* Cleaned the dishwasher using vinegar, bi carb and Miracle spray.
* Made 10 1/2 jars of raspberry jam using our own fruit picked from the garden. I now have 40 jars of assorted homemade jam. Most will be eaten by my family and some will be given as presents.
* Darren and I had frozen leftovers for dinner one night.
* Planted three strawberry runners. One planter box had better performing strawberry plants than the other ( different varieties ) I'm hoping to eventually get rid of / give away the under performing plants and replace with the better ones for free.
* Planted three daisy cuttings to fill empty spots in the garden.
* Planted lots of broccoli seeds in the veggie garden.
* Replanted some cos lettuce seedlings amongst the established lettuce plants. The seedlings came from plants that had gone to seed.
* On Thursday I made 10 1/2 jars of tomato relish using our own tomatoes. I must say, it's the best tasting relish I've ever made. That night we had Krispy Fried Chicken drumsticks with our dinner and there was lashing of relish on our plates.
* Around our home we reused and recycled bread bags, freezer bags, one zip lock bag, pita bread bags and supermarket bags.
* Picked the last of the tomatoes, lettuce, raspberries, a few strawberry guavas and one feijoa ( so excited about the feijoa ) .
* Cleaned the kettle using citric acid and water. The boiled water was poured on grass growing in concrete cracks.
* Fed both the compost bins with lots of coffee grounds and grass clippings.
* Baked cranberry hootycreek biscuits for snacks.
* Dried all the washing on the line.
* Saved the shower warm up water for the pot plants. Saved the washing machine water as per usual.
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| The last of our tomatoes ripening. |
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| Tomato relish |
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| Afternoon tea with for Jessica and I |
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| Corned beef ( silverside ) cooking in the slow cooker. |
I've updated my shopping list with the latest grocery tops up. The view the photos and receipts please click on this link.
http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/my-grocery-shopping-list-march-2017.html
Please feel free to share you frugal week with the other readers.
What an inspiring list of ways that you have saved money for your family! I always get ideas for ways to be more frugal after reading your posts. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThankyou so much
DeleteHow do you grow Daisys from a cutting? I love Daisys and I often call them Happy Flowers because they always look like they are smiling. :-)
ReplyDeleteDarren tells me they are not daisies but they look like them. I cut off a new growth, trim most of the leaves off and plant in the garden. keep watered until they grow.
DeleteDear Wendy, That was a good week. Our local Aldi opened and I was there on the second day. This will be so handy for us. I am so excited. We also got a very big store with more room for special buys and past special buys so there were heaps of things that were sold out in other stores there. Andy had wanted the pressure cleaner weeks back and missed out as it sold out so fast and there they were!
ReplyDeleteWe are renovating our bathroom ourselves and my new clothes line is going up this weekend! Plus the weather is really nice.
I also need to do some garden work getting ready for winter. With love Annabel.xxx
I can imagine you being excited about Aldi Annabel.
DeleteHow do you grow Daisys from a cutting? I love Daisys and I often call them Happy Flowers because they always look like they are smiling. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy, a great frugal week as usual. Your tomato relish looks divine, I have to give it a go one day! We have had another busy week in our household. Here's a few things we got up to:
ReplyDelete- Had quite a few no spend days, only bought milk, potatoes and fruit this week for groceries.
- Bought a new pair of pjs for myself, half price and free delivery so I saved on petrol buying them at the shop.
- line dried all clothes
- brought lunch from home
- made more washing powder.
- Had tinned tuna and boiled eggs given to me, turned this into a Friday fish bake which was a hit with hubby and toddler
- used bread bags as nappy bags and bin liners
- turned off appliances at the wall as much as possible
- used miracle spray to help the kitchen sinks and stovetop, no need for store bought cleaning products
- using the thermos to store hot water on days we are at home saving money on electricity.
We planted some seeds about two weeks ago for our winter veggie patch. So far the seedlings have sprouted and look healthy. I hope you have a great week!
Amy
You always have a great list Amy. Such a blessing to get the eggs and tuna. Now that the weather has turned I'll be getting the thermos out too.
DeleteI've just come inside from planting some winter veggies and more herbs. Washing machine died on Wednesday however they replaced the motor and it didn't cost a cent. We purchased the machine in 2012 and lucky we keep our receipts together.
ReplyDeleteI refuse to buy packets of biscuits, cakes now. I have all our baking needs in the pantry and make them. This week another batch of homemade hot cross buns.
Left the car at home as much as possible and rode my bike.
Cleaned with homemade cleaners.
Used credit card points to purchase items for our chicken coop at Bunnings.
Also made our own noodles in a jar. The kids just add boiled water.
Your tomato relish looks really good. I will have to check out your crispy chicken recipe too.
Kylie
Kylie, don't you just love homemade hot cross buns ? We are making ours on Wednesday. Can't wait.
DeleteAre you building your chicken coop ?
Greetings from northern Idaho, USA, where it is finally looking like spring. In addition to the usual frugal stuff, here are a few things I did this past week:
ReplyDelete(1) I received two "honey bear" containers of honey that had all gone to sugar. I heated it on the stove, then poured the clear honey into a glass jar (so it will be easier to heat the next time it crystallizes!).
