Saturday 3 March 2018

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 ?

22 comments:

  1. As we sit here in snow ....I look at your raspberries with much envy!
    Roll on summer here

    ReplyDelete
  2. Goodmorning Wendy,
    You always keep yourself busy, I am a bit of a procrastinator, I do make a list for the day, but get side tracked easily. You must have a green thumb growing all those tomatoes, I remember you mentioning the variety you grow, I must go back through your blog and find the name of it and have a go next growing season. Have the loveliest of days.
    Fi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fiona, I did have a couple of days where I didn't nothing much and it felt weird.

      For the tomato variety, look in the Thrifty Living section then under Garden. I wrote a sort post about them.

      Delete
  3. I cleaned and re-organised my pantry and freezer a couple of weeks ago, Wendy, and felt more organised too. We had a mixed bag of a week with a vet bill for our dog being a big expense. Otherwise:
    * roasted a chicken for dinner with salad and then lunches for two days.
    * made a quiche to use up odds and ends from my crisper
    * made chocolate chip cookies for morning teas
    * used up pasta sauce from freezer for spaghetti bolognese one night & a lasagna the next.
    * topped up car at $1.33 with E10fuel rather than pay nearly $1.50pL
    * gratefully received a dozen eggs and 4 large lemons from a lovely friend
    * made up a gift for a friend from my present box
    * worked relief teaching for two days at beginning of week, welcome $.
    Your raspberries look great. I have two native raspberries growing in my garden but no fruit as yet. Have lovely weekend. Meg:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meg, have you tried making a quiche from leftover roast veggies and maybe a little chicken ? The roast veggies give the quiche a lovely rich flavour especially pumpkin.

      Delete
  4. Hi Wendy,
    This is a sort of personal question so don't feel obliged to reply, but what times do you get up in the morning and go to bed? You accomplish so much in your days that I think I must be wasting time somehow. I could never keep up with your schedule. When things turn bad here like jobs, money I also try to remember that one door closes and another usually opens and that God always knows our needs. I'm pleased you picked up another job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No problem Julee. I get up at 7.35 am just after the news on Sunrise ( tv ). I go to bed any time between 10.30 pm and midnight depending if I've fallen asleep watching tv. I try not to do any housework after tea. By then I'm too tired. On the days I'm home all day I don't have the tv on until the 6 pm news.

      Delete
  5. Hi Wendy,
    I agree having the TV just going in the background tempts you to watch it therefore wasting time but also it wastes electricity. I have a rule that when I watch TV I try to finish knitting or crochet projects.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cleaning exhaust fans (or any fans for that matter). How do they gather so much dust?? I am always so amazed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess the dust in the air has to go somewhere.

      Delete
  7. Wendy, you are in Australia? I've never heard of receiving coupons from Op Shops! Does this operate everywhere, and how does it work please?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I'm in Australia. Savers op shops have discount cards. Every time you donate they stamp your card. On your next purchase you get a discount starting at 5% and going up to 20%.

      Delete
    2. Savers Recycle, which is the American owned business offers discount stamps, and sometimes 50% vouchers for donations
      Salvation Army thrift shops somestimes have discount cards
      Salvos Stores- the business arm of the Salvation Army, with
      all profits going to fund their Christian charitable works, have a loyalty program where purchases earn you loyalty points redeemable against future purchases

      Delete
  8. You had a great week. Do you have a recipe for power fruit balls? They looks so good! I'm finally doing a frugal list on Sunday. We had our computer break down and need to be repaired. So glad it was fixable!

    ReplyDelete
  9. ?Hi Wendy new to your blog and loving it. Lucky to score some nice chicken breasts on sale for $5 a kilo. Made mixed berry jam and today will be making fig jam. picked some tomatoes from the garden and dried and saved seeds for next year. Sorted and bagged some goods for the op shop and yes need their discount stamps because finding their prices are going upward quickly. Bought a few things on special to add to my stockpile. Money is tight as lost a few hours and really missing $144 a month. Life goes on and I am blessed with what I have. Take care everybody and enjoy your weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I've noticed op shop prices going up. Sometimes the prices are dearer than buying retail.

      I'm sure you are glad for your stockpile.

      Delete
  10. Wendy!!! I have news. I finally GET stockpiling. I get it! This month and last month have been more month than money with some big bills coming in and the start of school for another year. But we have had surplus of basic pantry items, basic cleaning products, a deep freezer kept full with sales and a nice surplus of bathroom products all bought when on sale eg half price. I feel so lucky to have taken on board what you have been writing about and showing your followers on your blog. When I started, I was always thinking it was a waste of money. If it is half price, why buy two when I only need one and I can not spend the other half of the normal rrp?? Isn't it dead money just sitting on my shelf? But now, holy smokes, I GET IT!!! Thank you Wendy for taking the time to write your blog. I wish you and Darren the very best during this hardship. You are both good people. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so pleased you got a stockpile together even if it didn't make sense at the time. It's peace of mind for ' just in case '. which can happen at any time. If a disaster never strikes then just keep rotating the stockpile.

      We are living off our stockpile now and only buying milk and a little fruit and veg each week.

      Delete
  11. I can't wait for spring so I can grow and pick something.

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  12. My mom always said that having extra groceries was like having money in the bank. It is so true, and even better than money at times, because you buy the stockpile food at the lowest possible price, and use the food when that items would cost much more to buy.

    ReplyDelete

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