Saturday 27 June 2015

This Week's Frugal Tasks 27th June 2015


*  We had lots of leftovers from Darren's party on Sunday.  So Monday night our tea consisted of sausage rolls,  mini quiches and birthday cake.  Jessica and Megan had celery sticks,  carrot sticks,  cheese ,  kabana and pita chips in their lunchboxes a few days running.  They were very happy with their lunches.

*  Two more of our chickens are back on the lay. SO EXCITING  !!! It looks like three out of five are laying.  We sold one dozen eggs this week.

*  Dried most of the washing on clothes horses with a few things put in the dryer.

*  Turned the heater off for two days when the sun was shining.

*  I had some dental work done early this week so I sent Darren out to get some milk. This was the only grocery spending for the week as we made do with the fruit and veg we bought last week.

*  Saved some tissue paper,  ribbon and gift bags from presents recently given.

*  Darren planted out some veg seedlings he'd grown from seed.

*  Megan made a double batch of scones for the party.  Although they were very popular,  we had some left over so I popped them into the freezer for future morning teas.

*  Donated two bags of clothes to Savers and received a discount stamp.

*  Hand washed the dinner dishes a few times this week.

*  I opened a new foaming hand wash dispenser a couple of weeks ago.  On Sunday the bottle was half empty so I topped it up with water.  The soap still feels luxurious.  I bought a few of the foaming pumps last year when they were on sale.  I wanted to have a few spare as I didn't know how long they'd be on the market for or if they broke easily.  My girls have been using the same pump for over a year.

*  I was searching the internet for a picture suitable for my kitchen wall but couldn't find anything I liked. So I  printed off one of my blog photos and put it in a frame that was given to me a few years ago.  Cost - ZERO and it looks fantastic.  I'm very proud of myself as I'm a bit tech challenged.  I somehow worked out how to print it off without my family doing it for me.

Lovely colored eggs from our chickens..
Darren's birthday cake

The birthday boy
Some of the party food
My free wall art.
An avocado plant given to Darren as a present
Snow pea plants in flower
Our first broccoli head forming

What did you do this week to save time,  money or energy ?

24 comments:

  1. Dear Wendy, I hope you are feeling ok after the dental work. All the left overs for dinner and lunches was wonderful! Easy and a treat! I love left overs like that!
    Also glad the party was such a success!
    I had a wonderful week. We found a big savings on prescription drugs (thanks to Cheapskates) and it amounts to a $600 plus saving a year for us!
    Also I was given lemons, bay leaves and honey. Make soup, lots of cooking and crafting for gifts.
    I hope next week is as good!
    Have a lovely weekend, with love, Annabel.xxx

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    1. Feeling fine after the dental work. The next one will be big.

      Loved your crafting and cooking this week.

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  2. Hi Wendy, I hope you had a great week and that Darren enjoyed himself at his birthday party. The frugal things I got up to this week are the following
    - a friend of mine owns a bee hive and gave us a delicious jar of honey
    - diluted shower gel and put it in our foaming soap dispensers throughout the house, I've received many compliments on how lovely it smells
    - the vegetable seeds I planted a few weeks ago have turned into thriving seedlings. Hopefully in the next few weeks we will have all sorts of veggies available which will reduce our food bill.
    - dried as many clothes on the line as possible.
    - stocked up on huggies baby wipes as they are on special
    - made 1 litre of yoghurt
    - sold our small car (I struggled to fit the pram in the boot) so that we could upgrade to a larger second-hand one. It runs perfectly, looks brand new and managed to do that without too much extra expense. A new car was just something we couldn't justify or afford.
    - taking advantage of the big toy sales. All toys bought will become Christmas and birthday presents
    Amy

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    1. I remember the days of shopping the toy sales. Those were crazy days of battling the crowds.

      Congratulations on selling your car and getting another one. You must be happy.

