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 ).
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| Handmade wrapped soaps. |
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| Gift tags for baby shower |
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| Using recycled plastic wrap |
Hi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteI've been doing the curtain run around here too to try and keep the house cool. Before I go to bed at night, I make sure all the East facing window coverings are shut, which blocks the hot morning sun. Then around late morning, I open them all up, and shut the West facing window coverings, it really does help, but it does make the house dark.
I've been making Chilli Jam this week, as I have a heap of chilli's in the freezer that needed using up, I made 6 jars in total, I'm only guessing that would have cost me about $10 to make, so pretty cheap really.
I was gifted a huge bunch of silverbeet, (weighed 1kg!) hubby made the most delicious Spanakopita with it.
That's about it for me this week, I'm still trying to get into my groove post holidays.
Cheers Cheryl
Wendy you did well this week and super well on getting the fuel at such a hugely discounted price :). We got ours for $1.149 per litre and was doing happy dances as that is the lowest we have seen it in our country town for ages.
ReplyDeleteIt has been way to hot here to do much work outdoors at the moment but got a lot done here though regardless.
Our savings last week added up to $471.13.
Home organisation & decorating with what we have -
- We vacuumed the large area rugs we had from our last home and one is now near the back door as a rather large door mat inside and the other we set up in the lounge room under our recliners.
- DH sorted out the last bits and pieces in the lounge room and set up our filing stackable drawers for paid bills and the like.
- I damp dusted all of the skirting boards, window sills and furniture in the home to freshen it up a bit.
- Shortened curtains we already had that I made for the last property for the bedroom.
In the kitchen -
- Made a half batch of brownie premix from food storage saving $18.13 over purchasing premade packet mixes.
- Made a cheesecake from cream cheese bought on special at Christmas time, lemon juice from free lemons given to us, and nice biscuits also on special saving $69.48 over buying one of equivalent quality and size in the shops.
Finances/Purchases and eBay listings -
- Listed 94 listings of homemade items/homegrown herbs and saved seeds on eBay using a free listing promotion saving $155.10 on usual listing fees.
- Purchased a wire crimper stripper, 120 pce wire connector set, a grease gun, 2 x toggle switches and a set of fenching pliers on eBay saving $168.88 over buying them in the local hardware and auto stores here.
- Purchased 2 orders of groceries using 2 discount supermarket e-vouchers and with specials saved a further $52.15 on usual prices and including the e-voucher discounts saved $132.15 in total.
Have a fantastic week ahead everyone :).
Sewingcreations15 (Lorna).
I haven't done so well. I had surgery and am almost all better but cooking etc has ha dot be simple. You certainly have done well.
ReplyDeleteYour soaps and the baby shower party favours look fantastic Wendy :). Great creativity! Lauren
ReplyDeleteI have decided I’m going to wrap all of my gifts for 2019 - no more $2-3 for a gift bag!
ReplyDeleteI'm so intrigued by soap making, but completely intimidated! Maybe I'll get the courage to try one of these days. Yours are so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteOur weather here makes it easy to save money on hand. It's so bitter cold that I have no urge to go anywhere but that which is necessary or pre-planned. Nothing at the stores has any appeal to me when it's 30 degrees and blowing ice! We go into a larger city once a month and do our big shopping at Aldi and a warehouse store. It was planned for 2 wks. ago and we haven't made it yet! It's been snowing or bitter cold for the last 2 weekends. Pretty soon, we'll be taking our Feb. trip and will have saved the money from January. It'll help offset what is sure to be a high bill from heating the house.
We recently repainted our master bed/bath and bought new linens. Thus far, all the new décor was shopped from other areas of the house or the basement storage. I had a couple of ceramic pieces in the bath that matched the last décor. A toothbrush holder and a soap dish. I smiled as I washed them and packed them up for a donation to the thrift shop. They're going back to the same thrift shop I bought them from about 8 yrs. ago. I bought them for only $2. I hope that someone else enjoys them as much as we did and adds some lovely to their home as they did ours! Maybe I'll find a new matching set while I'm there! I need to go in to look for a large vase in teal or pale green. I use them to hold the toilet brushes. They're so much prettier than the cheap ones and they're usually only $1....cheaper, too!
Wendy...I just want to thank you for your generosity in posting the Renovation Survival & workable kitchen guides. We are in the process of packing up our kitchen ready for the installation to start next week and I have got some really good tips from your experience. Regards, Heather
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