Here's my frugal list for the week -
* Made pizzas for tea on Sunday night. They are so much better and more filling than any store bought or takeaway.
* Dried all washing on the line and clothes horses.
* Planted dwarf bush bean seedlings we'd grown from seed. Darren also planted some more seeds to plant out later.
* Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread.
* Baked lots of raspberry and white chocolate muffins. I sold some to a cleaning client which covered the costs for us to eat some for free.
* Cooked enough spag bol for 16 individual serves and also sold them to a cleaning client.
* I made chunky beef and veg soup with two slices of roast beef that were left over from a meal. It made ten good serves and these were all sold to my cleaning client.
* Made lots and lots of hamburger patties. Some were sold to my cleaning client. The rest were frozen for us to eat as an almost free meal.
* Baked two chocolate brownies. One was to go to a Cup Day party. The other one was eaten by the family with a few pieces frozen for later.
* Accepted some tomato plants from my Dad.
* Made lemon butter with our chooks eggs and lemon juice I froze from our lemons.
* Made vanilla yoghurt from scratch using some yoghurt I froze as a starter. This is the first time it's worked using frozen ( then defrosted ) yoghurt. I was very happy and so was the family.
* Picked iceberg roses to put in the loungeroom. Darren picked a bunch for a friend who was hosting a cup day bbq. Darren also picked a beautiful pink rose for my bed side table. It smells so lovely and I can smell it as I'm going to sleep and waking up.
* Bought more Morning Fresh dishwashing liquid at Coles for $1.75 each. I didn't really need any but I had the room.
* Saved water from the showers to water the vegetable seeds and seedlings.
* Saved water from the washing machine for the next load.
* Used the two light rule in the house where possible. At times we only have one light on. On the rare occasion we have no lights on.
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| Raspberry and white chocolate muffins |
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| The rose Darren picked for me. |
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| Wholemeal bread. |
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| Slicing the bread for the freezer. |
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| Peanut butter choc chip biscuits. |
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| A feijoa flower |
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| We are hoping to get feijoa fruit next March / April. |
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| Princess hiding in the strawberry patch |
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| She likes to watch the birdies. |
Beautiful flowers and garden. Delicious food. Now you add a very cute cat as well. Now I'm really impressed. Can you share some tips for keeping cats happy on a budget.
ReplyDeleteCats like to come and go as they please, they like humans, but they also cherish their space, so as a rule, Princess pretty much runs our household, just remember if you have a cat, they need to be in before dusk, that's when they can get up to mischief!
DeleteTie a toilet roll to a piece of string and hang it off a door knob. Cats love it. We also have a few small bals that Princess loves to chase around the house.
DeleteHi Wendy, this week i made: Lunchbox muffins, Cranberry Hootie creek bickies and Pita chips whilst the oven was on with the roast beef. I used the leftover roast beef to create beef and vegie pies. Doubled cooked so i could freeze a few extra meals. I used vegies from our garden and cut flowers from our garden to enjoy inside.
ReplyDeleteI saved the water from the showers and washing to use again on the garden or in the washing machine and cleaned out the washing machine as it was a bit overdue.
We tried to walk to school as much as possible and on the way home noticed at a house near us was for sale and they were getting rid of their potted plants, for FREE (pots inc). Yeah, love free plants!!!
I went to NQR and bought Cup cake cases 400 in a pack for $2.49 and at a cheap chemist near me Colgate toothpaste 120gm $1.79 and dove soap 79c. When i was at Coles, they had a magazine called Coles (free), and on pg 66 was a voucher for $5.00 off when you spend $15.00 on skincare at Coles. I purchased 2 of the scrubs Wendy suggested (from Tuesdays post) for $7.50 ea, total $15.00, $5.00 off with voucher, total for both $10.00 making them $5.00 ea. The magazine has only just come out this week and the voucher is valid till 3.12.14.