      Delete
  3. Hi Wendy,
    I just love your wall art. I would say from the many wonderful photos you take you may have a few ‘future’ art works at hand 
    Looking at your photo of the peas I had to giggle. My peas were doing so well they managed to attract the attention of the local possum. Needless to say the peas are only about 2 inches tall lol. We have managed to cover them with netting in the hopes they will survive. At least the possum enjoyed them lol.
    I have enjoyed my week cooking bread and bread rolls for lunches. I had some sliced bread in the freezer but used it all up so to make it through to next grocery day I whipped up a loaf and the bread rolls. We also had a homemade pizza base from the same dough I used to make the herb bread rolls. I used some meatballs I had in the freezer for the meat, fried capsicum onion and mushroom, topped with a small amount of cheese and drizzled with balsamic vinegar over the top…yummy
    I managed to get 400 bulbs (they weren’t sure if they were jonquils or daffodils but I didn’t mind) for $5 last week at the second hand store (not to mention the big pot they came in) they are now all planted out in the front garden bed.
    While I am sitting here typing I am watching 15 or more currawongs eating bugs from our garden and the surrounding trees. They are a pleasure to watch. The little Pee wees are managing to have a go as well.
    Have a great week Wendy.
    Linda

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    1. Linda, I'm eying off a few other photos for wall art. Either that or I might take some photos of my cups and saucers. I couldn't find nice photos on the internet.

      What a wonderful price on the bulbs. Bargain of the century I think. You'll enjoy the flowers for many years to come.

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  4. What a fabulous birthday cake! Oh no don't tell me Darren is a Collingwood supporter LOL! Sounds like a fun day was had and the leftover food was appreciated by the girls for their lunches.

    Hope your dental work is going well. That can be an expensive necessity.

    I will be watching with interest Darren's avocado plant to see how it grows. Your peas and broccoli are looking very healthy.

    My frugal efforts this week;

    ~Cooked most meals from scratch, except for one when we went out to tea.
    ~Sold excess eggs. Our girls have started laying again too.
    ~Got my washing done and dry even though we had rain this week. Yes we had rain woohoo!
    ~Made Anzac biscuits using molasses instead of golden syrup.
    ~I had three no spend days.
    ~Sorted and tidied laundry cupboards. Excess is put aside for a garage sale.

    Have a great weekend Wendy!

    xTania

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    Replies
    1. Our friends that gave Darren the avocado plant grew it themselves. It's about a year old. They even made the timber planter to keep it in.

      Delete
  5. love the art work Wendy, I have photos taken in England and Paris of flowers that will eventually get put on our walls
    all meals made from scratch
    DH's birthday cake, a chocolate ripple cake is setting in the fridge ready for tomorrow's lunch, birthday card made, and presents bought, a bottle of red wine and a 3 for 1 deal on car magazines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please wish your DH a happy birthday. It sounds like you have a wonderful day planned

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  6. Well. My efforts for this week were. Took lunch every day.
    Started to make milk coffees instead of buying my take away coffees.
    Fixed a pair of work pants.
    Used the clothes horse to dry clothes
    Bought three chooks for $5 from Caitlin's school. Here's hoping they have sexed them right and they are all girls.
    Used the diesel ute to get to and from work.
    Picked up a couple of the specials.

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    1. And I got 7 6pack soaps for 95 cents each as a clearance item in my coles supermarket. That' s 42 soaps for under $7. It is their coles brand but it is the type we use. And I can also use it in my laundry soap mixture.

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    2. How exciting to get some chooks. Have you had chooks before or is this a new venture for you ?

      You'll save a small fortune on take away coffees.

      Delete
  7. Great photos Wendy!

