Bricks Not Books

VintageHistorian

This is very true @South_coast sometimes the cost is well worth the stress reduction!

Cooking has continued a little today. I have made an apple and blackberry crumble for Mr VH, using last years blackberries that were in the freezer, and 6 chocolate chip cupcakes for my work lunches this week. I did want to make some bean casserole for DS but there's not much room in the freezer thanks to Saturday's batch cooking. Oh how I long for a utility room, or a garage that has an electrical supply so I could have a small chest freezer.

I have made some space by removing some things that are just never going to be eaten, such as some tiny pots of sweet potato and butternut squash pasta sauce that I lovingly made for DS when he was 9 months old and which he turned his nose up at. To be fair I can't blame him, I vaguely recall it smelled like feet when I made it. I've also taken out some chicken kievs for us to have for our dinner tonight, and I've decanted some potato waffles and fish fingers into freezer bags so the half-empty boxes can be binned. But that's all been filled up by the Saturday cooking which was left in the fridge.

There's a little decluttering challenge on Instagram for September which involves decluttering 100 things over 30 days. The organiser does decluttering as a living and will do an area of focus each day. I tried it last year and didn't get as far as I wanted but I'm going to try again this year. I've got a few things I want to try and sell so if I can find the motivation of photograph and list things on the mailing list at work, and some pennies towards holidays, then that's all for the best. I've been making a little list in my planner of the places I need to remember to go through. That means I should probably start now but it'll be easier to make time for it when I know others are doing the same thing.

That said I did have a tidy up of DS's toys the other day. Some things have been put in the drawer under his bed and some have been tidied away into boxes. There's two, possibly three or four, decent-sized toys that are still in good nick that I could also try selling but I might do that a bit closer to Christmas so I can watch him and make sure they're definitely not really being used. We could probably put up some shelving in his room and move a few things up there too.

This afternoon we're going to pop out to Aldi and get some more nappies. Potty training is going well but DS still needs a nappy at night and we're running a bit low, the main difference is we won't stock up and buy 3 large packs this time!

Dinner tonight is chicken kievs and potato wedges. I didn't have loads of potatoes left in the first place and on peeling them discovered a lot of flaws in them, so it will be a smaller than usual wedge portion. I could probably do with the occasional smaller portion though to be honest.

Have a good week everyone!

feeldaburn

What is the decluttering challenge? I think I should give it a go!

edinburgher

Mashed potato = potato ricer 👌🏻

I still remember the ungrateful face I did when chef FIL gifted me one for Christmas but boy was he right!

Watty1

Another one after the decluttering challenge.  
I've done so much but there is still more to go.

VintageHistorian

edinburgher said:

Mashed potato = potato ricer 👌🏻

I still remember the ungrateful face I did when chef FIL gifted me one for Christmas but boy was he right!

Oooh thank you edinburgher, might have to add that to the future kitchen tool list (although a dishwasher is right at the top and hasn't move for a few years now XD)

VintageHistorian

feeldaburn said:

What is the decluttering challenge? I think I should give it a go!

Watty1 said:

Another one after the decluttering challenge.  
I've done so much but there is still more to go.

One of my former colleagues also DMed me on IG saying they wanted to participate so clearly tis the season for having a clear out!

It's the orjenise100 challenge, if you look up orjenise on Instagram you should find her quite easily. She's a great declutterer to follow as she likes "stuff" and doesn't preach about getting rid of things to make a minimalist life, but clearing and organising enough that you're not overwhelmed.

f0xh0les

A potato ricer also allows you to turn ice cream into 'spaghetti' and if you add strawberry sauce on top you get 🍝 Spaghetti Ice!
Best Mum trick ever

VintageHistorian

f0xh0les said:

A potato ricer also allows you to turn ice cream into 'spaghetti' and if you add strawberry sauce on top you get 🍝 Spaghetti Ice!
Best Mum trick ever

DS is a strange toddler as he's not keen on ice cream! He tried some at Center Parcs and enjoyed it after an initial shriek at how cold it was, but since then he refused our attempts to feed him more.

VintageHistorian

August OPs finished at £22.95 (boo to being under the £30 target).

September OPs have started with £19.28!

