Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2018

zebedy

I!!!8217;ve been lurking onthis thread for a while and really enjoy it. Nice to see it mentioned in the email. I don!!!8217;t have much minimising to do as i love decluttering so do it regularly and do t have any clutter left but i love the make do and mend approach.

pippo

buildersdaughter wrote: »

JackieO - one of my occasional Xmas treats is left-over panettone (didn't get any this year!). Makes the most fantastic bread-and-butter pudding. You've probably eaten it by now, but had to say in case anyone else gets any - they often seem to be in the shops at Easter.
Glad you're still here - I always follow your posts with interest (I'm really jackyann, had to sign up again after the password debacle!)

Had a fantastic afternoon with 2 grandchildren sorting my button box: inherited from my mother/ grandmother, I have of course added on the way, and was also given one by the family of a neighbour who died. I am making a denim shirt at the moment, and thought it would be nice to have some sorting help - really took me back!

Oh I love button boxes! My dear friend asked me many years ago to leave my nanna's button tin to her in my will! They are great to play with with grandchildren, aren't they? I have taken it a stage further and using a cheap canvas (4 small ones for a £1) and a glue gun made our Granddaughters a canvas with their initials done in buttons.

savingpennies

Re labels that fall off in freezer, Have you tried a bit of masking tape? Easy to write on and inexpensive to use.

Before the bad weather hit this week, I minimised the inside of the greenhouse, emptying out the growbags onto a couple of flowerbeds. I've got all my seed packets sorted and just need to start them off, but it is now too cold to go out there and start.

On the book front, I've managed to recycle 15 boxes of books since the new year. I was an English teacher for over 30 years so collected lots of books over the years. All all the text/teacher type books went to my old colleagues and the rest to the local hospice book shop. I've still got 6 floor to ceiling bookcases with books 'double parked', so some way to go.

Still making do with stuff out of the freezer, using up some fish and some pork.

mcculloch29

savingpennies wrote: »

I was an English teacher for over 30 years so collected lots of books over the years. All all the text/teacher type books went to my old colleagues and the rest to the local hospice book shop. I've still got 6 floor to ceiling bookcases with books 'double parked', so some way to go.
.

I feel a bit better now. I've built up a huge collection of English related books, but I did get rid of most of my child development/childminding books that weren't related to learning, when I switched careers to teach literacy and numeracy. Now I teach ESOL, but only via the written word.
I have five bookcases, only two of them are almost to the ceiling, and books are not double-parked, lots will have to go, though.

silvasava

Savingpennies - thanks for the masking tape tip! Fed up trying to get white board felt tip off my containers!

janb5

A friend passed on her tip of using egg shells. Wash them carefully and leave to dry( last bit`s important as if they are` wet`, it just goes `soggy`- don`t ask me how I know!) The either crush with rolling pin or processor and put in large jar ready as a slug deterrent.

Siebrie

Minimized: the box with office supplies from Aunt and Uncle was dropped off at the local Kindergarten.

Made do/minimized: made half a pot of rhubarb-ginger jam in a re-used jam jar, with homegrown rhubarb from the freezer and a ginger stem bought at a discount last year, also from the freezer.

I made a pasta sauce with a homegrown-grated-frozen courgette.

Made granola from wombled muesli (leftover from company breakfast) with the last bit of honey and the last bit of cononut oil.

For a snack today I had a homemade granola bar (from the same stash of wombled muesli), that I'd made in November and then froze. Heated up in the microwave it's delicious and several colleagues have commented on the nice smell.
'
We are working our way through the soft drinks/juices and fruit, not buying new until the old is completely gone. There is the occasional grumble, but in general it's going well.

Sayschezza

silvasava wrote: »

Savingpennies - thanks for the masking tape tip! Fed up trying to get white board felt tip off my containers!

Sharpies wash of ok

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the tips & welcome newbies - I aspire to be like zebedy :rotfl:

Make do - used up last egg, lo swede & potato mash, last tblsp vegetable oil, half my portobello mushrooms, a quarter of a yellow sweet pepper for dinner + cheese & pickle sandwiches using hm bread.

Mend - Father Christmas ornament has had it’s fastening pin glued back on - now in cs bag

Minimise - The three foot high pile of ironing down to zero:j & it is all folded Kondo style & put away. (The ironing board is also put away:T) + still decluttering - good stuff to cs (don’t do fleabay etc), recycling as much as possible, binning the rest or taking to the Tip. Paint is also being minimised out of the pots onto the walls, ceilings etc:rotfl: courtesy of DH:A

The Beast from the East has delayed the large items from leaving the house But everything should be gone by the 21st:T - knackered sofa, 10 year old mattress, broken office chair, 3 small fence panels + 3 Large Rag bags, large bag of clothes, 50 CDs in two racks with accompanying literature, 30+ books.

Getting there slowly but surely:o

MrsSD

[Deleted User]

Morning chums and I'm still stuck indoors because of the blessed white stuff, but have been a busy bee none the less.

Made 15 small knitted Christmas bell ornaments, five red, five pink and five blue for my friend Ruth's charity 'Making Miracles' Its for still born and babies that just never made it.

The charity is a tiny local one which supports Mums and families through their loss and the little Christmas bells are for those who will put a bell on their tree to remember the little one at Christmas.

Locally in Rochester we have the Christmas Dickins festival at the beginning of December, and last Christmas they raised over £1500 for the charity with sales of knitted stuff etc.

I supplied 12 blankets for babies that helped to raise £120. I have so far knitted another two blankets and have another two in the pipeline, but the little tree bells look really nice and are so easy to make.

We have an event in September called The Big Knit in Rochester Cathedral which brings ladies in from all over Kent to knit 6" squares which I will then, with the help of the others, sew together and edge and turn into more baby blankets. Last year in two hours we had over three hundred squares knitted Lots of knitting nattering and tea drinking was had by all.

Making Do : with what ever I have indoors as I can't get out at the moment because of the blooming white stuff Grrr

Mend; fixed a couple of screw hooks up in the kitchen for some tea towels and sewed some tags onto said tea towels so they can be hung up out of the way.

I'll be glad when this bad weather has gone though as I am not used to being housebound, and really dislike it ,even though I have got lots of things done indoors

Have a good day chums and keep warm and dry if you can

JackieO xx