Saturday 23 September 2017

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 23rd September 2017

The weather has slightly warmed up here in Melbourne.  I can now start thinking about our Summer veggie garden and pulling out the weeds.  I've had a busy week crafting and with work.  Here's my frugal list for the week -

*  Dug down to the bottom of a lipstick to get every last drop ( smidge ) out.  I've been doing this with every lipstick for the last 3 - 4 years and I estimate it's saved me about $24 each year.  The lipsticks cost about $10 but I think there's another $8 worth down below the tube.  I go through about 3 lipsticks a year.

* Mended two pairs of socks.

*  Received lots of ribbon and lace I can use in card making and other crafts.

*  Bought lots of broccoli from Fresh Value Market for 99 cents a kilo.

*  Received a bag of lemons.  I've already frozen the juice,

*  Lifted the last of my eyeliner up so I can keep using it for the next few weeks.  There's so much below the plastic dispenser. 

*  Made lots of decorated hand towel and face washer sets.  They will be for sale in my blog shop next week.

* Due to me being sick over our wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago,  Darren and I had a belated  celebration last Saturday.  We went into the city for dinner then went on the Melbourne Star ( giant Ferris wheel ).  Megan gave us a 2 for 1 voucher for Melbourne Star.  We had a lovely evening out.

*  Picked silverbeet from the garden for two meals.

*  Received another $20 voucher from the Good Guys electrical store.

*  Had the heater turned off for three days this week.  Spring weather has finally hit Melbourne and the sun is shining every now and then.

*  Dried the washing on the line and clothes horses.

*  Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.

*  Topped up all our cars with petrol just as the price started going up.

*  Darren received a $40 saving on his car service.  Another discount voucher from Megan.

*  Blessed a local mum in need by shopping from my stockpile.  Another wonderful reason to have a healthy stockpile.  A few of my card making friends also shopped from their stockpiles to help too.

Just before baking

Decorated hand towels

In the garden

Princess at home on top of my card making bag


Darren insisted on buying the Melbourne Star coffee mug
because of the color on the inside

Raspberry plants starting to grow again.

A sneak peek of the latest card I'm working on.

How did you save time,  money or energy this week ?

16 comments:

  1. Glad it's warming up a bit down there for you, Wendy. Up here, in too sunny Brisbane, it's about to get very hot with 36C forecast for Monday and nothing below 30C for rest of the week! I'm glad I had air-con serviced during winter so it runs more efficiently and will save us money in long run. I'll be keeping our heavily-backed curtains & blinds closed to try to keep inside that bit cooler. Today, I'm going to make some homemade ice blocks and salads for quick and easy snacks/meals for the hot days to come. No point turning on the oven! Have lovely weekend. Meg:)

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    1. Wow !! It's certainly warm up there in Brisbane. We did get to 31C on Saturday but the next day it was back down to 17C.

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  2. I do the same thing with make-up. Especially lipstick and chapstick. I also cut open lotion bottles & such to scrape out every last bit! I can usually get at least 3 more days out of a lotion bottle. When one of my friends had fallen on very hard times as a newlywed, she used to head over to the University dorm dumpsters as school was ending for the year. Apparently students throw out all kinds of stuff, including lots of bottles of half used laundry detergent. She used to collect enough to go for months and months! She also found lots of plastic crates & such.

    I love the picture of your kitty! They're such silly little goofs, aren't they? The rest of your pics are great, too. I love the towels and cards! Very pretty! Where is the fabric sewn into the towel?

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    1. I'm almost tempted to dumpster dive Debby. I've watched some of those USA shows about Freegans.

      Yes Princess is certainly a character. As she gets older she like to be around us more often. I can be making cards at the dining table and she has to jump up to see.

      The material is sewn across the hand towel a few inches from the bottom.

