I haven't updated in over 2 months, argh!
I have been keeping up with saving mioney, but have been really busy with my new job as a home carer.
It's a great job but very, very busy so it makes being super-organised even more important!
I need to make a fridge list today, so I will update soon with my meal plan and some money saving Christmas tips (tis the season!).
Proper posts to follow very soon, promise!
Tuesday 1 December 2009
Thursday 17 September 2009
Waste of the week...
Yes, it's that time again!
Food I have thrown away this week;
6 small cartons of fromage frais - these were dated 11th Sep. I chanced it with the other set of 6 cartons, the kids and I ate those on the 13th. These ones however, are just a bit too old for my comfort zone. I'm happy to eat other stuff long after use by dates, but stuff like dairy you need to be careful with - lots of dodgy bacteria in milk products!
We should have used them sooner, but onwards and upwards!
Half a punnet of strawberries - I would have used these in a smoothie but they went mouldy very suddenly, argh!
That's it! Not bad considering the size of last week's list! I am very proud, I used absolutely everything else up. It's strange though, when you are used to having a fridge packed full of food, to see it virtually empty by mid week. It's good though, to know that everything is being eaten and not chucked away!
Food I have thrown away this week;
6 small cartons of fromage frais - these were dated 11th Sep. I chanced it with the other set of 6 cartons, the kids and I ate those on the 13th. These ones however, are just a bit too old for my comfort zone. I'm happy to eat other stuff long after use by dates, but stuff like dairy you need to be careful with - lots of dodgy bacteria in milk products!
We should have used them sooner, but onwards and upwards!
Half a punnet of strawberries - I would have used these in a smoothie but they went mouldy very suddenly, argh!
That's it! Not bad considering the size of last week's list! I am very proud, I used absolutely everything else up. It's strange though, when you are used to having a fridge packed full of food, to see it virtually empty by mid week. It's good though, to know that everything is being eaten and not chucked away!
Sunday 13 September 2009
The joy of experimentation!
The thing about using up the contents of your fridge is that sometimes you leave things a little longer than you should have and they end up looking really unappetising.
It's not nice to just choke down something that really doesn't look nice purely for the sake of not wasting it. In fact, it's enough to put you off using up old food altogether.
Now, before you think I'm suggesting you should just shut your eyes and throw it in the bin, stop! Sometimes we just need to be a little inventive with our food. Once you learn about what works together, experimenting can be a lot of fun and very satisfying.
Today, for example, I had the rest of those old cherry tomatoes to use. They were about a week past their sell by date, pretty mushy and wrinkled, generally not very appealing.
I minced a clove of garlic and fried it in a little olive oil, then added the cherry tomatoes, quartered. I fried these off until they were pretty mushed up and added a splosh of balsamic vinegar, a pinch of dried mixed herbs, a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar. Let it all bubble awy for a few minutes and it was done!
Meanwhile, I made some macaroni cheese, the lazy way. I didn't bother with a roux, just cooked the pasta, then added a handful each of mild cheddar and smoked mature cheddar. Stirred in, then added a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of mascarpone. These were purely what I had in the fridge, but they made a pretty damn fine cheese sauce!
Anyhoo, I added the tomato sauce to the mac and cheese and BAM! A total taste sensation!
We loved it, and I will absolutely make this again. It's amazing the surprises your fridge can hold if you just dare to experiment.
Spurred on by this success, I decided to make some rock cakes this evening. I have run out of sultanas, so I used some sad looking fresh raspberries instead. This was lovely, it tasted kind of like a rock cake with little explosions of jam inside - vereh nice!
I used to follow recipes to the letter when I first started cooking. I would often nip out to the shops halfway through a recipe because I was missing an ingredient. Now, I like to experiment. If something can be substituted, do it! so you don't have dried fruit - use fresh. If you don't have caster sugar, try brown sugar. Things don't always work out they way they were supposed to, but it isn't the end of the world, sometimes it even turns out better!
Nothing builds your confidence in the kitchen like trusting your instincts and trying new things. Also, you might find yourself saving a fortune because you don't have to have the exact ingredients, just use what you have to hand.
Honestly, give it a try. Using up fridge contents + experimenting = win!
It's not nice to just choke down something that really doesn't look nice purely for the sake of not wasting it. In fact, it's enough to put you off using up old food altogether.