I have noticed that the price of fruit and vegies had been going up so i went along to my local market. Some of the bargains i bought were Strawberries 99c per punnet, Toms 1.99 and Pita bread 75c per pk.
Keep cool everyone and remember to close up the house early on these hot days, it makes a big difference, Blessings, Maureen
doyou have a food and handling to onsell your goods?
ReplyDeletewe are thinking of doing the same :)
My husband does. He's been in the food industry for 19 years.
DeleteHi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteThose muffins look yummy.
This week I
- I cooked large pot of meat sauce for pasta and froze into 8 family meal lots.
- Made more Laundry Powder ( gave some away, trying to convert friend)!!
- Bought tray of beautiful Strawberries 4kilos for $5.50.
- Made Strawberry Jam. Enough for 8 months plus some small jars prettied up with paper, ribbon and tags to give as presents.
-Made meatloaf, bulked up with carrots and zucchini . Froze half for another meal.
- Bought some Big Red Spicy Tomato Soup for $1.00 a can from the clearance shelves in Woolies. I like to use this for my Porcupine Meatballs.
- Made Anzac biscuits with sultanas.
- Made Bran Fruit Muffins with my frozen Bananas and Apple Purée .
- Made Yoghurt, as hubby has to watch sugar, and I don't like the artificial sweetener. I make with Greek Yoghurt as starter. I made 7 small pots in all , some topped with frozen berries and a little honey, and a couple with a little stewed apple. I also tried a couple with a little stewed mango.He loved them. I am pleased as it saved many$$ and it's healthier.
- Finished knitting a scarf for my daughter with wool that was given to me by an elderly friend. She generously gave me a huge bag of beautiful wool. I will never get through it so may pass some on.
- Stretched some as new boots that had been a little tight, they now fit perfectly. I was about to throw them out.
- Cut some flowers from the garden for the table.
- trying to consciously cut down shower time.
Have a great week.
Kathryn
It sounds like you had a busy week in the kitchen too. Well done.
DeleteWendy those muffins look so yum. You had a great list this week. i had a busy week, it was really good. I like to get more done leading up to Christmas there seems to be so many extra things to do. And be organised so Christmas doesnt get stressful or expensive. Organisation saves a lot of money and stress in the end I think (most times!) Tonight I used a whole heap of bits and pieces in a fried rice. This made a whole heap of good food and also used up some chives I had frozen. Very handy as a meal or as a side meal. Have a good new week! xx
ReplyDeleteI had a short week. Worked an extra shift at work. Manage to get my daughter Siobhan a new wardrobe for $30 from a garage sale. Also got a hamburger press from the sale. Planted a couple of pumpkin seeds from a pumpkin I purchased to eat and the seeds are growing. Used my home made laundry soap. Cleaned all the mirrors with metho and water. Saved the shower water for my plants. Rode my bike or walked to the shops twice. Got a swing chair for free. Just have to make the cushions for it. Got a work shirt from the op shop which I will get the logo put on. Made Hooty biscuits minus the nuts so the girls could take them to school. Siobhan's school is nut free. Saw biscuit mix in a jar in Target and thought I might make up my own and decorate them for Christmas presents. Have purchased some Christmas presents for the family. Managed to keep the grocery bill within a reasonable level but am trying to get it down further.
ReplyDeleteJanine, biscuit mix looks great layered in a glass jar. Just pop a bit of material on the lid with a ribbon and attach a tag.
DeleteYou had some great finds this week.
Hi Wendy. I haven't really done a huge amount this week but enough small things to make a difference. I did the family washing and instead of drying it outside, I dried the clothes inside to help keep the house cooler with the moisture, as it was a very hot day! Cooked all meals from scratch. Paid all bills on time. I ran the dishwasher during off peak times. Tended to the greenhouse and planted more cucumber plants, whilst attending to the tomato plants to ensure more flowering stems to create more tomatoes. Car pooled with a friend. All in all, a good week but hoping for a more productive week starting tomorrow. May your family and your readers also have a great week. Blessings, Liz.
