* Made lots of olive oil soaps. The recipe will be posted next week.
* Picked lettuce, lots of tomatoes, raspberries, strawberry guavas and a few strawberries.
* Went to Kaisercraft at The Glen shopping centre for their 30% off store wide closing down sale. I stocked up on lots of craft paper, a few stamps and ink pads, die cuts and an embossing folder. Some of these items have been put away for Darren to give me for Mother's Day and my birthday later in the year.
* Made all meals from scratch using what we have on hand.
* Took lunch and water bottles when I was out at my niece's music concert over lunchtime. I also carried muesli bars when shopping. These came in handy as I ended up spending more time than planned at the shops " just looking ". The muesli bar prevented me from buying morning tea ( a saving of about $7 ).
* Took up a pair of Darren's jeans ( saving of $15 - $20 )
* Our ducted heating isn't working at the moment and the weather has turned a little cool. I dug out two electric fan heaters from the shed to use. Thankfully they work really well so I don't need them on for long. One can heat up a room in 10 minutes. I've closed doors so the heat stays in the area I'm in.
* Silverside ( corned beef ) was on sale at the supermarket on Thursday for $5.99 kg. We haven't had silverside on the menu for almost a year because it's been too dear. At this sale price you can imagine I stocked up. Thankfully the meat fund is healthy at the moment due to the freezer melt down reimbursement.
* Saved lots of shower water and poured it into the washing machine.
* Bought a laundry pack from our church for $5. The money raised from these packs goes to a charity called Zoe International. In the pack was a box of laundry powder, a box of dishwasher tablets, two microfiber cloths and a packet of pegs. One lady at church did a swap with me. She didn't want the laundry powder and I didn't need the dishwasher tablets. A win win for both of us.
* Made 7 jars of strawberry jam using fruit from our garden I'd been picking and freezing. I also made 8 jars of plum jam.
* Cooked another bulk lot of tomatoes into pasta sauce. Once again I weighed the cooked tomatoes into 410 gram tin portions and froze. I think that makes a total of 26 tins worth this year. I still have more tomatoes to cook so I might make tomato relish next.
* With the girls out and about a fair bit at night Darren and I were able to improve on the two light rule. Some nights we had one light on and other nights we had no lights while watching the tv.
* Knitted a dish cloth.
* Fed the compost bins with kitchen scraps.
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| Dessert one night. |
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| Olive oil soap |
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| Jam making |
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| Silverside meat bargains |
Some of our meals this week.
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| Homemade pizza. I added extra cheese after the photo. |
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| Darren's pizza |
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| Roast veggie and chicken flan |
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| The flan being served with our lettuce |
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| Make your own tacos |
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| Roast lamb dinner. |
I made plum jam too! 8 jars my first time!
ReplyDeleteI get overwhelmed with full time work and four kids all with sport so I'm trying to jot down something I did for me, something I did for the home( extra) and something I did to save money
This way I won't feel like I haven't achieved anthying all week!!
Enjoying this cooler weather have a good week!
Cathy
Well done on making the jam Cathy. How exciting. You won't like eating store bought now.
DeleteGood on you for writing a list. The week can slip by before you know it.
Hi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteI have been off track with my usual frugal life due to the passing of my mother in law, it was not unexpected but still very very sad and distressing. I have been so tired that we had takeaway a few nights and I have been using my drier a lot more as well. Now that it is all over I hope to go back to my quiet small and frugal life that I love so much. Have a lovely weekend.
Fi
I'm sorry to hear of your news Fiona. I hope as time passes it will be easier to get through each day xoxo
DeleteWe all have times when we go off track a little. As long as we recognise that, adjust our ways and focus on the frugal things WE can do.
Great pictures. What a good find on the corned beef. You certainly are stocked up.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see the soap recipe.
Cheryl, I'm hanging out for a corned beef meal now. Time to dig out the slow cooker again.
DeleteYou'll love the soap recipe.
Wendy, you always amaze me with the amount you achieve each week. Ireally look forward to your Saturday read.
ReplyDeleteI meant to comment on your last post, but time was short. Thank you for the walk through your back garden. I was really impressed with how you've managed to get so much in a a relatively small space. Just a quick question if that's OK, are your fruit trees standards or are they a smaller variety? Thank you.
Looking forward to seeing your soap recipe.
Have a great weekend,
Janine
The peach and pear trees are dwarf. I think the cherry might be. The rest are standard size. Unfortunately you can't get dwarf Apricot trees.
DeleteWendy, loved your list! You've had quite a good week!
ReplyDeleteOther than the usual frugal stuff, here is some of the UNusual frugal stuff I did this week:
(1) Sewed the binding that had come loose back on a blanket. I pinned it very carefully so the stitching would match up on both sides and used a 3-step zigzag stitch. Binding can be sewed by hand.
(2) Repurposed a 5 gallon bucket to hold coffee grounds obtained by asking at a coffee stand. I need coffee grounds and pine needles (I have pine trees) to acidify the soil for some blueberries I am planting.
(3) Patched a sheet. I trimmed around the tear and tacked some iron-on interfacing on the back by ironing around the edges. Then I cut a patch and ironed it onto the interfacing. Finished with the old 3-step zigzag, but this also could be done by hand.
I expect that both the sheet and the blanket will give me a lot more wear due to these simple mends, since there was nothing else wrong with either one.