(2) Simultaneously made about 5 cups of dry bread crumbs and cleaned out my bread drawer. I used mostly the heels of bread (all kinds) and most of a package of pita bread we didn't like.
(3) The flag does not stay up on our mailbox. In the US, we put the flag up to tell the carrier that there is outgoing mail inside. I rigged a rubber band from the flag to the top handle to keep the flag up. I will be moving in a few months and I am too cheap to replace the mailbox.
(4) Made a batch of Miracle Spray and about a cup of soap scum cleaner (half vinegar and half dishwashing liquid).
Great job on the bread crumbs Maxine. No one likes to eat the crust ends yet they can be made into other things. I'm making bread and butter pudding in the slow cooker with mine.
DeleteForgot to add, I ordered a set of flannel sheets and pillowcases last night. They were on clearance for $29 and I had over $9 in points to apply to the purchase. I got free shipping, too. I won't be using them until next winter, but now is the time to buy winter stuff.
ReplyDeleteMaxine
Yes it's always great to buy at the end of the season for the next.
DeleteI love tomato relish ... yours looks delicious. Wonderful to be able to make it from your own tomatoes too. At my place this week:
ReplyDelete* first Autumn seedlings planted (kale, silverbeet and perpetual spinach)
* divided my clumping leeks, replanted some and gave friend some
* received a little rosella seedling from a friend :)
* finished knitting a scarf as gift for a friend
* all meals made here at home, all lunches too with salads and leftovers
* printed out downloadable pattern for a new top I'm going to make
(much cheaper than buying actual pattern and having it posted here)
* filled up at much cheaper petrol price...finally a cheaper price per L
We have family coming today and I'm making lots of pumpkin scones for afternoon tea. Kitchen smells lovely! Meg:)
A wonderful list Meg. Enjoy your pumpkin scones.
DeleteHi Wendy
ReplyDeleteI enjoy seeing all the ways you save each week.
I also had a great week. Being a small size I can fit into size 12 or 14 kids clothes and this week I got several long sleeved t shirts from Kmart (much needed as all my others have holes which I haven't had time to fix as yet!). I got the t shirts for $3 each! I was thrilled! I also got a jumper for $8.
Wendy,I am thinking of putting strawberry plants into a pot this winter so I wondered if you could tell me where to get good quality strawberry plants, and what variety would that be? I live in Lilydale so somewhere nearby would be great to save petrol.
Kerrie (kezzie.k@hotmail.com)
Such great prices on the clothes.
DeleteI buy my strawberry plants from Bunnings. I look for the ones that have big fruit. I have small fruiting strawberry plants but they don't do as well as the others. You can buy them in Winter as runners or plants in Spring. It might be worth looking at The Digger's Club to see what they have. They do post plants.
Dear Wendy,
ReplyDeleteI always love reading about your frugal week. I was hoping to make relish this season but haven't been able to save enough tomatoes for the task. We have been enjoying them in our meals. I have saved your relish recipe as it is a little different to mine and I think my son would love it with the chilli added in.
My strawberries have sent out runners everywhere. We are not at home (visiting our daughter in Sydney) at the moment but as soon as we get back I will be getting out into the garden to plant those runners out into new beds.
It has been a little difficult to be frugal this week, with travelling across the country by car. But I did bring my own homemade muesli, apple slice and some of your hooty creek biscuits. I packed our two flasks and made our own cuppas along the way. We also brought our own water with us from home.
I hope you have a great week,
xTania
Tania, you do grow a lot of other things in abundance. mandarins springs to mind. Oh so yummy.
DeleteThe flasks will save you a bit of money as will the snacks.
Hi Wendy, I love the look of your silverside. What do you cook it in and what do you serve it with? Have you found the prices of silverside have gone up recently?
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Samm
Hi Samm, silverside prices have been too high for the past 12 - 18 months due to the USA drought. our beef is being exported over there. It was on sale in IGA about a week ago.
DeleteI cook it in the slow cooker with a good dash of brown vinegar, one cut up lemon, a couple of bay leaves and dried onion flakes. Cook on high for 8 - 10hours. Sere with roast veg, or steamed veg , cauli in white cheese sauce. The silverside is great with relish too.
Hi Wendy your Tomato relish looks really nice,i need to really look at planting more vegtables soon its a bit tricky where we are with the possums,i even have my rose plant wired up lol
ReplyDeleteWays i got a head this week
bought my lunch from home
made scones and bread over the weekend
this will be for snacks and breakfast
I was given a couple copies of better homes and gardens :)
bought lots of pears cheap at Aldies so iam looking at jar-ing some in mason jars.
Have a wonderful week
Mel.
Hi Sonia, we are tea drinkers. Darren was a coffee drinker but found when he went without he had bad headaches. So he gave it up and switched to tea. Yes, much cheaper for our budget. I have a two year stockpile of teabags.
ReplyDeleteCould you please send me a Facebook friend request. I'll try to answer some of your questions there.