This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 29th August 2020

 It's been another ' Make,  Bake,  Sew and Grow ' sort of week at the Gower Abundant Cottage.  My days are fairly full of things to do and I'm really enjoying my time at home.  After many weeks of sewing like crazy to fill all the face mask orders,  I did take it a little easier this week.  I've enjoyed watching lots of Youtube videos on gardening and soap making .  I must admit,  I quite enjoy having a smart tv which makes access to Youtube so much easier.  The fact I can sit in my recliner chair with a cuppa and biscuit is quite relaxing too.

Here's what we've been up to this week -

*  I planted out our Spring / Summer veggie seeds.  I used a mini green house tray for some seeds and a plastic cover / carry case from a pillow I bought a couple of months ago.as another green house.  I've planted zucchini,  cucumber,  broccoli,  cauliflower,  lettuce mix,  bush beans,  climbing beans,  capsicum and tomatoes.  A little later I'll plant carrots and radishes where I want them to grow.

*  Darren planted out seed potatoes as well as ones he saved from our pantry.  Some are growing in potato bags and the rest in the veggie beds.

*  Made a batch of olive oil and coconut oil soap.  My skin doesn't like using shower gel or bought soap for too long and we were down to our last bar of homemade soap.  Now that I have more free time I'll be trying new techniques with colors and fragrances to give as presents and to sell to a few friends. 

*  Made chicken stock in the slow cooker then turned it into another big pot of chunky chicken and veg soup ( not soap ).    Just about all of it went into the freezer for lunches and some will be saved to give to Jessica for her freezer when the lockdown ends.

*  Made a few more masks and cards for orders.

*  Saved the shower warm up water and poured it into the washing machine.

*  Cleaned the inside of our kettle with citric acid.

*  Picked Bok choy, and   silverbeet from our garden and collected an egg almost every day.

*  Ate leftover meals from our freezer for a couple of dinners.

*  Turned the heater off for a few hours on a couple of days when the Sun was shining.

*  Megan gave us a couple of containers of homemade potato and leek soup.

*  Made sure all the appliances were turned off at the wall when not in use.

*  Darren fed the compost bin almost every day with kitchen scraps.

*  Fed dried bread and weeds to the chickens to give them something different from the usual chicken feed.

*  Jessica organised a surprise delivery of donuts from her work as an early 25th wedding anniversary present.  The donuts were enjoyed for a few afternoon teas.  It was a lovely way to cheer us up.  Due to the pandemic and lockdown,  we were unable to go on our long awaited,  much saved for fancy holiday to New Zealand and the Cook Islands which was meant to be this week.

Donuts from Jessica

Handmade bath bombs

Mini green houses helping the seeds along

How have you spent your week ?

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 22nd August 2020

 It's been a ' Make,  Bake,  Sew and Grow " kind of week at the Gower Abundant Cottage.  Many of my days have been busy filling orders from friends who want to buy my crafts.  I'm truly blessed to be busy and truly blessed with all the support and words of encouragement.  Along the way I've had lots of lovely conversations with customers across Australia who are concerned for Victorians living through Stage 4 lockdown.  We are living in strange times and kindness goes a long way to making people feel a little better.

When I'm not crafting,  I've spent some time reorganising a few cupboards,  tidying my pantry,  sorting out my shed,  weeding the veggie gardens and doing a little baking.  

Here are my frugal tasks for the week -

*  Made butter from scratch using more of the frozen cream I got for free.

*  Made and sold lots of face masks.  I have just a handful left to sell while I wait for my elastic order to come in the mail.

*  Made and sold lots of face mask greeting cards ( care cards ).  They were fun to make and I know people are buying them  to send to people who need some cheering up.

*  Made four loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.  When I slice the loaves to freeze,  I reuse old plastic bread tags and bread bags over and over again.

*  Made a pot of chunky chicken and veg soup from stock I had in the freezer.  This pot of soup was enough for Darren and I for two dinners and one lunch.  Almost free meals for us.

*  Made chocolate chip biscuits for our snacks using dough I had in the freezer.

*  Made a few bath bombs for an order a friend wanted to buy.  Our home smelled like a florist for a few days.

*  Picked silverbeet from the garden as our green vegetable for a couple of meals.  For me,  a dinner is not a dinner unless it has a green vegetable on the plate.  Silverbeet is so easy to grow and is a plant that keeps on giving.

*  Juiced the lemons I picked from our tree last week.  The juice was frozen to use in jam making later in the year.  In the next few weeks I'll make a batch of lemon butter too.

