Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2020

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

Another soup started - lo cottage pie with last of the tomatoes & potatoes + bits & bobs from freezer & large handful red lentils + probably some winter melon.

Minimise: 2 pairs of DH’s Sunday underpants :rotfl:

celtic_moon

Well, I have been doing LOTS of MMM since I last posted! Sprouting spuds quickly turned into 3 portions of roast spuds for the freezer. Can't bear most supermarket veg now (too tasteless) so I hurried over to my lovely farmer at the monthly farmers market and bought 4 large bags of veg for £27. I have two large (only just fit in the oven large) roasting tins of veg, 1 large bag of blanched leek, 2 large bags of blanched carrots, 3 large roasted beetroots, plus 2 bulbs of black garlic (very new to me and very yummy!) and 2 large bags of spuds to be used as we go. All of my freezers are now full! This will last us both several months of meals and soups as this is our busiest time of year at work!

We have also managed to half empty the 'room of doom' - car full to the CS, stuffs we are going to see if we can sell at the local auction house, bing bag of recycling and a carrier bag of rubbish so far....... Not sure how much else will get done before year end, but we can see some floor so it's an improvement.

Not much mending done at the moment - small steps!

nannygladys

Hi everyone,
back again for a bit.
Make do: been eating out of stores and tried to keep shopping to a minimum,
Mend: Various things, from DDs bunnykins to a pair of socks!
Minimise: Slowly clearing things our, 20 items went to CS and a few in the bin during Jan, and a new bag started for 20 items this month.
On the whole it has been positive this month, my mojo seems to be returning for crafting and some clothes making (sewing and knitting) is starting, for me and family.
Nannyg

herlig

Today I split a couple of straggly perennials. I now have two straggly plants instead of one. I'm hoping they will pick up. It's certainly worth a try.

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

Well I have just finished reading the 2019 thread an all I can say is what a resourceful group of people you are. It is very inspiring. Over the last week I have done the following:


Made Do -
Made a meal out of odds and sods of veg in fridge and quorn in freezer last Wednesday which turned out edible.
Planned another sewing project but instead of going out and buying fabric I checked what I had already and decided I just needed some wadding which I didn't have. Just need to strat it now.
I had some beetroot that really needed using up so I spent time on Sunday making a beetroot and onion tart which I have had for dinner on Sunday and what is left I have portioned up to have for my work lunches every day this week.
I decided I needed a container/bin to put all the little bits of washing that I create now because I don't use disposable things (such as cleaning cloths and the like) as they are generally damp/wet so don't want to put them in the laundry basket. I decided to make use of a ceramic plant pot I had in the shed. Its been cleaned and now does the job perfectly.


Mend -
Adjusted some trousers that my Mum asked me to do and gave them back to her.
Finished taking up my summer dress which is now more practical to wear.
When I got in the garden I decided to clean and oil the gardening tools as the shears and secateurs were a bit sticky.


Minimised -
I decluttered the kitchen and found quite a few books and various other odds and sods that I don't really need any more
I also decluttered the garden and shed (and organised it better). Removed a load of stuff that I can make use of at the allotment.


I am really pleased with what I have achieved since I last posted.

Laura_Elsewhere

Can I join in too, please, a bit late? I'm trying hard to use up my existing stocks of yarn and fabric, and to DO SOMETHING about the big pile of things awaiting mending or getting rid of...

herlig

I used the energy from the bus I was on to top up my phone instead of plugging it in this morning. 

I used newspaper and a paper potter to made pots ready for seed sowing. 

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

Make Do: Hm soup finished yesterday

Mend: Nothing

Minimise: Food from stores, medical supplies I.e bandages, plasters etc + tidied under sink cupboard in kitchen - only Uu sponges & cloths got rid of 

browneyed_girl

Ooh!  Please may I join in with this thread?!  My main resolutions this year are to declutter the entire house (long overdue) and to avoid buying more “stuff”, because I’m sure I don’t really need it. 

Feel that I’m off to a good start today, though some lateral thinking may be required...

Make do:-

• Set out to make a Moroccan chickpea soup today thinking that I had all ingredients I needed.  Turns out I don’t know my cupboards as well as I thought I did as I was missing a few key items.  Rather than pop to the shops to buy the missing ingredients, I substituted them with things I had (rose harissa paste instead of cumin, red lentils instead of beans), which made a similarly inspired soup and just as tasty!

• Will be ‘making do’ with an open fire in the living room to avoid using the radiators.  All wood sourced for free, and though the rest of the house remains pretty chilly, all the kids are well equipped with dressing gowns, slippers and electric blankets.  Oh, and I might even throw in a hot chocolate for free .

Mend:-

• Repaired DD2’s favourite onesie.  The zip had come completely off the tracks (previously this would have meant throwing it away and buying a new one - what a numpty!), so managed to get it back on and secured the end with a few stitches so it can’t come off again.  

Minimise:-

• Sorted through a bag of miscellaneous items that appeared on my kitchen table.  Most went to their proper home, other items were repurposed and a few bits were just rubbish.  Trying to do little and often with this decluttering malarkey so as not to get bored and give up!
• Also minimised some non-recyclable plastic rubbish into eco bricks as part of a school project that DD1 and DD2 are taking part in.  

That’s all for the day so far but hoping to have more to add tomorrow!!

iamsalt

I have finally repaired a clock which  i had bought some time ago. I found a watchmaker supplier an dthey advised the beat mechanism to use, so a spot of yooo tube later and i had it all done within 20 minutes. 10 more minutes this morning to hang it up and that’s an outstanding job and bit of worktop clutter gone to its proper home.

prunings from the apple tree have been cut up and put to dry ready to be used as kindling for the future.

oh and a quiche made for  a village do this evening from leftovers and bits already  in the house, -following browneyed girl’s example! Beetroot and feta quiche.