Make Do, Mend & Minimise

YorksLass

@Cherryfudge - Yes,my machine has expensive tastes too so I use my cheap thread for tacking garment pieces together. An aunt taught me how to machine sew and one piece of advice I've never forgotten is to always use quality thread in the machine. Others were: use the right type of needle for the fabric, clean/oil the machine regularly, always use stainless steel pins and press as you go.

It's been almost two months since I last posted on here, not because my decluttering journey has finished, more that there's less to part with. 😆 However, I do have to be strict with myself about not bringing stuff in, My motto now is One In, One Out and it does seem to be working, plus it's so much easier and far less stressful to find things.

Pleased to say I've managed to find a home with someone else for the gifted bathroom storage cabinet, I have three items in the CS bag that will be leaving the house this week and this morning DS has returned four books to the Little Free Library for me (less temptation to borrow more). The day to day minimising of junk mail, soft plastics, things for the recycling bin and paper shredding continues on a regular basis, as does putting things away where they belong when I've finished with them. 😁

On the using up front, this morning I've put the very last bottle of shower gel from the toiletries stash into the bathroom (a gift from Xmas 2024, not bought by me) and a bottle of kitchen cream cleaner is almost finished. This came from my late DF's house no less than 16 years ago! 😳 And yes, it's still fine to use. I was amused to see the price - just 59p.

The recent hot weather has enabled me to wear summer clothes that haven't seen the light of day for quite some time. Most do still fit but some will be going to the CS and others will join the mending pile for alterations. @Green_hopeful - Thanks for the shoulder seam tip, I shall be using this!

Food wise, my last grocery delivery came with a substitute of turkey meatballs that I'm not keen on but won't waste so I'll use them to make a meatloaf. Sadly, I had to bin half a tub of yogurt that had been hiding at the back the fridge for too long so not everything is a success.

Cherryfudge

Thanks for the sewing machine tips, @YorksLass , I need all the help I can get! I was amazed how quickly dust built up in my machine after just a few short seams, so I will try to keep on top of that. Now I know I need to investigate what the right needles are, though I think the place where I sent the machine to be 'looked at' could probably help me there.

I feel there ought to be a thread along the lines of the one where people have paid off their mortgages, but this is for those rare people who have reached the end of the shower gel stash! (Or shampoo, conditioner, nail polish etc.) You might be the only one on it - so many of us have toiletries lurking in odd corners. I'm trying to use up unsuitable shampoos to clean the bath (works well and smells nice) but was surprised the other day to find the remains of a tube of hair mask in a cupboard that I thought contained soap, nail varnish remover and grout whitener! I've cut said tube open and it still smelled nice so I treated my hair to half the remainder. I also found an old hair conditioner that wasn't really suitable for my hair but makes good shaving lotion for my legs!

YorksLass

@Cherryfudge - It's surprising how many toiletries can be repurposed for other uses, that's how I've succeeded in using up my stash. My liquid hand wash bottle in the kitchen contains all the dregs rinsed from shower gels, shampoo etc - does the job and smells nice. I will confess to having several bars of French soaps dotted around in bedroom drawers and my wardrobe but that's because I buy them once in a blue moon when I can get a cheaper deal on them. They make clothes smell nice and it hardens them up so they last longer and don't swizzle away so quickly. The only toiletry 'spares' I have now are a bottle of shampoo and a tube of toothpaste, both bought by me, and a tub of body butter that was a gift. Little wonder I'm feeling smug. 😁

Esmeralda2662

Hi, it's been a while since I posted. I hope everyone is ok.

Make do: Bought some YS pate yesterday and didn't particularly like it. Finished it off today rather than eating something else and had the indigestion to prove it!

Mend: Sewed some markers onto my new pants so I know which ones are mine.

Minimise: Had a craft day at home with my friend. Minimised a kitchen roll tube and assorted wool to make some little pumpkins. Another friend had given me 2 dark brown suede coat elbow patches so I cut them to make small leaves and used some driftwood twigs to make the stems. Really pleased with them and it used some of my craft stash up (once I'd found it!). Had a lovely home cooked lunch and plenty of chatting so it was a lovely day.

A lady said that looking for/buying craft supplies is one hobby and making the crafts is another and I know what she means! Time to organise what I have before buying any more. X

YorksLass

Hi everyone, I've not been on here for a while but a few things have been disposed of since I last posted.

A couple of weeks ago the grill on my cooker decided to give up the ghost (it is 18 years old!) so I've treated myself to a new all-singing/all-dancing oven/air fryer. Luckily, most of my baking tins, trays etc do fit in but there were two that are too big. I've tested the bake function and now I know it's OK the big tins can go in the CS bag. That will be leaving the house on Wednesday when I go for my annual eye test as the opticians is next door to the CS. Fingers crossed I won't be decluttering any money on new glasses!

Other things in the CS bag are a T-shirt, a jigsaw puzzle, three pairs of sunglasses (DS's, not mine), a folding umbrella and a large piece of fabric that I don't have any use for. Binned items were a waaay out of date small tub of antiseptic cream and two ancient mixing bowls that weren't fit to be donated.

My current big Making Do/Mending project is changing my pleated top curtains over to eyelet tops. I find they're much quicker and easier to hang (hence the change) and, besides, I like my existing ones. The tape was quite expensive but it's still cheaper than buying new curtains. I've done one pair so far; no doubt the other ones will keep me out of mischief for a good while. 😁

Speaking of sewing, how are you getting on with your machine @Cherryfudge?