Now, before you think I'm suggesting you should just shut your eyes and throw it in the bin, stop! Sometimes we just need to be a little inventive with our food. Once you learn about what works together, experimenting can be a lot of fun and very satisfying.
Today, for example, I had the rest of those old cherry tomatoes to use. They were about a week past their sell by date, pretty mushy and wrinkled, generally not very appealing.
I minced a clove of garlic and fried it in a little olive oil, then added the cherry tomatoes, quartered. I fried these off until they were pretty mushed up and added a splosh of balsamic vinegar, a pinch of dried mixed herbs, a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar. Let it all bubble awy for a few minutes and it was done!
Meanwhile, I made some macaroni cheese, the lazy way. I didn't bother with a roux, just cooked the pasta, then added a handful each of mild cheddar and smoked mature cheddar. Stirred in, then added a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of mascarpone. These were purely what I had in the fridge, but they made a pretty damn fine cheese sauce!
Anyhoo, I added the tomato sauce to the mac and cheese and BAM! A total taste sensation!
We loved it, and I will absolutely make this again. It's amazing the surprises your fridge can hold if you just dare to experiment.
Spurred on by this success, I decided to make some rock cakes this evening. I have run out of sultanas, so I used some sad looking fresh raspberries instead. This was lovely, it tasted kind of like a rock cake with little explosions of jam inside - vereh nice!
I used to follow recipes to the letter when I first started cooking. I would often nip out to the shops halfway through a recipe because I was missing an ingredient. Now, I like to experiment. If something can be substituted, do it! so you don't have dried fruit - use fresh. If you don't have caster sugar, try brown sugar. Things don't always work out they way they were supposed to, but it isn't the end of the world, sometimes it even turns out better!
Nothing builds your confidence in the kitchen like trusting your instincts and trying new things. Also, you might find yourself saving a fortune because you don't have to have the exact ingredients, just use what you have to hand.
Honestly, give it a try. Using up fridge contents + experimenting = win!
Saturday 12 September 2009
It's been a tough week.
My dad has been in hospital this week. He had a blocked artery which he had surgery for, but afterwards he had a heart attack. Poor guy is just completely floored.
Anyway, there has been a lot of to-ing and fro-ing to the hospital and back, so there hasn't been a lot of time to cook. To be honest, I've been too stressed to cook anyway. I think I can be forgiven for the couple of takeaways we've ended up having, we've needed some comfort food!
He's still in hospital, but seems brighter today so I feel like I've been able to exhale for the first time in days and actually make something!
For dinner tonight, I used up the last of a bag of potatoes to make mash, and some of the older ceg in my fridge has been used as well.
I sliced onion, peppers, a chilli, 2 cloves garlic and some chicken and put it all into a roasting bag with a few cherry tomatoes and some carribean seasoning mix. Roasted for half an hour and served with the mash. It was lovely!
I still have half a punnet of cherry tomatoes needing used pretty quickly so I will probably roast them and serve over pasta.
Anyway, there has been a lot of to-ing and fro-ing to the hospital and back, so there hasn't been a lot of time to cook. To be honest, I've been too stressed to cook anyway. I think I can be forgiven for the couple of takeaways we've ended up having, we've needed some comfort food!
He's still in hospital, but seems brighter today so I feel like I've been able to exhale for the first time in days and actually make something!
For dinner tonight, I used up the last of a bag of potatoes to make mash, and some of the older ceg in my fridge has been used as well.
I sliced onion, peppers, a chilli, 2 cloves garlic and some chicken and put it all into a roasting bag with a few cherry tomatoes and some carribean seasoning mix. Roasted for half an hour and served with the mash. It was lovely!
I still have half a punnet of cherry tomatoes needing used pretty quickly so I will probably roast them and serve over pasta.
Tuesday 8 September 2009
What's in the fridge?
Another new feature for the blog!
I've had a few questions from people asking for ideas on how to use things up. What I'm going to do is once a wkk, when i clean out my fridge and make my shopping list, I will write down everything I have and put a star next to things that need using up first.
I'll write those down here, long with what I'm going to do with them and other things that could be done with them.
Here's my "needs used" list for this week...