*  We ate freezer meals ( leftovers ) a couple of times this week.  There were days when I was super busy sewing.  It was a relief to have ready made meals on hand.    Not that we can go out and buy takeaway at the moment.     

Choc chip biscuits

Lots of face masks made

Some of the Care card bundles I made

Cards made for an order

How did you spend your week ?

Are you keeping busier than usual or has life slowed down ?

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 15th August 2020

 A week and a half into stage 4 lockdown and we've managed to keep ourselves busy and sane.  Darren has taken this opportunity to paint our kitchen,  family room,  hallway and dining room.  There was a mad dash to Bunnings to get paint equipment and it seems many other people had the same idea.  Lots of paint was flying out the door.

We became empty nesters ( again ) a couple of weeks ago.  Now we have two empty bedrooms to rearrange as we see fit.  I've gained a craft room  ( YAY  !! ) which is work in progress.  I've had craft materials stashed  in many nooks and crannies  around the home.  Now the hunt is on to find them all.  So far I have a trestle table for mask making and a desk where my sewing machine stays all set up.  So exciting.

Yesterday I did my monthly grocery shop but make it an extra big one.  I usually spend Winter and Spring building my stockpile up until it has 12 months worth of pantry items,  toiletries and laundry supplies.  I love grocery shopping but most importantly,  I  LOVE to be well prepared.    This pandemic has revealed that no food is guaranteed to be in stock.  I'm making sure that I have everything I need to bake or cook anything on my menu. 

Here's what else I've been up to -

*  Made a menu plan for the next fortnight.  I concentrated on using up bits and pieces in the freezer.

*  Made pumpkin scones using cooked pumpkin from the freezer.  We've really enjoyed them with homemade butter and a cup of tea.

*  Used saved bread crusts from the freezer to make dried bread crumbs.  Bread crusts never go to waste in our home.  If they are not turned into dried seasoned bread crumbs,  they are fed to the chickens.

*  Made batches of butter every 5 or 6 days.  The cream I'm using has been frozen but it had 1 day left on it's use by date.  I'm not sure if butter goes off but I didn't want to risk it.

*  Started working on grocery shopping lists for the next 4 months.  I like to plan ahead and be well prepared.

*  Made and sold lots of face masks.  I've been getting some orders from NSW ( interstate ).  Their COVID 19 cases are on the increase.

*  With just the two of us to feed, I've been cooking the usual amount and freezing all the leftovers.  There will come a time when I can have many nights off from cooking.  

*  Saved the shower warm up water and poured it into the washing machine.

*  Collected an egg almost every day.  We only have one laying chicken and one free loader.  Our laying chicken was at death's door almost 3 years ago.  She was so sick for about 6 - 8 months,  every day we thought we'd lose her. Now she's making up for it.

*  Made a bottle of shower cleaner and floor cleaner using kitchen detergent and cooled,  boiled water.

*  Picked ssilverbeet from the garden a couple of times.   

Making pumpkin scones

                                                         One of our silverbeet plants. 

If you are interested in buying one of the face masks I'm selling,  please message me through my Facebook page My Abundant Life 

Are you doing any home renovations whether it be big or small ?

What was on your frugal list for the week ?

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 8th August 2020

 It has been an interesting week here in Melbourne.  We are now in stage 4 lockdown for the next 6 weeks. We cannot leave home unless we are shopping for essentials like food,  medicines,  petrol or to go to work if you are an essential worker or care giving.  There are lots of fine details to the lockdown but that's the gist of it. We have a nightly curfew from 8pm to 5am.  The curfew doesn't bother me at all because I'd much rather be at home enjoying the ducted heating and my comfy recliner chair.

So with the latest lockdown,  I cannot continue with my cleaning work for the next 6 weeks.  My last day of work was on Wednesday.  I'm looking forward to staying home but I will admit the loss of income does hurt a little.  I'm not eligible for any government support from what I can gather due to me not being a registered business.

To make up for the lost income I'll continue to make and sell face masks for as long as people ask for them.  If you are interested in my 3 layer washable face masks,  please contact me via Facebook.  They sell for $11 including postage in Australia.  I'm also working on male greeting card packs,  hanging tea towels,  Christmas angel decorations and a few other crafts to sell.

I also have lots of cleaning,  baking,  cooking,  soap making,  Spring gardening preparation,  weeds to pull and general organisation around the home.  I'm sure the next 6 weeks will fly by.

