Here's what else I've been up to -
* Cleaned and sorted out all the freezers. I had to defrost one of the freezers because it's about 25+ years old. I use bowls of boiling water to defrost it so I saved all the water once it cooled and poured it on the garden. Thankfully I only had to throw out a few bread crusts.
* Wrote a menu plan for the next four weeks once I could see what needed using in the freezers. It kinda feels like a ' Use It Up ' challenge.
* Cooked up a big roast beef in the slow cooker for Darren's birthday. Five serves were eaten that night for tea and another six serves were frozen in gravy..
* Rang our electricity provider to make sure we are receiving the new discount. While I was on the phone I found out the off peak times are Monday to Friday 11 pm to 7 am and all day Saturday and Sunday. Although I won't be doing the washing at midnight, it's handy to know the times. I've been vacuuming and mopping the floors on Saturdays so I'm glad I'm saving a little bit there.
* Found some amazing bargains at Savers op shop. 2 x large cereal containers for $1.99 each ( almost new RRP $10 + each ). One is now being used under the kitchen sink for bread bags. 2 x veggie spiralers for $2.99 each, small storage suitcases set of three for $3.99, picnic plates and a few other things. Most will be given as presents over the next year or two. It really is worth popping in to op shops a couple of times a week to snap up new or near new items people no longer want.
* Refilled the foaming hand wash pumps in the bathrooms and kitchen. I also made up two big bottles of the diluted shower gel ready to refill the pumps next time.
* Popped into Spotlight to purchase some material for a few blog shop projects on the go. While I was there I overheard the store manager talking to staff about setting up a $5 bargain table. You can bet your bottom dollar I hung around until the table was full and picked up a few gifts for next year. While I was doing this, a staff member recognised me from tv and asked if I was still blogging. She then informed the store manager about my tv stories and bargain shopping telling him it's how I save a lot of money.
* Sorted out the presents cupboard and allocated the latest bargains to particular people. It feels great to have most of my Christmas shopping done and half of next year's done too.
* Made pizza from scratch for dinner using bits and pieces from the fridge and freezer. Darren made the dough from scratch too.
* Used heat packs and blankets to stay warm at night. Our ducted heating turns off at 9 pm and we have blankets draped over couches and chairs ready to be used. It's cheaper than turning the heater back on.
* Saved the shower and drink bottle water for the washing machine and garden.
* Sewed some pretty hand towels / baby burp towels for my blog shop. I mostly used materials I already had on hand. They will be ready for sale in the next week or so.
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| Storage containers from the op shop |
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| Rosemary growing wild |
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| I LOVE op shopping |
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| Getting veggies ready to roast |
What a fantastic idea to keep your bread bags in, I'm definitely stealing that one!
ReplyDeleteAre you going to do any more TV work Wendy? Chanel Nine seems to be on a 'savings spree' at the moment with saver.com.au and other segments I've seen on ACA and Eat Well for Less. You should get in touch, I for one get very inspired from your past segments.
Unfortunately I no longer have a contract with Channel Nine. I've been in contact with the production team of Eat Well For Less and they said at this point there are only two episodes. They now have my contact details on file in case they do more episodes.
DeleteI've contacted ACA with story ideas but never hear back from them. Maybe you could send them an email with story ideas from my blog. They might listen to the everyday viewer.
I did do that radio interview last month and there might be more in the future.
You managed all this with such a bad headache? That's amazing! I hope you are feeling better now, Wendy. We've had a pretty slow week here too, with a boy that had a bad cold and an infected finger at the same time! We spent most days at home which saved petrol and money. Here's my frugal list:
ReplyDelete* baked batches of biscuits, chocolate cupcakes and a banana bread
* sorted my craft shelves and put aside excess materials to take to little haberdashery at a local community centre
* dried washing in the sun, bringing it in earlier so it didn't get damp
* put living room heater on just during early morning hours only
* walked the dog in the sunshine - exercise for free!
* shopped grocery specials and added pasta spirals, soap, olive oil, dark chocolate and few other things to stockpile
* picked silverbeet from garden and made silverbeet impossible pie, picked spinach and made pumpkin and spinach lasagna. Delicious, meat-free meals!
* made cheese ball to take to street gathering last Sunday. Had all ingredients and crackers to go with it already here.
* our local doctor bulk bills for children so this saved us money too as we had to go twice this week! Have a lovely weekend. Meg:)
Thankyou Meg. You had a great week too. It's great that your weather allows washing to dry outside. Ours is too cold now.
DeleteHi Wendy and everyone :).
ReplyDeleteI have been reading your blog for some time but never commented, but thought I would tell you that I love your money saving tips and your frugal lifestyle. Your rosemary looks similar to ours in the front gardens here and we dry and sell the herbs on the internet, keep some for ourselves and trade them too :).
Here is how we organised our home and saved money -
Earnings -
- Earned $6.66 from the sale of 20g of dried sage picked from the gardens and saved sugar baby watermelon seeds saved from the gardens on the internet.
Purchases -
- Target in town was having a huge sale on a lot of their summer clothing and other items in town as they are moving to stocking a younger demographic on clothing. We purchased a PS4 game for DH for $19 reduced from $69, 2 flannel shirts for DH and finally found some in his size, 2 pairs of 3/4 pants for summer for $7 reduced from $29, 2 casual shift dresses for me $5 ea reduced from $25, 1 pair of summer sandals for me for $5 reduced from $15, 12 tall glass tumblers to replace ones that were broken for $10 reduced from $24 and 3 packets of glucose lollies saving 36.82% or $163 in total on usual prices.
