Put away your purse & become debt-averse

Baileys_Babe

We have always been very careful about disposing of fat and oil in the kitchen, partly motivated by our very old plumbing. We used to pour/scrape it into a packet or container already in the bin, as part of our local authorities waste management we have been given a 'green cone' to test and report about now it goes in there, the best tool I have found to remove fat and oil from utensils and equipment is a good quality silicone spatula.

Our whirlygig has a cover, I am going to inspect it the next time the line is in use to check for damage, I'm thinking if there is only a small amount I might be able to line the inside with gaffa tape to delay its decline, do you think this would work or have any other ideas?

I would like to overhaul our utility room, mainly removing the excess of plasterboard that has been used often in layers to try and give the space squarish walls, which they then plastered with rough swirly plaster. It is a very low priority, only we going down there. It houses the WM, a freezer, the boiler, the manifold for the UFH, the gas and electric metres, brooms & mops. It will never be glamorous or somewhere to hang out but I get frustrated every time I go in there.

PurpleFairy26

We have started on the utility room foxgloves so I too have been converting various house sites and looking at their wares. I was looking at a nice DW tablet tin, until I had a word with myself as a) DW is not in utility, b) we keep our tablets in a cupboard and c) they come in a perfectly serviceable box. needless to say it didn't end up in my basket 🤣🤣

Baileys_Babe

Well done @PurpleFairy26 resisting the allure of a new shiny thing. You are right, it is not just about if you have the money it is about if the object is needed and in this case no as the box they come in is perfectly serviceable.

Dottles1

I've had a small "shopping from home" incident too this week.  I get eco friendly washing pods delivered every 6 weeks or so.  They are great, smell nice,get the clothes clean and are reasonably price.  Th one draw back is the pack they come in is flimsy and they keep falling out and getting damp which leads to the pods dissolving and leaking.  I have utilised an empty coffee jar (you know the ones that loo like old fashioned sweet jars?) which has an air tight so I now put them straight in there on arrival and recycle the box.  It can also sit underneath the kitchen sin without taking up too much room or fear of getting damp.  Job done !!

foxgloves

Dottles, PurpleFairy, Baileysbabe - Yes, it is so satisfying, isn't it? It's that whole thing of shopping the minor stuff from home where possible because that leaves money for more important or necessary purchases or indeed for putting into savings or paying down debts.
F x

foxgloves

Evening m'dears,
This weekend felt almost normal, apart from mask-wearing in shops. Our first visit to our favourite coffee shop since before Lockdown on Friday- lots of new comfy outdoor seating, so we felt safe. Then yesterday.... Oh my giddy 👖... an OUTING!! We visited a lovely historic garden in a neighbouring county for which we have an annual pass. They were only able to serve takeaway coffee & cakes, but it was actually really nice as they said we could find anywhere in the garden we liked to enjoy it. We found a lushly planted little corner with a vintage bench & sat in dappled sunshine just simply enjoying being out! 
Today has been pleasantly mundane. I weeded the sweetcorn bed.... Mr F helped me as I couldn't reach all the weedy areas whereas he has arms like a gibbon. He also watered & fed all the veg while I picked beans & cut back a trugful of plants which had gone over.
I've set myself up for a productive week ahead. I'm also going to start a 28-day daily steps challenge tomorrow which I found in a magazine. Yes, Foxgloves is fighting the flab between now & the end of August. Plenty of activity to keep me occupied - the builders arrive in just over a month's time & I have a whole heap of stuff I'd like to achieve by then.
So I shall check in here tomorrow & hopefully I'll have got off to a positive start.
See you then. 
F x

HairyHandofDartmoor

It sounds like you had a lovely weekend Foxgloves .

PurpleFairy26

These one off things we are doing these days feel very special don’t they foxgloves ? We went and had an ice cream with a handful of smalls friends (At a distance of course) and we were only gone an hour but if felt like a day out! 

I love the descriptions you give of Mr F. If we could collect them all from different posts on you diary it would be fun to read them all together 🤣

foxgloves

Yes, HHoD & PurpleFairy. Any little safe trip out now seems so special. I think Lockdown has shown quite a few of us which things we most value because I haven't missed the bigger trips out nearly as much as the more local ones to favourite places which we used to visit locally. We are planning to book for an NT place next weekend & to take a picnic & flask of coffee. We are both really looking forward to it, yet it doesn't even involve travelling out of the county! I think doing a couple of 'normal' things gave us both a little bit of a mental boost. I bet your children enjoyed seeing their friends for an ice cream.
F x

foxgloves

Hello Monday Money Savers,
I hope everyone has managed to get off to a good start this week. I'm quite pleased with productivity (& non-spend) levels today. I've managed to get a large laundry load dried outside on the whirlygig & have performed effective Rubber Chicken duties on the leftovers from yesterday's roast. Meat removed & divided up into two portions for chicken salad & new potatoes tonight, chicken hash tomorrow (am trying a recipe from HFW's leftovers book - the bright yellow one - look out for it in the library if you've never had a flick through, as it has lots of ideas for avoiding food waste) & stew on Wednesday. There was also sufficient for sandwiches and all the gribbly bits went into the slow cooker for stock. Stock is so good at getting a resource from such insignificant chuck-out items, isn't it? I added some some ropey celery trimmings plus leaves, some floppy parsley stems, top, tail & peelings from the carrot which will be going into tomorrow's packed lunch & the top & base from the onion I shall be using later. I can't abide food waste. You know how I always say we hardly ever throw any food away except for the occasional lemon which has grown blue fur overnight......well, last week I had to chuck two yoghurts!! I was so annoyed with myself. Our fridge was very full for some reason & they had become separated from their yoghurty friends & gone right to the back of a shelf. I will eat a yoghurt that is a little past its BB date as long as it looks & smells alright, but not as out of date as these, so they were scraped down the sink to the soundtrack of some choice language. Shan't be doing that again!
I have more than achieved today's step count in the 30-day step challenge I started today. Needed to do 7500 & I am almost 2000 over that already. I have been generally busy but also did the Y*uTube 1-mile Happy Walk video (10 mins v easy - all walking with some simple aerobic moves which don't require much space) and then took a circuitous route to post a card to my friend. Have also weeded one of the courgette beds so all activity adds up, doesn't it, where steps are concerned. Healthy eating-wise, I have been angelic. Wherever you are in the country, you should be able to see the burnished light from my glowing halo. However, please understand that this situation could turn on a pin if I should see a biscuit...........
Well, m'dears, I need to go & strain that chicken stock, then go down the veggie garden to pick lettuce & spring onions. And I need to vacuum the kitchen floor too. I'm not sure what has got itself all over the floor but it looks distinctly ucky.
Take care all........& if today hasn't gone as well as it could have done for you, just aim to start again tomorrow. That's the good thing about Mondays. We can, if necessary, write them off, as we still have lots of days left for achieving.
Love to all,
F x