During the week I've been taxi for Jessica to get to and from work while she was without a car. I'm pleased to say she bought a car yesterday and is enjoying her freedom again ( so am I ). Darren's bible college moved into the city recently so he needed to be dropped off and picked up from the train station. I've had 4 days of cleaning work and looked after Luka a few times. There were days when I was on the go for 10+ hours with no time to rest.
So after all of that, I'm looking forward to a slightly calmer and slower weekend. Here's what I managed to squeeze in when I had a moment to spare -
* Used up every last drop of the dishwashing liquid bottle by adding a little water, shaking it then turning it upside down overnight.
* Made 1 kilo of yoghurt from scratch by using a couple of tablespoons of natural yoghurt as a starter ( from the freezer ).
* Made chicken stock in the slow cooker using the carcass from a chicken Jessica bought.
* Made up two bottles of diluted Dynamo laundry liquid. The ratio is 1 part Dynamo to 4 or 5 parts water.
* Made 4 litres of double strength Miracle Spray.
* Bought 1 kilo of carrots for $1, broccoli heads $1 each and cauliflower for $2 ( quite large ) from the Vic Market last weekend.
* Had my flat tyre repaired for free.
* This week's cheap meals were chunky chicken and veg soup for two nights and a chop casserole that used two chops but gave us 6 serves. The recipe is coming soon.
* Dried a couple of loads of washing on the line just before a cold front came through Melbourne last Sunday. Throughout the week the only washing that went into the dryer was work uniforms that were needed the next day.
* Did the monthly grocery shopping and only spent $67 on bare essentials. The remaining $33 will be used to buy milk, fruit and veg for the next three weeks.
Despite looking after my almost two year old grand baby five out of six days this week I have managed to have home cooked meals every evening. I batch cooked a curry. It had 400 g of lamb and heaps of vegetables and should give us at least six hearty meals. This weekend I plan to Mae some biscuits out of a huge box of cornflakes and some honey joys. I also bought 3 kg of strawberries for $9 and plan a jam making session sometime today. Washing is line dried here too. I need to find some cheaper tomatoes as my supply of relish is depleted.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the inspiration you share.
Suzan, I'm hoping we grow lots of tomatoes this year. I haven't had enough to make relish in 2 years. It's great to give as presents.
DeleteHi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteYou got to see Hugh Jackman? Wow!!! He's very handsome, I think. Did he sing or??
I've been using your Miracle Spray and enjoying it; we have an older doggy who's incontinent and the cleanness of the spray is so welcome and efficient. I made a couple of batches of yogurt this week which the dogs and I have been enjoying.
Hope you have a restful weekend after all your busyness :)
Mary in San Diego
Hi Mary. Yes, Hugh sang, danced, acted and did lots of talking too. He spoke about his love of his wife and kids, had photos and footage of his wedding, early stage performances and his early childhood. A very well rounded concert.
DeleteHi Wendy and that was a really good price for the vegetables you purchased and glad you had 3 days of work this week. I hope you enjoyed your break away as we all need one every now and again. Your grocery expenditure is doing really well and we were under budget too when we went monthly shopping.
ReplyDeleteOur savings last week added up to $199.62 :).
Blessings & service to others -
- We met a local couple who own 112 acres of land here 5 mins from home who said we could cut as much firewood as we like for free. That indeed will keep us in free firewood for many years to come :). That will be a huge savings in our budget over buying it or sourcing it on road verges from lightning struck trees.
- We helped at the RSL club to make salads for a function there on Friday and Saturday. It was a great fundraiser for the club and was really successful.
Finances, internet listings and earnings -
- Paid an extra $175 payment off our home mortgage to save both interest and time on the loan. We are now over 7 months ahead on our mortgage payments.
- Listed 10 items on eBay on a free listing promotion saving $16.50 on usual listing fees.
- Made $10 from the sale of a homemade journal cover on eBay.
Home Decorating -
- I sewed another set of curtains from fabric I purchased for $3 a metre from Spotlight saving $$21.20 over buying them in the shops.
- Took back a curtain we purchased to Bunnings for a refund once I realised I had ordered enough fabric for all the curtains.
- DH put up the curtain rod holders and curtain rod for me and we hung the curtains and I put on the curtain rod ends.
In the kitchen -
- Cooked all meals and bread from scratch.
In the gardens and firewood stocking -
- Put up recycled heavy duty chicken wire around 3/4's of the garden beds to keep out the kangaroos saving us $161.92 in buying the wire new and hiring someone to do it for us.
- Trench composted vegetable scraps, fruit peels and crush egg shells in the garden beds to add nutrients to the soil.
- Split the rest of the firewood we got free from a lightning struck tree on the side of the road with our log splitter and stacked the firewood in the lean-to shed for more firewood supplies.
- Used water pumped from the grey water tank to water fruit, berry and ornamental flower gardens around the home.
