This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 18th December 2021

 The Christmas season is upon us and the last couple of weeks have been super busy.  I finished Christmas shopping a few weeks ago and the presents are all wrapped up and cards written and sent.

On Tuesday Darren's work situation changed drastically ( feel free to read between the lines ).  As a result our budget now consists of essential spending only (  food,  petrol and bills ).  We are grateful for full freezers,  a very healthy stockpile and a veggie garden that is producing.  Although the timing was poor,  we know God is in control and we will weather this storm.

We have a short holiday coming up soon which was booked and paid for early this year.  We will use this time to rest and when we get back we will regroup and plan our future going forward. 

Here's how we saved time,  money and energy over the last two weeks.

*  I picked beans,  silverbeet,  strawberries and raspberries from our garden.

*  Sold a dozen eggs to a friend.

*  Made mixed berry jam from berries I found in the freezer. They were odds and sods of strawberries and raspberries.  I forgot to weigh the berries when cooking them so I had to estimate how much sugar to add.  It ended up being some of the tastiest jam I've ever made.

*  Baked three loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.  I used recycled bread bags to store the bread in the freezer.

*  Our grandsons came over for a swim in our toddler pool.  We saved the pool water and used it over several days to water our garden.

*  Baked choc chip biscuits for our afternoon teas.

*  Sold a few apron greeting cards.

*  Gratefully received a handmade apron from one auntie and a bunch of  flowers from another auntie's garden when we held a family gathering out our home.

*  Picked more mandarins from Megan's tree.

*  Gratefully received quite a few packets of lamb chops from a friend.  Our friend was moving house and we were there to do a vacate clean for her.  She allowed us to pick bunches of beautiful hydrangea flowers and to take cuttings.  Darren has planted the cuttings and we are eagerly waiting to see if they strike.

*  Sold lots of dish cloths,  face scrubbies,  jam and hanging hand towels to a cleaning client.  She is adding all these goodies to her Christmas gifts for her family.

*  Fed silverbeet,  weeds,  bread crusts and snails to the chickens.

*  I planted cucumber,  zucchini and more bean seeds in our garden.

*  Used cut up old socks as garden ties in the veggie garden.

*  Saved shower warm up water and washing machine rinse water and reused it around our home and garden.

*  Gratefully received 8 mangoes from a new cleaning client ( who is also a regular blog reader ).

*  I made hooded towels for Luka and Bryson as Christmas presents.  I'll be sure to take photos on Christmas Day and share them with you next year.  The towels were $4 each and I needed 3 to make them.  I was also able to make one hand towel and two face washers from the towel I cut the hoods from.  Not a scrap was wasted.

*  Took up a couple of pairs of jeans for a friend who paid me.

Here are some photos of the lovely hydrangeas we picked at our friend's place -

The gifted mangoes

Mixed berry jam

This will be my last post for 2021.  It has been a difficult year for many of us right around the world. Thankyou for all your support,  messages and kind words,  especially when I couldn't post due to our challenges.

Many your Christmas be filled with joy,  peace and love as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  The greatest gift ever given.

Wendy  xoxo 

I'll Be Back Next Week.

Due to life being super busy right now,  I' won't be able to post my frugal list this week.  Darren and I have had lots of cleaning work and social occasions to attend.  

Thanks for your understanding  xoxo 

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 4th December 2021

Life certainly has become very busy since coming out of lockdown.  Our days are full,  work has picked up and our flower and vegetable gardens are almost in full swing.  Some days I don't stop until 9pm.  

Here's our frugal list for the week - 

*  Dug up 4 kilos of potatoes from our garden.  These were grown from store bought potatoes that had gone soft and were sprouting.

*  Made a bottle of surface spray with kitchen detergent and cooled boiled water.

*  Baked 3 loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.

*  Made up a jar of gravy mix using ingredients I had on hand and a small amount of bought gravy powder.

*  Bought more meat bargains from Coles just as the meat manager was marking them down.  I now officially have no more room in my freezers.

*  Saved and reused bread bags as bin liners,  to double wrap meat ( to prevent freezer burn ) and as kitty litter rubbish bags.

*  Used cut up old socks to tie up standard rose bushes and tomato plants.

*  Planted more beans,  zucchini and cucumber seeds in our garden..  Up until recently it's been too cold and not enough sun for some of the other seeds to germinate. 

*  Dug up a few flower seedlings I found in the garden and relocated them to fill in empty spaces.   There are now very few empty spaces left thanks to the garden freebies.

*  Picked a handful of strawberries from the garden.  I'm freezing them until I have enough to make jam.

*  Our cheapest meal this week was chunky chicken and veg soup from the freezer that cost about 15  cents per serve.

Strawberries from our garden

Meat markdowns

More meat markdowns

Digging up potatoes

Hydrangea cuttings are growing well.

Color everywhere in the garden.

The tomatoes are growing.

Do you have a favourite flower growing in your garden ?

How have you saved money this week ?

5 Christmas Gifts That Save Money

 Over the last few years we've tried to purposely give gifts that can be used on a regular basis,  used up or save the recipient money.  Gone are the days of giving ornaments,  platters or junky knick knacks that clutter up people's cupboards.

Here are five items that make fabulous money saving gifts.  Personally I've given four of them.  I haven't given a coffee machine but I have given coffee pods to go with the Aldi coffee machine when I knew the receiver had one.

*  A yoghurt maker.  These can be bought new from supermarkets and department stores for about $25 or occasionally half price.  Otherwise you can pick up new or near new ones in op shops for about $5.  Either way they make a fabulous present that will save the recipient quite a lots of money and doesn't use electricity.  A 1 litre batch of yoghurt made from scratch using the Easiyo maker costs just over $1.  I personally have given yoghurt makers to family and friends.  They have been so impressed with the gift that they've gone out a bought more to give to their own friends and family.

*  A popcorn maker.  Prices start at $19 in Kmart or you could pay up to $90 elsewhere for the fancy movie theatre style ones.  They all make popcorn and will save quite a bit of money on snack foods.  We've had a cheap $15 one that we used for years.  

*  A gardening hamper that includes flower and veggie seeds.  Growing your own veggies is quite easy and personally,  it saves us hundreds of dollars a year.  

*  A folder of recipes that are family / personal favourites.  I'm talking about the tried and true ones,  not the fancy magazine / celebrity chef ones.    Sometimes simple recipes are the best and can be all the encouragement a new cook needs to have a go.  Maybe add a silicon muffin pan to get them started.  Kmart sells fabulous silicon mini loaf pans for just $5.

*  A coffee machine.  If you love to drink good coffee then this could be a big money saver   Aldi sells a coffee machine for $79.99 that has rave reviews. 

 

What money saving gifts have you given ?