Decluttering has begun! Although actually I need to start getting the things out of the house. This is where decluttering tends to fall down for me. I'm trying to be ruthless about actually binning things that no one else will want but it's hard with things I know can be useful for others.

But there's a bag for the charity shop and I have a week off this month so I'll book a slot at the tip for a day when DS is in nursery so we can chuck a bunch of things out there. And I need to go into town tomorrow and hastily buy a birthday present for a sister so I'll try to make sure I leave the house with the charity shop bag tomorrow. Other things can go in the freebie box, I just need to remember to stick it outside in the mornings (on days when it isn't raining).

I have sold a winter coat that I barely wore last year. It was a lovely White Stuff one that I got a few years ago, but the sleeves were always a bit too tight and the pockets weren't deep enough. I prefer the jacket version of the coat, which I also have, so I sold it at work for £30. Priced for a quick sale and then felt a bit guilty at not asking for more money, but I want both space and cash, and someone now has a good coat that should last them plenty of years. The £30 will be paid towards the future house move fund.

I have also sorted out some of DS's things to try and sell, and also 2 of my maternity dresses which were Jojo Maman Bebe, so very good quality. I got those off Vinted in the first place so I won't ask for much for them.

I have invested £60 in my own wardrobe by doing an essentials restock with M&S. I had a 20% off voucher for all fashion with the Sparks card so got 6 vests, some pants, some socks, a pair of trousers, and some wellies for DS. The trousers are lovely so I'll probably buy a second pair and then I will mostly be set for winter. I have also made 2 Christmas purchases; some biscuits for Mr VH's hamper (on offer in Waitrose), and an embroidery kit off Etsy for my sister. I was looking for a birthday present but this will arrive after her birthday, so it can be a Christmas gift instead. It was on offer so I couldn't leave it!

Oh and I paid road tax for this month so I will try to keep the £200 in my sinking fund, but after holding tightly onto the car insurance money last month I won't feel too bad if I need to dip into the road tax savings this month. I need to start looking for cooler weather clothing for DS, once he lets me test which of his current clothes still fit over his enormous head.

First week on part-time compressed hours went well. I'm taking breakfast and lunch with me and I'm finding making both the night before is a bit of an uphill mental battle after a long day. This week I'm going to try making 2 days worth on Sunday night and Wednesday night, so Monday night and Thursday night will just involve picking my crisps and packing my biscuit/cake.

Dinner tonight is oven pizzas. I'm also roasting tomorrow's chicken in the slow cooker today, to make tomorrow a bit easier, we'll be having it was potatoes and greens (I've got some ratatouille in the freezer for Mr VH) and yorkies.

Have a good weekend everyone!

VintageHistorian

You will all be unsurprised to learn that I forgot to take the bag to the charity shop when I went into town on Sunday.

I did, however, bin some past-its-best baby food jars that we never got round to feeding DS, and I have sold 2 pieces of baby clothing and 1 baby sleep item which will total £15 when we exchange items for cash. That's going to go into the Disney Paris fund. I've got 2 talks in the next week, one I'm charging a bit less than usual as they're a very small group and very local, the other group are paying me a bit extra as they like to round-up once you add petrol money, so it balances out. That will all go towards retirement, but next year I might swap the focus to a new car. I don't want to get caught out by breakdowns like I did last time.

I must order new bedsheets for DS this week as we only have one set and with the cold weather coming I won't be able to dry washed bedsheets easily after an overnight nappy leak. His new wellies have arrived and are a little large as M&S didn't have a wide size, but his feet do still squeeze into his current pair so we don't need to move him up just yet. I do need to dig out his first wellies though and give them a wipe down as they could probably sell.

Did the food shop today and managed to get some yellowstickers in Waitrose. I picked up 2 gammon steaks which were slightly bigger than the pack I normally buy and cheaper with the reduction, and I also got some organic meatballs to good for DS. I'm not normally precious about feeding him organic but these looked quite large and when I cook them I'll be able to cut them quite small to make multiple meals for him, so they seemed worth a punt.

I couldn't make 2 days worth of breakfast and lunches on Sunday as I only had enough bread for Monday But we definitely have enough bread today so I'll get that done this evening while dinner cooks.

Dinner tonight will be chicken and chorizo pasta, with garlic bread (and salad for Mr VH). Have a good week everyone!