11 October 2015

The Week that Was

I set the sewing machine up and made a new topper for a side table in the loungeroom

I set the sewing machine up to make some Christmas presents and while it was out I made a new topper for a side table in the loungeroom and some new doyleys to match - cost $0! The fabric was scrap furnishing fabric given to me a while ago by my cousin.

Our new budget has kicked in a little early. That means I have been vigilant in watching spending, petrol use, electricity and water use this week and tracking all our spending and stockpile use to make sure we are within budget; I don't want any nasty surprises :)

This past week I've been concentrating on finding the holes in the stockpile. All those things I/we use but not a lot of or not regularly. Things like bandaids, sunscreen, herbs and spices, yeast (how did I miss that one?), scrub buds, eucalyptus oil, baking powder, citric acid, gelatine - all essentials in my household but not used every day or even every week in some cases, so easily left off the shopping list.

Wayne reconnected the watering system he made for me so I can get just the plants watered too. He used recycled and hard rubbish bits to put it together last year so it has cost us nothing but it saves me time watering and being on a timer it will save water; it has little drip thingys over just the plants that need water so nothing wasted.

Gratefully accepted some beautiful bowls, sand, wax melts and plants to use for and in the terrariums Hannah is making for Christmas gifts. Thank you Ann :)
Fish bowls, succulents and mini biscuit jars, a lovely gift
I crushed more egg shells and sprinkled them around the plants to deter snails and slugs.

Planted more lettuce. Staggering planting gives a constant supply all summer.

Dried the washing on the line.

Collected water from the kitchen and bathrooms and tipped it into the washing machine.

Started watering the back grass with the grey water from the washing machine now the weather is warming up (we don't water grass otherwise).

Made breadcrumbs.

Dried carrots. One kilo of carrots, dehydrated, fits into a 500g jar.
Dehydrated carrots, 1 kilo down to this!
Went through my fabric and pattern stashes and have decided on gift ideas to make. Cut out and stitched some Christmas presents.

Recycled some shopping bags to use as gift bags. Recycled a couple of boxes to use as gift boxes.

Combined any errands with taking Hannah to the station to save on petrol.

Filled the car up on Tuesday using a 4c off docket.

Kept the windows, curtains and blinds closed on Monday and Tuesday when it was so hot to keep the house cool.

Cooked all our meals - breakfasts, lunches and dinners - from scratch at home this week, except for Thursday's lunch which was Mum's treat.

Spent $19 at Aldi to top up milk, cheese and bread, that's all we needed this week.

Made some cards using materials from the craft stash.

And that's about it. Just normal stuff that we do every day, without thinking, that helps us live debt free, cashed up and laughing.



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3 comments:

  1. You have a great list Cath. The tasks might seem ordinary but can save extraordinary amounts of money over time. Would love to see a photo of some of the gifts when they are finished ( or after Christmas ).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll be posting the tutorials for the gifts Wendy. One of them will go up for today's Tip of the Day, I just loved it so much I brought it forward :)

      I think we forget that 'ordinary' is good. When things are ordinary there's no stress, like is chugging along as it's meant to and all is right in our worlds. Sometimes we use the word as a derogatory term and I think that's what confuses us. We've become to believe that if something is ordinary then it isn't good, and that's just not true.

      I actually love ordinary weeks over extraordinary ones :)

      Delete
  2. Wow Cath, you had a great frugal week!

    Your dried carrots look good. I dried some mushrooms and zucchini in the outside dryer and they tuned out well. Must try carrots now lol! I tasted the dried mushrooms and they taste quite nice...They are on special at Coles at the moment so might have to get some more :)

    I decided to grow the leafy type lettuces in rectangular pots and they are doing great. I just go out and pick some leaves to add to my salads. I also have baby spinach growing and the leaves are huge! I don't normally like the leafy lettuce but growing my own tastes so much better than the supermarket ones. Mine are sweet and juicy, not at all thistle like! I must get some more growing too so I can have a constant supply :)

    I love reading about your week, I can always pick up some new ideas :)

    xTania

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