Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2017

Lynplatinum

Hiya All

Have been away for a week working at a CAMRA beer festival for which one does not get paid but for which if you work both the afternoon and evening sessions you get a free meal token. So I had a very minimialist time away as two friends (one on the first part of the week and one on the second) asked me to stay - and they kindly provided breakfast; lunch I picked up a £3.50 meal deal each day and then evening meal and free beer (up to 2 pints per session worked) !!! Brilliant!! Also enjoyed meeting up with old friends - I am so lucky - I spent the first hour I was there being hugged 'hello'!

Since Ive been back ive:

Make do: using LO veg I made a stir fry for tea tonight and a carrott and cumin soup for tomorrow's tea (with some really nice bread I treated us to and some cheeses) I got given some faller apples so I will make a crumble to fill us up afterwards, if necessary. Also making do with putting washing out on the - it was greyish but much of it was dry enough to only need an overnight air before putting it away tomorrow! :j
Mend: the tiles in the bathroom - the grout was going grotty and tarnished so I used an old toothbrush dipped in bleach to give the grout a whole clean fresh look - so in effect mended the look of the bathroom
Minimise: well, pleased that despite all that eating and drinking while I was away (I didnt over indulge and, indeed, had token left at the end!) I only put on a pound in weight. So this week it is no cakes etc and smaller portions which might minimise me!!! Also minimised loads of cardboard packaging that no one had seemed to find the time to chuck out while I was away!

Frugaling onward! Nite all

house_elf

MMM for Thursday....

Minimise: cleaned the top shelf of the tinned stuff cupboard. Minimised some open packets and unidentified sachets to the bin.

Make do: Tie dyed a tired white duvet cover using £6.50 fabric dye. Very pleased with the result. :money:

Mend: Can't think of anything I have mended today.......

Found a pair of UGG boots in Oxfam for £10. So more in than out :rotfl:

silvasava

House Elf - you did minimise £10!
No mending or making do but have sold two items that I'd finally got round to listing on fleabay and two pot bound shrubs I put on Freecycle were collected.
Just general day to day stuff to do today - it's fine and sunny but washing all done yesterday

misstara

Currently minimising my stash of travel minis, now down to 2 shampoo and 2 shower gel. I'll use up one more of each and then save the other 2 for next time I'm away.

Sausage casserole for tea last night - used up some veg that I'd previously frozen. Probably scrambled egg for tea tonight.

Got root canal treatment today which will hopefully mend me! I've been taking painkillers constantly for the last few weeks so fingers crossed that's it sorted.

villagelife

Not been too successful over the past week but here are some.

Minimised some more books to League of Friends shop.
Tidied under stair cupboard and some stuff binned and others ready to take to charity shop.
Also weeded the garden some were out in green waste bin and some on the compost and bulbs have been planted.

Made do/ minimised good from the freezer and some veg from the garden.
Also using up sample pots of body lotion.

Mended my letter box as the flap thing fell off. Hopefully it will last.

Not too bad, done more than I thought. I need to do more to minimise my spending as the way work is going i would like to retire as soon as possible so saving.

crazytree

Village life, it's amazing how much you realise you've done when you start writing in down. This thread really helps me see that I have achieved things even if there's still lots left on the to-do list!
This week I've...
Made do with leftovers from roast chicken to make soup and turned bruised pears into pear and ginger crumble.
Mended - me by sleeping lots in-between an awkward pattern of night shifts and days off!
Minimised - just the leftovers already mentioned!

A week off coming up! No plans as yet! Keep warm everyone...
T

Slowdown

Hi
Another busy day again.

Make do- with floppy carrots that turned into delicious soup with plenty of coriander

Mend- well I gave the stainless steel sink in the utility a clean like its never seen. It was covered in paint spots, tennis shoe whitener, lime scale and other unidentifiable infiltrators. Vinegar and old brillos later, one shiny clean sink. Whoop whoop!

Minimise- the ironing pile and my energy levels. I'm pooped.

Have a good evening everyone.

house_elf

Morning,

Make do....Tried out a few ideas to make with my DT groups. We have no resources and no budget, so need to be creative with recycled materials. My friend, Pinterest, suggested coasters and a papier mache poppy, which I have now finished. Both successful. Also got some ideas for interesting pot designs for my horticulture groups.

Mend..... mended the heart shaped bauble I made at the last NEC craft show I went to.

Minimise......I have been filling a suitcase full of stuff for the CS all week. Took it to BHF. Returned a dress that did not fit to Oxfam and sold 3 big items on eBay.

A successful mmm half term!

RainbowHippie

Good afternoon all. Hope those who have been on half term have had a good week off.

Going to try hard to post more regularly in the run-up to the C word to make sure i stay on track. I have lots of hm gifts to make, we need to have a very low-cost xmas this year for a variety of reasons. I need to sit down this week and make a list of people we are gifting to and what i will make so i don't forget anyone.

Make do - For the last couple of weeks i have been using up various tea bags (some assam and a couple of other types) that i bought ages ago to try out for a change, but nobody loved them so they've just sat on the shelf. Trying to minimise the number of half-empty boxes so i've been using them for my own tea. They've been fine - tbh now that i have soya milk rather than dairy i can't much tell the difference! Most of the random packets are now gone, just Redbush to use up now.

We've all also been making do with freezer meals or batch cooking this last week - i made a huge vegan lasagne earlier this week which we've all been eating for days, and before that it was a spinach and kale pie using greens from the freezer.

Mend - not a lot yet this week but have bought some 'breathable waterproofing' coating for external brick, as our garage wall gets lashed by the weather and the surface is starting to crumble. Also bought some mortar as there is some that has been frost shattered and needs replacing in between steps up against said wall and the wall itself. I have no experience with brickwork or mortaring, but one of the friends staying with us does and has offered to help, so i'm looking forward to learning something new.

Minimise - i wanted to mow the lawns yesterday but the ground was still too wet, so in an effort to still be doing something productive in the sun i emptied the shed, cleaned and de-spiderwebbed everything, minimised some unnecessary stuff to the bin and put the rest back in. Also weeded all the paths in the front garden and cut back the turf where it had encroached on the paving. I've suspected since we moved in (almost 2 years ago now!) that there was a paved path down one side of the front lawn as well as the one in the middle, but it was well-covered by turf and some attractive but rampant bedding plants, and i'd not investigated further as we've had enough to do inside the house. Turns out this path not only exists but is twice as wide as i had thought, and i was only able to clear half of it before it started getting dark. Bagged up the resulting muck and foliage and took it to the tip, or rather tried - i had forgotten the tip closes earlier after the end of British Summer Time, so yesterday was its first day of closing at 6 rather than 8pm :rotfl:I will have to take it this evening on my way to work instead!

Slowdown

I'm busy with my driftwood so I don't think it counts as any MMMing as the wood adds to my house, im not mending so much as making.

So
Make do - with leftovers for lunch

Mend - sadly not

Minimise- my chocolate brownie stash by eating it!!