14 months to go!

Fabulous50

Huge well done on pressing on - that shows real resilience. I'm sending you big hugs - enjoy Superman 😊

honeybee1234

Fabulous50 said:

Huge well done on pressing on - that shows real resilience. I'm sending you big hugs - enjoy Superman 😊

@Fabulous50 I do appreciate that, thankyou 🙂 It's like a really heavy weight that accompanies me every day of my life and is exhausting because my brain dissects every single aspect of any plan before we go - if I go. I really, really don't want to at the moment, more than usual which is why I'm pushing myself to because it would be *very* easy to just shut myself away and I know I could very, very easily do that.

Superman was really good - we all rated it a collective 8/10 so everyone was happy! We went to the shoe shop to browse shoes for DS2 but his delightful teenage tastes meant there was only one pair he'd consider, and they were too much like trainers for me to feel confident we wouldn't be getting a phone call from school on his first day back so not ticked that box off unfortunately!

honeybee1234

Earlier on, I went through my "Foods we have thrown away through July and should feel very ashamed about" list 😱

THE RESULTS

I costed it up as closely as I could

Half bunch spring onions (reduced) 17p (couldn't eat them all in time!) 

Half an onion 4.5p (got lost in the back of the fridge) 

Some strawberries (reduced) 69p (bought on a Thursday for boys to have on Saturday, they didn't last) 

Little apples (mealy) 82.5p (ate one, it was mealy and bad inside, started a second and it was the same. It's the second pack this has happened with so ended up throwing them away) 

Nearly full bag of potatoes (mouldy) £1.35 (these were a few days old, and had mould on which has never happened before!) 

Half pack beetroot 37p (couldn't eat them all in time!) 

Half tin chickpeas 23.5p (used for a couple of dishes but lost them in the fridge) 

Lime 12pm (used zest for cake, but didn't have a use for the rest) 

Part carton passata 27.5p (made a new recipe which needed one carton, but this wasn't enough so had to open a new one. Put it in the door in plain sight... and forgot it was there 😳) 

Broccoli florets from cauliflower pack 85p (saved to use for a meal later in the week but they didn't last) 

Small amount of salad bag (reduced) 5p (couldn't eat it in time) 

1/2 carton custard 29.5p (forgot all about it) 

3/4 tin sweetcorn 16p (planned to use it in a future dish then changed my mind and it went off) 

1/3 tin borlotti beans 49p (used this in two dishes but was too much to use up them didn't do anything with the rest) 

1/2 ish small pack tofu 55p (used for two dishes but couldn't eat the rest in time) 

Whole lettuce (reduced) 45p (bought for DP but he didn't use it) 

1 split pot yogurt 38p (these either get eaten straight away or last for ages. DP was going to eat this but forgot) 

1/2ish bag tomatoes 31p (this lasted for ages but couldn't eat them all in time) 

x2 4 pack wholemeal rolls (reduced 74p (mouldy when opened 😭) 

2/3 tin chickpeas 30p (I just forgot about these 😳) 

Green grapes (reduced) 85p (I had a handful but bought for DP... He kept saying he was going to eat them, had a handful then forgot about the rest) 

Chopped lettuce 64p (we always struggle to eat a whole pack but this was barely used) 

I have basically taken a ten pound note and thrown it in the bin 😱 I'm so cross with myself! 

NeverendingDMP

honeybee1234 said:

Earlier on, I went through my "Foods we have thrown away through July and should feel very ashamed about" list 😱

THE RESULTS

I costed it up as closely as I could

Half bunch spring onions (reduced) 17p (couldn't eat them all in time!) 

Half an onion 4.5p (got lost in the back of the fridge) 

Some strawberries (reduced) 69p (bought on a Thursday for boys to have on Saturday, they didn't last) 

Little apples (mealy) 82.5p (ate one, it was mealy and bad inside, started a second and it was the same. It's the second pack this has happened with so ended up throwing them away) 

Nearly full bag of potatoes (mouldy) £1.35 (these were a few days old, and had mould on which has never happened before!) 

Half pack beetroot 37p (couldn't eat them all in time!) 

Half tin chickpeas 23.5p (used for a couple of dishes but lost them in the fridge) 

Lime 12pm (used zest for cake, but didn't have a use for the rest) 

Part carton passata 27.5p (made a new recipe which needed one carton, but this wasn't enough so had to open a new one. Put it in the door in plain sight... and forgot it was there 😳) 

Broccoli florets from cauliflower pack 85p (saved to use for a meal later in the week but they didn't last) 

Small amount of salad bag (reduced) 5p (couldn't eat it in time) 

1/2 carton custard 29.5p (forgot all about it) 

3/4 tin sweetcorn 16p (planned to use it in a future dish then changed my mind and it went off) 

1/3 tin borlotti beans 49p (used this in two dishes but was too much to use up them didn't do anything with the rest) 

1/2 ish small pack tofu 55p (used for two dishes but couldn't eat the rest in time) 

Whole lettuce (reduced) 45p (bought for DP but he didn't use it) 

1 split pot yogurt 38p (these either get eaten straight away or last for ages. DP was going to eat this but forgot) 

1/2ish bag tomatoes 31p (this lasted for ages but couldn't eat them all in time) 

x2 4 pack wholemeal rolls (reduced 74p (mouldy when opened 😭) 

2/3 tin chickpeas 30p (I just forgot about these 😳) 

Green grapes (reduced) 85p (I had a handful but bought for DP... He kept saying he was going to eat them, had a handful then forgot about the rest) 

Chopped lettuce 64p (we always struggle to eat a whole pack but this was barely used) 

I have basically taken a ten pound note and thrown it in the bin 😱 I'm so cross with myself! 

