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

YorksLass

@TracyS66 - Snap!  The odds and ends dinners can be really interesting at times but at least it gets the bits and pieces used up and, as you say, no-one seems to mind.

@mandy47 - That's a very good first effort and the colours are lovely.  Well done.

I found a new battery for the living room clock yesterday and have some spares too, so that's good. Later this week I'll take the spent one to the Co-op where they have a battery recycling point.

Grocery delivery arrived on time this morning with one sub (accepted and I'll get a refund for the price difference) and one short-dated item that was also fine.  I've now managed to re-organise the freezer and everything is in the drawers where I want things to be, instead of being shoe-horned into whatever spaces I can find.  Makes life much easier.  I expect the messy freezer fairy will be back at some stage though.     

Last night's spag bol was much enjoyed and there was enough sauce left over to freeze for another meal (or maybe two if DS is working away).  Tonight we're having a chicken & veg casserole with baby potatoes and butter beans.  I've also cooked a chicken breast in the AF and sliced it for lunchtime sandwiches.

I think I must have done the PatchS registration correctly yesterday as I ordered some meds for DH and I've had a response to say the request has been received and is being processed.

I can see a fair bit of time being minimised with various health appointments in the coming weeks.     We've already had a text message reminder to make an appointment for DH for his annual health review, I'll more than likely get one either this week or next too, another one has come from the optician for my annual eye test and then there will be yet another for my diabetic retinal screening.  Oh, the joys of old age!

Our annual gas service is booked in for next Monday and, seeing as the boiler is in the pantry, I'll be emptying everything out so (a) the engineer has room to work and (b) I can give it a good clean before I put everything back.  I'm not expecting any nasty surprises with the boiler (fingers crossed) and there shouldn't be any out of date tins/jars/packets of food either - I've been a good girl keeping an eye on dates and rotating stuff.     

weenancyinAmerica

@mandy47 - love the little chest. Excellent job of reusing it.

YorksLass

More culinary Make Do (& Minimise):

1) A white loaf (bread maker so not much effort required!)
2) An apple pie using a tin of pie filling from the pantry - not sure when I bought this but it was still in date
3) An assortment of tarts (ginger jam, lemon curd and Xmas mincemeat) using the pastry trimmings from the pie
4) Mixing leftover apple pie filling with plain yogurt for tonight's pudding
5) Home made fishcakes from the freezer for tonight's tea with sliced/sauteed leftover baby potatoes from last night, peas & sweetcorn
6) We shared a small YS Xmas pudding topped with custard for last night's afters

The rest of the day has been the usual housework stuff - make bed, put out rubbish, clean toilet bowl and bathroom hand basin, a dust around in the bedroom and recycling this morning's junk mail.

Good deed for the day - took in a parcel for my next door neighbour who was out at work.  I put a note through her letter box to let her know I had it - sometimes the couriers don't notify customers of where they've left items.  I don't mind as I'm in most of the time and remember what it was like when I was working.

YorksLass

On Wednesday last week I remembered to take the spent battery to the Co-op for their recycling bin and I did a small shop to tide us over the weekend.  Membership offers saved me just over £1 and I had a £2 coin in my change.  I'm trying to save these whenever I get one and now have £24 in a jar - not bad considering I don't use cash often and I only started in April.

On Friday I made my eye test appointment for this coming Friday and am now trying to put together a bag of donations to take to the CS while I'm in that area as it's practically next door to the opticians.

I also booked us both an appointment for annual health checks at the end of the month; happily we can go at the same time so that's just one journey instead of two.

As expected, I've had a letter for an annual diabetic retinal screening appointment at the beginning of July but will need to re-arrange that one for a different venue.  As the crow flies it looks to be the nearest to where I live but in reality it's a very long journey.  I would have to take a bus into the city centre and then another one out so I'll opt for the one in the city centre, which is where I usually go.  And I can pop into Morrisons at the same time.  

