Making changes and preparing for spring!

Hi everyone and sorry for my lack of blog posts. I have been so busy, but also haven't felt that I have anything to share with you. I have been cooking from scratch and baking as usual but nothing new really. The decluttering has been so important as I'm already seeing the benefits...I love to see a clear work top! I still have more to do (trying to rid myself of the feeling that I should keep things just-in-case). I do recycle...I'm not just binning things!! I'm working towards the nicer weather when we will be outside nearly all day (lots of plans for the garden too) so I need to be in a position that my housework is done quickly in the morning so we can make the most of the sunshine.  We go out now, but not for long because it gets so cold. 

So basically I've put some changes in place so I can be more organised. Before I tell you about my first change, here are some snippets of our recent thriftiness...

I haven't had my hair cut for over a year! Last weekend Charlotte cut and coloured it for me (I haven't got a photo of it now but will ask someone to help me there!) I bought a box dye from the supermarket when on offer, so my new look only cost me £4. She went on to give me a facial, manicure and did my make-up...so good to be pampered! 

Cornflake cakes...simple but a great treat! We had these as part of our living room picnic tea on Sunday. Daisy was in charge of the arrangements :)

I got a lovely joint of pork last week when on offer and it did two meals...Sunday roast 

then cold on Monday with bubble and squeak.

I put my washing out on Sunday and have been getting two loads dry a day ever since. It feels too cold outside but it has been drying well. I hate having laundry in the house so this makes me happy!

On Tuesday we made playdough. So simple and so much fun. 

While in a crafty mood, I found some bits and bobs for Daisy to stick with. I always cut pictures out of magazines and comics after reading them. I save old pots to use for pva glue too. I buy crafting supplies cheaply from Wilkos or the Works so we always have a stash. Old foil dishes make good containers and  the blue bowl contains old packaging. Thrifty and resourceful but using up what we have.

Ok, so my first change is the way I shop and meal plan...

Previously, I would look at what I've got and plan around that.

Now I am going through my huge amount of recipes and buying only what I need. I still have a few stock cupboard staples for emergency meals though. This has helped my kitchen cupboards...I now can see what I have instantly. There is no risk of things getting out of date too. 

In order to declutter my recipes, I decided to go through them week by week, chucking what I know we won't eat anymore and testing out the others. I will put my meal plan up if anyone is interested??? This is the sort of thing I mean...

As I've shown you before, this is full of recipes...

My recipes date back to my Home Economics lessons in the 1980s!! 

Most recipes have been cut out of magazines in years gone by.

The little box is full of clippings and above  is a folder with recent finds. I pick up the free magazines in the supermarket...these are always good for seasonal recipes.

If we like a recipe, it is transferred into a new folder that is divided into cooking and baking categories. I hope to be able to reduce my recipes by half at least. 

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