* Fixed my vacuum cleaner. One small part broke off when I was cleaning the filters. This part helps to keep the filters in place so that the main barrel can be locked in. My $6 bottle of super glue saved me spending $150 - $600 on another vacuum cleaner.
* Used some peanut butter choc chip biscuit dough from the freezer to bake cookies for the Cheapskates card making afternoon.
* Gratefully received lots of card making scraps from Joy.
* Used some frozen chocolate brownies to take to an afternoon tea. They were meant to be for Darren's birthday party but I forgot all about them.
* Sold two dozen eggs and some card making starter kits.
* Picked some silverbeet from the garden to hide in a chop suey for tea one night.
* Gratefully received some left over biscuits ( cookies ) from the card making afternoon. These were eaten for morning teas at home and school.
* Finally wrote out a menu plan for the next six weeks. Life has been very unpredictable lately so it was too hard to stick to a plan. We did eat out of the freezer though so all is good.
* Made a batch of Miracle Spray. Even though it was for a tv story, I still needed to make some.
* Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread.
* Saved the bath water and bucketed it into the washing machine.
* Lined the bathroom bins with saved bread bags
* Made lots of pita chips for snacks.
* Made a double batch of peanut butter choc chip biscuit ( cookie ) dough for the freezer.
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| Chocolate brownies |
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| Bread making |
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| Pita chips |
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| Peanut butter choc chip biscuit dough |
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| Making Miracle Spray |
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| Lining the bathroom bin. |
My goodness you were up early :) We are still eating the leftovers from the card afternoon. AJ said he'd be very happy if "the ladies" came every week as long as they keep on bringing their small plates of goodies! Typical male, thinks of his stomach first :)
ReplyDeleteI have quite a list for this week that I'll post tomorrow but mostly:
potatoes for 20c/kg so stocked up with 40kg,
saved water for the washing machine,
swapped a few meals around to be meatless,
have a voucher for $5 off at Tasman Meats if I spend $40 so will go tomorrow and stock up on chicken fillets $5.99/kg and mince if it's the right price,
have done a detailed pantry/freezer inventory to cover some changes we have coming up,
was given some bread rolls that I'll use for tea tonight,
made a quadruple batch of Cheapskates washing powder and filled the container up,
cooked all our meals from scratch,
sowed some lettuce, broccoli, capsicum, basil and parsley seeds for seedlings for spring planting,
dried the washing by the fire each day,
managed to keep the ducted heating off all week and the house was still warm.
Hope you're over your cold!
Cath, I wasn't up at 6am. I scheduled the post that early because some weeks it doesn't appear on fb for a few hours. I've had readers message me wondering if I'm posting that day.
DeleteI think I've turned the corner with my cold.
Cath: if I could I'd happily do that haha it's always great to know how much someone/people appreciate the little things.
DeleteHaha wendy I was wondering why your blog gets posted so early. Was up early a few Saturday's in a row and noticed the blog post was already there when I went to check LoL...
Hi Wendy
ReplyDeleteI had a giggle at your bin liner, I carefully open the packets of toilet rolls (12 packet) at one end and use this wrap for lining our bathroom bins, works a treat lol... I also use the empty toilet rolls for starting seedlings in.
This week I was pretty slack I'm afraid
• Purchased a bulk amount of beef which saves us $$ per kilo, cut it into steaks, roasts, etc
• Made yoghurt a few times,
• Made bread a few times
• Made a bulk amount of pikelets for my lunches (froze)
• I picked up eucalyptus leaves that had blown off neighbour’s tree during bad weather. Turned them into a wool wash for my jumpers and some for my bench cleaning…it works a treat
• Washed clothes in cold water with Moo detergent and dried on clothes horse
• Used local library
• Made a photo album from old Christmas cards…made book with cards and pasted in photos for the grandkids
• Purchased lemon grass…use bulb to regrow the lemon grass, sliced and froze useable bits for later use, used tough bits in vinegar for cleaning and potpourri.
• Started work on seedlings for spring. I have been saving my toilet rolls and I filled them with some potting mix and the seeds. I have 34 on the go so far, each with two seeds in them. If they all sprout I may have a bountiful harvest this year. If not it was fun trying.
I also made pizza scrolls and hid spinach in them to see if it could be hidden...remembering how your girls are.... nope it didn't work, the spinach was clearly visible whilst we ate the scrolls, so unless it is pulverised into the sauce this may not actually work for you Wendy lol although with the hoisin sauce we couldn't taste the spinach ....
