The Frugal Hearth: Stories of Simple Living and Living Well

honeybee1234

Hi!

I align a lot with your mindset of living simply so will be reading with interest! Do you find the decluttering helps mentally - it's something I've prioritised since I moved last year, making sure everything I own is something useful or brings me joy. It's been really refreshing I find.

I too struggle with my grocery budget and have just raised it with some reluctance so can relate! Hopefully adding that extra will be more comfortable to stick within for you.

Take care! 

Slowdown

Phew! I wasn’t envious of your busy weekend @Elishiba. Its very hot down south at the moment. Spent Saturday walking 12 miles in and around Richmond and Richmond Park. Ice creams and cold beer helped! I hope you were able to fit in some nice cool treats throughout your busyness! 

I’m impressed with your decluttering and tidying. You’ll soon be completely organised and won’t know what to do with yourself! 

missymoo81

Hey @Elisheba yaaay I’ve found your re diary! I hope you’ve had a good busy weekend and the best wasn’t too much. I spent most of it avoiding the sun which is very unlike me. But it’s at so hot! 

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, I shall be watching your cleaning routine escapades with interest! Do report back 😁

Elisheba

Evening, Thursday thrifters,

Phew, I have finally going some time to rest and post on here! I'm blooming knackered - a very busy weekend, the busy Monday evening, Tuesday evening, and yesterday afternoon and evening I was in Cardiff for a concert. The concert was very good fun, but I didn't get out the car park until after midnight, and then didn't get home until 1.45am, so I've shattered today.

The getting organised project is still going strong. I've got lots of lists set up on the MS To Do app on my phone with either due dates, or set as reoccurring, and just need to look at the My Day section to see what needs done. With being so busy of late I haven't been able to do everything I have down everyday, but it's a really handy checklist for what I should aim to do next, rather than jumping from task to task, or just ignoring them completely. The house is looking great, although I haven't made which headway in the garden yet.

Tonight I'm going to have an early night. I sat outside for a bit earlier to read after dinner, but couldn't concentrate and ended up having a nap in the sun 🤣. Feeling a better for it, but hopefully it won't ruin my sleep tonight.

This coming weekend I have no external plans at all (except church) - woo hoo! Hopefully I'll be able to get lots of bits and pieces done around the house, and weed the garden.

MSE wise, I did an end of month full financial reconciliation for June, just to check all the jiggery-pokery I did mid month had worked out. It's always a bit complicated due to most of my day to day spending being put on the Amex, whose balance runs from mid month to mid month, but I think I pretty much got there.

In actual money I seemed to be £40.97 down on what my s/s said I should have, which is likely just some miscalculation mid month. If I have actually miscounted somewhere in the reconciliation instead then it'll pop up somewhere at the end of next month, and I'll be £40.97 the richer, so we'll see.

I've ordered a pair of shorts off Vinted in a size down from what I'm currently wearing, as my current ones are really big now, and wearing a belt only helps so much. I'm hoping to get through the summer getting as few new (to me) clothes as possible, as I should (fingers crossed) be a few sizes lower by next summer so anything I buy now won't see much wear. If these ones I have ordered fit, them I might get another pair and that will do for this summer. Dresses and T shirts are a lot easier to get away with if they are a bit big.

It's all very annoying trying to work out my size. I know my waist and hip measurements, but when I look them up to try and get an accurate clothes size there are 4 different sizes I could be depending on the chart I look at 🙄. Two of which I already have clothes in and they are too big 🙄. The variation in sizes between companies really is ridiculous.

I've had to buy a few other little things over the last week or so - new sunglasses as mine broke and can't be fixed, more sun lotion, that sort of thing. Trying where possible to keep buying to a minimum, and getting the best value option I can find when I do need to purchase something.

Right, I'm afraid my bed is calling. I'll try to catch up on diaries, respond to all your lovely comments, and post more regularly now I should have a bit more time coming up. How you have all survived the crazily hot weather and it's moderate where you are now.

Makingabobor2

I love V*nt*d. I have had quite a bit of stuff from them this year.  My best bargain being a lovely £3 dress and a £2 top.  I am also a funny size and it all depends what make it is. It always amazes me how much difference there is between different brands.  N*xt are really on the big size, M*S can be hit and miss, depending on what it is, apart from their P*r *na range, which seems to be perfect....most of the time. It doesn't help that I am really a smaller size on the top than on the bottom....lol

honeybee1234

Fully agree about the insane variation in sizing between clothing brands, it drives me mad! Don't know about you, but I tend to stick to two or three of my preferred brands so I know what size I'll be with each separate brand and can get the fit I like. ASOS in particular I like as it's easy to order two sizes of one item and return the one I don't need for free. Agree about bigger t shirts, I do love an oversized t shirt in the summer, my Adam Sandler-core vibe is huge! 

missymoo81

Ah lovely to hear you have a relaxing weekend ahead of you. I struggle with sizes! I’m short and stocky so am a variation of 4 sizes depending where I shop. Very annoying! 

missymoo81

Also meant to say well done on the weight loss!

Elisheba

Afternoon, campers!

I finally managed to start listing old clothes on V!nted yesterday, and have sold 5 things already! I was ridiculously excited yesteday, and couldn't stop looking at the app to see if anything else had happened Dropped them off at the Post Office at lunch time today, and that will be £48 when it has all cleared  .  I've decided it'll go straight into the house savings pot.  If I manage to stick to budget this month, and earn just a little bit more in V!nted then that will be me up to £7k in savings by the end of the month, which is exciting!

I collected the pair of shorts I ordered as well, and they fit!  Yay!  That's the first time I have fitted into a size 20 in over 10 years, so that is also exciting! I hit the 3 stone lost mark this week as well, so lots of little milestones this week . And the most important thing, which is my blood sugar, seems to be fine as well so it's all good.

Since I know the shorts fit, I have ordered a longer pair as well off V!nted, and they should get me through the rest of the summer, and the seaside holiday I am going on with my family at the end of the month.  As I said above, dresses and top are a lot more forgiving and you can get away with wearing them too big much more easily. I really don't want to spend any more money than necessary on stuff that won't fit next summer.

Other than that, I think I wore myself out a bit with all my organising and cleaning last week and over the weekend.  I haven't been fit for much the last couple of days, and cancelled my evening activities. However, the house is looking great.  I got two kitchen drawers sorted out, and one of them cleared so I could put pots and frying pans in there. Which meant I needed to organise a big kitchen cupboard (which had been annoying me as I couldn't find the pots and frying pans in it easily) so that got done as well.  Also got some pictures hung, and various other house bits and bobs, so it was productive few days, if exhausting.  

Other than that, not a huge amount of MSE news.  I treated myself using my personal allowance to a couple of bottle of nail polish, and a Kindle book.  This weekend there is a sort of village fete, but that won't cost me anything.  I'm making curry for dinner tonight, which will last a couple of nights.  Oh, I picked up a handy tip from the Under the Median YT channel, and I'm making a list of perishable food every Thursday and meal planning and making a shopping list for the next week around it.  Very easy, and means nothing gets wasted.

Looks like the next few days are going to be scorchers, so hope everyone stays cool.  Remember, curtains and windows closed during the day and then open at night really makes a difference.