I LOVE your unusual frugal list Maxine. Coffee grounds are great for the garden. We use them in our compost bins. Darren gets them from the café he works at. Maybe when you get enough blueberries to make jam, you could give a jar to the worker at
Deletethe coffee stand.
Mending blankets and sheets saves a lot of money too.
Forgot to tell you! Remember I wrote a few weeks ago about going to the Mayo Clinic and someone stealing my coat? I got the credit card bill yesterday and the hotel did not charge me for the night when the coat went missing! Saved $114. As you may recall, I replaced the coat with one almost exactly like it for $7 at the Goodwill thrift store.
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful news Maxine. God is truly blessing you.
DeleteHi Wendy, a great frugal week as always! Love the jam and what a great bargain on silverside! We love corned beef in our house. A few things we got up to this week:
ReplyDelete- discovered a fruit barn that sells good quality meat for much cheaper than our local supermarkets. We did a bulk buy on all sorts of meat including beef mince, steak, chicken breast, sausages, pork mince, lamb shanks and it saved us $90, we now have enough meat for three months. It was worth the 15 minute drive.
- Bought a large tray of broccoli for $2 and a large bag of tomatoes for $2
- been using a thermos to store hot water for tea/coffee for the day
- used lights as little as possible
- the petrol in our area finally dropped in price so I filled up.
- Gratefully received a cooked chicken
- made basil pesto and froze it, this will make a quick and easy pasta meal at a moment's notice
- line dried all clothes
- invested in a dwarf orange tree, can't wait for home grown oranges!
- planted beetroot, broccoli, cauliflower and Silverbeet. I'm expecting a rise in fruit/veg prices because of the cyclone up north as it destroyed a lot of crops.
I hope you have a great week Wendy!
Amy
They are wonderful prices on the meat and vegetables.
DeleteYes I think some prices will rise after the cyclone too. I heard tomatoes and sugar could be affected. I think it will pay for us all the plant more so we can save some money.
I was out with Mum last Thursday and she also purchased silverside on special. I must admit that I don't cook it often. How does it go cold on sandwiches?
ReplyDeleteI harvested some eggplant, zucchini and herbs from our garden and cooked with them as well as shared with others. A new batch of laundry liquid ,all done and Mum stocked up again. Just started collecting some more citrus peel as of yesterday to make my next batch of citrus cleaner.
I like reading these posts and comments because you can always pick up good ideas.
Silverside is wonderful on sandwiches and rolls. Even better if you serve it with tomato relish ( recipe here on my blog ). I find it becomes juicy and tender when cooked in the slow cooker.
DeleteYes I like to encourage others to share their frugal tasks. There's always something new to learn on our frugal journey.
I enjoy reading your posts very much Wendy. Since I live in the United States, it is fun to learn what the weather is in your part of the world. Spring is bursting forth in the Delta part of Arkansas. (across the river from Memphis, TN) For the first time, I planted a "winter garden". Only two types of veggies - spinach and radishes. They are now ready to harvest.
ReplyDeleteThis week's frugal accomplishments:
1) "love lunches" for my over the road trucker hubby to carry with him.
2) hemmed 2 pairs of slacks $20 saved
3) washed & ironed my hubby's dress shirts instead of using the drycleaners
4) bought clearance rose bushes and planted them. (Our home had no flowerbeds or landscaping, so I am doing it a little at a time myself using sale plants.
5) Made all dinners at home using pantry/freezer ingredients.
6) Used garden spinach & radishes in salads and cooked spinach for a side dish with dinner.
7) Dried 3 loads of laundry outside and used "horses" to dry several loads in the house.
8) This one was VERY difficult. Resisted purchasing girl scout thin mints on two separate occasions. LOL I can't bring myself to spend $4.50 for a box of cookies, no matter how yummy they are.
Have a wonderful weekend.
- Ellie
What a wonderful list Ellie. Planting / landscaping a garden can cost a fortune. We have lots of clearance plants too. Another idea is to take cutting of some plants to multiply them around your garden. Daisy plants are quite successful at doing this. You could also ask for cuttings from friends, family and neighbours plants too. Maybe even do a swap.
DeleteI have visions of girl scouts hounding you to buy their cookies. That's what we see on American tv shows all the time.
Dear Wendy, What a great week! I am glad you got money back for that freezer break down. Now you are stocking up again! All your pictures look amazing.
ReplyDeleteI love soap with olive oil. Olive oil and milk are my favourite soap ingredients. They feel rich and creamy. I have just been packaging up my batch from January and they boosted my gift cupboard. It has cooled here but not to needing the heater yet. I am going through my clothes thought to change over to warmer stuff and putting away sandals etc.
Have a good new week! With love Annabel.xxx
Annabel, you can bet that freezer money will go a long way if I wait to stock up when meat comes on sale. Just waiting on a roast beef sale.
DeleteDarren loves the olive oil soap. He won't use anything else. I loved the look of your soaps too. Very stylish /trendy / upmarket
Your frugal list is impressive again, Wendy. How lovely to have lots of homegrown food for your family. Here, it was a very wet end to the week where we stayed indoors (mostly) and spent nothing. Apart from frugal usuals here, I bought a dozen eggs laid by the chickens at my boy's school for $5. Bargain! Today, I've picked up a Canna Lily from little city farm organic nursery for $5. They had it out the back and it needs dividing so I'll get quite a few little extra plants for very little outlay. I need to grow more composting materials so this is a real bonus. Meg:)
ReplyDeleteWell done on the plant bargain Meg. Enjoy the eggs too.
Delete