Frugal Tasks Delay

Due to the extreme heat Melbourne has experienced this week,  I was unable to get to my laptop to post this week's frugal tasks.  It was just too hot to open a curtain so I could see the keyboard to type away.

Our outdoor deck was finished during the week and Darren  spent many hours getting it all painted.  We also had new furniture delivered  yesterday during the 44 degree heatwave.  It was a toss up between resting in front of the tv and staying cool or getting hot unpacking the new furniture and setting up our bedroom.  We did a bit of both but thankfully a cool change came late in the afternoon to make things easier.

Here's a couple of photos of our week and I'll be back with lots of frugal tasks next Saturday

Almost finished

Darren painting the handrails and slats

New bedroom furniture

What frugal tasks did you complete this week ?

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 18th January 2019

Melbourne has seen the hot weather return this week.  It was hard to be motivated on these days so I took the time to enjoy some relaxing in front  of the tv.  Most of my cleaning job have started again for the year so I worked three days as well as keeping up with my own housework.

We are having a new deck being built ( as I type ) under our pergola.  We can't wait to have leisurely lunches and dinners out there when it's not too hot or cold.

Here's what else I've been up to  -

*  Packaged up 5 bars of handmade coconut and olive oil soap to give as presents.  All the ribbons etc  I already had on hand.

*  Topped up the cars with petrol while it's cheap at $1.04per litre ( with a discount fuel docket ).

*  Picked raspberries, and beans from the garden.

*  Made lots of gift tags to decorate gifted glass jars for Megan's baby shower next month..  These will be used as party favours

*  Kept the curtains closed on the hot days.  We didn't need to turn the evap cooling on until well after lunch.

*  Donated lots of goodies to Savers op shop and received a few discount stamps.

*  Made yoghurt from scratch.  I also bought a 1 kilo pot of natural yoghurt to use as a starter for more batches.  I've portioned it into ice cube trays and should get 14 x 1 kilo batches from the one pot.

*  Saved the shower warm up water to use in the washing machine and on the garden.

*  Mended a top and moved some buttons on a pair of pants ( they were too loose )

*  Sold a pair of new school shoes that Megan didn't get to wear.

*  Dried all washing on the clothesline or clothes horses.

*  Wrapped a few presents using saved plastic from bunches of flowers ( wiped down of course ).

Handmade wrapped soaps.

Gift tags for baby shower

Using recycled plastic wrap

 How did you save money is week ?

Frugal Tasks Since Christmas

I'm back and it's a brand new year of excitement.  I've had a lovely time at home with Darren pottering around.  I've been decluttering,  sorting,  making,  gardening,  sorting out presents for this year,  reworking the present budget as well as setting up the household budget for 2019.

I'm feeling on top of the world with all this organisation and believe I can travel through 2019 with confidence that I've put the right systems in place.

Here's what else I've been up to since I last blogged -

*  Used lots of Flybuys dollars to purchase Christmas grocery treats and New Years Day BBQ food.

*  Bought a pair of sandals during the post Christmas sales for 50% off.

*  Gratefully received some blood plums from my Dad's neighbour.

*  Picked 19 apricots form our tree and cooked them up to have as a dessert with homemade yoghurt.  This has been our best year for apricots since we planted the tree in 2014.

*  Made jam with plums in the freezer.  I reused the gift tags that one customer returned to me.  Some of the jars of jam will be sold or given as presents.

*  Picked enough strawberries to make smoothies as well as general eating.

*  Made up two bottles of diluted Dynamo laundry liquid.  The ratio is one part liquid to 4 or 5 parts water.

*  Made lots of gift tags from recycled Christmas cards.  I now have a shoe box especially for Christmas tags and one for general present giving.  I'm feeling quite organised this year.

*  Picked lots of beans,  silverbeet,  raspberries,  lettuce and a few cucumbers from the garden for our meals.

*  Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.  I reused the plastic bread bags and tags.

*  Gave Megan a haircut.  She doesn't like anyone cutting her hair but me.

*  Made 1 kilo of yoghurt using saved yoghurt as a starter from the freezer.

*  Made a batch of olive and coconut oil soap.  Some will be for our use and the rest will be given as presents or sold to a few friends.

*  Bought a new bedroom suite during the Boxing Day sales and saved 30% off the regular price.

*  Repaired and replaced the rope on Princess's  scratching post.

*  Sewed up sets of face washers and burb towels for Megan's baby shower using what I had on hand.

Apricots from our tree

Post Christmas bargain wrapping paper

Plum jam making

Fruit from our garden.

Our garden bounty

Christmas lunch of slow cooker roast beef with veg.  Yummy.

How have you saved time and money since Christmas ?
Have you started planning and organising for the year ahead ?