Listings -
- Using a free listing promotion on eBay I listed 51 homemade items, saved seeds and dried herbs from the gardens saving $84.15 on usual listing fees.
House organisation -
- Organised our plastic storage container cupboard and stacked like shaped containers, threw out excess saved washed and saved plastic containers and wiped the cupboard out along with the front of kitchen cupboards. It looks so much tidier in there now and I can fit in the new high glass tumblers we purchased :). We live in a teeny 100 square metre workers cottage in the country.
In the kitchen -
- Cooked all meals and bread from scratch.
- Yesterday we finished our final batch of blanching and freezing of our sweet potatoes giving us a years supply for the 2 of us :). We picked just over 100 kg of them from a garden patch 1.5 x 9 m long. We also have some left over to take to church to give away, all free to us as we transplant all the little ones each year when we harvest them.
In the gardens -
- Picked 340g of cherry tomatoes, 4 large carrots, 2 turnips and 10.5 bunches of silver beet from the gardens saving us $44.76 over buying them in the shops. We used the carrots and turnips with a baked chicken dinner we had one night and blanched and froze the silver beet for 11 more double meals for the 2 of us.
- Picked a huge amount of French & English lavender and hung it to dry, separated dried French & English lavender from the gardens saving $6 over purchasing it.
- We also picked a huge amount of thyme from the gardens that we have on a drying rack on the front veranda behind shade cloth. Once dried we will keep some for us, trade some, and sell the rest on the internet.
Hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead :).
Sewingcreations15.
Welcome Sewingcreations. You have a wonderful list of frugal tasks. Like you, I just love organising my cupboards.
DeleteSilver beet is such a thrifty veggie to grow and it just keeps on giving. I can't wait for our plants to be big enough to pick.
Do you know how many squares your home is ? Ours is 15.5 squares. Not quite a cottage but we use our space well.
I hope you can comment often. I'd love to hear more of your frugal life.
Hi Wendy and thank you for your encouragement and will comment more often :).
ReplyDeleteThe little workers cottage is 10 square metres in size so it is a challenge to fit things in here but we make it work while we are saving a good deposit to buy our land and have our house built. The land here is 1/2 acre in size.
When we buy our land (planning on an acre) build our home will be about the same size as yours as that is all we really need for the two of us and we will have a food storage room/ large pantry built into the home as we have designed it ourselves.
Have a great week ahead.
Sewingcreations15.
A food storage room would be wonderful.
DeleteBut Wendy what have you done to find the cause of your severe days long headache? Have you seen a doctor? Been to the ER. A headache like that is not normal. If it happens again can you please got straight to casualty and have a scan or two xx
ReplyDeleteThankyou for your concern. Bad headaches and migraines run in the family and it's something I've lived with since I was 18. It's all linked in with my sinuses ( which I've had a scan on ) and hormones.
DeletePaid bills on time to avoid late fees. Used public transport to save on car costs. Its been so cold I am using the heater for a few hours each night so doubling up and making sure all the washing is hung up in the lounge to dry at the same time. Did some baking and cooked all meals from scratch. Dried bread crusts at the same time and processed them into breadcrumbs.
ReplyDeleteAdded toilet paper, tooth brushes, some baked beans and condensed milk to my stockpile.
Sorted out some books, odds and ends and clothing to take to savers. Will make sure I get my discount card stamped. While there I will be looking for some plates and cups and saucers. As I having a holiday soon it would be nice to find some new to me clothing to take away with me.
Hearing from a lot of people that they are doing or finishing off their Christmas shopping this month. I need to sort my gifts out and find out what I still need. Hoping everyone is surviving the cold. Best money I ever spent this year was for 2 hot water bottles! Have an amazing week ahead everybody. Leanne xx
It's great to dry the washing while the heater is on. We are so glad our ducted heating vents are in the floor so we can put a clothes horse over it.
DeleteYou'll feel super organised once you've sorted out your presents.
Hello, Wendy, from near Memphis, U.S.A.
ReplyDeleteOur weather has been VERY hot and humid since May. The first day of summer has seen this continue. I have helped save on my electric bill by keeping the curtains drawn and the air kicked up to 78F. during the day, even higher when we are not home. We use ceiling fans to help stay cool. I also hang our laundry most of the time, run full loads in the dishwasher (when I use it), have the t.v. on a power strip, and take advantage of "free" lights (also known as windows). When I paid our electric bill in person, the clerk noted that my electricity was MUCH lower than other's. Frugal win!
I have been minding my neighbor's garden while she is out of town, and she told me to keep the veggies that are ready. I made a great yellow squash & zucchini "pie" (much like a quiche) from some of the produce and ingredients I had on hand. The recipe came from a magazine I checked out of my local library. It was delicious.
I am going to visit family, and it is a 2 day drive. I will be staying with a friend half way instead of taking a hotel room. (My hostess gift is a local favorite queso dip and tortilla chips which are unavailable in their area.) I will take a cooler filled with drinks and my meals in order to save money, time, eat healthier.
Did the usual washing out of "zipper" plastic bags, using store bags as trash can liners, and freezing left overs to minimize food waste.
Saturday night my hubby and I took in a minor league baseball game for our date night. We splurged and had hot dogs at the ball park for supper. (I had to smuggle in my own saurkraut and brown mustard as the ball park doesn't have these condiments available and they are a MUST for me. :) It was a fun date and two items checked off my "Summer Bucket List".
Wendy, thank you very much for providing an encouraging place were fellow thriftees can gather for ideas and encouragement. I hope your migraine has ended.
Hi Wendy
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your posts. Your encouragement and good ideas are always inspiring. Sometimes it seems the world has lost common sense! So, thankyou!