Here's what else I've been up to lately -

*  Made and sold lots of washable face masks.  I've been getting quite a few orders for NSW residents who have been recommended to wear face masks when they cannot socially distance in public.  

*  Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.

*  Make two bottles of diluted Dynamo laundry liquid.  I use this on dark clothes that  tend to smell in Winter.  

*  Made a triple batch of laundry powder.  Because I'd spent the time a few months ago blitzing lots of little bars of soap,  it was quick and easy to mix the three ingredients together.

*  Filled all the soap pumps around the home with diluted shower gel solution.

*  Froze lots of leftovers and wrote them into the menu plan for future easy no cook dinners.

*  Picked silverbeet from the garden as our greens on our dinner plate.

*  Gratefully received 48 small bottles of cream from a community pantry I volunteer at.  They had one day left on the use by date so they all went into the freezer for future butter making.  

*  Closed a few ducted heating vents in rooms that are not being used.

*  Ate leftovers for dinner a couple of times during the week.

*  Closed the curtains on the colder days when the sun wasn't shining.

*  Made butter using the frozen cream.

*  Stayed away from the shops for almost two weeks.  We have plenty in our pantry,  fridge and freezer stockpile so there was no real need to go out.

*  Picked lemons from our tree.

*  Fed the compost bin with kitchen scraps.  The bins are almost full and ready to be used.  The compost will be put on our veggie garden beds to top up the soil level.

*  Made a two litre bottle of foaming hand wash.  

Bread dough rising

One of the face masks I've been making

Our youngest grandson Bryson all snuggled up.

What frugal tasks have you completed during the last week or so ?

If you are in lockdown,  do you have a plan for keeping busy ?

In Our Garden July 2020

Just for something a little different I thought I'd show you what we have growing and blooming in the garden right now.  We have lots of flowers to enjoy and a few veggies still in their early stages.

Snap peas

Broccoli.

We also have lemons,  silverbeet,  cauliflower,  snow peas and lettuce growing in our garden.

What do you have growing in your garden at the moment ?

My Sewing Machine Is Humming.....

I had planned on putting a post up on Wednesday as well as my usual Saturday Frugal Tasks List.  My week started out on Sunday with lots of sewing of hanging tea towels to put in my blog shop and for future presents.  Later that day our State Premier announced from Thursday,  Melbourne residents would need to wear a face mask at all times in public to help reduce the rising number of Corona virus cases.

Monday morning started with a trip to our local material store for supplies to make face masks.  Unfortunately many other crafty ladies had the same idea and the queues to buy material were about 1 -  1 1/2 hours long.  I grabbed some pipe cleaners for the adjustable nose wire then headed to the big shopping centre to hunt for elastic.  I encountered the same problem as the material.  Everyone had the same idea.

So home I went to make face masks with what I already had on hand ( material wise ).  Other than two big cleaning jobs that took me away from home,  the rest of the week has been spent at the sewing machine making or at my laptop taking orders.  It got so hectic I had to employ Darren to answer messages and take orders.

So I'm terribly sorry for not posting a Frugal Task List.  There just hasn't been time to be thrifty this week.

I'll post again as soon as things settle down here.  In the meantime,.....

What was on your frugal list this week ?

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 18th July 2020

We've had a quiet week at the Gower Abundant Cottage.  I haven't had any cleaning work this week and it was lovely to stay home and clean my own home.  Megan and I did spend some time in the supermarket stocking up on essentials just in case we go into hard lockdown ( which is a real possibility ).  I've also taken some time to make greeting cards and watch some tv every afternoon.

When I look back on my week I can't really think of any terribly exciting frugal tasks I've completed.  Everything has already been diluted,  portioned,  saved or reused.  The pantry,  fridge and freezers are full to the brim and everything else around our home is as organised as it can be with two babies in the house. 

Here is my VERY small frugal list for the week -

*  Darren picked lettuce from the garden for a lunch he was preparing.

*  Megan and I wrote a menu plan for the next ten days.  We'll be eating chop suey,  silverside,  carbonara,  tacos,  fried rice,  beef curry,  tuna casserole,  chicken pie and spag bol.

*  Froze any leftovers from our dinners.

*  We kept the curtains mostly closed or the colder,  overcast days.

*  Cleaned the dishwasher with bi carb,  vinegar and miracle spray.

*  I recycled one of Megan's dresses she was going to donate to the op shop.  I've cut it up and used it as the topper for some hanging tea towels I'm making.

