A Simpler Life 2018

maryb

Thanks IrisViolet. I do, in fact, put carrot bags etc in the carrier bag recycling but I did worry about whether I was contaminating a load. But I think Wrose tries to recycle all its own packaging so it must just go in with the bags presumably

For storing stuff in the fridge I use glass clip top jars if it needs to be airtight (Ikea do really good ones). Otherwise I just use a small mixing bowl with a saucer on the top. But I do have some beeswax somewhere so will have a go at making bowl covers

I have retired my Brita water filter. I have to remember to fill a jug and leave the water to stand if I need chlorine free water for my sourdough. But although you can “recycle” the cartridges at Argos I wasn’t sure if they actually reused them or just reclaimed the charcoal leaving the plastic to be recycled Anyone know?

lessonlearned

VJsmum wrote: »

My mum did this for my two, and for many years I put birthday and Christmas monies in there. For complicated reasons they haven't been able to access them until now when they are 21 and 18 but they are about to get £900 and £700 respectively which has made them.

My in laws did this for my boys (which is where I pinched the idea from:rotfl:). They had a nice lump sum which helped them when they went to university.

I’m not mean. I shall still buy a couple of gifts but just not inundate them. I will probably look out in the charity shops so I can have a nice collection of toys, games and books to keep here.

I’m not sure that DIL would appreciate baby clothes from charity shops so I probably won’t bother much. Maybe just keep a few bits here for accidents when a change of clothes is required.

Primrose

We have two full freezers and there are only two of us although I do grow and preserve a fair amount of vegetables and soft fruit. However ai,ve come to the conclusion that one of the best uses for freezers, I. This household at least, as we get older, is the preservation of batch cooked meals.

Not only does it save fuel by not having to cook the same ingredients twice or three times, it saves a lot of effort to have ready prepared meals like spat Bol sauces, chilli con carne, curry etc. Another thing we batch cook is the meat bases for cottage pie or shepherd pie with the vegetables included so that all that is needed is the mashed potato topping. Having these, and home made soups blitzed down and stored in one pint plastic milk bottles means that on days when we either tired, or busy, we can produce nourishing meals easily.

(But thank heavens for the microwave for thawing them when we don’t remember to get things out from the freezer the previous evening!). I often wonder how our great mothers would have marvelled at all these devices we have to make our lives easier and more organised.

VelvetFreak

Well I've had quite a productive couple of days, just getting my house sorted in various aspects. Lots of decluttering going on. I don't go back to work until the 8th of Jan, my boyfriend is out of town until the 7th, and my friends are all seemingly busy, so I am trying to make the most of all this spare time.

I sold a bookshelf today for $60, which unfortunately has to go straight onto the credit card as I spent the money before I had it :wall:

Speaking of the Credit Card. I literally just got up in the middle of typing this and chopped it up. Whilst I am not completely out of control with it, and I clear the balance every month, I have a terrible habit of putting stuff on it, and then forgetting/not accounting for it. I keep getting worse about it over time. The card is an Amex black card that I got as a work perk when I used to work for the bank. I don't want to get rid of it completely as it has free travel insurance, but I will not order a new one until I decide to travel overseas which probably won't be any time in the future.

Hopefully this will now make my budgeting much simpler. :T

Now I just need to find the motivation to finish tidying my house, vacuum and mop the floors, and put on a load of washing :rotfl:

fuddle

Although we don't have many 1pint milk bottle buying opportunities (family of 4) I now will save them when I do... soup freezer storage. Thanks Primrose!

That leads me to soup quite nicely. I have decided to make more as my family devoured a batch of celeriac soup yesterday. It fits in nicely with my new housewife task of learning to cook seasonably in preparation for when my allotment is producing. Until then I've noticed that Lidl do have seasonable items, which is where the celeriac came from. Leek and potato soup is next but don't tell the family that I"m saving potato peelings to add in too

MMF007

I have unintentionally had a trial run for a simpler life!
Due to a family emergency in Nov, that took place a few hundred miles away, I had to pack quickly and I planned for 5 days.
The 5 days turned into 5 weeks. I managed perfectly well with my capsule wardrobe! I did have to add one item though.... One of the weeks was snow-filled, the next one was just very cold so I visited a charity shop and bought a warm scarf for £1.

