Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2021

London_1

As I shall be moving next spring I have started to read through my book stash ( bigger than my wool stash ) As I read a book its going in a bag to go to the local charity shop.I really have far too many books, so all my library books have been read and returned so no more borrowing stuff until I get the loaded book shelves cleared a bit.. I rehired two blow up mattresses to my neighbour as he little girls are getting to the age of having their friends for sleepovers .
Doing my best to find homes for all sorts of stuff that I won't want to take with me when I move
I'm even sorting out my food stash as I have five cupboards full of tinned stuff, and I'm only literally buying stuff I have run out of completely .I am managing to slowly get through my crammed full freezer.
It's quite good having odd sorts of meals, and mixing things up a bit.:) . and relaxing knowing I'm not adding to my food stocks.I will reassess once I'm back from my holidays mid July ,but I'm also going to take a good few tins and jars with me as we go self catering for two weeks and my DD, son-in-law and assorted grandsons will help eat their way through a good few things . Sorting out my cupboards this morning I found three jars of marmalade so at least one is going on holiday with me  
I'm getting ruthless about minimising if I can as much as possible.

But the upside is less expenditure and more cash towards our holidays win-win I think. My eldest DD said she will come at some point to help sort the wardrobe out and an awful lot will be going to the CS I think as I have stuff in there I've forgotten about

I had lost quite a bit of weight so an awful lot of stuff is far too big for me now so it can go.

Great incentive to minimise as I certainly don't want o be taking it with me  

YorksLass oh how lovely to still have a cosy candlewick bedspread, well done on repairing it You rarely see them in the shops now

JackieO xx

YorksLass

@London_1 - I've seen some online but they're nowhere near as nice as the one I have and this is what prompted me to try to repair it.  Even if I'm not successful, I've had it for 36 years so it doesn't owe me anything!     Given how many times it's been washed I'm not surprised it's wearing a bit thin!

More minimising:

Spring cleaning of the spare bedroom continues - albeit slowly, I have to pace myself these days   - and surprisingly there wasn't as much unwanted stuff in there as I expected.  Two large empty cardboard boxes (why was I keeping those?), a cracked mirror and a couple of ornaments are on their way out.  The last time this room had a declutter I was determined not to use it as a dumping ground so it seems I've managed to achieve that.

On the food front, I've planned another week's worth of meals using what I already have in stock so this week's shopping list will consist of just a few fresh items for the fridge.  Of course, I'll not ignore any bargains that I might come across.      A while ago I made a list of the items that had passed or were near to their BB dates and am working my way through them.  The latest one was half a bottle of balsamic vinegar that I used for a batch of BBQ sauce.  Also gone are a jar of malt extract (two malt loaves), Marmite (on toast), curry sauce powder, marinade for glazed root veg, LL milk (rice pudding), ground almonds (macaroons), a tin of coconut milk (Thai green curry) and a sachet of stir fry sauce.  I don't take much notice of BB dates but these had lingered for long enough!

Floss

When I was a child in the 60s & early 70s me & my brothers had candlewick bedspreads - theirs were yellow & mine was blue, and they had all been repaired end-to-middle to hide the bald patches where we had plucked them 😁

YorksLass

The one I have was a cream colour but is now more of an off white!  It's only the top bit that's bald - the rest of it including the side and bottom valance panels are still good - and the top hemmed bit won't show once it has the top sheet folded over it.

Floss

YorksLass said:

The one I have was a cream colour but is now more of an off white!  It's only the top bit that's bald - the rest of it including the side and bottom valance panels are still good - and the top hemmed bit won't show once it has the top sheet folded over it.

You are obviously not a candlewick plucker! 😁

YorksLass

Ha ha, no I'm not 

annieb64

We were  candlewick pluckers and used to get into terrible trouble with our mother.

Floss

annieb64 said:

We were  candlewick pluckers and used to get into terrible trouble with our mother.

Yep, we did too!

London_1

To me candlewick bedspreads reminds me of home and being a little girl again along with an eiderdown that always seemed to end up sliding onto on the floor  

I remember returning from a trip to Europe in 1961 and telling my late Mum about how they didn't use blankets like we did but a large pillow over you to keep you warm.
My Mum  scoffed and said 
"it'll never catch on over here lassie we are far too sensible to be covering ourselves with pillows, decent blankets and proper bedspreads are what we prefer"

 I wonder how many of use have sheets and blankets and bedspreads today Continental Quilts as they were called took off and folk have never looked back  

But then she scoffed at the idea when I told her that in Belgium when I bought a cup of tea I was given a glass of hot water in a holder and a tiny bag of tea leaves and I dunked the bang into the hot water to make the tea.

She was appalled and said again it would never replace her big brown tea pot and proper  Brook Bond divi tea .

 No way would she have countenanced mugs for tea either , it was a proper cup and saucer Different ideas back then I guess Although I still use a cup and saucer for my 'cuppa' even though I do have mugs, which I had for my DGS 

JackieO xx

Laura_Elsewhere

Make Do - this morning one of my swimming companions at a local quarry was saying how the (very necessary) swim-shoes she wears are "only twenty quid online - so if I have to buy 3 or 4 pairs a year, you know, it's not a huge problem".... I cheerfully grinned, waved a foot and said I was just pleased to have finally found a use for the worn-thin plimsoles I had in the house - and she admitted that when she'd forgotten hers and borrowed mine, she found them better...!   

Twenty quid, 3-4 times a year, synthetic materials... or cotton canvas and rubber, already owned, last over a year for one already-worn-thin pair   

Given that choice, I'm definitely swimming to the Make Do bench!  

(they're needed in winter by many when the water's colder, but in any case, the entrance is sharp angular stones underfoot, with sometimes broken glass (!) so barefoot not an option)