12 CARTONS YOGHURT - These will be fed to the kids asap. They could also be used in a smoothie or in fairy cakes.
TUB OF MASCARPONE - This will most likely end up as a pasta sauce. I have some chopped spinach in the freezer so will make a spinach and mascarpone sauce for pasta.
It could also be used to make a cream cheese frosting for cakes, a filling for tiramisu or a filling for cheesecake.
STRAWBERRIES - These are looking a bit soft so will most likely be blitzed with a frozen banana and one of those yoghurts to make a smoothie. They could also be stewed with some sugar and vanilla to make a warm fruit sauce for ice cream or even cereal.
GRAPES - These will be nommed as a snack tonight, but would also make a nice addition to a smoothie.
GINGER - This is looking a bit soft and needs to be used quickly. I love ginger in stir fries and curries. It is also great in smoothies and fresh juices. You could also freeze it, unpeeled. This makes grating easier.
CHERRY TOMATOES - These will be roasted with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and served with pasta and mozzarella cheese. They also make a lovely roast tomato and garlic soup, and are gorgeous when baked in a bag with chicken, peppers and cajun spices. The tomatoes burst and turn into a lovely sauce for the chicken.
OLD PESTO - Okay, I'll admit it. I don't actually know how old this is. It's less than 4 weeks old, cos that's when i last cleaned the fridge, but it's old enough that I can't remember exactly when I opened it. It still smells fine, and I've just had it with pasta for lunch. As I'm still typing and not passed out on the floor, I'm assuming it was still good! Ah, I live on the edge, me!
LOTS OF ONIONS - I don't really need to use these quickly, as onions last ages, but I have a huge bag of them, so had better start making a dent! I will use quite a lot of these to make onion soup. I will also chop and freeze quite a few for instant chopped onions in cooking.
I've had a few questions from people asking for ideas on how to use things up. What I'm going to do is once a wkk, when i clean out my fridge and make my shopping list, I will write down everything I have and put a star next to things that need using up first.
I'll write those down here, long with what I'm going to do with them and other things that could be done with them.
Here's my "needs used" list for this week...
12 CARTONS YOGHURT - These will be fed to the kids asap. They could also be used in a smoothie or in fairy cakes.
TUB OF MASCARPONE - This will most likely end up as a pasta sauce. I have some chopped spinach in the freezer so will make a spinach and mascarpone sauce for pasta.
It could also be used to make a cream cheese frosting for cakes, a filling for tiramisu or a filling for cheesecake.
STRAWBERRIES - These are looking a bit soft so will most likely be blitzed with a frozen banana and one of those yoghurts to make a smoothie. They could also be stewed with some sugar and vanilla to make a warm fruit sauce for ice cream or even cereal.
GRAPES - These will be nommed as a snack tonight, but would also make a nice addition to a smoothie.
GINGER - This is looking a bit soft and needs to be used quickly. I love ginger in stir fries and curries. It is also great in smoothies and fresh juices. You could also freeze it, unpeeled. This makes grating easier.
CHERRY TOMATOES - These will be roasted with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and served with pasta and mozzarella cheese. They also make a lovely roast tomato and garlic soup, and are gorgeous when baked in a bag with chicken, peppers and cajun spices. The tomatoes burst and turn into a lovely sauce for the chicken.
OLD PESTO - Okay, I'll admit it. I don't actually know how old this is. It's less than 4 weeks old, cos that's when i last cleaned the fridge, but it's old enough that I can't remember exactly when I opened it. It still smells fine, and I've just had it with pasta for lunch. As I'm still typing and not passed out on the floor, I'm assuming it was still good! Ah, I live on the edge, me!
LOTS OF ONIONS - I don't really need to use these quickly, as onions last ages, but I have a huge bag of them, so had better start making a dent! I will use quite a lot of these to make onion soup. I will also chop and freeze quite a few for instant chopped onions in cooking.
Waste of the week...
New feature for the blog - in an attempt to shame myself into not wasting food, I'm writing down everything I throw away!
I have just cleaned out my fridge and have had to chuck quite a few things, so here is my "waste of the Week" list...
half a carton of single cream (2 weeks old)
a large slice of watermelon (3 weeks old)
6 cartons of yoghurt (3 weeks out of date)
small amount of extremely wilted tarragon
half a bag of mouldy grated cheese
small bowl of leftover rice (2 weeks old)
Tiny amount of creme fraiche (3 weeks old)
some tiny sausages (very dried out)
Very wrinkled soggy cucumber
mouldy cherries
very dried out meatballs
Well, not great but not terrible for a week's worth. It's my own fault anyway for not cleaning my fridge weekly like I should be!
