Sneaky ways to save the pennies

jollymummy

I chop up old birthday and Christmas cards and reuse the bits to make cards and gift tags. Also cut the little ribbons out of garments and buttons too and use them on cards.
I also use the plastic boxes that supermarket veg come in to grow seeds in, as they are so small they fit perfectly on to my kitchen windowledge so the sun and warmth can get them going.

Pippilongstocking

As all my herbs have started to grow I am not starting to cut them back to improve their shape and bushiness and to let me start to save them for the winter when they are sleeping. This means i have supply all year round therefore no need to buy quite alot of dried or fresh herbs.

This year already I have cut back my rosemary (drying hung up), oregano (Dry and hung up), chives (chopped to freeze), parsley (chopped to freeze) and my lemon balm.(dried for bath use - makes the bath smell lovely).

Also using the young growth from my garlic, onions and shallots instead of spring onions and leeks.

Rhubarb is up too so am picking that now to spurn the growth on and freezing it

Rescuing pots of herbs from the supermarket and gently teasing apart the seedlings and replanting them in rows or bigger pots is a really cheap way to get about 40-50 seedlings for about £1. They look like proper plants but they are really concentration camps for herbs as they put loads in a pot that are only seedlings and give the illusion of a big plant.

So free some herbs today all the supermarkets are harbouring them - it works for all of them - although be careful with basil and chives

Lidls have cheap pots of herbs - as well.

PS We also now have a pretty jar with a lid in the bathroom and have cut our baby wipes in half - we are using just a tiny amount of these now as when do you ever need a whole baby wipe. My packet I opened in January is still being used to top up the jar.

Gigervamp

fayjmck wrote: »

Rescuing pots of herbs from the supermarket and gently teasing apart the seedlings and replanting them in rows or bigger pots is a really cheap way to get about 40-50 seedlings for about £1. They look like proper plants but they are really concentration camps for herbs as they put loads in a pot that are only seedlings and give the illusion of a big plant.

Do you cut them down a bit? I bought a thyme pot and surprisingly it's still going, but each *strand* is about 3 inches long. I was wondering if it would survive if it cut it to encourage bushyness.

blueberrypie

fayjmck wrote: »

Rescuing pots of herbs from the supermarket and gently teasing apart the seedlings and replanting them in rows or bigger pots is a really cheap way to get about 40-50 seedlings for about £1. They look like proper plants but they are really concentration camps for herbs as they put loads in a pot that are only seedlings and give the illusion of a big plant.

So free some herbs today all the supermarkets are harbouring them - it works for all of them - although be careful with basil and chives

I love this idea! But being a bit of a useless gardener, I need more information about what to do with them once they've been replanted - every time I buy a pot of fresh herbs, they end up dying...I'm obviously missing something :-\

Nitha

fayjmck wrote: »

PS We also now have a pretty jar with a lid in the bathroom and have cut our baby wipes in half - we are using just a tiny amount of these now as when do you ever need a whole baby wipe. My packet I opened in January is still being used to top up the jar.

Lol - you haven't seen one of my 1yo DS's specials!

Nitha

My biggest saving is the 4pt milk from Iceland. Cheaper per pint that buying their 6pt bottles!

rosemary54

Nitha wrote: »

My biggest saving is the 4pt milk from Iceland. Cheaper per pint that buying their 6pt bottles!

tesco's own coffee is cheaper in the smaller bags too,so much for big always saving money!

rosemary54

zippychick wrote: »

Not sure if this has been mentioned already, but i always keep butter and marg wrappers for greasing trays etc when baking. I have a nice little collection in the fridge - saves waste and is perfect amount for greasing.

my old mum did this but we did not have a fridge back in the 60s......lots of rancid wrappers put me off doing this for life:rolleyes:

Pippilongstocking

blueberrypie wrote: »

I love this idea! But being a bit of a useless gardener, I need more information about what to do with them once they've been replanted - every time I buy a pot of fresh herbs, they end up dying...I'm obviously missing something :-\

If you can carefully repot them and then just treat them like normal plants - they always die cos they are all squished in their like little soldiers!

Goodluck and pm me if you need any plant help!

Pippilongstocking

Gigervamp wrote: »

Do you cut them down a bit? I bought a thyme pot and surprisingly it's still going, but each *strand* is about 3 inches long. I was wondering if it would survive if it cut it to encourage bushyness.

Yeah you can cut them back hard and it will work - as long as there's a bit of green

Thyme is a bit easier - just cut it back and then put it into a much larger pot - it will just relax and bush out after you trim it back