Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2017

Daisy_Rainbow

Hi, can I join too :hello:

I have made do with evaporated milk for the last couple of days . Kept forgetting to stop at the shop for fresh milk, so have diluted half a tin of evap with water to make 2 pints, I find it fine in tea & coffee. With the rest I will be making a rice pudding (no pudding rice left so will be using up the last of the risotto rice).

Mending - myself. Feeling a little down so a nice bubbly bath (using up the last of the lidl bubbles)

Minimalise - oh god the endless piles of tat that comes through the letterbox into the recycling bin :rotfl: Oh, the last few squares of chocolate will be minimised into me in a bit too :j

Loving this thread, so many fab tips

crazytree

Hi Wednesday2000 thanx for asking, I love any excuse to to talk about my animals! She's a chihuahua crossed with some sort of terrier, tiny and cute. There's a couple of pics of her on my Instagram (mybestcrazylife) if you like that sort of thing!
DaisyRainbow using evaporated milk in tea reminds me of my Dad's Mum who used to use it too. Can't deal with anything but skimmed in tea myself but it makes fab ice-cream and I will definitely pinch your rice pudding idea coz I've always got evap in the cupboard; it's one of those "store cupboard essentials"!
JackieO - you are completely awesome. Not just at using up but at scoring free food too! I think it's wonderful.
Make-do - today I shall be making pasties from sausage meat and a belly pork strip I've just got out of the freezer, that'll be two nights dinners. Once with beans and once with veg. Completely different meals, honest:rotfl:!
Mend - still nothing done. I found one of my windchimes in the garden has fallen down so needs new string (and possibly more glue) it's still in the pot of parsley that broke it's fall! Dog toys still need fixing. And it seems that my to-do list (I use an app or I'd get even less done ) needs updating to ensure I actually do some of this stuff :mad:
Minimise - I pledge to do at least an hour of present wrapping to minimise the heap of unwrapped pressies taking over my wardrobe. Yesterday I made some Christmas cards which helps minimise the craft stash since I rarely make cards anymore.

Sorry for such a long post to tell you I've done not a lot! Perhaps I need to minimise my tendancy to ramble on :eek:.

Tx

silvasava

Morning All - and a warm welcome to Newbies and any lurkers!
Selection boxes all wrapped up and put in the boot yesterday ready to deliver tonight. Need to start writing some Christmas cards for hand delivery when we visit rellies in Lincolnshire over the weekend.
Need to get my Arris in gear and minimise some dust - I'll do upstairs today and get spare room ready as we've visitors just before Christmas and a rellie staying over Christmas.
Make do with freezer stock for dinner tonight - no mending done as yet!
Have a good day all and stay warm x

Wednesday2000

crazytree wrote: »

Hi Wednesday2000 thanx for asking, I love any excuse to to talk about my animals! She's a chihuahua crossed with some sort of terrier, tiny and cute. There's a couple of pics of her on my Instagram (mybestcrazylife) if you like that sort of thing!

Aw, she is adorable. I have rescues too, one of my dogs is a Chihuahua crossed with a terrier.:)

RainbowHippie

LynP - sorry for your loss, and sounds like there are other frustrating things going on in your world also. Well done for keeping on and getting things done but do try and make sure you take care of yourself (as well as everybody else it sounds like!)

It's been a busy couple of weeks with lots of guests, social activities, and work stuff going on, so not much MMM has been happening here! Minimising has been moderately successful... I have managed to sell quite a lot of bits and pieces on eb*y, none for very much but together it mounts up and the extra paypal balance will go towards some xmas pressies for people who are difficult to do homemade gifts for. Luckily lots of the recent sales have been small and light (gloves mostly) so i've been able to post them using stamps i get for free doing the royal mail survey. I rarely use stamps for anything else so it's nice to have some used up!

OH has for the first time taken in interest in xmas decorations (but insists we are only to put up the 'good ones' this year - cheeky sod! :rotfl:) In all fairness we do have quite a lot and most of it is stuff my parents no longer wanted, so i had been thinking of getting rid of a lot anyway and just keeping the best few, plus some warm white lights. We have a rare friday evening where we're both free this week so are planning to spend a cosy night together going through everything and putting up what we want to keep (probably with a nice glass of wine) - much cheaper, and more fun, than going out! Anything we don't keep will be eb*yed or used as extra bling for gift wrapping, so it won't be going to waste.

Can't think of any recent mending, but have been making do with food from stores for over a week as i've been too busy to shop! but now we have run out/are on the last dregs of lots of different things so i will be visiting the 24-hour tosspots on my way home from this evening's work.