    Pretty usual week here at chez Ruscoe

    Daughter declared the Kraft almond spread as ‘yuck’ and too dry, compared to the expensive health store one, so rather than waste, it went in a batch of Wendy’s choc and peanut butter bikkies which were declared a big hit. Thanks for recipe Wendy!
    More seedlings were planted
    Kept heating on 15-16-17
    Bought some cheapo Ikea curtains and sewed them together to make a throw for my cream couch. Last throw made the same way lasted 10 years before wearing out. This fabric is stronger, so hopefully will last just as long. (photo on facebook page).
    Picked some greens from a client’s garden and made another yummy taboulli salad. Noticed that the same kale leaves I sometimes pick from her garden were for sale at the farmers market yesterday for $4 a small bunch!
    Gratefully took home a little flower posy from church. Flowers have lasted beautifully.
    Cooked all (but 1 pre planned outing )meals from scratch including hot lunches for the other 2 to take to school/work. Also made an extra meal for delivery to new parents.
    Found my usually expensive Revlon lipstick on sale today for $8, I have enough to last me a while now.
    Spent some lovely time in the sun trimming back my ‘postage stamp’ front garden this week, so it will look good come spring.
    Used warm up water to water plants as it’s been very dry lately.
    Have a good week everybody.
    Tania

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    Replies
    1. You had a very well rounded frugal week Tania.

      Delete
  8. Hi Wendy,

    The party looks like you all had a wonderful time and the cake looks beautiful (I'm a Collingwood supporter). Did you or the girls make this?
    Can I ask what seedlings Darren planted?
    The foaming hand wash (Palmolive 250ml) is on special at Woolies this week for $1.87.

    We also ate lots of leftovers from my sons Confirmation on Sunday and made all meals from scratch.
    Gratefully received Scones, Cake and Bread. I shopped the specials and found a bargin at Big W, Jeans only in my size for $2.00.

    I worked a lot in the garden this week and still picking Silverbeet.
    I used some of my Flybuys for shopping and bought Broccoli, Cauliflower and Pumpkin cheaply and froze.
    Tried to keep the heater down as the solar doesn't produce as much in the winter and also used candles at night.
    I did my Menu plan and shopping under $300.00 for the month.
    DS1 has left for a school trip to East Timor to help out a very poor community there and had to fund raise for his whole trip. So with this happening this week, less washing, showers and food for him but a big cleanout for his room, Yeah!!!! Savers, here I come.

    Have a great week,
    Maureen

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    1. You're so funny Maureen. I've been to Savers so often that all the staff know me.

      I didn't make the cake. We have a friend who works in a bakery. Infact, he gave us two. One for the party and one for us at a heavily discounted price.

      Darren said he planted chinese cabbage, beetroot and spinach. The silverbeet needs feeding as it's not growing too many leaves.

      I might go to Woolworths and get more foaming hand wash. I like to have a few of the pumps stored away in case they eventually break or get taken off the market.

      Delete
  9. Love the wall art.
    Gratefully received some wool from a relative.
    Used a shop a docket to get 10% off daughters haircut.
    Made muffins, soup and all meals from scratch.
    Used the Woolies rewards offer of $10 voucher when you spend $35 all in the one shop.
    Used a 4 cent reward for a discount on petrol, saving me $2 on filling up.
    Bagged half price bargains in the op shop - 2 pairs as new flannel pj's, pie tins, a great Tupperware container and a citrus reamer all for $6.50.
    Asked for a raincheck on the frozen basa fillets at Woolies.
    Kids took snacks from the pantry to an evening activity, which must have saved $20 at the kiosk.
    For the last six months have achieved our goal of $300 grocery shop per month for our family of 2 adults and 2 teens. Very happy with this, must have saved us a fortune.
    Sue

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    1. You should be very happy that you achieved $300 a month for groceries. Funny how the critics say it can't be done. You should tell ACA.

      Delete
  10. Thankyou for all your tips and inspiration on the blog Wendy, it has really helped us achieved our grocery shopping goal. Sue

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    1. YAY !!!! You are very welcome. You are the reason I publish this blog.

      Delete
  11. I have contacted ACA and asked for more "Wendy the Super Saver" segments.
    Sue

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  12. I'd also love to see more of 'Wendy the Super Saver' Love your blog too Wendy! You keep me motivated and inspired to be debt free in 3 years!!! Thank you so much.
    Always searching for more ways to be frugal and to save extra.. Desperate for new ideas!

    ReplyDelete

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