This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 31st March 2018

My kitchen has had a good workout with lots of baking and cooking this week.  A wonderful side benefit is all the home cooked food we'll be enjoying over the Easter weekend. Here's my frugal list -


*  Jessica baked a big batch of raspberry and white choc muffins and choc chip biscuits for Uni snacks. She's trying to cut her costs down and avoid the cafeteria ( which is so over priced ).

*  Fed the compost bins with kitchen peelings,  tea leaves and tea bags.

*  Used lots of bread bags to lines the bins.

*  Took snacks and water when Jessica and I were out and about for wedding appointments.

*  Bought chicken drumsticks for $1.99 kg.  Darren and I only eat one each if they are a decent size.  The drumsticks cost approximately 60 cents per meal.

*  Collected bean seeds from our dying plants.  These will be used for next Spring's planting.

*  Picked the last of the raspberries.

*  Made 12 hot cross buns from scratch.  Although they are not cheap to make,  I know exactly what's in them.  That has to be an investment into our health.

*  Baked a chocolate cake and cranberry hootycreek biscuits for the holiday weekend.

*  Dried the washing on the line.

*  Bought roast beef for $7.99kg.  All of them went into the freezer and I'll cook them in ter slow cooker in the next few months.

*  Stayed home as much as possible to save the cheap petrol I bought last week.

*  Cooked a roast beef on Wednesday and carefully portioned it out into 11 serves with lots of gravy.  Darren and I ate it fresh that night and the rest went into the freezer.

*  Bought packets of 20 white craft bags for $1 a packet.    I used some for Easter treats.

*  Saved the washing and shower water to pour into the washing machine.

*  Bought more snacks for the engagement party at half price from Coles.

Homemade hot cross buns

Cranberry Hootycreek biscuits

Collecting bean seeds

Chocolate cake.

How did you save time,  money and energy this week ?

Have you done special baking or crafts for Easter ?

Menu Plan March / April 2018

I've been asked to share my latest menu plan.  Please keep in mind it's mostly just Darren and I at home but I still cook some meals for four people and freeze the leftovers.  . Our freezers and pantry are well stocked and at times we live off our stockpile.  Our current grocery budget is about $100 per month

Wed 21st March -  Freezer meals.
Thurs 22nd -  Lamb Shanks and mash
Fri 23rd -  Chop suey and rice
Sat 24th -  Meat pie and steamed veg
Sun 25th -  Get\Your Own
Mon 26th -  Honey soy chicken drumsticks, mash and steamed veg
Tues 27th -  Hamburgers and wedges
Wed 28th - Pork chop for Darren,  Chicken drumstick for me with veg
Thurs 29th -  Freezer meals
Fri 30th -  Spag Bol
Sat 31st - BBQ sausages,  rissoles and salad
Sun 1st April -   Chicken and salad
Mon 2nd - Pizza
Tues 3rd -  Tuna casserole and greens
Wed 4th -  Sausages,  mash and steamed veg
Thurs 5th -  Saucy chicken drumsticks, rice and veg
Fri 6th - Beef stew in slow cooker with mash
Sat 7th -  Fish in foil,  rice and zucchini slice
Sun 8th - Get Your Own
Mon 9th - Roast beef,  roast veg and steamed veg
Tues 10th -  Lasagne and steamed veg
Wed 11th -   Krispy Fried Chicken drumsticks, rice and zucchini slice     
Thurs 12th -  Freezer meals
Fri 13th -  Silverside in slow cooker with mash and steamed veg
Sat 14th - Engagement party food
Sun 15th -  Left overs
Mon 16th - Left overs
Tues 17th -  Tuna pasta bake and greens
Wed 18th - Sausage casserole and mash

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 24th March 2018

There isn't a lot of frugal savings on my list this week.  I've worked four days,  had a catering order,  gone to a wedding expo,  shopped for a wedding dress ( still shopping ),  gone to a card making day  as well as visiting my parents for my Dad's birthday.

My list is a mixture of household savings,  blessings and bargains..

*  Had a catering order for 100 sausage rolls,  100 mini quiches and two lemon slices.  Jessica was able to help me do the cooking and it became a cooking lesson for her.

*  Sold two dozen eggs.

*  Jessica and I went to a wedding expo on Sunday.  We took some snacks and water with us.  During the day we were given bottles of water,  a suit bag,  whitening toothpaste, a nail file and a pocket square.

*  Op shop finds for this week are - an apron for $1.99 ( for Jessica ),  a baby wrap for $4.99 ( new for a future gift ) and an as new plastic canister / container for $2.99( for Jessica ).  All items then had a 15% off discount.