I vow to clean out my fridge every single week from now on and try to use things before they go foosty!
I have just cleaned out my fridge and have had to chuck quite a few things, so here is my "waste of the Week" list...
half a carton of single cream (2 weeks old)
a large slice of watermelon (3 weeks old)
6 cartons of yoghurt (3 weeks out of date)
small amount of extremely wilted tarragon
half a bag of mouldy grated cheese
small bowl of leftover rice (2 weeks old)
Tiny amount of creme fraiche (3 weeks old)
some tiny sausages (very dried out)
Very wrinkled soggy cucumber
mouldy cherries
very dried out meatballs
Well, not great but not terrible for a week's worth. It's my own fault anyway for not cleaning my fridge weekly like I should be!
I vow to clean out my fridge every single week from now on and try to use things before they go foosty!
Monday 7 September 2009
Not coming to the party :-(
I am no longer going to college because i've finally been offered a job, yay!
I will be caring for elderly and disabled people in their own homes for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. This is pretty good, because it leaves me lots of free time to concentrate on other money saving/making schemes.
I plan to list a lot on ebay and possibly netmums.
I did have another plan, which I was very excited about. There is a new party plan scheme called Jamie at Home, which involves selling Jamie Oliver cookware at parties.
The downside is, it costs £115 to get started, and you'd need to do a lot of parties to make decent money.
i've asked everyone I can think of, and nobody is interested. I got really stressed today after soending 5 solid hours trying to get a booking. then I decided I didn't need the hassle and changed my mind.
I'm always trying to complicate my life, I really need to learn to keep it simple!
I will be caring for elderly and disabled people in their own homes for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. This is pretty good, because it leaves me lots of free time to concentrate on other money saving/making schemes.
I plan to list a lot on ebay and possibly netmums.
I did have another plan, which I was very excited about. There is a new party plan scheme called Jamie at Home, which involves selling Jamie Oliver cookware at parties.
The downside is, it costs £115 to get started, and you'd need to do a lot of parties to make decent money.
i've asked everyone I can think of, and nobody is interested. I got really stressed today after soending 5 solid hours trying to get a booking. then I decided I didn't need the hassle and changed my mind.
I'm always trying to complicate my life, I really need to learn to keep it simple!
Still using it up!
Today it was stir fry time again!
I had a bag of salad leaves that I hadn't used and they were no longer fresh enough to use as a salad. I chucked them in the wok with some peppers, garlic, ginger and chillies (oh, and a couple of wrinkly carrots), and it was lovely!
I need to clean out my fridge tomorrow and decide how to make best use of the contents.
I had a bag of salad leaves that I hadn't used and they were no longer fresh enough to use as a salad. I chucked them in the wok with some peppers, garlic, ginger and chillies (oh, and a couple of wrinkly carrots), and it was lovely!
I need to clean out my fridge tomorrow and decide how to make best use of the contents.
Tuesday 1 September 2009
Time for a catch up!
I've been mega busy lately and need to update this more often!
The "Use it or Lose it" challenge is going well, I'm finding more and more creative ways to use up leftovers!
The other day, I cooked a large joint of pork in the slow cooker, then cut it into 4 pieces.
2 of them went into ziploc bags in the freezer for another day, but one was sliced and served with gravy, boiled potatoes and onion rings (yum), and the other one was made into an experimental dish I will call Spicy Pork and Creamy Potato Casserole...
I chopped a clove of garlic and put it in the slow cooker. Added 2 cans of chopped tomatoes, and some leftover Pepperami and chopped bacon I had lying in the fridge. Left to bubble away for about 4 hours.
Meanwhile, I made a basic white sauce (butter, flour and milk) and added one clove of garlic, minced.
I shredded up the portion of cooked pork and added it to the tomato sauce, then poured this mixture into a casserole dish.
I sliced the leftover boiled potatoes from the night before and arranged them on top of the pork mixture.
Poured over the creamy garlic sauce, topped with grated pizza cheese and baked in the oven for 20 minutes.
