Make Do, Mend & Minimise

YorksLass

Yesterday I gave my under sink cupboard a clean and sorted its contents before putting them back in; I binned a tin of shoe polish that's gone hard plus a couple of really manky cleaning rags. I also decanted a part-bottle of diluted shower cream that I use for hand washing into the one on the kitchen window sill, empty bottle rinsed out and gone to recycling. Not much I know, but it all helps and the cupboard is tidy and organised. 😁

This weekend's challenge is to incorporate as many fridge oddments as I can into the coming week's meal plan - without anything going into the freezer. Some kind of soup and a vegetable risotto spring to mind.

YorksLass

This week's Minimising has mainly been of the food variety.

From the freezer: a cooked mince base (cottage pie), chunks of cooked chicken and coconut milk (creamy chicken curry), a h/m mac'n cheese, two crumpets and two slices of h/m banana & walnut bread.

From the fridge: The last two Xmas carrots (with the cottage pie), a couple of mushrooms (risotto), 3 spring onions and some needed-to-be-used cherry tomatoes (in the curry), one apple (in porridge) and two thin slices of smoked pork (sandwich). The only fridge oddments left to be used are a small portion of mushy peas (with fish for tomorrow's tea) and the remaining spring onions (earmarked for a cheese sandwich).

I also mashed the last banana and stirred it into custard for a pudding. The food bank has benefited from a donated YS tin of grapefruit segments. I bought two tins earlier this year but wasn't overly keen.

Also minimised this week's junk mail to recycling; for some reason I've had two identical batches through the letterbox. 🙄 Some document shredding got done and I've added two pieces of crockery to the CS bag that's still waiting to be taken once the weather perks up a bit. The bag isn't in the way and can carry on living under the stairs for now.

As for Make Do, one of my Justins has been utilised - an empty stain remover laundry powder plastic tub and scoop. Not something I use a lot of but I bought a replacement that now comes in a cardboard box minus a scoop. All good for the environment I suppose, but I think the powder would go lumpy once the box is opened so it's been decanted into the tub and the box recycled. Glad I saved those! 😁 I've also been using some hand-knitted gilets as an extra layer over jumpers during this cold spell.

As for Mend, the sewing pile is still glaring at me. 😕 Ah well, can't be perfect all the time! 🤣

Cherryfudge

Realised it's been eleven days since I posted.

Make Do: instead of buying potatoes, I remembered the ones I grew for Christmas and didn't eat as we had some of the 5p Christmas ones which have lasted us a while. The entire contents of one home grown potato bag came to enough for one meal - perhaps open ground is better?! I always seemed to get quite a few when I grew them there.

Mend: an additional two pairs of spaghetti straps have been resewn (much more comfortable without the little plastic sliders that were irritating my back). I retrieved a child's straw bag that had been DD's and has been hanging around for ages. I managed to get a big ink stain out of the lining and reattached it, so it will go to DD's little girl.

Minimise: I sorted out a freezer drawer and threw out a few bits that had been in there a very long time and had freezer burn and a lot of ice build-up. I've also sold a pair of shoes and posted those off. It's nice having a bit of space in the freezer! I've also started to wrap some Christmas presents - late not early! They are waiting till I see my sister, but there's no need for them to take over the spare room in the meantime. Completed ones are going in a box, colour-coded for recipients.