Linda
I'm sure the lemon grass smells lovely. I'll buy anything with that scent.
DeleteWendy, When I take the time to make a menu things flow so much better in my home. I know what prep work will need to be done ahead and there is no last minute 'what am I going to cook for dinner' scramble. Your baked goods look delicious!
ReplyDeleteThankyou Patsy. I feel better knowing we have a menu lan again. Although we still ate to budget without one, having a plan puts my mind at ease.
DeleteHi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteI used some wrinkly apples that no one wanted to eat to make your cobbler dessert. Also made the potato bake from the cheapskates blog. All very delicious. I went to my local op shop and found 2 pairs of jeans that fit nicely. I am 5'9 and it's not always easy for me to find jeans and pants from the op shop that fit, this week however I was lucky. I was able to get rid of some jeans that don't look so great anymore.
Have a great week
Tricia
Well done on getting your jeans at the op shop. it's always worth having a look.
DeleteHi Wendy, Liz here from W.A.. I always read your posts and enjoy it but again its been a few weeks since Ive left a comment. Glad your recovering from your cold. This week -
ReplyDelete* Collected a load of firewood off our property, our fire burns 24/7 as its freezing in Southern W.A.
*Slowly eating our way through our homegrown lamb in the freezer and picking broccoli, cabbage and soup vegetables from the garden.
*Gave 3 dozen eggs to a family in need.
*Shopped around online and found the best priced flea treatment for our dog with free shipping.
*Bundled all my tasks into 1 trip to town this week saving fuel.
*Bought a second hand, good quality ride on lawn mower off our local Buy Swap and Sell site, Bargin!
*Cooked all meals from scratch and baked school snacks.
*Visited our local library and borrowed books for me and DVD's for my son.
* My biggest saving this week was made while investing some inheritance money into Managed Funds. My old managed funds where I was going to place it had a 4% entry fee, so upon questioning this I found out that the new products for Managed Funds can not by law charge an entry fee now, so with a bit of research and form filling I saved $1000 by opening a new style managed fund.
Regards Liz
Well done on the inheritance savings.
DeleteIt's been quite cold in Melbourne and I'm so ready for Spring and the lovely sunshine that comes with it.
Hi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteI had a great week, must have been the great influence from everyone on Saturday at the card making day at Cath's house.
Sorry to hear you have been sick, hope your on the mend and you still achieved heaps and a T.V interview. Any chance of posting your Menu plan?
This week I attended Cath and Wendy's card making workshop which was wonderful, so many ideas. I made a sponge for this and received some bits and pieces from Joy and Pamela to use in card making.
I made Choc chip bickies, Muesli slice, cup cakes, caramel cake and Mooed air freshner, castor sugar and brown sugar.
Scraped out spreads jars, refilled shampoo bottle and diluted it, did a bit of gardening in the vegie patch and saved water and used the tank water. I also used powdered milk to stretch the fresh milk and the family didn't notice the change.
Cleaned out a cupboard and will donate one big bag to savers.
Received 4 loaves od bread and made two cards for inlaws for their birthdays this week. We are having them over for dinner on Sunday as they always want to go out to eat , so I suggested a roast at our house saving two nights out and many $$$$$ later.
I also handmade their birthday presents this year, filling a small shoe box with homemade Relish, jam, Lemon butter, bickies, a Collingwood (white face washer with black lace) face washer and some off cuts of plants from the garden.
Today, I making a cheesecake from NQR that I picked up for 0.99c to take to a friends house for dessert. Last night we had a DVD night at home as my DS2 received two awards at school yesterday so we all watched a DVD from the Library "Paper Planes" and I bought out my secret stash of chocolates to share as a treat. A simple night, but we all loved it.
Well off to Tasmans Meats to use my voucher I received in my email (thanks Cath for the reminder) to buy chook fillets and mince and do my menu plan and shopping list for the next month which saves me big money as I know I'm organised.
Have a fantastic week everyone, xxxx
Maureen
What a great week you had Maureen. Dinner at home is always better than eating out. It's more comfortable too. Love your present ideas.
DeleteI'm hoping to get the menu plan up shortly. I think my cold is getting better xoxo
You have had another great frugal week Wendy! I always like to read what you have been up to. Such yummy looking brownies, what a nice delight to have hiding in the freezer.
ReplyDeleteI didn't spend much money this week due to being sick. Meals were made from my stockpile in the pantry and freezer. I'm on the road to recovery now :)
xTania
Glad to hear you are getting better Tania. xoxo
DeleteMost meals made from scratch.