It was delicious!
The "Use it or Lose it" challenge is going well, I'm finding more and more creative ways to use up leftovers!
The other day, I cooked a large joint of pork in the slow cooker, then cut it into 4 pieces.
2 of them went into ziploc bags in the freezer for another day, but one was sliced and served with gravy, boiled potatoes and onion rings (yum), and the other one was made into an experimental dish I will call Spicy Pork and Creamy Potato Casserole...
I chopped a clove of garlic and put it in the slow cooker. Added 2 cans of chopped tomatoes, and some leftover Pepperami and chopped bacon I had lying in the fridge. Left to bubble away for about 4 hours.
Meanwhile, I made a basic white sauce (butter, flour and milk) and added one clove of garlic, minced.
I shredded up the portion of cooked pork and added it to the tomato sauce, then poured this mixture into a casserole dish.
I sliced the leftover boiled potatoes from the night before and arranged them on top of the pork mixture.
Poured over the creamy garlic sauce, topped with grated pizza cheese and baked in the oven for 20 minutes.
It was delicious!
Tuesday 18 August 2009
Mmmm, dinner!
My stir fry was a total success! Really delicious.
It was basically just leftover fridge veggies cut small and stir fried over a high heat, with lots of garlic, ginger and chillies added. near the end, I chucked in some dark soy sauce and stirred in some plain boiled rice...
Today's dinner used up the last of my cherry tomatoes. I put them in the slow cooker with a chopped onion, minced garlic, sliced mushrooms, tinned tomatoes, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
It smelled lovely, bubbling away all day long. I served it with some ricotta filled tortelinni from the freezer;
I also had a part baked baguette that needed using, so I mixed together some minced garlic and dried herbs with some soft butter, then spred at at intervals in the baguette and baked it, yum!
On top of this, I had a HUGE watermelon in the fridge, and the end of a big box of strawberries which were looking a bit sad. I blitzed both in the blender, and added 6 mini tubs of yoghurt which had a use by date of tomorrow!
This was really delicious, and made from things I wouldn't have thought twice about throwing out before! We got three tall glasses of smoothie and filled 3 ice lolly moulds, too. I'm feeling very virtuous!
Sunday 16 August 2009
There's always a new way to save...
Okay, so I've got my "official" savings of £21 a week, and hopefully the bank should start to look healthier with the amount I *won't* be spending on food we don't need. Where else can I make savings?
We usually have a takeaway on a friday (and often another night, too). It costs us £20 and we've agreed to stop doing that for the time being. Instead of letting that £20 a week disappear on something else, I'll take it out anyway and put it into a sealed pot.
I also want to stop buying lottery tickets. I've been spending £5 a week for 14 years, and never won anything. That's a LOT of wasted money.
My husband, ever the optimist, doesn't want to completely give up the chance to win, so I will put £4 a week into a sealed pot and spend £1 on a lucky dip. Well, you never know...
We usually have a takeaway on a friday (and often another night, too). It costs us £20 and we've agreed to stop doing that for the time being. Instead of letting that £20 a week disappear on something else, I'll take it out anyway and put it into a sealed pot.
I also want to stop buying lottery tickets. I've been spending £5 a week for 14 years, and never won anything. That's a LOT of wasted money.
My husband, ever the optimist, doesn't want to completely give up the chance to win, so I will put £4 a week into a sealed pot and spend £1 on a lucky dip. Well, you never know...
Use it or lose it
Well, I started my new savings plan a few weeks back, putting £21 a week into a savings account. That's easy, I don't even notice it! Because I do it all online, I'm really just moving numbers from one part of the screen to the other.
Time for a bigger challenge! One of our biggest money leaks is buying food. We live very close to a large supermarket, and it's too easy to just pop in for one or two things, which, as we all know, somehow ends up being £20 or more.
I have made sure that my cupboards and freezer are well stocked (hell, they're always well stocked!), and have set myself a budget of £50 a week. I will take the cash out on a thursday and only spend it on absolute essentials, or total bargains.
I think a big deal breaker here is food wastage. If I can make sure that I use absolutely every morsel of food I buy, and throw nothing good away, it should help to keep me from buying new food needlessly.
With that in mind, I have been very frugal this weekend!
On thursday, I made pasta with roasted cherry tomatoes and mozzarella, very yummy.
