Saturday 15 December 2018

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 15th December 2018

Life seems to get busier and busier the closer we get to Christmas.  I'm so thankful I made the effort to get the Christmas shopping done a couple of months ago.  Some nights this week we had really simple meals of ham,  pasta salad and bits and pieces from the fridge.  With the hotter weather we were happy to slap together a few meals.  The freezer meals have come in handy for the days I was out and about until late afternoon.  Here's our frugal list for the week -

*  Darren picked hydrangeas from the garden.  Their color is so vibrant.

*  Sold four jars of jam  to a cleaning client.

*  Gratefully received a bunch of rhubarb and some peacharines from my Dad's garden.

*  Filled up my car with petrol at $1.23 per litre near my parents home.  Everywhere else was over $1.30 per litre.

*  Picked lettuce and silverbeet for a couple of meals.  I love to put finely shredded silverbeet in  spag bol.  The green looks great and adds extra nutrition

*  Accepted extra cleaning work from a couple of clients.  People love to have their homes extra clean leading up to Christmas.

*  Gratefully received glass jars from different people.  Some are suitable for use in my spice rack.

*  Picked a small handful of raspberries and Darren was so excited to pick a small bowl of cherries from ' his ' tree.  This is the first year he got more than 3 or 4.  They taste so good too.

*  Gratefully received lots of bread bags from a bbq.

*  Sold one dozen eggs.

*  Picked just over 500 grams of beans from the garden.

*  Bought Bamboo cleaning sponges ( pack of 3 ) on clearance for 50 cents from Bunnings.  You could say I bought lots and lots.

*  Made chicken stock in the slow cooker.  I won't have time to make a chunky soup from it so I'll freeze the stock for future use.


Cherries from Darren's tree

From  the garden

The raspberries are growing


Our lemon tree is coming back to life.

What was on your frugal list this week ?
Are you coping with the busy season ?

8 comments:

  1. Hello Wendy,

    You sound very busy indeed!

    I'm 3/4 done with the Christmas shopping, I've never been organised early for Christmas, mostly because I hate shopping, and I keep putting it off LOL (totally counterproductive as the shops are at their craziest this time of year)

    I harvested beetroot from my garden this week, it was a poor harvest in quantity and size, and I think my soil needs 'feeding' so I went to my local tip where they sell compost in bags $5/15kg which is pretty cheap, anyway they had a Christmas special buy 4, get one free, so that was a great deal. I did manage to make 6 jars of pickled beetroot, so I was grateful for that at least, and it was timely given we had just run out of my last batch.

    Have a lovely weekend Wendy

    Cheers Cheryl

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  2. I feel the same Wendy, so busy here. Also I am very glad of things I did early! I have wrapped gifts earlier in quiet moments so most are done. We have cold meat and salads often now it is so easy. If I see a ham at a good price I bake it then we have it hot the first night and cold from then on. I have one I did and today I am cutting some up into little bits as I have both cream and eggs to use up so you can guess what Im making... but after tonight this will get us another kind of cold dinner with salads. Tonight it will be a hot meal.
    I hope to find cheaper hams or turkeys (or both!) after Christmas... the last couple of years I have done better after NYD.
    I am happy for you with the extra cleaning and selling jam. These extras weekly all add up to a lot!
    That lemon tree is looking fresh and green! I got wasp in mine and had to cut it right back.
    Have a lovely weekend. After days of rain we have a still sunny day... time to get the washing on the line! With love Annabel.xxx

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  3. My daughter graduated from her Masters degree this week. We kept the gift giving down and bought her something from her dog and flowers from mum and me.

    I am trying to use everything once it is made. I ma sick of left over meals but it is better for the wallet.

    My lemon tree is looking very sad. It has been so hot here. I have to remember to water the poor thing.

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  4. Hi Wendy, Liz here from WA. Merry Christmas to you and your family! I survive the busy season by being super organised early, and can then enjoy the lead up to Christmas!
    Some of my frugal tasks this week are -
    Did lots of washing using home made powder and line dried.
    Used a fuel voucher to fill the 4wd saving a few dollars! Lots of driving this past week to get my son to his shearing course, but saved a bit of fuel when hubby did the afternoon pick up in the work car!
    Tried 'click and collect' from Coles to do the monthly shopping and was most impressed. I found doing the shopping online was great as no impulse buys and the total is calculated as you shop so no nasty surprises at the checkout. Also appreciated that I didn't need to step foot in the store, and the lady even loaded my shopping into the car! I was only there for 5 minutes and then back on the road. They also gave me $10 off by using the promo code.
    Hubby's work Christmas party last night, and there was no expenses spared and work paid for the lovely meal and drinks at the 'flasher' pub in town. We caught an Uber home afterwards and were pleasantly surprised that he only charged us $30 for the 30km round trip out to our farm. Made for a much more enjoyable evening as we could share in the merriment!
    Lovely rain today, and although not a money saver as we use dam water for the gardens, saves a lot of time watering! We also haven't had to mow the lawn as we have 4 new lambs in the garden eating it down.
    I was gifted some lemons, avocado's and jars this week!
    Bottled a home brew beer and put another tub of beer on to brew!
    Bought my 2019 calander from the Reject Shop for the grand total of $2. Its lovely and quite a saving as there $20+ in the newsagent.
    Incorporated home grown lamb, veggies, bottled tomatoes, herbs and fruit in the meal plan.
    Used up 'free' bath gels from motels when my son was very sore from shearing sheep each day, so enjoyed a long hot soak in a scented bath! Also the shearing course he attended was completely free of charge, a government sponsored course, and they even fed him smoko and lunch each day!
    Picked roses and lavender from the garden to brighten the house!
    I hope everyone has a great week and lead up to Christmas, regards Liz

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  5. I love the sound of peacherines! We haven't had those in the UK so far as I know. You had a great frugal week - it's strange to think of you picking fruit from the garden in the heat while we're coming up to the shortest day and it's lashing down with rain.
    Happy Christmas and thanks for your regular posts.

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  6. It is so nice to read your blog, when it is cold winter here. I can just feel the sunshine.

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  7. The clock is ticking down to the big day. Us mums are usually the busiest at this time of year with so much to think about and prepare. We are keeping Christmas really simple this year, so less stress for everyone.

    Some great savings for you this week, especially at Bunnings! I stock up when things are on special too!

    Wishing you all a lovely Christmas,

    xTania

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  8. Hydrangeas used to be dubbed the old ladies flower, but they are making a real come back. I love them and agree with you about the vibrant colour.

    ReplyDelete

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