Here's what I achieved during this crazy week -
* Cooked pie meat for four pies and froze it.
* Made three meatloaves and froze them.
* Made dried bread crumbs from some rolls that were given to me a while ago. They were rolls my family wouldn't normally eat but I saw them as a blessing and froze them until I needed bread crumbs. I then made the dried bread crumbs into seasoned bread crumbs to coat chicken drumsticks ans salmon patties.
* Picked a handful of beans and strawberries every couple of days.
* Made brown sugar.
* Washed our clothes by hand. We haven't had a washing machine plugged in since Friday last week. After Darren washed our sheets and towels at the laundromat ( costing $5 per load ) I've been washing what I can by hand.
* My girls and I had to wash our hair in the kitchen sink a couple of times when we were without a shower. When the ensuite shower was finished we had to have very quick showers as we are all sharing the bathroom while the girl's bathroom was gutted. Oh the joy.
* Kept the heater off most of the time as the tradies liked to have our front door open all day.
* Bought meat specials at Tasman Meats. For just over $80 I was able to divide it into 27 meals for the four of us. Tasman has number 9 raw chickens in twin packs for $6.99, sausages for $3.99 kg, regular mince for $3.99 kg and lamb chops for $6.99 kg. Great specials !!!!
* Sorted out the girls old school text books and advertised them for sale on the Sustainable School Shop website. I was able to pass a few down to Megan from Jessica. Some text books will be used two years running for Jessica. It looks like some folders can be cleaned and used again.
* Hand watered the vegetable seedlings. The rest of the vegetable garden was watered by God. It's such a blessing. THANKYOU !!!
* We gratefully received some blocks of cheese and a loaf of bread from a friend. God is taking care of us and we feel so blessed.
* Made fruit ice cream with frozen bananas, strawberries and a few raspberries ( store bought ). It's a great way to use up soft bananas.
* Diluted a bottle of laundry liquid by 50%.
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| Honey mustard chicken made from scratch. |
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| Our daisy bush is blooming |
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| Ready to pick lettuce again. |
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| Fruit ic cream. |
Sorry, I didn't have time to take many photos this week. Next week looks more promising.
Did you do anything frugal this week ?
Great work Wendy, can't wait for your meat pie recipe when you post it.
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy. This week our family was blessed with a dozen eggs, chocolates and two large Turkish breads. We have been in sandwiche press heaven! In return I offered lettuce and zucchini's which have been growing beautifully. Thanks for the tip about Seasol and your strawberries. I did use Seasol and plan to fortnightly. This week I have made all meals from scratch. I have compared school book prices and bought school books from Bookworld which was much cheaper than the school designated provider. Plus Bookworld offers free postage. I also am sorting through my stockpile of gifts that I have stored for Christmas and am using these and recycling unused and not needed good quality gifts that were given to us to pass on to others re: Kris Kringle, colleagues, teachers, friends. All in all, a good week for my family. Am glad to hear that you too had a good week. Hopefully the renovations will be finished soon and you will look at the finished bathroom and enjoy the fruit of your sacrifice. Enjoy! Regards, Liz.
ReplyDeleteWendy, isn't it nice to get some rain for the vegetables? It will be nice when your renos are finished but, as you say, no cleaning while that is going on! Got to look on the bright side eh?
ReplyDeleteYes the rain was appreciated
DeleteWendy earlier this year we renovated the kitchen. The mess really got me down for a while as this went on for three months! But it was worth it in the end even though I got sick of people saying that to me!
ReplyDeleteThis week I made quite a few small gifts from cooking. I have lined up more shortbread, fudge and rocky road to go this week. This gives me a lot of small gifts. Another thing I did and am still working my way through is sending lovely Christmas e cards. I have quite a few NZ friends and US friends and I am saving postage by sending nice e cards. I have parcels to post too and all year I save boxes and postage bags and re use them for this to save a little bit. I watched you on A Current Affair and followed it the best I could as the sound isnt working. I noticed others had the same issue. I left a comment asking them to fix it. I hope next week is easier for you. xx
Hi Wendy, Hope your bathroom is nearly finished, think of all the water saved this week. Was the interview for a future story or what we saw on Tuesday as Tracy mentioned you will be back with a Christmas special?, Can't wait. Thanks for the tip about Tasmans and the Sustainable School shop. I looked up the Sustainable School shop website and they had second hand uniforms for my DS1 for next year as he transfers to a different campus, Yeah!!!!
ReplyDeleteI did a bit of baking this week making Bickies, pita chips and chocolate cake. I froze an extra Quiche, made breadcrumbs and blanched Cauliflower and froze this.
I made a list each day of things to do and BOY did this make a difference to my week as I achieved more than normal. Blessings, xxxx Maureen
The interview was for last Tuesday's story. I hadn't slept well the night before as our cat couldn't sleep in the laundry as she usually does. She wandered around the house all night. I was up super early to wash my hair in the kitchen sink before the tradies and camera crew arrived for the day. Yes there will be a Christmas story soon.
DeleteAwesome as always Wendy.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had to do much shopping this month as I am well and truly stocked up but today I saw a 2 kilo turkey breast rolled roast marked down at Woollies at 60% off so I grabbed it and put it away for christmas. I already have our ham, pork roast and 2 chickens in the freezer as well so that is well and truly sorted.
I've also managed to squirrel away a lot of other really good specials so christmas is looking good :)
My daughter makes fruit ice cream with frozen bananas but she throws in some organic Cacao and it really does taste like chocolate ice cream when she's finished.
I'm using up some laundry liquid as well at the moment and will start using my homemade laundry detergent again soon. My husband cleaned my house for me yesterday and ran out of my homemade cleaner so diluted some sugar soap in a spray bottle and used that instead. very happy he's getting more resourceful instead of going to the shops.
Have a great week Wendy, I look forward to seeing your frugal tasks every week.
Deb
Thankyou for your kind words ladies. The last few weeks have been very challenging to get through.. The bathrooms, toilet and laundry are now finished except for the painting. that will get done as time allows.
ReplyDeleteHello Wendy. I've been following along for a while, but haven't commented. You and I are sort of 'Savings Sisters' in a way. I write a savings blog for another site, and we have many similar ideas. I have a second blog that focuses on living elegantly for less, and I love the challenge of having a seemingly luxurious lifestyle for very little money. A teen daughter here as well, so I'm familiar with the ups and downs of pre-adult daughters...lol! I just wanted to say that I am in awe of all you do. I thought I was doing well, but you are a powerhouse...Mimi xxx
ReplyDeleteHi Mimi and thankyou for your comment. We have a small home by today's standards but it is furnished nicely and is clean and tidy. We eat so well for $270 a month and yet people don't believe it can be done.
DeleteI hope you visit my blog again.