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy, we about to get rid of our cat as she keeps marking aroung the house, today it was the lounge & my sons beanbag. Any suggestions for that?
ReplyDeleteThis week I made up some miracle cleaner & laundry powder, a double batch of both,
made weetbis muffins for school lunches, set a financial goal for our household to work on & keep us focused, planted seedlings & started more seeds in punnets, using thermos for my herb tea, been watering seedlings & pots with bits from washing hands/produce etc but have more to do, of course.
I've heard of spraying cats with water every time ther look like they will mark.
DeleteWendy your bread looks so nice. I am so tempted to try your recipe this coming week :)
ReplyDeleteGreat to read some good money saving ideas in the comments. I decided I would write down what I did and was surprised at how much frugality I achieved over the week. I tend to just do stuff without thinking about it, so writing it down helps me realise that I am doing okay :) Sorry if my list is a bit too long.
My frugal tasks this week included;
*Used cold water to wash clothes
*Homemade laundry liquid to wash with
*Dried on the clothes line
*Folded washing straight away so I didn't have to iron
*Froze leftovers for meals for hubby to take to work
*Picked mulberries from our tree
*Made salads from veggies grown in our garden
*Made yoghurt (it is turning out well Wendy, and I worked it out that it is only costing me about .28c a litre)
*Used eggs from our hens, and sold the excess.
*Baked some biscuits and made healthy chocolate bliss balls. The biscuits were taken to Ladies League that I attend along with a pizza slice I made.
*Miracle cleaner was used to clean my toilets and vinegar to clean my tiles in the bathrooms.
*I bought mince from the butchers instead of the supermarket. It worked out to be a $1kg cheaper. I am trying to avoid the supermarkets.
*Made homemade lasagna, there was enough left over to freeze and have for lunch the next day.
*Bought dinner rolls from the bakery, $3 for a dozen. These are cheaper than at the supermarket and so much nicer.
*Hubby is installing drippers to my veggie beds and hopefully the rain water can be connected so I wont have to use the mains so much which is so expensive.
*Put a timer in the shower to monitor water use. Just need to train my son to do the same, I think he goes to sleep in there.
*I baked homemade crackers from leftover sour dough wraps. Brushed them with oil and added a little sea salt on top. Yummy!
*I had five no spend days this week.
*I bought two passion fruit vines. These will add much needed shade and a windbreak under our outside entertainment area, plus provide us with fruit.
*Most meals were home cooked.
*Extra money was paid off the mortgage and also put some into the bills account as it was getting down.
*Veggie scraps were given to chooks and compost
*Cans and bottles were saved. In South Australia we get 10c each. Nice little bonus when returned for cash. We have two wool bales that we fill and usually that would be worth about $130 - $150.
*Small change was added to our money tin. I empty my purse into the tin every payday and cash it in once or twice a year.
*Teapot instead of bags, and add leftovers to compost.
Wishing you a great Frugal week!
x
You have an impressive list Tania. It could never be too long and you might be giving others some new ideas. xoxo
DeleteHi Wendy, you have mentioned a few times that you make a lot of your own gifts and I can think of heaps of gifts to make for females of any age but I get really stuck when it comes to gifts to make for men. Do you have any ideas?
ReplyDeleteKathleen
I get stuck too. I made bbq aprons this year. I also give homemade biscuits to go with presents For a male teacher I've made choc chip biscuits and put them in a glass jar with a tartan ribbon and the recipe in an envelope tied on. It was very well received.
DeleteI shopped at Supply Warehouse 355 Warrigal Rd Cheltenham. Have never been there before, items are overuns and near or past best before dates. Husband is loving his Darrel Lea chocolate.
ReplyDeleteWill pay $360 power bill this week and credit card in full before doing my Christmas shopping. Am adding a few items to shopping each week for Christmas.