ReplyDeleteOn Monday DH had an appt in the city, then we had lunch with DD. Instead of the usual cafe/restaurant we ate in a food court across from the Rialto building. Dinner that night was homemade soup. Today we went out for lunch with a group of friends and we got a$3 voucher which made the $12 meal only $9, probably be poached eggs tonight.
All washing was dried on clothes horses. Heater turned down a couple of degrees when possible.
Other than that a quiet week here money saving wise.
On the rare occasion we eat out, I try to put cheaper meals into the menu plan to offset the extra cost. Sounds like you are doing the same.
DeleteDear Wendy, your bread always looks beautiful. It is exciting to see what everyone has achieved each week!
ReplyDeleteI had a good and busy week. Today I made almost five dozen sausage rolls and banana cakes and muffins as I was given bananas. Quite pleased!
See you next weekend With love, Annabel.xxx
I'm sure Andy will help you eat all those sausage rolls.
DeleteHello wendy,
ReplyDeleteYour week has been really good!
I managed to write down all my frugal tasks this week and stuck it on the fridge. I was actually excited to write everything down on my little note pad.
Made breadcrumbs out of two loaves of bread and turned them into seasoned breadcrumbs
Gave a loaf of bread to my best friend I really have no more freezer space for another loaf!
Baked some choc chip cookies that have quinoa and chia seeds in them that were in the freezer
Made a double batch of choc chip cookie dough with chia seeds (I finally found the recipe, it was actually from the cheapskates website) I must have confused it with your brownie recipe although I don't know how I did that haha.
Baked a batch of boobie bikkies (I eat those quite a bit, I'm due to make more)
Made some brownies (your recipe)
Cleared out a bit of the pantry and made more space
Picked up some great bargains and marked down meats from Tasman
Portioned all the meat and poultry into ziplock bags and put it in the freezer some I left out for the weeks meals
Haven't done a menu plan in the last 3 months because I've been clearing out my freezer for the weeks meals. I'm surprised at how good it's working out. I don't have to think too much I just pull it out few days ahead of time.
Made some miracle spray
Made some washing powder
Did quite a few loads of washing this week and dried them on the clothes horse, used the dryer twice but that wasn't me LoL... (blame Stuart senior for that haha)
Am really getting motivated to clean up tidy up and declutter the girls room if you saw the state of it you'd probably get overwhelmed I surly do! But it's getting there just a few hours a day seems to work good with me between feeding and changing Elisha.
Have 1 big bag ready to go to savers
And just been doing the general cleaning vacuuming dishes etc.
I've cheated with the heater a bit but when I have been baking and in the kitchen I've turned it off because the heat from the oven makes the kitchen and lounge pretty warm
Stuart made a little fire place BBQ type thing out of old car tyre sceptors almost like a Bon fire type thing. He's been picking up wood from the side of the road and any trees or branches that have been broken off... All the old coal from the wood he's burnt have now been going into the compost bin.
Threw a big bucket lot of compost in the compost bin and also got mum to save me her veggie off cuts from when we had a roast dinner on Sunday.
I also got a visit from my cousin from overseas who is staying down in Melbourne with her boyfriend for 3 months I brought her over to mums house. I haven't seen her in 10 years. She loved seeing Elisha and is still yet to meet the other kids.
Hope you have a lovely week next week wendy
And I'm happy to share the cookie recipe if anyone would like it.
Anne xoxox
My goodness you've had a big week Anne. I bet you feel happy about all you've achieved.
DeleteDon't strees about the dryer. Darren loves to use ours when I'm not home.
Have fun with the decluttering. Keep your end goal in sight when it seems overwhelming.
I definitely feel happy about it all.
DeleteI feel very energetic some days so I feel those are the best days to get things done. :)
Men are sneaky haha.
I'll definitely keep that in mind wendy! Thanks for the tip.
Have a lovely week wendy xoxo
I'v been a bit slack with my frugal tasks the past few weeks but I intend to get back into swing this week. I have a question Wendy. How do you slice your home made bread so that you don't end up with cafe style slices? Thanks Janine
ReplyDeleteYears of practice Janine. I do find it much easier since my parents bought me a proper bread knife fom a baking supply store. They cost about $20 but so worth it. The knife glides through the bread. The cheaper bread knives are not sharp enough. Also the bread needs to be cold. I let it sit for about 2 - 3 hours after baking.
Delete