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  3. We we are having unusual fall weather this week and next week- temperatures in the 90's where normal would be in the low 70's!! We won't complain too much because winter and cold weather will be here before we know it!
    I was gifted two big boxes of apples so I canned 28 quarts of applesauce! I didn't add any spices or sugar to it, so I have the option to use it as an oil replacement in baking without. affecting the taste!
    I had a lot if peppers from the garden that I wanted to use up so I canned 8 more pints of Rotel and 8 pints of sweet chili sauce! I'm using the steam canner I just bought and am really impressed because it cuts down on the amount of water needed in the canner and the amount of time it takes to get the the water boiling so that timing can begin for processing!
    We've sold and been paid for 8 sets of decorative wood pumpkins that a friend saw a picture of and asked us to make for her ! Without any advertising, we suddenly had 7 more orders, so that was fun! We have several other business orders that we've been finishing so we've been blessed with a steady income from this side gig!
    I've been replenishing my mixes and also rotating my food storage so that we always have fresh tasting foods coming from our pantry!
    Even when I've been worn out after a long day , I've resisted the urge to get take-out and instead discovered how many easy options we have for meals so I made sloppy joes one night, sweet and sour chicken another night! Not bad for last minute, IMO! And a big savings besides!
    Organized my basement pantry to make room for newly canned jars! Helped me to update my inventory!
    Our chickens are producing just over 4 dozen eggs/week! We have some friends who asked to buy some of our extra eggs so it is another little bit of income coming in!
    This has been a wonderful week!!

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    Replies
    1. I just love hearing about your week Pat. I'm sure you enjoyed organising your basement pantry to the new supplies. I always feel rich when I have nice neat rows of tins and jars in my pantry. I also love jam making season for the same reason.

      I'm so glad you are getting the orders for your business. The photos on your facebook page are delightful and I'm sure they help to get more orders.

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  4. Gee Princess is a character! I loved your idea of using your stockpile to practically help other folk (it has hatched an idea in my mind now). I'm also glad I am not the only one still mending socks :-)

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    1. Will I be reading about your stockpile plan on your blog Phil ? I was happy to help this mum and very grateful to have the stockpile. It's come in handy for bush fire appeals over the years.

      I can't see the point in throwing out a perfectly good sock for a little hole. When they can't be mended any more, they get cut up into garden ties.

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  5. Hi Wendy,
    A great frugal week as usual. I'm glad to hear you are better, a great saving on the car service too! We have been enjoying warm weather here too and it's been days since we have turned on the heater. Here's what we've been up to:
    - Got some great discounts on men's clothing at Myers today, they had 40% off and I managed to get very nice Christmas presents for cheap and ended up coming well under budget for each person. Most other presents have already been bought from a previous boxing day sale.
    - Hubby picked up three whole chickens at coles for half price
    - picked kale to make kale chips
    - repurposed an egg cartoon to grow vegetable seedlings
    - switching off appliances at the wall where possible, I've been hearing about families getting bill shock from the recent increase in energy prices. We have been cautious with our energy consumption so here's hoping we don't get as big of a shock.
    - took lunches and snacks from home as much as possible
    - picked Silverbeet for chicken stir fry.
    - used a $20 coles voucher on meat to add to our freezer.

    Have a great week Wendy!

    Amy

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    1. That was a great buy on the chickens Amy. Imagine all the meals and stock you'll get from them.

      You've reminded me to go through my Christmas present stash to sort it out.

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  6. Love the decorated hand towels.

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    1. Thankyou so much. Hopefully I'll have them for sale in my blog shop on Tuesday.

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  7. I just love your blog and your cards are so cute. I could never do anything like that. The patience you must have, amazing.

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    1. I said the exact same thing about card making just over two years ago. It was Annabel from The Bluebirds Are Nesting blog who encouraged me to have a go. It's now become a hobby that earns me a little bit of pocket money.

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  8. Hi Wendy, hope you and your family are doing well.
    Just want to ask if the melbourneStar coffee mug is microwave safe.

    May the Lord Jesus bless you always.

    Cheers.
    Elena

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Elena. Yes the Melbourne Star mug is safe to put in the microwave. I've reheated a cup of tea with it.

      Delete

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