Top Tips Tuesday...

Hi everyone,

Here are this weeks top tips...

Leisure Time

1). Walking...I love to go walking. Not only is it good exercise, but I think it helps to clear your mind and relax. It gives us chance to chat and Daisy can explore without having to be in her buggy. The dogs love to walk...Flo wants to run and Jake (who is nearly 13) is happy to wander along (sniffing everything!) We will walk locally. We have a reservoir close by and a public footpath literally just across the road. Sometimes we travel a short distance in the car to find a different walk, so that would be our only cost.

2). Reading...I've talked about this before, but we all love to read in my house. You've seen just how many books I've got to get through! Books don't have to be expensive. I have a huge amazon wish list, but I rarely buy new books, they are normally Christmas or birthday presents. Carboot sales are the places to go for cheap books. People just want rid of them and you can pick them up for as little as 10p. Charity shops always have a good selection too. Another idea is to pass books on to friends, family and work colleagues. You can share yours and borrow from others. We used to do this at my work with DVDs too. Finally, there is obviously the local library.

3). Watching...television is something I don't do that often now, but when I do, it's not sky tv! We have free view for the television, we watch old films and tv shows that we already have on DVD or video (yes we still have a video player, almost retro now!) and I watch YouTube. YouTube is fantastic to find tv shows from the past and to learn new skills. I sometimes buy DVDs at Carboot sales, but mostly I use my amazon rental service. When I buy a DVD I need it to be a film or tv show that I know I will want to watch over and over again like the 'Darling Buds of May' for example. With the DVD rental, it is a cheap subscription fee and I can have two DVDs at a time and watch many throughout the month if I want. If I need to be even more thrifty in the future, I can simply cancel this, but at the moment this is our treat. We never go to the cinema.

4). Eating out...picnics! Daisy loves a picnic and so do we. We went for a lovely walk and picnic on Sunday...

The swans were very friendly! We fed the ducks and ate a lovely picnic. We simply took what we would normally eat for lunch, so no extra cost.

5). Do something you enjoy...around the house there is always something that needs to be done, but it's also important to have hobbies and interests. It could be something like gardening or DIY and these can be done as cheaply as possible or really expensive. You may be interested in sewing, knitting or crafting, again this can be expensive if you want it to be or you can look out for cheaper alternatives. Sadly I don't always practice what I preach! I am trying to make more time for myself, I've got a lot of the resources I need, I just lack time! 

Thanks for reading,

Mandy x

Top Tips Tuesday...

Hi everyone,

A later post today because I try to get my jobs done around the house first thing while it's not too hot. It's been a scorcher here again today and I've just finished my ironing. Tea is cooking so I thought I'd do this post quickly before we eat.

It's top tips Tuesday and I'm going to talk about the garden and growing. I am no gardener, but I'm learning!

1). Grow your own...I have had successes and fails here, but strawberries have worked really well in our garden. I bought some mesh netting to keep out the snails and birds, but we've been lucky and only a few nibbles. They were a little sour but lovely with cream or ice-cream!

2). Use your kitchen windowsill...I grow the living lettuce bought from asda and my fresh herbs (parsley and coriander at the moment) on the windowsill. 

3). Composting...our council takes away all good waste, but we do have two compost bins in our garden. You can throw on all potato and vegetable peelings, tea bags, egg shells etc and use it on the garden.

4). Tidy the garden up (fencing)...we are saving up for new fencing but we have just painted the old fence before to keep it looking fresh and tidy. The wood preserver/stain can be quite expensive, so we wait until it's on offer somewhere. You can even pick it up at the supermarket!

5). Tidy the garden up (patio)...our patio was filthy! Luckily my son has just invested in a power washer and he cleaned it for us, but we don't own one ourselves. Another way to clean it is elbow grease! I've used a scrubbing brush and hot soapy water and thus brings the slabs up well.

Has anyone else been tidying up the garden?

Thanks for reading,

Mandy x

Top Tips Tuesday...

Hi everyone,

One area that we need to consider is our energy consumption. The gas bill is lower during the warmer months, but our electric bill is still too high. The bill shows that we have reduced since this time last year, but we need to do a lot more! 

There are some things that I already do that I've already mentioned...laundry and cooking, but a couple of other things to think about are...

1). Lights - we only light the rooms we are in. We have lamps and use candles in the winter (up high obviously). Every room has energy saving bulbs too.

2). Switch off appliances - I used to leave things on standby but not any more (every penny counts) and make sure the washing machine is turned off as soon as it's finished. The red light flashes to tell me it's done, so this must be costing something! I make use of my cheaper electric at night so can't always turn it off instantly though. 

