Make Do, Mend & Minimise in 2025 (and 2024)

Green_hopeful

We have had three sons, their wives and four grandchildren aged 2 to 8 staying. I have kept my boys lego and playmobile since they were kids. We got them out of the garage when the tiny grandchildren had gone home. They took one set each and a ukulele with them. Their mum was reluctant to take the ukulele, perhaps she didn’t want to have to listen to it forever, but we packed them off. I then sorted the Lego into appropriately aged sets. Over 3 and over 5 and tried to sort the rest into the sets. It took all day and there was quite a lot of miscellaneous debris in there but i have done my best. It means when the little ones come back we can play with it. I am going to take it as a minimise. 

We are going away for the weekend so I have been using up the leftovers from having 13 people in the house. We have been trying Michael Moseley Fast 800 recipes. We had sausages with onion gravy and cauliflower mash. Its a revelation to make mashed cauliflower. It tastes fine and practically no calories unless you add butter and cheese but we would do that with potatoes anyway. Used up a red pepper and courgette. 

YorksLass

@Cherryfudge - It is a good idea, especially in these cash strapped times.  It started about four years ago with just tools but has evolved to include lots of other items such as camping equipment, decorating stuff, party/events materials, hobby items for photography, sewing etc, board games, children's play equipment and all manner of other things.  It's run on a pay as you feel basis for members (proof of ID and address needed) and loan periods of 1 to 2 weeks.  Their website has an inventory that shows if what you need is in stock or out on loan with an expected return date.  A good way to borrow something you might only need once or to try something before buying new.

@Green_hopeful - I'm not surprised that took you all day!  You must have the patience of a saint.  

Today's Make Do is to use up some bacon, I'll have some for tea tonight and will cut up the rest for a quiche.

Nelliegrace

I stitched a 2 inch L shaped tear in the side of a cotton sheet and patched it using a piece from an old cotton handkerchief. The rest is in my sewing box for another day. 

Baked a large plum crumble, and stewed more to use up some of the ripe plums from the garden. 

Added a grated carrot to tea loaf recipe. 

Tied my hair in a pony tail and trimmed it, something I have done since lockdown. The village hairdresser is on holiday, but we have three new barber shops where the staff  pretend to cut each other’s hair all day. 

London_1

Minimised a box of hotel freebies my eldest Dd brought back from her last trip to New York I had 6 small bottles of Shower gel,shampoo & conditioner
i have three screw lidded bottles that I decant them into with label on the front and they are in the downstairs shower room as when my grandson come to stay (4 of them ) at various intervals during the year being single chap it doesn’t occur to them to bring things like that so they get used uo
my DD goes to New York twice a year to see my grandson and family and her and her OH always stay in the same place and she takes her own stuff with her but brings back the freebies for me to use up. I also get small bars of soap which also end up in the downstairs shower room we have an upstairs family bathroom and I have my own en suite so with three bathrooms stuff gets used up pretty easily.

i made do with some  left over bolognese from the freezer for lunch

this morning I mended a frayed towel with some hemming tape and also sewed two tiny holes that must have caught on the towels when they were in the washing machine Took me about half an hour of hand sewing but now the towel is looking ok and that too can go in the downstairs shower room as it’s mainly the lads that use it when they come off the beach after swimming 

Pretty productive day bearing in mind it was really hot today as I got two big lines of washing washed,dried and put away so the washing baskets have been emptied as well 

JackieO xx