Saturday 11 July 2020

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 11th July 2020

This week has been a busy one for me.  I had two days of work plus travel which kept me out all day.  Another two days was spent helping my Dad get to and from medical appointments and a bit of food shopping for both my parents.  On Friday Megan and I did the grocery shopping. We tried to think and buy ahead in case we go into complete lockdown.

So my frugal list is a short one today.  Here's what I managed to do when time allowed -

*  Made plain,  dried bread crumbs from saved bread crusts.  When my container is running low I'll make them into seasoned bread crumbs for crumbing chicken drumsticks and salmon patties.

*  Picked our first lot of lemons for the season.  Darren heavily pruned the tree two years ago to get rid of the gall wasp.  This is the first time we've picked lemons since then.

*  Cut out some dinosaur pictures from a gift bag Megan was given.  The bag was a bit battered but I was able to cut out quite a few images.  They will be used in card making shortly.

*  Megan stocked up her freezer with so many discounted trays of meat from Australian Butchers.  I think we were there at the right time for a change.

*  I made a trip to Hindustan Imports on the way home from work.  I've stocked up on a few nuts and bread making supplies.

*  Sold a couple of handmade cards.

*  Made shortbread biscuits for having with a cuppa,.

*  Cooked all meals from scratch and froze leftovers when I could.

*  Megan bought a few baby Christmas presents on sale from the supermarket.  With shopping for gifts being quite limited right now,  these were a great find.

Our lemon tree is looking very healthy.

Homemade shortbread biscuits

Do you have a stockpile ready in case of a hard lockdown ?

What was on your frugal list this week ?


15 comments:

  1. Here in the UK lock down is being relaxed far too quickly, in my opinion. I have started to build up my store just in case things go pear shaped again. My husband retires in 3 weeks but has been working from home so it will all be very low key which suits us both! Am building up supplies of pasta, tinned tomatoes, toilet paper and bars of soap. The garden is supplying potatoes, courgettes and herbs and a lemon bush with one lemon! I am cooking once to eat twice - we are mainly vegetarian but occasionally have chicken and fish. I have also been using your recipe to make ANZAC biscuits which are soooo yummy! Keep safe.

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    1. You are doing well to stock up. Things have gone pear shaped in our state and we've gone back into lockdown. We are allowed out for a few reasons but people have gone crazy and stripped supermarket shelves again.

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  2. I don't have a stockpile as such. I just try to keep our supplies from running down and always aim to have well-stocked cupboards. Boy, did that come in handy when the supermarket supplies of toilet paper disappeared overnight! My frugal stuff this week included making jam, using home-made cleaning spray to clean the bathroom and sowing seeds/taking cuttings to save money on plants. I also made some facemasks for mother, who said that the first two home-made ones I sent to her fitted her much better than ones she had bought.

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    1. It sounds like you are well prepared Tracy

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  3. Hi,

    I was hoping that you might have seen this video on the citrus gall wasp from the ABC gardening show - Jane uses a potato peeler instead of hard pruning - it might be worth keeping in mind for the future. https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/peel-and-reveal---citrus-gall-wasp/12368048

    Your shortbread biscuits look amazing !

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    1. I haven't seen this video Kathy. I'll take a look.

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  4. Yes the thought of a new lockdown has been on my mind too. I have decided to maintain a higher level of non perishable food like powered milk and flour just in case. Luckily I have greens in the garden and a few fruits. I think increasing my planting is really important as I am enjoying eating fresh from the garden. Stay safe.

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    1. We stocked up on dry foods too Bernie. After going through our pantry I was quite surprise at how little we needed to stock up on.

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  5. Our oldest son and his family were here this week, so 9 people eating here. It was spendy, but we did limit eating out to only one lunch and one breakfast of doughnuts. Everything else I made here. I made desserts and snacks as well. Unfortunately the grandkids do not know how to turn off lights, so I ran around after them, constantly doing that. And the laundry and dishwasher ran multiple times each day. Today they left for home and I am on the 10th of 12 loads of laundry. But tomorrow I won't have to do any and only one dishwasher load.
    As for stocking up; we have a lot of leftovers, so those will go in the freezer. I plan to go through the pantry this week and make out a list. And we will be butchering our beef in 2 weeks. We shared much of what was left from last year's beef with DS1. Also my garden is doing well. Tomatoes are setting on fruit and the onions and potatoes will be ready in a month.

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    1. That's a lot of washing to catch up on Kay. Have a wonderful rest tomorrow.

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  6. Yes, I do have a stockpile and we would be ok if there is another shutdown and it’s quite possible as covid cases in my state have been growing at a rate that really alarms me. But I don’t dare guess what will happen. This has been the strangest year I’ve ever lived through

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    1. It certainly has been a strange year Rhonda. I will be glad to see the end of 2020

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  7. Hi Wendy,iam still out each day working so when things are quiet i go into woolies or coles and top up on a few things at a time, things like canned soup,soap,beans etc i worry about this virus and wear a mask now out in public.

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  8. Hi from Canada.
    We are stocked up a lot, and TP went on sale the other day.I already had a year supply, but we bought more...I assume another 3 years worth. I should have checked my stock, as I had a whole lot more in the closet I forgot about.
    I do keep an inventory notebook, but overlooked this stash.
    So if a second wave comes, we won't need to worry

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  9. We're in California, and have been under some form of lockdown since March. We have always been able to go to the store, but stock has varied quite a bit at various times. We have a reasonable stockpile on hand. We're currently doing a kitchen remodel, and have no oven/stove/dishwasher, so we have a much higher percentage of frozen/pre-made meals than I'd ever say we'd want. But, making frozen dinners at home is still a huge savings over takeout.

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