off.
I'm really pleased with myself as I've made all our bread so far this year, well the BM has and everyone agrees it tastes better.
Today's job is to take down the Christmas decs and then hoover/dust etc the downstairs rooms.

mrs-moneypenny

Morning all
Hope everyone is well
Ds2 informed me he'd hung 2 pairs of school trousers on the banister, one is too short and the other has a split crotch seam, so one to mend and one to minimise into the CS bag I'm currently filling.
Have just set the timer to let me have an hours crochet before I head off to work at lunchtime.
Food today will be jacket pots for lunch and cauliflower cheese for tea as they are all in the house and need using up.

beautiful_ravens

Morning!

Making do -

I wanted a receipt spike, so I made one...I cut a disc of wood from a branch and gave it a sanding, then drilled a small hole and glued a sharpened kebab stick, about 12cm, into the hole. Then I sprayed it silver, now I'm using it to not only stab receipts but also notes on what Ive spent!
Its a bit sharp so I had to make a cover out of a pen lid.

Other projects to start asap - new dog cushion and removable covers made from old blankets & sofa stuffing

Need to make at least 3 draught excluders, and one for the letterbox too.

Minimising -

Collected a load of pens, pencils, rubbers, rulers etc for pens4kids; that's packed up in the car and will be sent off on wednesday.

Soon to list a lot of rare cd's and tapes on ebay. Might leave that til the beginning of Feb to give my potential buyers a chance to get paid!

nicki_2

Okay, bit of a shock to the system this morning when reviewing the budget. I'm actually £1200 short due to budgeting £150 a month for irregular expenses such as school uniform, birthday/mothers day/anniversary gifts, new clothes/shoes, Christmas etc. :eek: I've also upped my grocery budget to £40 a week to allow for dog food, but added in a £60 spend every 75 days for my bulk buying the dry food which I then bag up into individual servings. This is an over estimate but allows for the current £50ish to go up if I don't manage to grab it on a deal or have vouchers I can use, its also an estimate of how often I'll need to buy it as I always buy it about a week before we run out to allow for delivery time and sometimes he goes off his food when DD goes away so I can squeeze a couple more days out of it . I'm thinking I'm going to have to work harder than I thought to do this.

Okay so today's plan:
Minimise/Make Do : I'm going to use stuff from the freezer to make tonights tea. DD is out at a club straight from school and won't be home until nearly 7pm so I'll put some uncooked chicken breasts in the sc with some left over sauce I've frozen. That'll clear some space in the freezer, mean I don't need to think about tea and DD can always scrape the sauce off and eat the chicken if she doesn't like it. There's some left over veg from Sunday in the fridge I can heat up to have with it, or there's salad. Lunch will also be salad.

I'd like to say I'd skip the trip to the supermarket this evening when I go to meet DD after her club, but we need milk, bread for tomorrow and the dog is on his last can of meat.

Mend : Who knows, but there is a big sewing pile that seems to be growing by the day that I should really tackle.

Hughesfamily

Good morning all, please may I join?

I have been reading all through last year and been inspired. There is just me and little one at home, she is 5 and I am a single FT working mommy desperate to clear the debts that my OH left behind so every penny matters.

I find that reading all the posts from like minded individuals keeps me focused on the matter in hand and restricts me urge for needless spends.

Rainy-Days

Well, I am not buying any more Emma Bridgewater for the time being. Allot of reasons behind this decision for me, but mainly because I am getting a bit bored with it all now. So, I intend towards Easter time to start reducing my collection and load it up onto eBay. The auction site through January and February goes quiet I am told so I will leave it until it starts to pick up again.

I am also reducing down considerably my stash of lotions and potions. I am using a Boot's Traditional skin care cream now which has done total wonders for my skin and complexion and the cost savings will be enormous! No more wasting money on fancy packaging with big names and fancy marketing behind them. :T

I am pretty much okay generally for toilettries so what I have I will use up and then by the middle of June - or thereabouts - I will be able to see what I have left and then keep it all to a bare minimum.

zaxdog

Making do: mainly food

1. big dish of 13p YS peppers in the oven (roast pepper soup tomorrow for lunch
2. 3p YS tatties in to bake for today's lunch
3. Freebie venison out of freezer, bendy carrots and sprouting tatties peeled for tomorrow's dinner

Mending: taking up Mr Zaxdogs combats :-)

Minimise: sorting stuff for the charity shop

FunBrum

I've taken my friends Christmas decorations down for him and instead of putting them back into the 3 boxes he had them in, I condensed them into 2, so minimised there!:T

I'm making do with Turkey and leftover veg from Christmas. I froze it and some yummy gravy, so it will be Christmas dinner again for us!:j

I haven't got anything to mend today....maybe tomorrow!:o

charlies-aunt

Nicki - we have three rescue dogs and find that they are happy to eat up left over cooked veg (except onions, which are poisonous to dogs) this uses up leftovers & bulks out their dried food healthily and also any slightly elderly eggs can be boiled or scrambled to substitute for a portion of dog food


Still eating out of the freezer (making do) and it would be a sin and a shame to let the xmas booze stock go off before its supped so having a cheeky glass of sherry tonight (?minimising)