*  Gratefully received several glass jars.  These will be used for jam making.

*  Gratefully received some veggies and meat from a couple of friends.

*  Gratefully received lots of bread bags.

*  Made egg custard to use up an excess of eggs and milk that was going out of date.

*  Dried the washing on the line.

*  Saved the shower water to pour into the washing machine.  Saved the rinse water from each load and poured it back into the washing machine for the next load.

*  Wrote a menu plan to use up stocks we have in the freezer.

* Topped up my car with petrol at $1.19 per litre.

*  Bought a few meat markdowns in Coles.  I also found a loaf of bread for 37 cents and four large blueberry muffins ( for Darren ) for $1.19 a pack.

*  Bought blank cards in Kmart on clearance for $1 a pack of 10.  The envelope were the same price.  These will be used to make wedding invitations.

*  Found items for the engagement party and wedding in a couple of discount stores.

*  Jessica used the left over pastry from the catering order to make scrolls for Uni snacks.  She made cheese and Vegemite,  cheese,  ham and herbs and cheese ,  ham and tomato sauce.

Mini quiches

Sausage rolls

Jessica's scrolls

Darren gets a treat too

Lamb shanks ready for the oven

What was on your frugal list this week ?

Reusing Old Socks

Just about every household has a collection of odd socks.  It seems such a shame to throw out perfectly good socks just because the pair is missing.  How about those old socks that are getting thin,  or the ones you don't like anymore ?

 Here are a few ideas to give the socks a new lease on life -

*  Old socks make great dusters for skirting boards and table tops.  Just pull the sock over your hand and dust away.

*  Use old socks,  odd buttons and a few pieces of wool to make a hand puppet for your littlies.

*  Store safety googles / glasses in a sock to prevent scratching in the garage.

*  Use old socks to cover golf clubs to prevent scratching.

*  Make a soap pouch for outdoor hand washing.  Just place a bar of soap inside an old sock,  close it up with a knot and hang it from the tap.

*  Slip a sock over an ice pack to prevent freezer burn.

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 17th March 2018

My week has been a little quieter so I've taken the time to potter around my home and straighten things up.  I've also taken some time to rest which is a rarity for me. Engagement party plans are coming along and plates,  serviettes  and decorations have been purchased or sourced from around our home.

Here's my frugal list for the week -


*  Bought a big bottle of Dynamo laundry liquid at 1/2 price then made up a couple of bottles of diluted laundry liquid.  I use two capfuls of liquid to 450 mls of water.

*  Dried all the washing on the line and clothes horses.

*  Diluted a bottle of vinegar with water at a ratio of 1 part vinegar to 1 part water.  This is only good for cleaning purposes.

*  Filled up my car when petrol dropped to $1.23 per litre.  I generally only need to fill up every three weeks.

*  Picked white roses from the garden for the kitchen and bathroom.

*  Due to the mild weather we didn't use the cooling or heating this week.  We just kept the doors open to get a fresh breeze.

*  Picked and froze raspberries from our garden.

*  Megan was able to source for free a wishing well and 67 glass jars with lids.  The glass jars can be used as wedding favours and the wishing well will be used at the wedding.

*  Received a refund in the mail for Listerine pocketpaks that were faulty.  The refund will more than cover replacements.  It's certainly worth letting companies know when their products fail.

*  Dug into my glass jar stash and found enough glass jars of the same style and shape to use as candle holders at Jessica and Eugene's engagement party.

*  Fed the compost bin with tea bags and kitchen scraps.

*  Froze all leftovers for future meals.

*  Put a few little hotel bottles of shampoo,  conditioner and shower gel in the shower to use up as part of the ' Use It Up ' challenge.

*  Gratefully received lots of bread bags.  With Coles phasing out single use plastic bags in a few months,  the bread bags will come in handy for kitchen rubbish as well as lining the bathroom bins.

*  Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.

In the garden

Dinner one night

Fresh baked bread.

What was on your frugal list this week ?

Grated Cheese Tip.

Have you ever grated to much cheese and popped the rest in a container in the fridge ? Does it stick together ?  Here's a great tip from Cath at The Cheapskates Club.

Add one teaspoon of corn flour to a container of grated cheese.  Place the lid on and give it a good shake  The corn flour finely coats the cheese preventing it from sticking together in clumps.

If you have a large amount of grated cheese.  place it in a large freezer bag and add two teaspoons of corn flour.  Twist the top of the bags and give it a good shake.

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 10th March 2018

This week just flashed before my eyes.  I worked four days,  hosted an engagement party planning afternoon tea with Eugene's family,  made more invitations,  wrote lists and kept the home tidy.  Here's what else I got up to this week -


*  Gratefully received a big bag of beans.