Hope everyone has a great weekend xx

misstara

Hello everyone

I've been making do with my hair straighteners for a few months, one half wasn't heating up properly so it took forever to do my hair. Finally bit the bullet today and got some new ones - 50% off

Been feeling horrendous recently, ongoing stomach issues. Went to the doctors yesterday and being referred to a dietitian so hopefully the first step towards mending me.

Lots of food in the fridge really needs used up so need to cook and freeze it, will do that tomorrow. Not much else to report, still hopelessly unorganised for Christmas and go to see my family in a week so need to get a move on.

mcculloch29

Got a job done that had been on the “to do” list for ages. My local council issues us with huge blue wheelie bins for card, plastic and tins and green plastic recycling boxes for glass. I finally found the online link to request a new green box as mine vanished ages ago.
I was using my own plastic box for jars and bottles, but the bin guys now refuse to empty it.
So I will have a smart new box. I had braced myself to pay £30 for it, but it was free.
My cleaner restarts next week. Can’t wait. Most jobs I can do, but they do them quicker.

Slowdown

Hi everyone,

Make do - with my 25 year old false Christmas tree. I was soooo tempted to buy a new one but didn't give in. I got the tree from the loft (dark, dodgy, cold, webby nightmare of a space), took it downstairs and proceeded to put it up. There were nearly as many needles on the floor as in the tree, two branches have broken off and I had to do some serious redistribution and re bending in order to make it look decent. Now smothered in lights and decorations that I have picked up over the years that are one offs and special, it looks beautiful.

Mend - the Christmas lights! Two sets weren't working so I set about fixing them with either new bulbs or electricians tape over empty spaces. On one string there are two runs of 6 bulbs that don't work but they're round the back of the tree.

Minimise - the decorations that are so old and not useable went out.

So. After all that it may sound like my Christmas decs look a nightmare. But they don't. My sitting room is a large but cosy space with a log burner and oak and brick matlepiece that looks gorgeous with lights and decorations over it. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. So pretty. :T

Have a happy Thursday everyone

[Deleted User]

Good Morning all I too will be minimising the presents by wrapping at least half today fingers crossed.

In the mending line I have a big thick cardi that my DD loves ,its old and faded and used indoors when its cold and it has a shawl type collar that has parted company with the neck and she asked my to sew/knit it back on for her,so I will give that a go today.

Making do with some pork fillet that I dug out of the freezer and will dip it in flour ,egg and dried stuffing and roast it with some potatoes and brussels and carrots (the very last of them I really must go shopping tomorrow morning )

The tail end of my rice pud will do for dessert.I have some semolina in the cupboard and I think I shall make up a pint of that and put it on the bottom of the oven when I am doing the fillet and roasties.

That will do for a pudding for several days and I can use some evaporated milk in that as well,with a sprinkle of grated nutmeg on top it will make a change from rice pudding

I have some lentils left in the jar and I think I will make a spicy lentil soup up to use the last of them up. I had a 5 kilo bag I bought about 18 months ago for £2.50 and I have been ploughing through it great value but I don't think I will be buying such a large bag again but the price was brilliant so I have got my value from it I have had lentils in soups ,stews,pate,and to bulk out mince dishes I think I'm all lentilled out now :):)
I even mixed them into fishcakes :):) with the bread crumbs to use them up.I think it was my bargain of 2016

Hope you all have a good and frugal day


JackieO xxx

crazytree

Misstara - I hope the dietician sorts you out. It's rotten being poorly at Christmas (and any other time really)
Slowdown - I was amazed at how old your tree is but then I realised ours is at least 17 years old and arrived with Himself when he moved in! So I'm getting there. I intend to make do with that for a good few years yet.
Thanx for your lovely comments about the dog Wednesday2000. Rescues are awesome but hard work aren't they? We had to "make do" with blankets instead of a duvet last night when she peed on the bed (for the second time ) I am on the look out for a second duvet. And pledge to keep the bedroom door shut until she's house trained :rotfl:
I've made do with freezer food for dinners (all planned into the menu - yay me :T) and shall make some puddings too.
Mend - nowt:(
Minimised - the heap of unwrapped pressies! Half done yesterday, I shall do the rest hopefully today. I shall minimise Himself's bank account by taking the dog to the v e t.

My friend suggested vinegar as a fabric softener, does anyone here use that? I thought I might give it a try as I'm doing so much washing at the moment!
Have a great day everyone
Tx