No buying until I’ve used up ALL my stashes

jackieblack

ariarnia said:

i'm going to join this if i can. but in a limited way. we need to tackle the food situation. 

i think i've been in panicing mode since the world ended in 2020 and ive now got so much stuff (cuboard stuff mostly but also two freezers) that its bagged up in heaps in my pantry area (so i can't actually get at the stuff on the shelves) and stashed all around the house in cubprds or draws or under beds. 

not a 'problem' as its stuff that keeps and that we eat (and 6 months of cat food and 30 rolls of toilet roll!). but three years of just picking up a few extra things 'just in case' we run out or theres another lockdown or a 'supply chain problem' or most recently with inflation and prices going up. 

oh has been complaining for a while and he's right. enough is enough and we now need to move from hording mode to using mode. it also ties in with our bigger plan to try and cut our expenses down to one salary so we have more options for early retirement or doing up the house or helping the kids when there ready to spread there wings in a few years. 

first step is trying a no food spend jan (excluding school meals a couple of times a week and anything needed for cooking classes or work trips where its on expenses anyway). 

Welcome Ariarnia 🙂 I can identify with the ‘just in case’ buying…
I’m also aiming for a no food spend January, except that I will need to buy a few bits of fresh produce by mid-Jan so I’ll make it a ‘minimum food spend’  January and aiming to spend <£10 

I also have a school meal once or twice a month (I work in a school office) but already have enough credit on my account to cover the first half of the Spring term.

annieb64

We moved house eleven months ago so had done a massive declutter before then. I'm trying not to let it all build up again but having lived in the Peak District for 30 years I did tend to hoard food for the winter just in case it snows . It's a habit that is hard to break .

My craft supplies are beginning to build up again. The yarn box is overflowing and DD has asked if I can use all the fabric remnants from her dress making. 

Caramac

I have decluttered several crafts over the last few years - card making, jewellery making and spinning using a hand spindle. I did start working through my craft kits in 2021 until getting a kitten made it difficult.

ariarnia

okay. today no spend (1/31) 

everyone at home today. oh took the kids out for a long walk around the local woods after breakfast and the mil popped back to her house to check on things and water the plants.

everyone is due back in about 15/20 mins. probably starving. so i've taken inspiration from this recipe https://youtu.be/e546pOh8sj4 (recipie at 9:30)

made a bean casserole using carrots onions butternut squash (no parsnips) a tin of tomatoes (no fresh) a pack of smoked bacon and a tin of kidney beans. didn't transfer things between pans and deglase and all that. i just chucked everything in the remoska and added the beans and some liquid to the pan half way thru. so it has been quite hands off really. not sure what to put on top for the crunch. i'm thinking maybe some pine nuts. or not bother. 

right now it smells amazing and it'll be a great filling late lunch. i'm debating making some potato wedges in the air fryer (just about enough time) or using a pack of long life bread for toast.

dinner tonight might be beans and cheese on toast. maybe with tomato soup. so i'm leaning towards the potatoes.  

YorksLass

Another one here who doesn't use make up - and haven't done for 20-odd years - so that's not a problem for me since I haven't got any!  I do like/use moisturiser and body lotion though and am not averse to a nice "smelly", be it soap, body spray or perfume.  Happily, that stash is under control.  

Just before Xmas I learned that an elderly cousin has moved into a nursing home and her daughter has the job of clearing and selling her mum's house.  Whilst on the phone, she mentioned finding a large stash of fabrics and, knowing I was a sewer, asked if I wanted them.  Somehow, I managed to politely decline and suggested she take them to a CS or posted them on one of the "free" websites if she couldn't get any takers.  Definitely a step in the right direction for me.     

wondercollie

@YorksLass well done on turning down the fabric.   I have a stash that I started in 2013 because I was going to learn to quilt.  I've even made the squares and jelly rolls!

I did find the misplaced lip oil.   I need never buy another lipstick or powder.   I'm taking a bag into work on Tuesday of things that were samples, etc.   I've done it in the past and my coworkers enjoy it.  

I've even decided the dog is destashing.   When WonderCollie died we kept his big bed and somehow kept buying snacks like he was still here.   LittleDog is ten pounds and doesn't go through stuff like him.   She still uses his big bed, so that will stay.   Her little Corgi friend is getting a few bags of treats on the next walk.   I'd rather he gets them than they go stale.

ariarnia

today is a mixed day for us. hopefully no spend day 2/31

we've been looking after two orphan kittens for the local rspca for the last 12 weeks and today is the day they're being collected to go to their forever homes. our cats are going to be glad the little monsters are leaving. and its surprising how much stuff the kittens have managed to accumulate (the time of year has given everyone an excuse to buy them treats and toys for their first christmas). so less clutter in the lounge and hall but less unexpected smiles as well. the kids are surprisingly positive about the kittens going to new homes for a fresh start but i'm expecting some tears or sadness once there actually gone so its an excuse to make a cake. 

i'm thinking i'll make a banana bread and rock cakes (with some cherries in). then for lunch theres leftover casserole from yesterday i'm thinking maybe with a piece of sharp cheese for those who want it and bread (does anyone else find when cooking its then the problem of leftovers?). for dinner. we have a mountin of eggs. so i'm thinking anglesey eggs (no leaks so onions and a tin of spinach) with frozen broccoli.  

jackieblack

Oh ariania, what a lovely thing to have done, fostering the kittens, I hope they’re happy in their forever homes and there weren’t too many tears in yours.

So 2023 has started with a bang for me, literally - I was hosting my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter for New Year’s Day dinner for the first time in 3 years. I only used the small oven of my double oven cooking for myself but decided to use the big oven as I was doing a roast for 4 people.  I was just about to put the joint of meat into the oven when my electrics went off 🤦🏻‍♀️ - after some investigation of the consumer unit (RCD had tripped) son-in-law established that it was the cooker circuit causing the problem, so I am now without an oven.  

Now, had the joint been a fresh one I would have just stuck it in the freezer, but it was one I’d defrosted so needed to be cooked, so we ended up packing up the saucepans full of prepped veg, roasting tin with joint in, and everything else I had planned to serve and driving back to daughter and son-in-law’s home (45 minutes away) to cook the meal - not the day I had planned!

Replacing the oven is not practical at the moment as I really need a new kitchen and the electrics will need changing/updating, so I spent most of yesterday researching alternative means of cooking for the foreseeable future.  I’ve ordered a halogen oven/air fryer, hopefully that’ll do what I need oven-wise 🤞🏻 and until it arrives I’ll just use the hob.

pamsdish

I would like to join please, managed to get my toiletry and cleaning stash down through the last year, I don`t craft although I have a few bits for repairs.
 It`s food, fridge freezer and an upright freezer, rammed, cupboards groaning and overflow in the hall cupboard, I buy fresh veg most weeks and never seem to get around to using any frozen, except for parsnips and carrots, which brings me to my carrot stash, I managed before Christmas to slide my parsnips in, I do like when possible to slow cook using up some c and p, I have some carrots in the veg drawer and a bag hanging in the shed with loads in, will be trying to prep and freeze throughout this week,.

kazwookie

OP if you have so much wool and material why not contact a local crafting group and see if they will buy it from you, or sell it on eby FB.

That way it is gone in one hit, less stress on you to use it up, and £££'s to put towards something you do want / will use, more space in the room it was in.

I sold a load of stuff a few years ago I was going to use, but never did, it was so much better with it gone.

I will watch from the side lines

Good luck