*  I received 10% off a grocery shop I did at Woolworths.  I think it's because we have an insurance with them.

*  Bought 2 x 5 kg bags of washed potatoes.  Lately the price has been around 8 - 9 for a bag of brushed potatoes.

Lots of goodies in the pantry

Pretty tea cups I love to use.

Are you taking time out for yourself each day ?

What was on your frugal list this week ?

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 ?

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 4th July 2020

My frugal list is not as long as it usually is this week.  I've spent time pottering around our home,  cleaning and watching Hoarders the tv show with Megan.  This show really gets me in the mood to declutter all over again.

Here's how I saved money this week -

*  Made dried seasoned bread crumbs from saved bread crusts.

*  Made a jar of mixed herbs from herbs given to me that I dried myself.

*  Saved a few glass pasta sauce jars.  These will be used for future pantry storage when needed.

*  Took a couple of bags of unwanted items to Savers and received a 20% off discount coupon.

*  Sold a greeting card.

*  I made shortbread biscuits for the first time.  I was surprised at how easy it was.  Some were given to Jessica as a treat and the rest were enjoyed by Darren and myself at morning tea times.

*  Hung lots of wet washing on the shower door rail to dry.  We have a ducted heating vent in both our bathrooms.  The vent is in the floor which is great as hot air rises.  We just close the door and the washing dries in 24 hours.

*  Picked silverbeet from our garden to put into a large lasagne I made.  My lasagne serves 12 people so any leftover portions are frozen for future meals.

*  Stocked up on Campbell's tinned soup for 97 cents a tin.   I occasionally use a tin when making tuna casserole,  chicken curry and chicken pasta bake.  Otherwise I make soup from scratch.

*  Saved a couple of gift bags to reuse in the future.

*  My local op shop had a 50% off store wide sale.  I purchased bars of soap to make laundry powder and shampoo,  conditioner and toothpaste for my stockpile.

Enough for the next 12 months

Have you enjoyed watching any tv shows lately ?

How did you save money this week ?

Keeping Busy When Stuck At Home

So many of us are spending more time at home than we ever have.   While some are extra busy juggling home schooling,  working from home and running a house,  others might have too much time on their hands.

I've personally had more time at home due to the loss of some of my cleaning jobs and Darren had no work for eight weeks.  Each day at breakfast we made a plan of what we were going to do that day.  We knew we had to make the most of this unusual situation and use our time wisely.

Here are some ideas to keep you busy,  organised and motivated -

*  Clean out your pantry and make an inventory.  Are there items that need using up ?  Do you have too much or too little of an item ?  Once you've done an inventory,  write out a shopping list for the next few weeks or months.  Being prepared and shopping ahead of time gives you peace of mind knowing you can feed your family no matter what.

*  Take up a craft or hobby  YouTube is a wonderful and easy way to learn something new.  Do you have a craft or hobby already on the go that you could finish ?  If you have free time on your hands,  now could be the time to complete something.

*  Declutter a cupboard or wardrobe.  How many times have you wished you were more organised or had more space ?  Op shops are starting to open up again and would love your unwanted items.

*  Write out your Christmas present list. No matter what's happening in the world,  Christmas is still on the 25th of December and presents will need to be bought or made.

*  Search for new recipes and expand your repertoire in the kitchen.  Megan has cooked a few new dishes for us.  Tuna mornay,  curry beef casserole and chicken pie are now regulars on our menu plan.  I've just made shortbread biscuits for the first time.

*  Start a veggie garden or expand on what you already grow. Veggies can be grown in pots,  polystyrene foam boxes,  old shoes,  icecream containers,  old guttering,  timber pallets or in your garden beds.

*  Watch a tv series you haven't seen in a long time.  With free to air channels expanding their catalogue,  you are sure to find something you like.  I've been watching A Country Practice,  Homestead Rescue,  Hoarders,  Packed To The Rafters ( I've just finished )  and Tiny Homes.

*  Get your filing in order.  Record all your bills onto a spreadsheet to keep track of how much it costs to run a home.   Make copies of important receipts before they fade.  Gather your receipts for tax time.

*  Start your Spring cleaning a little early.  How often do you wish there was more time to get your home really clean before the hot weather arrives ?

*  Clean out and organise your garage, carport or shed.   Are you storing too much stuff that isn't used.

*  List and sell your unwanted items on Buy , Swap,  Sell ,  Marketplace,  Gumtree or Ebay type of sites.

Out in the garden

Being organised

How have you been using the extra time at home ?