I also bought a pretty necklace for my dad to give to my mum (he was too ill to shop), also from CS. It went down a storm and was much admired.

I view shopping at CS as recycling, as well as providing funds to the cause.

The 5 weeks away involved being in a small village 70 odd miles from any shops larger than a local Co-op! and mainly visiting a hospital, so the upside was *No Spending on Stuff!*. Other than food, the scarf and necklace were the only purchases i made

I gave up a stressful job 18 months ago and am self-employed now. Much reduced income (fully anticipated and planned for), much reduced stress and plenty of weeks off! I am contemplating cutting back a few clients because I took on more hours last summer and would prefer more free time! Yep, lucky I can choose to earn less, very lucky, I know. Saved for years to enable it because time is so much more important than fripperies to me.

I threw myself into decluttering using the Marie Kondo method. It worked fantastically well for me. There is more Stuff I could get rid of and this will happen in 2018.

My DH and I have always loved simple things such as walks in the beautiful UK countryside, home cooking, watching a film, crafting (and I have recently taken art classes, although i have no natural talent!), etc. I love reading (DH not so much). I have friends who i meet for lunch every 6 - 8 weeks for a good natter and uproarious laughter. They are my simple pleasures.

There are some great ideas on this thread that I shall pursue and some i already do.

My biggest 'discovery' last year was that jam jars and kilner jars make great storage containers in the fridge for HM soup, various leftovers and poached fruit (I love blueberries gently poached with a tiny bit of sweetner, a punnet cooked this way goes in a jam jar and keeps in the fridge all week. The flavour are intense and the juice thickens very slightly on cooking so the result is delish with breakfast ).

Right, have waffled enough. Must get on, I have to pack a bag!

Primrose

I came across the milk bottle storage idea by accident after developing a leak in some thawing soup in a plastic bag and realised I needed some stronger storage, especially as ai also freeze fruit syrups from home grown blackberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants and they stain everything if a bag leaks. I then spotted a plastic milk bottle waiting to be recycled on the worktop and had a Eureeka lightbulb moment which has served me well for years.

Incidentally the one pint bottles also make good free ice packs for picnic cool bags on hot days to keep food fresh and if you if you fill them with a refreshing drink or whatever and freeze them first, you can drink them too afterwards when they’ve thawed out !

And at Christmas if the fridge is overflowing, fill some empty milk bottles with water, freeze them and store your surplus perishables in a picnic coolbag with them outside or in the garage and they will keep things in a good condition. They’re Also a good way of keeping foods frozen temporarily if you need to defrost a freezer .

THIRZAH

I had to dash down to DDs in the summer. I packed four days clothes in a small case-small enough to fit on the overhead rack of a train. It was warm and dry so was able to wash and dry clothes quite quickly The few days stay stretched into a month but I managed very well and didn't have to buy anything new.Most of my clothes are blue, grey, navy or cream so everything colour coordinated too.

DH packs loads of spare clothes whenever we go away. We were away for Christmas. I packed clothes for each day plus one spare set in case the weather was bad and we had to stay an extra day. When I unpacked on our return I found three T shirts, a jumper and three pairs of socks, all unworn, in his case.

patentgirl

Thanks Primrose and MMF007 for tips on storage in fridge and like the blueberries cooked slightly first will try that as so often by end of week few go mouldy only put few on my porridge each day so will ideal as Fuddle said don't often buy small 1 pint milks but my dad does so will ask him to save some got some Kilner type jars already so will use them for fridge too Still trying to downsize wardrobe going to put some outfits don't wear much in a box in loft if haven't wanted them or not thought about them will send of to charity shop in 3 months.
Have a Happy New Year everyone we are celebrating indoors just DH and me with some nice food and bottle of wine Here's to a successful Simple life in 2018:beer:

SimpleLiving

Some fab tips:j. Planning on making one day a week a batch cooking day. I already keep breadcrumbs, sauces etc in the freezer but could do better when it comes to fully prepared stuff!
Went through some clothes yesterday and put 5 items in the charity pile. Also printed out my week on one page diary with to do pages, cleaning lists etc for my filofax ready for a new year.