3). Be really conscious of how much the kettle is boiled - I am at home all day with Daisy, but I only boil what I need.

4). Think about how to use the cooker less - as I've said before...I use the top (stove) when I can, rather than the oven, when the oven is needed, I fill it up and I use my steamer so I use less rings for veg. I am always aware of his much electric a cooker uses.

5). Use elbow grease when you can - I own a dyson, a food mixer, bread maker etc, but I don't always need to use them! I am able to sweep the floor and beat a cake mixture or knead some dough. The choice is there.

Do you have any tips to share on energy saving? I have more but I only want to share five at a time so I don't run out too quickly!

Thanks for reading, 

Mandy x

Top Tips Tuesday...

Hi everyone

Here are this weeks top tips...

Laundry

1). Washing machine...I only put my machine on if it's full, at night (timer) because my electricity is cheaper then and if the weather forecast is promising. At this time of year there is never a build up of laundry in my house because the weather helps me keep it up-to-date. 

2). Washing powder/softener... I have been using half the amount of these for quite some time now. My washing is fine with this.

3). Drying... I dry my washing outside all year round. If it's cold but windy, it will dry enough to just need airing in the house. I am lucky to be at home, so I can dash out if it starts to rain (like yesterday) and get it in. If rain is forecast, then I won't put any washing on unless I'm desperate. I hate having laundry around the house and I won't use my tumble drier unless an emergency!

4). Bath towels...I don't wash the big bath towels every time I shower. I hang them at the top of the stairs over the bannister. Daisy still has the hooded baby towels, so these get washed after every use.

5). Wear clothes twice... If they are clean then I wear them again the next day. I will wear jeans for two days and cardies or jumpers if they look clean (not always possible with a busy toddler about!)

Does anyone have any more laundry tips to share?

Thanks for reading,

Mandy x

Top Tips Tuesday...

Hi again,

Today I'm beginning my Tuesday blog posts of sharing thrifty tips with you. Some you will already do, some you will have heard of somewhere else, some will be new to you, some won't be relevant to your lifestyle, but I hope you will find something worth repeating to hang on to those precious pennies.

Not all of them are my own original ideas, but we all learn from each other in books, face-to-face and from the tv and internet. By sharing those ideas, we are helping each other out, especially when money is tight. 

I have a book full of tips that I have jotted down...some I use now and some that didn't work for us as a family. There are some that I haven't put into practice yet too.

I will post five tips each Tuesday on various topics around the home...

Top Tips Tuesday

(Kitchen)

* use the cooker top (stove) where you can. The oven uses a lot of electricity and I do this where ever I can. Yesterday I cooked my cottage pie mince on the top, added the mash and simply browned under the grill. I used to brown the mince and cook it in the oven...not any more!

* if you are using the oven to cook meals (like a roast), make sure the oven is full. This could be by cooking a pudding or baking some cakes. Just check you need the same oven temperature! 

* cook cheaper cuts of meat...the slow cooker comes in really handy here. I'm not a fan of offal, but I will cook the tougher cuts of beef. You just need to cook slowly on a lower temperature which is ideal for slow cooker recipes. I tend to do this more in the colder months, but will post the recipes as and when.

* eat less meat... We have been doing this for a while now. You'll see that from this weeks meal plan. I substitute for another protein like eggs or cheese. As a family, we don't like pulses and lentils or quorn/tofu. It's all about making a cheaper meal but being aware of the nutritional value too. Another thing I do to eat less meat is to bulk out and stretch a meal further with extra vegetables. Yesterday I added chopped carrots and frozen peas to the mince. Sometimes I add baked beans too or sweet corn. 

* roast a chicken and use it up! I must confess that I am not the best at this because I prefer the white breast meat and not the darker meat. However, my husband is not fussy and will eat the legs and wings. After carving the main of it, allow the chicken to cool while you eat and then pick off the remaining meat. You'll be surprised just how much meat is left on there. This meat is lovely for making pies or other chicken dishes requiring cooked meat (I have recipes if anyone is interested). Next put the carcass in a large pan and boil up the bones. This makes excellent stock and you can freeze it until needed (make sure it has cooled down first though). You can add veg to your pan like a whole onion, carrot and celery, but I have done it without and it's fine. I will show you how I do this when we have roast chicken this week.

Thanks for your comments on here and my second blog. I do try to reply to all (unless I manage to miss one from an older post) and note your requests.

Thanks for reading,

Mandy x