Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

Sun_Addict

BrilliantButScary said:

Who remembers rara skirts? And going out without a coat, when it was freezing! 

I had a rara dress 😆 Also remember going out in snow in a strappy dress and sandals! I probably felt the cold but put fashion before comfort back in the 80s. Those were the days 🤣

Sun_Addict

I love your dresser 😻 I used to have a pine dresser, a bit smaller than yours though. Trying to think why I got rid of it, must’ve been a reason 🤔

kayannie

We had a lovely oak dresser that my DH made for our last house, unfortunately it was much too large for our current house & it had to go - I could have cried, as he had put so much of himself into making it from an oak tree that had come down in s storm.

You like the same kind of china as me - I recognise some that is named after the famous village not far from here.

I love the way you get value for money from your garden waste bin. I have a different way of squashing it down - our garden is higher than the path around the house so I place the bin next to the retaining wall, step into the bin & trample the contents down. It only works as long as the bin is getting full, otherwise I'd never get out again!
KA

Moorviews

The dresser looks beautiful! I know what a labour of love it is to do the whole thing in one go too. Generally I just do one shelf at a time as I can’t face it otherwise. Listening to an audio book is a good idea though and would keep me entertained at the same time. I have a bit of a penchant myself for the flower range of mugs and they do really look lovely on a dresser. 

You are cracking on in the garden so well despite how blooming cold it is. I used to wrap up and do the garden in winter but I seem to have become a wuss lately. I need to make myself some really warm trousers I think 🤔 

Suffolk_lass

badmemory said:

Were midis late 80s - always hated those as they seemed designed to make anyone who wasn't a tall matchstick look fat.  Guess who isn't a tall matchstick.  As for 90s can't think of anything memorable.  Now the 60s the first time I got married I wore a mini skirt but travelling on buses was not fun, they were not like the ones now are.

DH has just said, "what about the shoulder pads and power suits of the 1990s that made all the women wearing them look like American football players - I really hated those!" (he was responding to me reading out your post)

Suffolk_lass

kayannie said:

I love the way you get value for money from your garden waste bin. I have a different way of squashing it down - our garden is higher than the path around the house so I place the bin next to the retaining wall, step into the bin & trample the contents down. It only works as long as the bin is getting full, otherwise I'd never get out again!
KA

You see, now I have that sketch of Dawn French as The Vicar of Dibley, jumping in the puddle, in my head

foxgloves

@Suffolk_lass - Yes, I also imagined @kayannie experiencing a sort of planty Vicar of Dibley moment with that garden bin. I also thought that if I tried that, I'd probably not be able to climb out, my phone would be indoors & I'd be stuck there for the rest of the day with no coffee!
F

foxgloves

Greetings Friday Frugalistas,
Thank-you for all your comments & contributions. I posted that photo of my dresser to demonstrate how busy I'd been, but as there was no 'before' picture, I'm not sure it quite fulfilled the brief! I do like a big dresser. Yes, I am fond of the flower china on display. I collected quite a lot of it over the years, starting with the little espresso cups which were a 22nd birthday present. I have several dinner plates & smaller plates from that design which are in use every day as well as some cookware. I never bothered collecting any of the assorted matching fol-de-rols - cutlery, linen, vases, clocks, etc, as prefer useful stuff to purely decorative. I started picking up the original 1970s pieces from my frequent treasure hunts at vintage fairs back in the Spendy Years. I particularly like the storage jars with the wooden lids & would probably buy one of those at the local flea market if it was a design I don't have. The Midwinter plates (white with the blue floral edge) were from our tea service growing up in the 70s, the Denby egg-cup is the only piece left from the dinner service my parents received as a wedding present in 1960 & the 1930s plate is Alfred Meakin & belonged to my Nan. Anyway, nobody came on here looking for an inventory of my old china, so here are today's budget-helping efforts:
*Only paid 2 hours parking & decided to walk quickly & not do too much browsing.
*Hair cut at favourite salon - £13. Really can't say fairer than that!
*Got the rest of our grocery shopping - fresh veg at local farm stall (8 food miles) & some refills from the eco shop.
*Things I didn't buy: 1) A gardening bookazine which looked good but I very much doubt there is anything in it not covered by my regular magazine & the gardening books I already own. 2) A jigsaw. I only do them at New Year & have already found a fab one at home which I had already said I'd save until then. 3) A charity shop knitting book. Yes it had a pattern in it for a very nice cable jumper. Will I ever knit it? That will probably be a 'no'.....& certainly not this year as I have already identified plenty of knitting projects I already have at home to keep me busy 4) A very nice bra in an indie lingerie shop which I stood outside & admired but I'd have had to have a fitting as was not familiar with the brand & you know, there are some days you just feel more like getting your boobs out than others, so more spendy temptation vanquished. And in any case, 2025 is about filling our Savings Pots up, not emptying them out on glorious bras!
*Today's home care hour: Gave kitchen work surfaces a wipe-down, scrubbed the sink & washing-up bowl (& as the latter is something I have decided not to replace during Project Surbiton, I was pleased to see how well it came up with a good scrub with some Pink Paste), emptied all the bins, dusted piano & stove and used the last of my hour on a general tidy-up. Mr F is off today & volunteered for vacuuming & bathroom cleaning. Minimal products & washable cloths as usual. My best cleaning cloths atm are from a cut-up tea-towel which I put in the rag-bag. It's one of those vintage-looking textured checked ones & so the cloths I cut from it are really effective at shifting crud. And free!
*Did a few surveys & will keep checking while my laptop is on.
*Postie brought Mr F some loyalty vouchers & others for money-off/extra points, etc, from his credit card. It's so nice these days that we are gain things from our credit cards instead of the bad old days when we were paying them all that interest.
*Oh & I did remember to post my friend's birthday present today. Being organised over presents & cards since our Financial Reformation has meant that I have hardly ever had to pay 1st class simply because of lack of planning so we must have saved a good few quid over the years.
Right, I can see another survey has popped up so I will see if I can get onto that, then I intend to read my current book - no. 2 in the 'Sister Bells trilogy' - a Norwegian author. It's no.9/100 in my reading challenge this year. I loved the first one. If this one is as good, I can see that this trilogy might make a good present for my sister, so fingers crossed. 
Very chill wind today (I mean the weather, not an omen) so stay cosy,
F x

Makingabobor2

9 books is good going. I am on 6 so far, and thought I was a quick reader, you must be extra speedy. LOL.  

foxgloves

@Makingabobor2 - I am counting audiobooks too as I usually have one of each on the go. 
F