Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2018

misstara · 1 January 2018 at 6:13PM

Happy New Year and welcome to the 2018 Make do, Mend and Minimise thread

I love reading everyone's frugal tales and inventive ways of making do and can't wait to see what 2018 brings.

misstara · 1 January 2018 at 6:51PM

Hello MMMers - wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year

Trying to start the new year as I mean to go on so today I've made sausage rolls using some YS sausages and used up the last of some hm cranberry sauce in them. Very yummy

Meal plan has been done for the week
Today - steak, chips and veg (our new year treat)
Tomorrow - sausage roll, mash and beans
Wed - beef stew (from freezer)
Thurs - veg frittata
Fri - chicken curry (from freezer)
Sat - pad thai with duck
Sun - sausage casserole (have quite a few YS sausages to use up)

There's some parsnips in the fridge that need used up so I'm going to try to make some parsnip soup which I will then use for lunches. In the freezer, there's a portion of lentil soup and 2 portions of pea and ham soup to be used. I bought a heap of YS rolls fairly recently so they can be used up for lunches along with the soup. The freezer needs defrosted so I really need to use up all the YS items in there.

OH bought me some new kitchen scales for Christmas to replace the ones I've had for years. They still work fine so have started a CS bag which I will hand in once it's full.

I've minimised the ironing pile today and also done a couple of loads of washing. Plan for the rest of the evening is to organise myself for going back to work tomorrow and then relax with a book. But first food

amber03 · 1 January 2018 at 8:00PM

yeah was hoping for a 2018 blog, found it and subscribed. Sorted out cupboards, freezer and fridge . Have enough food to use before I need to shop. Going to sort dvd's and sell as many as possible with the money going into my EF. Sort out all rooms and minimise as much as possible. This should help with my Simpler Life plan.xx

Mrs_Salad_Dodger · 2 January 2018 at 5:46AM

Misstara,
Currently posting on A simpler Life 2018 thread so will alternate between there & here.

I am trying to declutter & DH is decorating, as the end of April will see my DSis moving in for an unspecified amount of time.
I am also making use of Larder & fridge/freezer contents with minimal shopping trips. So far, touch wood, have not made anything inedible! Yippee - I hate wasting food.
Also, clothes repaired once clean & then put away or cs’d/ragged.

IrisViolet · 2 January 2018 at 8:44AM

Yay glad for a 2018 thread!
Been reading all through 2017 but not posting hardly . Really going to try and post more this year.
Also going for a Simple life this year. Make do , mend and minimise is such a huge part of that. I'm trying to reduce our families waste also.
I've been busy making do with the food we have in and shopping much less. I'm really bad for shopping every few days but I'm determined to shop once a week now. I stopped on the 23rd and then didn't shop again until the 29th. I've spent a lot less and should be fine until the 5th/6th.

Been mending clothese. A few stitchesand they are fine. Mostly it's kids clothes with a tiny rip but seems so wasteful to chuck out and buy something new.

Got four big bags fo4mr the charity shop. I hate clutter. I feel like I may finally be in a happy place with my house being minimal. It could b3 better but with 6 of us here there is only so much I can do!

dND · 2 January 2018 at 10:11AM

Another year begins

I had a good rummage in the bottom of the store cupboard and found yet more dried beans so bean soup is on the agenda today. So that should cover Make Do and Minimize.

No Mend as yet unless you count picking through and seperating out 25Kg of dried cat food. I bought 15Kg of a new food which I thought friends had said their cats loved. They had actually said the opposite and my cats hated it too - even after leaving it down for a fortnight.

Well, thought I, I'll mix in 10Kg of the more expensive (Royal Canin) food they usually eat. That usually works, but not this time

:(

So piece by piece I'm picking out the Royal Canin, which thankfully is a different shape to the stuff they detest (and makes them ill). It should keep me out of mischief for the next month :rotfl:

mrs-moneypenny · 2 January 2018 at 10:22AM

Thank you for the new thread, a very happy new year to everyone.
I'm hoping to meal plan better this year and to make use of more rtc (yellow sticker) items.
My crafting stash is getting out of hand so goal is to minimise that by making items I can use as gifts or donate to good causes. I currently have a crochet blanket im working on using two strands of DK at the same time this will be donated to a local group that support the homeless
Thee ae a couple of things on my mending pile, DHs sweat shirt that needs cuff welts repairing and a bag DS2 overloaded and broke the strap on.

Shropshirelass · 2 January 2018 at 10:44AM

I've been a long-time lurker on this thread so joining in this shiny new year.

Make-do - with whatever food we have in, mainly because I have flu, so won't be going out shopping til at least Friday. Lots of soup in freezer.

Mend -I've mended a few little ? moth holes in OHs woollen jumper, which shrank a bit in the wash and now fits me nicely. So cosy in this miserable weather.

Minimising - gradually accumulating a few bags from wardrobe to take to CS on Friday. Will be minimising some leftover Veges into the soup. And all the Christmas holly has gone this morning in the rubbish collection.

So all set for a happy, less cluttered 2018 :T
Happy New Year to all MMMers

savingpennies · 2 January 2018 at 11:59AM

Happy New Year to everyone and here's to a new MMM year.
I've been making do with Christmas leftovers and have frozen all the turkey and made a few curries which will be used up over the next few weeks.
Minimising -
* I met an old teaching colleague for coffee and she has agreed to take a lot of the text/theory books I used to use. That should clear at least one of the shelves on my bookshelves.
* I have a bit of a wool stash which needs minimising, so one of my New Year's resolutions is to 'knit while I watch'. Another is to use my stash to make presents for friends and family for next Christmas. One of the trials of Christmas is knowing what to buy people and this will help solve the problem.

Mrs_Salad_Dodger · 2 January 2018 at 12:15PM

dND - what a palaver! They can be soooo fussy. My DSis has two and they often eat better than she does or at least it seems like that.
Wishing you success and maybe you can find someone local who could take it off your hands?

Mrs SD:)

Stoke · 2 January 2018 at 2:19PM

Good start to my MMM for 2018. The flow cartridge in my Triton shower bar started to leak very badly over the past few weeks. That leak went from a constant drip to a genuine stream of water that was permanently running through.

Rather than buying the replacement part for £24.99, I took the advice of a family member who suggested that sometimes they just need descaling. I soaked the cartridge in Oust coffee descaler (almost neat), for around 12 hours, occasionally returning to open and close the valve. You could hear it getting cleaner each time I did it.

Result. No drips whatsoever now. £24.99 saved. :cool:

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Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2018

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