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

YorksLass

I've minimised the contents of the first aid cabinet this morning by binning some out of date stuff.  The only thing I'll replace is a tube of antiseptic cream.  Annoyingly, there was a box of hot lemon cold remedy powders that were well out of date but I have plenty of paracetamol and can make my own lemon & honey drinks, should they be needed.

This morning I've used up yogurt (fruit scones), a packet of lemon meringue pie filling and coconut milk (lemon possets) and I'll finish off the rest of the coconut milk tomorrow for porridge.  I've just had pate on oatcakes so that's another thing gone from the fridge and tonight's salad will see off pickled beetroot and potato salad.  The egg white left over from making the lemon possets will be incorporated into an omelette for tomorrow's tea along with the last of a bag of grated cheese for the filling.  Don't you just love using up bits and pieces!     

My sewing pile has been added to by DS's partner who's asked me to take up two pairs of work trousers for her.  She says there's no rush for them but I'll try to get them done asap.

Green_hopeful

We are having a Fray Bentos pie, chips and peas for dinner. When i was a kid I really liked them and big soup. I don’t remember why but my mum brought me one so tonights the night. Worryingly the first ingredient is water? The reviews are truly dreadful but we have a crow that will probably eat it if we don’t like it and end up having chips and peas. People complain that the underside of the pastry is soggy. I thought that was how it was supposed to be. 

2Scratters

Morning Peeps,
Mending is needed as I have created a hole in a pair of wool socks. I don't want them sat around and not being where they should be to help me with keeping going on total minimising.

Make do turned up trumps as I was in the loft to take up 2 winter coats for storage. I wasn't really looking for anything in particular the time  just needing to find 2 items to go out and wandered into a bag of unknown items. My strategy is always to move out same or more if possible items in the loft. Anyhow it turns out it was a bag of summer clothes from many moons ago. 2 white t shirts out and into the wash for part of this years wardrobe. Also ventured into a bag containing 9 pairs of jeans, I tried each on to see what fitted before bring anything down. Found 1 pair the exact same as a pair I currently have in use. They are now part of the active wardrobe. 
Minimised a large carboard box from said loft into the recycling. There were several items from the bathroom that finished too and are not being replaced as they were from the excess stock so can now see more space appearing on top of the bathroom cabinet. A juicer was removed off the top of the cupboard in the kitchen along with the original recipe book and 2 extra recipe books for juicing. They are now sat in DH's van as my plan is to do a car boot tomorrow. 2 items were minimised from parents apartment which will be for the car boot so not even entering into our house.

2 Scratters xx

YorksLass

@Green_hopeful - How was your Fray Bentos pie?  I bought one at the beginning of the year when DS was temporarily staying with me as he said he liked them.  Needless to say, it's been sitting in the pantry since then but I've now gifted it to him - I'm not keen on them.

Minimised : An almost empty bottle of mouthwash (another legacy from DS) that had gone a funny colour; I wouldn't want to put it in my mouth.  I've also gone through my knitting magazines and patterns - yet again - and have released a few more into the CS bag.  

Make Do: After over-spending on groceries in April, I'm on a use-up-what-I-have mission this month.  Tbf, the over spend was down to things like soap powder, toilet rolls etc that all seemed to need replacing at the same time.  The week's meal plan is done and I'm determined not to go shopping this week.

Another Make Do was pouring some descaler solution down the toilet bowl when I'd finished with it for cleaning some tea-stained mugs.  It did the trick.

Mend: I've taken up DS's partner's work trousers for her so they'll be returned this weekend.

Every little helps ...........

Green_hopeful

@YorksLass it was ok. A bit bland and not much meat but not dreadful. Our pastry was a bit less puffy than usual because i never pre heat our oven. Normally things are cooked before it gets to temperature. The oven chips were cooked in 30 minutes at 160 degrees fan. I don’t think the temperature or thermostat have any relationship with reality. So we pop nearly everything in from cold and wait til it looks cooked. 

Green_hopeful

Green_hopeful said:

Not sure it’s right for this thread but it’s still pretty good. I lost my job a couple of years ago and haven’t worked since although I am going to do a bit of invigilating to get my class 2 national insurance. But anyways lots of time so I have been helping friends and family with forms and admin. I applied for a state pension for an uncle who didn’t think he was entitled to anythIng. He got £135 a week plus £9000 in back payments. A friend who is registered blind had been ignoring his attendance allowance form, its a 32 page form, has got the higher rate approved. I can’t remember the exact amount but its over £100 a week. Another friend was worrying about letting out part of his house but with encouragement he did it and is getting £400 a month. Just waiting to see if he gets some state pension. Not sure he will but worth a try. All people that are short of money that now have a bit more. I have also registered last powers of attorney and helped them complete simple Wills.  The lasting powers minimised my money because I paid for them rather than trying to claim for the low income option. I am going to say I have minimised their admin. 

So the friend who thought he wasn’t entitled to a state pension is getting £118 per week. That’s nearly £500 a month. He didn’t think he would get anything and he didn’t know how to apply. It wasn’t easy because he lives abroad and the process is different but well worth a few days of my time to get the application in. 

Cherryfudge

That's fantastic @Green_hopeful! Well done!

Also thanks @Katiehound for reminding me of Boots recycling scheme. We get through a tonne of blister packs and our Superdrug doesn't have a pharmacy, so I need to check if our Boots will recycle.

Recently:

Make do - We've used sausages from the freezer and an assortment of tinned goods (to make chickpea tikka). 

Mend - I tried really hard to resuscitate an old phone of mine after DH's went swimming, but it can't hold a charge so I shouldn't really count that. At least I learned a bit about swapping sim cards. DH is opting to have his repaired, which will be nearly the cost of a new phone but at least it saves his photos (he refuses to put them on the cloud as he's concerned about security. He has a lot backed up to a computer, but not recently). 

Minimise - minimised waste by turning an odd pint of short-dated milk into yogurt, giving at least a week of extra use. Finally finished another jar of uninspiring home made jam! Sent four tops to the charity shop. Also got rid of a lot of ground elder, though it's not absolutely minimised till we've had a season without it (I hope to live a very long time and really thoroughly eradicate it! ).

YorksLass

Minimise:
Last week I took a bag of various oddments to the CS and have started another one off with two cushion covers.  One used biro binned.  The remnants of a jar of horseradish sauce were looking rather unappetising so that's gone too.

The decorating is now finished and I've decanted what's left of the paint used on the walls into a screw top jar (labelled with colour and where used) that can be used for touch-ups for any scuff marks.  Takes up far less room than a paint can with just a bit of paint in the bottom that would probably be dried up by the time I need it.

Make Do (and Minimise):
I've mixed together four tester pots of paint (different shades of cream and ended up with, well, cream) and have already used it up.  I used to have a rectangular mirror in the hallway and someone (a workman) managed to break the glass that's never been replaced - long story.  I've kept the frame and have painted the back board so it's now a display area for holidays snaps - lots of them all the same size so they can be changed from time to time.

I've cut up an old cotton sheet and sewn inner liners for new cushion pads.  Some fabric from my stash will be used for outer covers. 

More Minimising:
The list of past or near BBE date food stuffs is now much shorter, thanks to making a conscious effort to incorporate things into meal plans.  My new routine is to check dates every month and I'm pleased to say there was just one item to add to the list for this month.  So far, everything's been fine taste-wise and it's saved on cash too.