- Used grey water from our hand washing bucket to water shrubs in gardens around the home.
- Saved shower warm up water was used to fill hand washing and cleaning water bottles around the home.
Hope everyone had a productive week and will have in the weeks ahead.
Sewingcreaions15 (Lorna).
The free firewood is an amazing blessing. Even better when it's an essential everyday item. I love the way you reuse water around your home Lorna.
DeleteI am sorry to write twice. Tonight I made 15 and a half jars of strawberry jam. The berries were $3 a kilo and I think all up I spent $16 or so to make the jam and I will give some as gifts.
ReplyDeleteTo save water I have bought a plastic bucket to use inside the sink. I then put that water on the plants. I gave up on saving shower water as I hurt myself quite badly carrying it out.
My son works as a freelance chef and he will be working at some of the Hugh Jackman shows.
I hope you are enjoying your slower weekend, Wendy. The concert sounds amazing!! I am using your tip to get every drop of detergent from the dishwashing bottles I have at my kitchen and laundry sinks; they are almost empty too. This week I also:
ReplyDelete* topped up petrol in car when price came down
* combined errands to limit trips out in the car to save on fuel
* added more to my little stockpiles - 4 x tins condensed milk, two tubs of moisturiser (on sale at Coles for half price - $7 instead of $14).
* made all meals, lunches and snacks here at home
* used gifted bush lemon and a lime to make a lemony slice
* made large tray of macaroni cheese for dinner and a batch of choc-chip cookies when my son had a friend for a last-minute sleepover. Two serves of leftovers went in freezer + some of the cookies.
* used lettuce, basil, spring onion and cherry tomatoes from our garden. Planted more lettuce seedlings and cucumbers too.
* found a book about rugby league at op-shop for $2 for my son (He loves football!)
* learnt how to fix the frayed collar of my husband's shirt (which is otherwise in good condition) by watching a YouTube clip. You mend collar then unpick it and turn it over before sewing it back in again. The mended part can't be seen when the collar is turned down.
* hubby cut my hair for me; we've been doing this for a few years now and it saves a lot because it can cost more than $50 for a haircut. My hair is longish and wavy so it just looks like it always does!
Have a great week, Wendy.
Meg:)
Hi Meg. Yes, the concert was amazing and we enjoyed our outing.
DeleteOp shops are a great place to find books. I find so many new or near new books that are worth giving as presents.
Hi Wendy,
ReplyDeletethank you for the frugal inspiration.
This week-
I have dried our washing inside near our wood heater. I love that we can use it to warm the house, dry the washing and cook some of our meals.
We used rainwater to water the garden on a few warmer days.
I made some meals that provided leftovers for lunches and the freezer.
I made your orange cake using our home grown blood oranges. This was delicious and enjoyed by the whole family. Some has been frozen for morning tea treats at work and uni.
I made three loaves of spelt sourdough bread and 18 bagels. These baked goods are very expensive to buy and not as nice as home made.
I fixed the zipper on my son's laptop case and didn't need to buy a new one that cost $30.
Wendy can I ask how much of the diluted Dynamo you use per load of washing? I am very keen to try this frugal tip.
Cheers, Maria.
I'm glad your family enjoyed the orange cake. It's not too sweet either.
DeleteI put the diluted Dynamo liquid into a squirty bottle and give a good squirt for large loads. Sorry, I don't measure it but it could be 2 capfuls.
Hello everybody.
ReplyDeleteI have heard from friends how brilliant Hugh Jackman was they said it was a value for money show.
This week i bought reduced in price meat. Made a large batch of soup, and picked up 6 free rolls from Bakers Delight i get the stamps when i get purchases for work.Trying to keep weight on mum so i made apple pies, bread and butter pudding and rice pudding and pasties i have a nice supply in the freezer. Picked up some Big M flavoured 2 litre milks for $2. I have portioned them out and frozen as mum likes to drink these. Turned the bread scraps into crumbs and made apple flavoured water and started a batch of Apple Cider Vinegar.
Paid all the bill on time. Completed some surveys to get money and vouchers for
Christmas. Banked my coin jar to my savings. Had a few free rides on the local bus as the Miki readers are not working. Money saved that i was able to bank. Had my birthday recently so i received some gift emails. I was able to buy several gifts at much reduced prices.
I was blessed to be given a new coffee pod machine still under warranty and never used. A beautiful grey queen size blanket oh it is warm. A large pyrex dish,a new radio, cook book antique mauve dish and a few other things, My friend is always decluttering and happy that i can reuse her items.
Waiting for the warmer weather to get the spring garden on the go. I've been adding lots of vegie scraps to the beds and worm farms and hoping for good crops this year. Hope everybody enjoyed the weekend and their Footy teams have made the finals. Love to all Leanne.
Hi Leanne. The Hugh Jackman show was certainly value for money.
ReplyDeleteYou've received some amazing blessings from your friend and I'm sure you will put them to good use.