On the food front I've made two small ham & cheese quiches (one for the freezer) that used up some bits and pieces and a batch of sesame seed "crackers" from the pastry trimmings that we had last night with spicy carrot & red lentil soup.  Seems odd to be having soup in June but it's hardly summer weather at the moment!    Today we'll be having cooked gammon slices from the freezer, baby potatoes. broccoli and the remaining butter beans, with strawberries for afters.

This afternoon I'll be emptying the pantry ready for tomorrow's gas service, not my favourite job but needs must, otherwise the poor chap will have to be a contortionist to get in there!      

Cherryfudge

I've not mended anything for a while, but there are some food 'make-does' which mean minimising waste (though I confess to having to chuck out some yogurt today).

We had goats' milk needing to be used so I added salt and lemon (from the freezer lemon wedges mountain) and made ricotta. I've not dared eat it yet! The whey is in the fridge but might go in the freezer.

I also made do with an old uniform shirt from a previous job when my current uniform was in the wash: the shirts are the same colour and go under a tabard so the lack of logo wasn't visible. 

YorksLass

This week is not going to plan.     Long story cut short:

The gas service engineer failed to turn up on Monday afternoon.  Now re-booked for tomorrow.

DS went to collect DH's medication for me today and only 1 of the 4 items were ready, despite me having ordered them in advance.

On the plus side, I have managed to put together a carrier bag of bits and pieces for the CS.  Not much, but it's a bit more gone.  And I've made 6 salmon & sweet chilli fishcakes, cost about £1.50.

Weekly trip to the Co-op yesterday, saved £2 on membership offers and one YS item.  On the way back I had a browse of the Little Free Library and came home with 4 more paperbacks for my reading pile.  It's pot luck as to what's available, some weeks it's full and other weeks it's a bit bare.  This time there were quite a few non-fiction (but nothing of interest to me) and children's books, so I was happy to find the ones I did borrow.

suzeesu2000

Make do: Dinner from freezer supplies

Mend zero

Minimise: 2 huge bags of excess gardening equipment gifted to another gardener yesterday, he gave me a small box of chocolates which hubby and I minimised last night lol. Also deluttered photo frames, shoes, clothing, broken garden bits too. Yesterday was a good day.

YorksLass

The gas safety check didn't happen yesterday as the engineer failed to turn up - again.     No idea why, the council contractors who provide the service didn't say and have re-booked it for the 20th.  Third time lucky maybe?  I'll wait until after it happens and then contact the council with my feedback which, as you can imagine, will not be favourable - I've wasted two afternoons waiting in for them.  And, to add insult to injury, they sent a text asking me to rate their service!  Grrr.

In the meantime, I've had a good sort through of everything that came out of the pantry.  It's not huge but it's amazing how much stuff I can get in there - hence why I have to empty it for the boiler service.  I had far too many plastic containers and empty glass jars that have now gone (binned or recycled) and have put aside a couple of items for the food donation box next time I go to the SM.

I had my annual eye test done this afternoon with the good news that I don't need new glasses but the bad news that I need my cataracts done.  The optician has made a referral to our NHS local cataract centre and says I should hear from them within the next couple of weeks.  Really not looking forward to it but it's a case of needs must.  The  eye test was free but my purse was minimised by £35 for the OCT scan.

I also dropped off the CS carrier bag of donations as the CS is next door to the opticians, so that's a few more bits gone.  I had a browse round and was almost tempted by a couple of things but managed to come away empty handed.  

Tea tonight is cod fillets from the freezer and some mushy peas that were left over from the other night.  Rice pudding for afters.

weenancyinAmerica

@YorksLass - companies keep sending me emails asking me to rate their service. Usually I just write back that you don't really want me to. I try to keep it as honest as possible when I do answer - they need the good and the bad. Very seldom do I get a request from a company when the service has been good! The worst the service, the faster the request comes - so you don't have to think about it, I wonder.

Katiehound

"The  eye test was free but my purse was minimised by £35 for the OCT scan."

Looks like  the OCT scan at Specsavers is £10 extra- not helpful now, or maybe if Specsavers isn't in your area but a thought for the future.