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

weenancyinAmerica

@YorksLass - I have been giving my local communications officer in charge of our city's website a hard time. Over 15 suggestions of where they need to make updates - as some of the information still talks about Covid closures. He has been very nicely making the updates as I go.

YorksLass

More Making Do and Minimising:

I've drawn up a meal plan for the coming week based around existing stocks and that, combined with more freezer diving, means I'll have £13-odd grocery cash left from April's budget.  I'm keeping that on one side and challenging myself to add to it each month - if I can - so that eventually I might have enough for a month's groceries without denting the bank balance.     

I have a small gammon joint in the SC that we'll have for tomorrow's Sunday dinner, some cold slices with salad for Monday and will freeze the rest.  I also needed to refill the cake tin so raided the baking cupboard and used up the last bit of cocoa powder for a chocolate cake.  I found a bar of cooking chocolate there too so chopped that up and used it instead of chocolate chips.  The last time I bought any it cost 45p for a 100g bar but it's now 60p - still cheaper than a bag of chocolate chips though - so I think I'll stock up before it goes up again.

Dinner tonight is a fakeaway prawn korma with rice and naans, choc ice for afters.

No Mending this weekend, unless I count mending "me" by having a slothful couple of days.     

suzeesu2000

Make do - dinner from items in freezer and pantry shelves

Mend - nothing

Minimise- sorted pantry shelves which were very well stocked from Covid lockdown. Now have two carrier bags of tinned foods,  in date, for food bank. Have also got a small box for mum. Can now easily see what we have and am only keeping what we will genuinely eat. Also have an ice cream maker, waffle maker and a few other kitchen bits for eBay as it’s 80% off selling fees this weekend. Have a jacket and cardigan and some gardening items plus two airer to sell there too. 

mandy47

Minimised 
48 books sold or awaiting collection on Olio.

Mend
Glued a split in an old wooden box. Currently in the garage clamped together. I intend sanding and painting it. 

Make do
Sunday lunch was a small turkey crown that I had cheap just after Xmas. It will be sandwiches for tea and used for a couple of meals this week. Last of home grown runner beans from freezer.

YorksLass

Still minimising items from the freezer for meals but it never seems to get any emptier!  Tonight we're having a liver, bacon & onion casserole with mash and swede, a slice of h/m almond cake with custard for afters.

Today it's been quite warm with a light breeze and hazy sunshine so, for a change of scenery and some fresh air, I had a walk to the Co-op where I deposited my soft plastics waste.  I didn't need any shopping but had a mosey round the store anyway and came home with some half price dwarf beans - now chopped and frozen - and a Battenburg cake that was on promotion.  I usually make my own cakes but this is one that I do buy occasionally since I never have any marzipan in the baking cupboard.

I also returned 3 paperbacks to the Little Free Library and should have walked away once they hit the shelf but no, I had to have a browse and came back with 4!  Never mind, they can be temporary residents until I've read them.     

A couple more items (two unused mugs) added to the CS bag this morning but there's room for more to make the trek there worthwhile.

Hairdresser visit last week for a much needed cut that DH very kindly paid for so the savings pot has had a bit of a boost.

YorksLass

Today's minimising has consisted of a little bit of ironing (only two of DS's work shirts), recycling this morning's junk mail and some paper shredding.  

Other than that, I've been in the kitchen minimising/making do with existing food stocks.  We now have 6 portions of leek & potato soup (frozen, since it's not really soup weather at the moment), 12 squares of ginger & orange marmalade cake (6 for the cake tin and 6 for the freezer) and 8 large fruit scones (again, 4 for now and 4 frozen).  I can see why my freezer never seems to empty!

I've also made some custard to have with needing-to-be-used-up fruit for puddings.  DH and DS are having kippers for tea tonight, not my thing at all, so I'm having a defrosted portion of h/m sweet & sour chicken with noodles.

I started to read one of the books I brought home the other day but it's not really grabbing me so it's more than likely destined to be returned, either tomorrow or Friday, depending on when I go out.

No mending that I can think of.

Cherryfudge

I've decided that, with a few pounds to lose and fewer pounds being paid to me, my 'make do' should be to shed a bit of weight (even a bit is a positive) and my clothes will look better on me. That's not to stop me buying clothes entirely as I've just bought two pairs of summer trousers, but it might help change my focus. I have too many clothes, partly because I bought lots of bargains at car boot sales, but I'm not showing them (or myself) off to best advantage at present.

Mend: two pairs of socks.

Minimise: I've just taken batteries, makeup and pens to recycling. It's saved about as much space as recycling a jam jar, but it's the principle of the thing.  

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

Make Do: batch meals from freezer
Mend: pair of knickers
Minimise: Yarn, finished another scarf

YorksLass

Cherryfudge said:

I've decided that, with a few pounds to lose and fewer pounds being paid to me, my 'make do' should be to shed a bit of weight (even a bit is a positive) and my clothes will look better on me.

Minimise: I've just taken batteries, makeup and pens to recycling. It's saved about as much space as recycling a jam jar, but it's the principle of the thing.  

I lost 2.5 stones after being diagnosed as T2 diabetic and can honestly say clothes do look better on than they did before.  I can also fit into things that hadn't been worn for a good while so I'll be cheering you on in your efforts to minimise some of the extra pounds.  The only items of clothing I've bought since have been underwear and socks - shoes are my weakness but so far I've managed to resist the temptation!

Couldn't agree more that it's the principle of the thing, no matter how small or few items leave the house it's something "gone".

My CS bag didn't have much in it but as DS was going to the barber's next to the CS he dropped it off for me.

More paper shredded today, some of it dating back to 2007/8 - why on earth do we keep unneeded stuff for so long?

Cherryfudge

Thanks for the cheering on, @YorksLass! I put a favourite tee shirt on and it looked a bit stretched. It's now waiting till I can wear it without spoiling it. Clothes are a useful indicator of growth or shrinkage, aren't they!

It must be nice being back into things you'd outgrown.