The Week that was 11th December 2016

Here are the ways I saved money, time and energy this week.

Saved the warm-up water from the showers and used it to water the pot plants

Planted some petunia seedlings - then had to dig them up two days later so the Council could check  the stormwater easement! Thankfully they let me take them up and I was able to save then replant them.

Dried the washing on the clothesline.

Had the kids scrub their shower with Miracle Spray. It gets dried after every shower and spritzed on Mondays, but it's been a while since it was really given a hard scrub. Because it's cleaned every day it wasn't hard to scrub.

Made a quick cheats stir-fry using chicken and veggies from the freezer for Friday night's dinner.

Re-potted some plants into bigger pots using MOO potting mix and compost.

Cooked our meals from scratch.

Finally managed to get the spice cupboard sorted, tidied and cleaned. It looks much better and makes me smile when I reach for a spice or herb. I've posted an inventory of the herbs and spices on the inside of the door so I know what I have and what I need to buy or grow.

Went to Spotlight to buy some craft materials on sale and went through the self-serve checkout. I noticed that the total wasn't what I'd calculated so queried it. Turns out, and here's a warning for you, if there is a "store" special, one that is just for that particular store, then the item will scan at full price. For store specials you need to go to a regular checkout so the discount can be applied. I was overcharged $18.47 so I'm glad I noticed. It would have been better if I'd known before I chose self-serve but it's not advertised anywhere.

Petrol price has been stagnant for weeks. Thankfully I'm not doing too much driving, last time I filled up was three weeks ago. I've been putting the petrol money aside, this will pay for our trip in January.

AJ received a parcel and the packing was brown paper - lots of it!

I've carefully ironed it and cut it into lengths, some to share with the card making group, some to put in the kitchen to use for lining cake tins and some to put in the wrapping box.

Wayne and the boys cut down a small tree that was in the wrong place and making a huge mess, then moved a large tree fern into that spot for me. More light in the kitchen and less mess under the verandah.

Wayne trimmed the rose bushes along the driveway.

This week I made a quadruple batch of MOO condensed milk and froze it for Christmas baking.

This week I made cupcakes, shortbread and taco seasoning using pantry ingredients.

I recycled a small box into a gift box for a tiny, odd shaped gift.

What did you do to save money time and energy this week?