On friday, I unearthed a bag of sprouting potatoes, over a week past their sell by date. did I throw them out? NOOOOOOO!
I trimmed off all the sprouty bits, cut the tatties into wedges and roasted them in the oven. They were delicious! Pah! Sell by dates? I laugh in your general direction!
I also used up the end of some old cheddar in the fridge by making a pot of macaroni cheese, it never goes wrong, does it?
On saturday we were at a BBQ, so i didn't need to use our food, but we did have a pineapple that needed using ASAP, so when we got home, I pan fried pineapple slices and made a lovely syrup of sugar, butter and Malibu. It was great!
Today, I needed to use the last of the soft fruit that was looking a bit wrinkly, so breakfast was blueberry pancakes. I also made smoothies with blueberries and strawberries and froze the leftovers into ice lollies, which the kids had for pudding this evening.
A lot of the veg in the fridge went into a stir fry at teatime, which was lovely. We still have a lot of carrots and onions, and some broccoli to use, so I reckon tomorrow's lunch could be soup of some description.
Oh, and we have some leftover stir fry in the fridge. Normally I'd just chuck it, but not now! I might have to spend a pound or so on some filo pastry, to wrap the leftovers into spring rolls for dinner tomorrow.
Don't worry, I'll find a use for the leftover filo pastry...
Time for a bigger challenge! One of our biggest money leaks is buying food. We live very close to a large supermarket, and it's too easy to just pop in for one or two things, which, as we all know, somehow ends up being £20 or more.
I have made sure that my cupboards and freezer are well stocked (hell, they're always well stocked!), and have set myself a budget of £50 a week. I will take the cash out on a thursday and only spend it on absolute essentials, or total bargains.
I think a big deal breaker here is food wastage. If I can make sure that I use absolutely every morsel of food I buy, and throw nothing good away, it should help to keep me from buying new food needlessly.
With that in mind, I have been very frugal this weekend!
On thursday, I made pasta with roasted cherry tomatoes and mozzarella, very yummy.
On friday, I unearthed a bag of sprouting potatoes, over a week past their sell by date. did I throw them out? NOOOOOOO!
I trimmed off all the sprouty bits, cut the tatties into wedges and roasted them in the oven. They were delicious! Pah! Sell by dates? I laugh in your general direction!
I also used up the end of some old cheddar in the fridge by making a pot of macaroni cheese, it never goes wrong, does it?
On saturday we were at a BBQ, so i didn't need to use our food, but we did have a pineapple that needed using ASAP, so when we got home, I pan fried pineapple slices and made a lovely syrup of sugar, butter and Malibu. It was great!
Today, I needed to use the last of the soft fruit that was looking a bit wrinkly, so breakfast was blueberry pancakes. I also made smoothies with blueberries and strawberries and froze the leftovers into ice lollies, which the kids had for pudding this evening.
A lot of the veg in the fridge went into a stir fry at teatime, which was lovely. We still have a lot of carrots and onions, and some broccoli to use, so I reckon tomorrow's lunch could be soup of some description.
Oh, and we have some leftover stir fry in the fridge. Normally I'd just chuck it, but not now! I might have to spend a pound or so on some filo pastry, to wrap the leftovers into spring rolls for dinner tomorrow.
Don't worry, I'll find a use for the leftover filo pastry...
Somebody Cares, again!
Well, just four short years ago I was at probably the richest (money wise) that I've ever been. We'd just sold our first house, making a profit of £30k, and we had a choice. Pay it off the new mortgage or go spending crazy. Well, it would have been rude not to...
We bought our dream sofa. It was the kind of silly purchase that, if we'd had to pay it in installments, wouldn't have seemed worth it. We kind of knew it was destined to get wrecked - it was fabric for a start, and we had a 2 year old boy who was ripe for wrecking stuff.
Four years later, it was completely ruined. We'd added an even messier daughter and a large, hairy, gallumphing dog to the mix by now, so the sofa had to go.
Heartbreaking, isn't it? We proudly handed over more than £3500 for this sofa, and it just got completely ruined. Having said that, it has taught us a valuable, albeit expensive lesson. Buy what is practical for your family's needs, not just what looks good.
So, if was off to Somebody Cares again! I found a gorgeous sofa and armchair, and bought it for the bargain price of £75, including delivery!
