Saturday 11 February 2017

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 11th February 2017

This week has been a busy one for me.  Our almost two year old freezer broke down on Monday morning just before I went to work.  I frantically tried to find room in my other freezers and fridge for some of the food.  Unfortunately we lost four supermarket bags full of food.  Then our evap cooling started playing up so we got it  serviced.   It still needs a part replaced so we are waiting on that..  I've worked four days this week,  cooked,  baked and tended to our garden when I could.

Here are the other tasks I managed to squeeze in -

*  Had two extra cleaning jobs this week.

*  Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.

*  Sold two dozen eggs to a neighbour.

*  Froze two single serves of leftovers

*  Mended the corner of a fitted sheet.   The stitching was starting to separate so I used the sewing machine to reinforce it before it became a hole.

*  Made dried seasoned bread crumbs from scratch.

*  Stayed away from the shops as much as possible.  This week I only bought 2 litres of milk and a few salad items.

*  Sold Megan's high school calculator.

*  Picked a small handful of raspberries each day.

*  Kept the curtains closed on the hot days.

*  Did the usual water saving tasks and used the saved water on the garden.


In the garden

A card my 7 year old niece made - with my help

Making pita chips

Dried seasoned bread crumbs

It's too hot for Princess.  Hiding under the coffee table..

     What frugal tasks did you complete this week ?  

9 comments:

  1. I found a deal on canned tomatoes for 25 cents a can (after store and manufacture coupons) so am stocking up myself, in laws and brother (they are on limited income- so I help out on groceries for them). I also will be working on a deal on Mahatma yellow rice for 9 cents for 5 oz bag over the next few weeks. I'm a big couponer but try to only get stuff that we will all eat or use. Still cleaning with baking soda and vinegar-- love it. Got 2 books at Goodwill--cheaper than buying at store or buying on ebay/amazon. Also picked up 2 hand towels at thrift store-- dirt cheap. Our weather goes from cold (40's ) to warm ( 70's) every few days which is helping on the heating bills. Picked up hubby's Valentines card at thrift store for 25 cents-- really nice --$3.00 regular price-- it's the words inside that are important. Yeh I'm frugal!!

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  2. Sorry to hear about your freezer and the loss of food. Not nice having to throw that much away. My air-conditioner also played up in 40 plus heat, but I'm still waiting for the repair man to get back to me. Today is hopefully the last of our heatwave and I won't need it so much.

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  3. That's a shame about your freezer, Wendy. I had a freezer defrost overnight a little while ago and lost lots of food too. It's disheartening! On the frugal front here, I've been making my own version of foods we would've previously bought - marinated feta, apricot logs - that type of thing. Still picking from veggie garden but it's a trickle now as things really struggling in heatwave conditions. I saved around $50 last weekend when my husband cut my hair here at home for the first time. It was easy with help of You-tube clip as it was just a trim. Looks fine! Not lop-sided or anything:) Meg

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  4. Hi Wendy sorry to hear about your freezer/food loss disaster! I remember last year one of the kids didn't shut the freezer door properly, the next morning, almost everything had defrosted, it was such a huge job to clean it, sort it, throw it, cook it and eat what we could! Hubby then adjusted the feet on the freezer so the door tilts backwards a fair bit, now the door shuts every time with out fail!

    This week I cooked all meals from scratch, I planted out some corn and lettuce that I raised from seeds (the veggie patch has laid bare all summer due to the heat) and I bought 18 jars of Five Brothers Pasta sauce that was on clearance for $1.50 a jar which is a bit less than half price, and it is our preferred brand of pasta sauce, so it was a big win, and will last us quite some time.

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  5. It's so heartbreaking to lose food when a freezer dies like that lucky you could fit some in other places Wendy. I hope an opportunity for a new one arises for you.....Sharlene

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  6. Oh no that's horrible about your freezer! At least you were able to save some food and it wasn't all spoiled. Here's a few things we got up to this week:
    - Bought branded 3L milk half price, it has a few days to go and we would definitely finish it by then!
    - Took lunches from home and make meals from scratch
    - tried to use the air con as little as possible (45 degree heat has been challenging!)
    - eating mostly salads and grilled meats the last few days to avoid heating up the house too much
    - kept blinds shut during the day and kept lights off where possible.
    - won a leg of a lamb at at a meat raffle, a great blessing!
    - filled up petrol earlier in the week while it was cheap, glad I did it because the prices are much higher now.
    - found a 2kg bag of potatoes for $1.20.
    - line dried all clothing
    - Had 3 no spend days
    I hope it's not as hot where you live, especially with your evap cooler playing up. I find appliances in our house like to break at the same time!
    Amy

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  7. Hi Wendy it is heartbreaking when all that food goes to waste. You mentioned that your freezer is only 2 years old. That is not very long for a major appliance. Would you believe that my freezer was bought in 1982! It was one of the first things we bought when first married.Good old tucker box still going strong. Weather in NSW is disgusting at the moment 39 degrees today.Want to plant some veggies soon but too hot at the moment. Have a good week Barbara

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  8. Wendy if the freezer is just two years old then check with the manufacturer. We had one die and when they came to service it I was told that most manufacturers will reimburse up to $250 for the food lost. I received a check and a new freezer.

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  9. I'm sorry to hear about your freezer and the loss of food. Freezer failure is the stuff of nightmares for me.
    My biggest frugal "win" this week was making Valentine's Day corsages and boutonnieres for the widows and widowers at our church. The materials to make them cost 1/3 of buying the most inexpensive finished boutonnieres I could find; the corsages were even more expensive.
    Have a lovely weekend!
    Blessings, Leigh

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