The great big declutter!!

My decluttering mood is back! I love a fresh new start...

Those of you that have been reading my blog for a while will know that I am a hoarder. I am getting better though...I can part with things now. 

I am challenging myself to find 100 things during this month that we don't need or use. This is achievable because Daisy is growing out of clothes and toys. 

Out Carboot sale starts up again at the end of March and we will do some selling in April. I already have a large section of the garage piled high with boxes of stuff to sell, but there are new things that I want to look out for and don't want to overload the house again. This means that decluttering is in order.

I have started with my wardrobe...

This is what I brought down from upstairs...

Obviously a few bits here are Daisy's, but mostly it's from my wardrobe.

1).  Red dress - brand new, bought for Christmas but it isn't me! I will sell this.

2). Onesie - it was a present, but it's way too long for me. I'm only 5' tall! I may cut this up to make a blanket for Daisy as it's fleece fabric.

3). Pink pjs - the elastic has gone and they are old and grotty in places. I will cut up the best bits for sewing projects.

4). Black spot pjs - the same again and these are really faded in places. These will also be cut up for fabric scraps.

5). Heart top - this doesn't fit me very well and I no longer like it. I will sell this.

6). Winter hat - I've got too many! I will sell this.

7). Pink scarf - same again, I don't need it! I will sell this.

8). Navy scarf- I had a new one for Christmas so the old one can go. I will sell this.

9). Black polka dot scarf - I don't wear this bug I think I may use it for a sewing project.

10). Polka dot top (Daisy) - this got stained from food. I bleached it bug it hasn't all come out. This will go into het memory quilt that I'm currently making.

11). Pink dress (Daisy) - this is stained but not really bleachable so it will also go into her memory quilt.

12). Pair of Daisy's tights - she's grown out of them. I'll Carboot for 10p...every penny counts! You can always find something for 10p at Carboot sales.

That's it so far. I think I'll hit my target this time. Tomorrow I'll target another area.

Thank you so much for all your supportive comments. I will reply to each one. Incidentally, I had 806 page views yesterday...

I now have some new followers too! Thank you frugal in bucks!!!

I hope I don't disappoint!

So happy to have blog friends...

So happy you care xxx

Mandy xx

Pancakes...

Pancakes made and enjoyed (lactose free for Daisy)...

Hope you've enjoyed your pancakes today too. Daisy had dairy free vanilla ice cream on one, then tried a little bit with jam, then lemon and sugar. She loved them and made her own batter (little bit of help from me). I took some lovely photos for her memory book.

We just stuck to the traditional lemon and sugar or golden syrup.

Mandy x

Just for you Susan!

Chocolate fudge cake made yesterday.

Simple fruit cake.

You can see we've already been tucking in!!! 🍰🍰🍰

Mandy xx

Thank you xxx

Ok I hear you...

Having a large amount of followers is not what I'm after (way too much pressure to post every day something worth reading!)

My title is about being thrifty though. You have convinced me to keep this one (although I am going to have a second blog too to start again...positive thinking and all that) but I need to tweak it a bit. You have to understand that I have been threatened and I will delete what I need to. I now have a paper diary I write each day instead. This started off as an online diary for my thrifty journey but stuff happens and I share it. This post will be read by anyone, but I owe you all an explanation. I hope you don't think I'm just greedy, looking for more followers. It's actually the comments that are important to me. Since I stopped working, I've lost all the friends I had and I take comfort in your comments. Losing followers made me think that if people lose interest there's no point in continuing  because this blog is not for myself anymore to look back on...not sure I'm making myself clear...I'm waffling now!

I can't just  type what I want to say but most of you will guess (especially Jane)...

This is on the internet and public and I want it to be a happy place! Blogging (reading or writing) is my little bit of escapism from the many bad bits. 

Enough said I think...

Thank you to everyone who listens x

Lots of love xxx

Losing followers

Sad but true...

Not sure the thrifty blog is my thing anymore. I tried...

Planning my new blog but possibly many of you won't be interested. It will be showing all the things I have made...sewing, crafting, cooking and baking. I will also be sharing what makes me happy, all things pretty, different areas or objects in my home. 

I no longer want to focus on my thriftiness (there are far better blogs out there than mine) and obviously my personal life is not good so I intend to talk about the positive bits only.

I know my regular readers will understand why and you are all so lovely and supportive. I hope you will follow me on my new journey...creating positivity around me and my family.

The new blog will hopefully inspire me to continue with my writing, even though it will be a change in direction.

I'm almost decided on its name and I'll let you know on here when it's up and running. 

I'm not removing this blog at the moment, just starting a new one and concentrating on that. Please continue to comment here as I do read them and I am grateful for your kind words. I'm not looking for sympathy...it's just that I've been having doubts for a while and losing followers has made me realise that I lack in consistency and I would probably feel the same about reading a blog. I haven't looked to see how many viewed my last post, but inevitably it will happen that my numbers continue to decrease if I don't write regular posts. No doom and gloom...it's my fault and before frugal queen gave me a mention, there were only a few of us... Thank you Loo!!!

Onwards and upwards...

I'd better get baking, making and designing so I can start again!

Lots of love

Mandy xxx

How I decide what's for tea...

Hi everyone, I hope you're all well.

I thought I'd share with you how I decide what to cook for tea.

I have tried proper meal planning, looking through my recipes and writing a shopping list. This doesn't actually work for me because I often change my mind! I have actually found a way that suits us better now...

As I use something up, I write it on my shopping list that I keep on the fridge. When I'm actually shopping, I look out for bargains...reduced items, roll back items and offers on things that I can make a meal out of. I particularly look at the meat for a base for our meals. When I'm unpacking the shopping, I split meat into smaller portions and freeze it. 

Each day I look at my fresh foods that need using up first. I will get the meat out of the freezer that night to thaw for the next day. This way I make sure I don't have any waste. My lovely hubby works very hard and we still spend quite a lot on buying good quality food, so I owe it to him to not throw any away. 

Sometimes we just have leftovers. On Monday there was plenty of cold pork and roasties and veg leftover from our Sunday roast, so I did cold pork and bubble 'n' squeak. I used up what we had and had an easy day of cooking!

Yesterday a made a chicken dish...it doesn't have a name...I made it up as I went along! I knew I needed to use up some peppers and we fancied chicken. I looked through my recipe books for inspiration, but decided to cook a 'throw it all in' kind of meal...

First I browned the chicken with a chopped onion and red and green peppers.

I then added some frozen mixed veg and a can of sweet corn. This kept on cooking while I made a sauce...

Now this sauce is a bit of trial and error. I started off with a carton of passata, I added a little soy sauce (too salty for Daisy) and 2tbsp runny honey. I stirred in 2tbsp soft brown sugar too. I always add sugar to passata as it is quite bitter without. Then it just needs adjusting to taste...I added a little more honey and gradually added it to the chicken and veg. 

I continued to simmer until the chicken was cooked and cooked some rice. 

This was the finished product! It was nice...although I chose to add a little more soy sauce at the table.

Does anyone else eat 'throw it all in' meals???

Hopefully I'll be back soon!

Mandy x

I'll be back soon...

As the title says...I'll be back soon.

Thank you for your lovely comments and waiting for me to return.

Mandy x