Isn't it beautiful? They even took away my old sofa, so hopefully someone will get some use from it!
I'm becoming so addicted to buying seconhand furniture, I may never buy a brand new item again...
Sunday 19 July 2009
The new savings plan
I am going to Florida in just over 15 months. I know, it's crazy to book a holiday when we are broke, but we need something to look forward to!
Anyway, I was doing some chore charts for the kids and decided that their reward for getting all their ticks for the day would be 50p in a piggybank.
I then figured out that if I save 50p per day for each child, and £1 per day for myself and for my husband, we will have £1383 by the time we go away!
I know we are skint, but I'm sure we could save a total of £3 per day pretty painlessly if we just cut back on non essentials. I've already decided to stop playing the lottery, so that will be saved, too.
Ooh, and now that I've got my sewing machine set up, I plan to
a) make stuff to sell (little stuffed animals, recycled hanbags, etc...)
b) learn to alter clothes and do this for money
c) reconstruct clothes so i don't have to buy new ones
On top of this, I have applied for 2 jobs, will hopefully be getting a small living allowance from college, and plan to start listing stuff on ebay.
As Del boy said - this time next year, we'll be millionaires!
Anyway, I was doing some chore charts for the kids and decided that their reward for getting all their ticks for the day would be 50p in a piggybank.
I then figured out that if I save 50p per day for each child, and £1 per day for myself and for my husband, we will have £1383 by the time we go away!
I know we are skint, but I'm sure we could save a total of £3 per day pretty painlessly if we just cut back on non essentials. I've already decided to stop playing the lottery, so that will be saved, too.
Ooh, and now that I've got my sewing machine set up, I plan to
a) make stuff to sell (little stuffed animals, recycled hanbags, etc...)
b) learn to alter clothes and do this for money
c) reconstruct clothes so i don't have to buy new ones
On top of this, I have applied for 2 jobs, will hopefully be getting a small living allowance from college, and plan to start listing stuff on ebay.
As Del boy said - this time next year, we'll be millionaires!
Somebody Cares, part 2
I have a really small bedroom, and I needed somewhere to set up my sewing machine, so I set off to the Somebody Cares sale in search of an old table.
I found this little beauty...
I found this little beauty...
Absolute bargain - solid pine, 5' tall desk with high shelf and 3 drawers, and a pull out desk thingy at the bottom. Total cost?
£25!
This is what it looks like now...
I am so pleased with it! I *may* eventually sand and paint it, as pine isn't really our thing, but for the moment it's great as it is!
Sunday 28 June 2009
Somebody cares
We have this amazing charity in Aberdeen called "Somebody Cares". It's basically a huge warehouse where people can drop off things they no longer need - sofas, furniture, clothes, toys etc.
People who really need help can be referred by their social worker or health visitor and then can go and help themselves to anything they need. Once a month, to pay the bills, the charity opens the warehouse to the public as a sale. You can pick up the most brilliant bargains and help the charity at the same time!
Last time I was there, I got these shelves;
People who really need help can be referred by their social worker or health visitor and then can go and help themselves to anything they need. Once a month, to pay the bills, the charity opens the warehouse to the public as a sale. You can pick up the most brilliant bargains and help the charity at the same time!
Last time I was there, I got these shelves;
They were only £2 each! I sanded them and painted them with those little tester pots, and ended up with these;
Nice, eh? Custom shelves for my little girl's room for a total cost of under a tenner!
Here we go!
I'm a stay at home mum in Scotland. I'm trying to find a part time job but in this current climate, jobs seem to be few and far between, especially for mums like myself, who can't be so flexible about working hours!
Anyway, this blog is to keep track of my often chaotic attempts to keep our heads above water. I do a lot of cooking from scratch, making our own clothes, making homemade gifts and reconstructing old things into new.
There will be recipes, tutorials and lots of photos. Come and join me as I try to take care of my kids, keep the house clean and still have a good time, all on a shoestring!
Anyway, this blog is to keep track of my often chaotic attempts to keep our heads above water. I do a lot of cooking from scratch, making our own clothes, making homemade gifts and reconstructing old things into new.
There will be recipes, tutorials and lots of photos. Come and join me as I try to take care of my kids, keep the house clean and still have a good time, all on a shoestring!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