A lesser project is a small Xmas themed cross stitch that's nearly finished and hasn't cost me anything other than time. The chart was a free download and I already had the Aida fabric and silks in my stash. I was planning to put it in an embroidery hoop when it's finished but the hoop is too small; instead it will go in a photo frame given to me by a neighbour.

On the other hand, I'm slowly adding books to my winter reading pile and will be on the lookout for some more jigsaw puzzles. However, their residency here will be strictly temporary! 😄

@Esmeralda2662 - That lady is quite right! The looking for/buying craft supplies is totally different to actually doing the craft. I'll admit to looking and being tempted, but (apart from the curtain header tape) have resisted buying any supplies for well over 12 months.

I hope everyone is doing OK and being successful at MMM'ing.

Cherryfudge

You are doing famously @YorksLass, and resisting supplies for over 12 months sounds like a habit is established. I've resisted buying yarn for probably a couple of years now, though the stash hasn't shrunk much.

Thank for asking about the sewing machine. I started a new job and haven't had much time but did manage a tiny bit of split seam fixing, so some oddments have got back into circulation.

Make Do - we had a free hour of electricity from 0ctopus today so I baked a couple of butternut squashes that had been hanging around for ages. I've found a soup recipe to cook them, which will be some healthy lunches later. I grabbed as many recharge-ables as possible, and topped up the changes for free. I'm not sure if it counts as making do, but it's not mending or minimising.

Mend - a pillowcase with a split seam has been sewn up and I think I did a couple of other items at the same time, but I can't remember what.

Minimise - Two bags of textiles have gone to the recycling (it was all things like holey socks, not things that could be useful elsewhere) and a couple of bras have gone in the bra bank. One small bag of bits has been donated and I sold a silicone cooking mould on V1nted, but really there's still a lot to go.

YorksLass

@Cherryfudge - Shame you haven't been able to use the sewing machine as much as you'd have liked but it's good you have a new job, hope all is going well.

Barring some oddments, I thought I'd got rid of my yarn stash but I came across a WIP that I must have abandoned at some stage although I have no idea why. 🤔 Anyway, I'm carrying on with it so it will soon be back to the oddments to deal with. It's all 4-ply and I'm thinking of using it double for a scood (all in one scarf + hat); all different colours so it could be a bit snazzy! 😅 I can't knit as much as I used to, thanks to fingers that don't always play ball, so I can't see me buying any more yarn once the oddments have been used up.

I've had a look round for anything else that could go in the CS bag before it leaves on Wednesday but I think that's it for now. However, I did finish off a jar of lemon curd this morning so that's been washed and put in the recycling bin. It's ridiculous how pleased I am when something is finished off. ☺️

Cherryfudge

I know just how you mean, @YorksLass . A double success today as I finished a tub of aqueous cream and the tomato chutney that's been nearly finished for ages. Nothing mended or made-do, though.

Thank you, the job is very rewarding and slow down my tendency to buy stuff as I can't do one when the other is happening.

YorksLass

Since my last post I've been for my annual eye test (new glasses not needed 👍️ so no cash spent) and dropped off my bag of donations at the CS. Naturally, I had a browse while I was there and came home with more jigsaw puzzles to add to the winter pastimes stash. One of them has four individual puzzles in the box.

At the weekend I cleaned up a pair of trainers I hardly ever wear and have taken them to the SA clothing bank. Yesterday I binned a set of fairy lights that have been a focal point in the empty fire grate in the living room. They still work but the shades kept dropping off their fittings whenever they were touched; on closer examination I noticed the lamp fittings themselves are disintegrating so better safe than sorry. Tbf, they were positively ancient! I do miss them twinkling away at night and will look for a replacement set; it shouldn't be too difficult seeing it's the right time of year for that. 😁

I've recently changed my broadband over to full fibre, no landline any more so the old phone handset can probably go. The new contract is slightly cheaper than the old one (for now at least), a small boost to the household budget. 🙂 While I was updating people/organisations with my new email address and mobile number rather than landline, I minimised my contacts list by unsubscribing from a good number of newsletters and mailing lists; I didn't realise just how many there were.

I'm happy to report the new air fryer is being used almost daily and definitely earning its keep. Over the last two years I've had to buy new: fridge/freezer, microwave, kettle, TV and washing machine. The old ones gave good service before expiring so I'm not complaining - just glad I have an emergency fund to pay for the replacements!

I'm just about to cut my last squeezy bottle of body lotion in half to get out the rest of its contents that I think should last at least another week. Hopefully there will be some post-Xmas bargains around when I'm looking for a replacement; in the meantime I have a tub of body butter to use instead.

Cherryfudge

That must have been an expensive two years in terms of white good, @YorksLass . We have had to replace toaster and kettle recently, the door keeps coming off the oven and the microwave is limping along with a dodgy closure! I'm very seriously considering an all-singing, all-dancing combination microwave/air fryer/oven, but we're very limited in space and they seem to be !!!!!! than our current microwave.

Here's how I'm doing:

Make do - the plug on the Instant Pot somehow got broken and I remembered a bag of unidentifiable electricals I'd found in the loft. It was worth a look as there was a suitable replacement lead (thus decluttering at the same time as making do and mending).

Mend - nothing to report recently, unless I can count having the piano tuned, and it was DH who arranged that.

Minimise - V1nted sales have been going well - two bulky cardigans and two pairs of socks have been posted recently, and a skirt is going today! I also threw out a broken plant pot holder and I've started a bag of beyond-mend-ables for the textile bank.