2018 Frugal Living Challenge

System

mumof3.12kindebt wrote: »

it's snowing here at the moment

We have snow too. Not settling much yet though.

mumof3.12kindebt

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/storage-furniture/chest-of-drawers/malm-chest-of-6-drawers-white-art-10214557/


Does anyone have these drawers. I want to order drawer organisers for them but I don't have the size the of small drawers at the top or the longer drawers. Was Hoping to order the organisers ready for when they arrive so I can sort it all out the same day anyone have them and know which organisers fit or have the measurements of the drawers for me !!!128514;

Frugaldom

mumof3.12kindebt wrote: »

... I want to order drawer organisers for them but I don't have the size the of small drawers at the top or the longer drawers. ...

Could you make organisers for them from stiff cardboard boxes, possibly paint them or cover them in fabric if you are particular about the aesthetics of them?

No snow here, we are tucked away in the southwest corner of Scotland so we are just being blasted by what feels like Arctic winds.

I still haven't been shopping and now want to try and get to the end of the first quarter just purchasing absolute essentials - not sure if that's possible. :cool: Trying, anyway!

System

Ok....I know nothing about growing fruit and veg, other than tomato plants in gro bags...LOL.:rotfl: So after some advice as I know there are a few of you who grow veg.
Is it possible to make a sort of planter out of old wooden veg boxes that my delivery man uses? They seem quite sturdy and I was wondering if I lined them with something?? what could I grow?? What sort of soil/compost would I need?? Oh dear, I told you I know nothing....I sound like a right idiot don't I? :rotfl:

susieg

mumof3@ if you click on your own link and scroll down it tells you the organiser set to fit..... called Skudd £6. HTH

spudsmum

Hi all,

Well I'm back and feelng slightly more positive than the other day. Managed to get through the twinbabies 2nd birthday and party in suitably frugal style.

:A got all of the party food (for 10 people) within my normal food budget - well, strictly speaking I was 80p over but I'll live with that - loads of leftovers too so that will do for this weeks lunches.
:A found balloons and banners in cupboard from last year
:A found candles in drawer from last year
:A used wrapping paper leftover from xmas
:A cake cost 79p for icing - had everything else in my store cupboard (and again, we have lots of leftovers for pack lunches)
:A spent £6.50 on gifts - rest was purchased using vouchers from survey sites and giftcard i got for xmas

Quite happy with that considering i was really panicking due to husbands wages being short.

In other news my step dad managed to fix the electrics. Water was tracking down the wire for the security light and running into the fusebox. He managed to dry it all off and moved the box so it wont happen again. So all in all it only cost me £11 for a new socket and some cable plus the step dad's "usual fee" (a 4 pack if cheap beers ) saved me an absolute fortune on an electrician and I have my beloved tumble drier back and my freezers (defrosted too which saved me a job :rotfl:) in the end I only lost four slices of roast beef, a small shepherds pie and some chicken stock so I'll live with that.

Also managed to sort out our frugal holiday for next week and got all of our extras from my budget without putting anything on the credit card (a major milestone and a first for me!) Again I will be challenging myself to see how little we can spend without compromising our enjoyment. I'm quite looking forward to that.

Hoping the rest of this week will continue to be positive.

FrankieM

Morning everyone

The frugalling here is a bit hit and miss. No more spends on the groceries but money spent from the 'savings pot' on some snacks and a couple of takeaways. Still less than last month I think but I've also not been on top of my MS Money, so I'll also have to do that to really see the damage.

Getting back on top of things is taking longer than I thought it would but I'm not giving myself a hard time because each blip is a learning curve.

It seems I don't do well with stress. Even to the point of not really recognising it until I realise that I'm not sleeping very well and I'm choosing snacks and a takeaway instead of cooking, even the simplest of meals. So I need to be a bit more aware of how situations end up affecting me.

I've also had the central heating on more over the weekend because of the drop in temperature and the electric fire in the lounge...you can see the blinds moving from the breeze coming through the windows (not double glazed) so I'll need to get some lovely thick curtains if I intend staying here (rented property)

On a funnier note, I thought I'd do half mince, half lentils for my cottage pie yesterday, but I may have miscalculated the lentils cause I'm struggling to find the mince! It tastes surprisingly okay but it's very lentily...I may need to work on the basis that less is more and perhaps work out whether it works out cheaper to put in lentils anyway if you're using the cheap mince..?

Fuel to be bought today so not a no spend day and I'm going to have a catch up on my house admin and see where I'm at on my Minimalist March list. tonight when I get in from work.

Take care everyone

Frugaldom

ploppy57 wrote: »

Ok....I know nothing about growing fruit and veg, other than tomato plants in gro bags...LOL.:rotfl: So after some advice as I know there are a few of you who grow veg.
Is it possible to make a sort of planter out of old wooden veg boxes that my delivery man uses? They seem quite sturdy and I was wondering if I lined them with something?? what could I grow?? What sort of soil/compost would I need?? Oh dear, I told you I know nothing....I sound like a right idiot don't I? :rotfl:

Wooden boxes will be fine, just make sure if you line them with anything they are still free draining so the compost doesn't become saturated. What you grow in them depends on what size they are: shallow would need to be for surface growing stuff like salad leaves, spinach, strawberries and herbs. The deep ones could be for easy growing spring onions, radishes, garlic, beetroot, baby carrots, maybe even some snowball turnips. Good luck creating your container garden.

Frugaldom

WELL DONE, SPUDSMUM!

FRANKIEM, it's still a big achievement that you are still with us and always ready to bounce back onto the frugal wagon. On the lentils versus cheap mince saga, I have over padded in the past but ended up using most of it for pie fillings asthe lentil texture just didn't feel right to me when expecting mince. Personally, I now only ever pad out the mince with soya or quorn if I ever see any on a cheap deal and then pack a load of frozen veggies in with it. At less than 80p per kilo, I think the veggies are better value, especially when I can then add some garlic or herby dumplings.

FrankieM

I talked myself out of a takeaway last night and had jacket potatoes. It was hard work though.

I have no idea why that becomes my thought process...my daughter isn't in, I'll have a takeaway. It goes very much against what I'm trying to achieve.

I think might also change the day I get fuel so I only have one 'spend' day a week and then I can leave my purse at home more often.

It's all so psychological

Frugaldom I also use frozen veg in my usual recipe. The term 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' comes to mind.

I'd also like a bit of veg growing advice. I've seen the fruit canes in Aldi and I was wondering if they grow okay in pots? As I'm renting, I don't really want to plant too much in the ground if I can help it so I'm hoping to put things in pots and grow bags. Also , if I buy them now do I need to plant them straight away?

Any advice/guidance welcome