I don't think fresh foods are lasting anywhere near as long as they used to. I'm struggling to get fruit and veg to stay decent and that's from a few supermarkets near me. Not just one. I worry what I am throwing away now I've seen your list. It's encouraged me to be more mindful

foxgloves

Morning Honeybee,
Just read through your list of food waste items. Yes, there's defo room for improvement here (I would say that, wouldn't I, as we do aim to be a zero food waste household here). I think your list reflects 2 different probems - one is fresh stuff not lasting. I find this is more common in hot humid weather, however I have rarely found strawberries last longer than a day or two even in the fridge so if I'm buying those for eating on a Saturday, I wouldn't look to getting them until Friday. The mealy apples - that's something you just can't know until you bite into them. Worth noting the variety so you can avoid them in future. They could still have gone in a crumble with some foraged blackberries or stewed into apple sauce. Failing time to do that, I'd have halved them & chucked them out on the lawn for our blackbirds. They even like the manky ones!
The other issue from your list is stuff not getting eaten, or getting forgotten in the fridge. This can be addressed through your meal planning i.e You only need half a can of say, sweetcorn, for a meal so you plan to use up the rest in a meal during the next 2 days. This becones habit. If you can't make this work, then lots of the stuff you threw away can bw frozen until you do need them. Tinned pulses, sweetcorn, etc, all fine to go in the freezer. If you are not going to use tomatoes, a good rule of thumb is that a lb of them, skinned & chopped, then frozen is roughly equal to a tin's worth next time you need a tin to make a bolognese, curry or similar. I also squeeze & freeze the juice from lemons which would otherwise be wasted so next time I have a recipe requiring 'Juice of 1 lemon', I don't need to buy one.
I have a plastic tray in the freezer where all my useful frozen salvage lives & I dip into it all the time to source various ingredients. Every so often, I'll clear it out & make a veggie crumble or pizza, etc.
It's a mindset you will find you get into, Honeybee. It was a good idea to make that list because it's shown you that there's defo money to be saved here. If you keep a closer eye on stores, you will be able to intervene earlier while food items are still a useful resource, rather than at the inedible/unsafe stage.
But you have done the groundwork bwcause you've identified the problem.
Good luck with it!
F x

joedenise

If I only use half a tin of something then I put the rest of the tin in a small freezer bag and freeze them.  The beetroot you could have sliced and put into a sterilised jar and covered in vinegar.  This would have made them last long quite a bit longer.

I very rarely just put things in the fridge thinking I'll use them in another meal sometime - I only ever put in the fridge if I've got a plan for a meal in the next couple of days, if not then into the freezer they go.  I very rarely throw anything away now.  Salad stuff, particularly mixed leaves, are the main thing.

It's definitely worth using your freezer for leftovers.

honeybee1234

@foxgloves and @joedenise thanks for the input! Off the back of your comments, I've spent some time reading about reverse meal planning on the Old Style board and it really fits nicely atm.

I'm about 50% of the way there generally with food waste, and I really feel the other 50% is simply dealing with leftovers and fresh stuff straight away, and being organised. I have a stash of ziplock bags and bought a stack of reusable tubs with the grocery shopping on Saturday, and have been sifting through the fridge. So far a portion of HM soup has been frozen, and a few more bits will be heading that way after tea!

Friday was the day of bills, and I've had a bit of a mare! I adjusted my M&S direct debit from the regular overpayment of 171.91 down to the minimum in July just for August to allocate some funds towards summer holiday activities.

Had the confirmation letter, all was good. But no - I checked my online banking on Friday morning... and there was 171.91 sailing straight out of the bank to M&S 😭 Not sure what's happened with it as I've done it before and it's been fine. Cue frantic moving around of money sent to pots back to my main feeder account. I have a small surplus but it's not going to stretch too far sadly.

I have a couple of National Trust day passes to use, and some small things planned so will need to see what's doable and interspersed some free activities inbetween. Hopefully the terrible teenage twosome will be all right with everything! 

dawnybabes

Just adding to the tips, spring onions keep for weeks and weeks if you pop them in a glass of water on the windowsill.  We only really use the green bits and they ‘regrow’ so a bunch lasts us ages 

joedenise

Give the credit card company a call and ask them to repay you the difference as you had changed it to minimum payment only for just August.  With a bit of luck they'll pay it back.  I've certainly found my CC company has refunded when they've taken money in error and it sounds that this is what has happened here.

honeybee1234

@joedenise I'm currently throwing different permutations of numbers around to see what I can do with what I have. If there is *any* way I can leave it as is, I will do. I shall update tomorrow!

The new month brings my review of my current cc totals. We have:

M&S: 91.63 (0% ends Oct. 25)
Nationwide: 326.98 (0% ends Oct. 25)
Capital One: 1027.49 (0% ends Jan. 26)
Virgin: 1391.86 (0% ends May 26)

I have some money coming to me from the ex for some of DS2's school uniform, which will knock a little off both the M&S and Nationwide cards. M&S can be ticked off on September 1st, yay! On 19th April it was 1031.45 and I was so disheartened at the balances I had outstanding. 

Today has been pretty quiet. Me and DP walked the dog this morning, then I ticked a few things off my list:

- load of laundry washed during the 'free hour' of electricity I had this morning 

- lemon cake I made yesterday has been chopped up and half put in the freezer 

- leftover mushrooms sliced and frozen 

- Prolific cashed out, 8.00 exactly and will be overpaid to M&S card in a minute!