*  Sold 8 jars of jam and 3 bars of handmade soap to a friend.

*  Gratefully received some tomatoes,  a zucchini,  a cucumber and glass jars from another friend.

*  Saved the shower water for the washing machine.  Saved the washing machine rinse water for the next load.  This week I only needed to do three loads of washing.

*  Picked beans and raspberries from the garden.

*  Found some artificial flowers super cheap in an op shop.  These will be used as part of the decorations for Jessica and Eugene's wedding.

*  Only bought milk,  lettuce and mushrooms from the shops.

*  Cooked all meals from scratch.  Froze leftovers when possible.

*  Cleaned the inside of the kettle with citric acid.

*  Gratefully received lots of bread bags.  Most of them were used to line the bathroom bins.  I put five bread bags in at a time so I don't have to do it each week.

*  Sold two dozen eggs.

*  Picked up more cleaning work to start in a few week's time.  I'll be roping Darren in to help me due to some of the jobs being big ones.

*  Made a deliberate effort to use what we already have in the pantry,  fridge and freezers.  That's why my shopping list had three items on it this week.

* Finished using a lipstick by digging down to the very bottom. By doing this I've doubled the life of the lipstick and saved about $8.

*  Jessica and I picked up about 20 freebie pouches of yoghurt when we were at the shops.  The staff handing them out gave us handfuls at a time.

*  Made a big batch of scones for the planning meeting.

 

Op shop find for $`1.99

Freebie yoghurt from the shops.

Bread bag bin liners

Scones for the planning meeting.

There was a great response to the ' Use It Up '  Challenge posted on Wednesday.  Will you join the challenge and save some money ?

How did you save money this week ?

The 'Use It Up' Challenge.

Blog reader Patti mentioned a couple of  weeks ago that she's on a " Use It Up " challenge to save some extra money.  I thought this was a fabulous idea we could all do together.

 Many of us have too much stuff taking up room around our homes and this could be a great way to declutter as well as save money.  Think about those half used tubes of lipstick in the back of the bathroom cabinet..  Or maybe you've still got the little bottles of shampoo and conditioner from a holiday 5 years ago.  Now is the time to use them up.

Do you have pieces of timber behind a shed that could be made into a tool box or outdoor furniture ?  Does your freezer have too many mystery packages ?  Writing a menu plan could be a wonderful way to make room in your freezer.

Is your craft or material stash getting out of hand ?  Could you make a start on this year's presents and reduce the stash ?

For the month of March,  lets make a big effort to use things up before we throw them out.

My goals for March are -

*  Make room in my freezer.

*  Pour the little bottles of shampoo and conditioner into our bigger bottles in the shower.

*  Making more items to sell by using crafts and supplies I already have on hand.

*  Using up the last of a couple of lipsticks.  

*  Decluttering my pantry and making an effort to use some items we forget to use.

What are your ' Use It Up ' goals ?  At the end of the month we'll post our results 

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 3rd March 2018

Looking back on my week,  I know I've been quite busy but didn't think I had much of a frugal list.  I spent a fair bit of  time decluttering drawers and the wardrobe,  sorting out the pantry as well as taking stock of our stockpile ( does that make sense ? ).  Working on these tasks always puts my mind at ease in challenging times.  I also washed windows inside and out and pulled weeds.

Here's my frugal list for the week -.

*  Cooked and froze the last of the tomatoes from our garden.  I weighed out another 8 cans worth.

*  Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.

*  Mended a couch that had some loose threads.  I used fishing line so the mending can't be seen.

*  Saved the shower / bath water and poured it into the washing machine.

*  Stuck to the two light rule with most nights only using one at a time.

*  Sold a couple of cards to a friend of a friend.

*  Picked beans,  raspberries, one pear and one lemon from the garden.

*  Made power fruit balls using dried fruit,  nuts,  honey,  chia seeds and cashew meal.

*  Dried all the washing on the line.

* Added water to the last of the hair conditioner to make it easy to pour into the next bottle.

*  Turned off standby lights after using the appliances.

*  Cooked all meals from scratch and froze any leftovers for future meals.

*  Darren cleaned the bathroom fans and I cleaned the rangehood filters.  Keeping these things clean helps them to run more efficiently.

*  Gained another cleaning job which will hopefully start in a fortnight..

*  Donated another bag of goods to the op shop and received a discount stamp.

Power fruit balls

Homegrown

Taking stock of the stockpile

Picking raspberries.

What frugal tasks did you complete this week ?