I've tried to keep track of all the frugal things I've done this week but with everything going on here I know I've missed quite a few. Here's the list of tasks I did remember -
* Picked tomatoes, strawberries, beans, raspberries and cucumbers from our garden.
* Started saving beans seeds from our plants for next year.
* Made 14 jars of plum jam and 9 jars of raspberry jam.
* Used the electric fans when possible instead of turning the cooling on.
* Made up a couple of bottles of diluted Dynamo laundry liquid.
* Diluted the kitchen detergent when I refilled the pump bottle.
* Lined dried the washing except on the really humid days when I used the dryer for the heavier clothes ( otherwise they start to smell ).
* Froze lots of single serves of meals for future use.
* Bought petrol for $1.19 per litre. A local petrol station reopened after renovations and this was their opening sale price for a week.
* Sold lots of raspberry muffins and 1 dozen eggs.
* Received an amazing blessing of cakes, bread, zucchinis ( from 3 different people ), passionfruit, grapes, plums and squash. Thankyou so much to those who blessed us with this bounty. You've helped us more than you'll ever know.
* Darren did some painting for extra money this week. This has been a huge help for our budget.
* I only bought milk and lettuce from the supermarket. I am growing lettuce but the heat keeps knocking the plants about and they are not growing too well.
* Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.
* Trimmed our grocery budget as well as other areas of our budget to help with our reduced income.
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| From the garden |
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| Plum jam |
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| Homemade bread |
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| Raspberry and white choc muffins. |
Stay strong ......baking always makes me feel better!, knowing the kids can still have treats helps them not notice when things are tight
ReplyDeleteI noticed that the lids were not on your jam? Im a novice trying jams and spreads...are you supposed to put hot jam into hot jars to suck down the seals?
Cathy
Thankyou Cathy. I've had a very productive day today with lots of cooking.
DeleteThe lids were put on the jam jars as soon as I took the photo. The jars were hot and so was the jam and lids. I love to hear the seals pop down a couple of hours later.
Hi Wendy. Sorry to read that it's been a challenging week for you. I hope next week is a better one. The photos of your delicious homegrown and homemade food looks amazing! All the lettuce in my garden has gone to seed, way too hot for much now. Soon, once the coming week's heatwave is over, I'll clear it out, prepare it and then rest it under a layer of mulch until Autumn planting time. We had a very frugal week here because our boy has been unwell so we've used up lots of things from fridge and freezer and saved a lot of petrol! Meg
ReplyDeleteThankyou Meg. We are praying for a better week coming. I hope your boy recovers quickly xoxo
DeleteGoodmorning Wendy,
ReplyDeleteI hope things pick up for you soon, I know you are both resourceful and resilient and are truly blessed by gifted produce. Have a lovely day.
Fi
Thankyou for your kind words Fiona. We are working hard to make things stretch.
DeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you and your family are facing challenges just now, but it will pass as you are very determined, hard working and admired. Be kind to yourself and take some quiet time and solutions will probably appear. You are very resourceful!
Deborah
Thankyou Deborah. I'll be taking your advice and spending more time next week fine tuning our budget so we know exactly where we stand. We are blessed to be debt free.
DeleteMy husband has been on reduced pay since Christmas. I know how that can impact your days. You still did very well!
ReplyDeleteDebbie
I'm so sorry Debbie. It can be all consuming can't it ? Please feel free to share how you've made things stretch. I'm sure there are others in our / your position.
DeleteThe tomatoes look wonderful. I can't wait for ours this August. Glad you were able to make your budget work for you. Isn't it amazing how God always provides for those that try. I will say a pray that extra work finds its way to you.
ReplyDeleteLike you, we always look forward to tomatoes in Summer.
DeleteThankyou so much for your kind words and prayers. God has always provided exactly what we need and helped us through many trials
Dear Wendy,
ReplyDeleteIm sorry it was a hard week. I hope the weekend is restful for you. Family challenges are the hardest ones to me. Darren picking up some painting was really good. I know your budget was already tight and you do a wonderful job with every resource that comes your way. I will pray that all of this sorts out and improves.
We had three months of very little income from before Christmas. I found it so stressful. Finally a regular income is coming in again. I hate to feel like we are going backwards instead of getting ahead this really unsettles me! I hope next week is a much easier week. With love Annabel.xxx
Thankyou Annabel. We are very grateful for the food blessings and extra work that have come our way this week.
DeleteI really hope things improve for you too xoxo
God will prevail. Thankfully you are debt free. I start a new job in a couple of weeks but I will need to increase my petrol and car servicing budget ☹️ But hopefully it will help me to cross off one thing on my bucket list and that is to be debt free.
ReplyDeleteHope things improve for you soon
That's wonderful news of the new job Janine.
DeleteI am sorry to hear you are facing these challenges Wendy. I think you're the type though, who can manage when you feel like you're in control of the situation. And that you are. What an abundant week for a family who is looking at harder times ahead. You should be very proud. Mimi xxx
ReplyDeleteYou know me very well Mimi. Once I sit down this week and write out our newly slashed budget I'll feel better and know exactly where we stand and where we are heading. I'm not one to put my head in the sand and hope that everything fixes itself.
DeleteAfter all the cooking I did yesterday we now have full freezers again.
Wendy, you amaze me with your productivity (jam, bread, and muffins look divine!!) even amidst financial and family challenges. I will keep you and your family in my prayers. Thank God, literally, for the gifts of food and extra work for Darren this past week! You are loved!! Teresa
ReplyDeleteThankyou so much Teresa. When times get tough I get busy. I can't sit around moaning and complaining. I'm much happier about things when I'm being productive and making plans.
DeleteI have a small tip for your lettuces. In my raised garden beds I have a few tomato towers. I drape a cheap bird netting over the entire two gardens which are supported by those tomato towers to hold it up. Surprisingly the bird netting seems to give a little shade and my lettuces are growing really well under them even though I now live in a very hot area that hit nearly 50C the other week. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI have some of those tomato towers I haven't used. I 'll give it a try.
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