Here's my frugal list for the week -
* Made mini garlic breads from gifted day old bread sticks.
* Blanched lots of broccoli then froze it for future meals.
* Gratefully received some daisy plants from my Dad.
* Finely diced, bagged up and froze two bunches of celery. I think I have enough to put in casseroles for the next 12 months.
* We have a charity that moved just down the road from us that opened up an op shop last week. I purchased lots of Sukin face products for $1.50 each. I'll be bundling them up into little packs to give as presents over the next 12 - 18 months.
* Used a $20 Coles voucher earned from surveys to buy 2 tray of mince.
* Made 2 zucchini slices from gifted zucchinis and potatoes. We had some with our dinner that night and froze the rest.
* Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.
* Made lemon butter from our own eggs and lemon juice. I'm almost out of jam and it's at least a few months until I can get my hands on cheap or free fruit to make more. The lemon butter is delicious on the bread I bake and turn into toast for my breakfast each morning.
* Saved the shower warm up water and washing machine rinse water as per usual.
* Fed the compost bin every second day with kitchen scraps.
* Found another tv standby light to turn off at the power point. Family members will have to figure out for themselves why the remote won't turn the tv on.
* Picked up a couple of Stephanie Alexander colanders from the new op shop near us. They were priced at $5 each and with their 50% off sale they came down to $2.50. I found them on Amazon selling for just under $30. I'll be making pasta hampers with them to give as presents. I'm planning on including a couple of tins of tomatoes, a packet of pasta and a small bag of spag bol dried herbs.
* Cheap meals we ate this week were - Pita bread pizza and Chop suey
 |
| Broccoli ready to freeze |
 |
| Zucchini slices |
 |
| Chopped celery ready for the freezer |
Hi, Wendy. You are super organised for Christmas! I finally made a Xmas gift list this week. Earlier in the year, I bought some organic cotton hand towels from Aldi and put them aside. Following instructions I found here on your blog I am going to sew on strips of pretty matching fabrics and gift them with some calendula salve I am making from petals I collected from our garden. This week:
ReplyDelete* bought a second-hand solid timber bed frame off Gumtree and, with some new nails and lots of elbow grease to polish it, now have a lovely new-to-us bed. It came up beautifully and saved us hundreds!
* shopped specials in three different stores and added more to our stockpile.
* made all our meals + baked sweet potato chocolate cake and ginger Anzacs for snacks this week
* picked lettuce from pots to have with salads and on homemade burgers
* picked little yellow cherry tomatoes to have in salads
* dried washing on line on sunny days
* borrowed a DVD from library of series I have been wanting to watch.
Have a great weekend, Wendy!
Meg:)
It has been a usual week for me. I did find some pyjamas to give to my daughter's for Christmas. I also found a gift for one little boy. I need to haul out a chair I collected from the street and repair it for my granddaughter for Christmas. Then there is a cradle I bought at a thrift shop to paint and decorate for the little girl too.
ReplyDeleteHello Wendy, can you freeze Celery OK? No blanching or anything? Regards Robyn S.A
ReplyDeleteNo blanching, just cut and freeze. It does defrost soggy but it's great for casseroles and soups.
DeleteWendy you have had a productive week of preserving and making wonderful meals for your family. I always get excited when I find a new cheap op shop and you will have some wonderful gifts to give with minimal cost to you :).
ReplyDeleteOur savings last week added up to $607.11 :).
Grocery stockpiling -
- With the blessing of supermarket discount vouchers, racq gift cards and weekly specials we were able to stock up on 2 cartons of tinned mangoes and a years supply of shampoo and conditioner on sale.
Finances -
- Paid an extra payment off our mortgage saving time and interest off our home loan.
Purchases -
- From IGA on clearance we purchased 1kg of strawberries for $2 which was dessert for two nights, 2.07 kg of apples for $3, bananas at a low price of $3 kg, peanuts for $7 kg and value packs of tim tams and mint slices for $2.25 ea saving in total $21.31 on usual prices.
- Bought 2 logs lifters with peevie hooks and post pullers in one unit for $170 ea saving $512.50 on prices elsewhere we had seen. These are rare as hens teeth to find as they are not commercially made anymore and usually cost a fortune. We were fortunate enough to find them in a tyre repair store where the new owner wanted to liquidate them so we wrangled a good price.
- Received 200g of swiss cheese & a 8 pack of bolognese Arancini free as a sample as I am a taste tester for a supermarket saving $8.60 over purchasing them.
- Bought a RACQ gift card for groceries saving 5% or $7.90.
- Our local supermarket was having a $15 off $160 pick up order promotion so we put in an order. With weekly specials and the supermarket promotion code we were able to save $56.80 on usual prices.
Home spring cleaning -
- I damp dusted the whole home.
- We moved furniture in the lounge room into a better configuration and I damp dusted walls, skirting boards, doors, a buffet and entertainment unit.
Hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead :).
Sewingcreations15 (Lorna).
What great ideas for presents. I have just finished making and addressing our Christmas cards for this year, earliest time yet.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious, Wendy--does the celery freeze into one big lump, or do the pieces stay separate? I have the last of the green peppers to freeze. Can you tell me about that? I would like to be able to pour out just the amount we need.
ReplyDeleteThey do lump together due to the water content but I pop them straight into a soup or casserole pot from the freezer
DeleteHi Wendy,ways I got ahead I made anzac biscuits from frozen dough I had left over from the last batch & today I got some tomato plants ready to go in,& another strawberry plant hope you have a gr8 week.
ReplyDeleteWow Wendy you've been super busy this week! I love your idea of tge pasta hamper gifts :). Lauren
ReplyDelete