Planning Your Boxing Day Shopping

I'm a planner,  thinker and list writer.  Most of all,  I LOVE to get a bargain. Getting the most out of your budget requires a little forward thinking to get the best deals.

I've been Boxing Day shopping for at least 18 years when Jessica was a toddler in a trolley while I scoured the half empty shelves in department stores on Boxing day.

I'm getting better at grabbing the best deals without mindlessly buying rubbish or going over budget. So before you get ridiculously busy with present wrapping,  parties and food prep for the big day, take a few moments to plan how you'll tackle the Boxing Day sales ( or stay at home ).

Here are a few handy hints I use to get lots of bargains -

*  Write a list of everyone you'd like to give a present to next year ( and further into the future ).  Don't forget to include anniversaries,  Valentine's Day ( if you celebrate ),  Mother's / Father's Day and Easter.

*  Write a $$$ amount beside each name making sure you can afford to buy for all the people on your list.

*  Are there any gifts you can make ?  If so,  do you need supplies to make these gifts.  Make sure you add the supplies to your Boxing Day list.

*  Start looking in the shops now as you do this year's Christmas shopping.  Are there items that you just know won't sell out before Christmas because the stores are over stocked ?  These items will be on sale on Boxing Day so make sure you add them to your shopping list with the store name and original price.

*  Christmas decorations are at rock bottom prices leading up to Christmas and on Boxing Day.  Do you need to replace old decos ?  Are you needing to build up your stocks ?  Are you wanting to try a new color next year ?  If so,  write the color on your list.  I've rarely paid full price for decorations. Most I've made or have been bought on clearance.

*  Serviettes, paper plates,  bon bons,  tea towels and hand towels should be planned for in advance to avoid paying ridiculous prices for something red and green.

*  Christmas material will go on sale with up to 75% off after Christmas.  Do you need new Christmas stockings,  table cloths,  table runners,  aprons,  place mats or bunting ?

*  Perfume will be cheaper after Christmas and the best deals can be found at chemists.  Who needs perfume and aftershave on next year's present list ?  Do you need to buy for general use as well ?

*  The discount,  cheap, $2 shops are great for Christmas craft ribbons,  decos and anything Christmas.  While most people are hunting out bargains in the big department stores,  you could be buying the best bargains ever.  Have a look now at what the cheap shops are stocking.

*  Keep an eye out for Boxing Day trading hours.  This can be a very important piece of information.  Plan which store you'll visit first depending on who is open first.

*  Gift tags,  wrapping paper and Christmas cards should only be bought on Boxing Day and the days after.  Are your stocks getting low ?

*  How many Christmas hams can you fit in your freezer after Christmas ?

As you get closer to Christmas,  your list should be forming quite nicely.  Just remember,  only buy what you can afford and what you can use in a reasonable time.  Don't forget to wear comfy shoes and take a water bottle and something to eat.

HAPPY SHOPPING  !!!

.

Surviving A Kitchen Renovation. Part 1

Planning ahead of time is the key to surviving and staying sane.   The kitchen is the heart of a home so when it gets ripped out,  chaos can arrive.  Here are some ideas and hints that we used to survive our kitchen renovations.


*  Setting up a temporary kitchen.  This can be quite a big task.  For starters,  you'll need to empty your kitchen completely.  I started by packing everything I haven't used in a while.  All these items were boxed up,  labelled and stored under the dining table out of the way.

Then I worked out a menu for the next two weeks.  After that I got out every utensil,  pot and appliance I needed to make those meals.  All these things were stacked neatly on top of the dining table.  I tried to keep things in groups for each meal.  Anything that would be used regularly was put to the front of the dining table.

Here are the items we used often -

Kettle,  toaster,  microwave,  microwave veggie steamer, chopping boards,  sharp knives,  cutlery, tongs,  peeler,  electric fry pan,  medium fry pan,  medium saucepan,  portable electric hot plate,  dinner set ( 4 of each item only ),  serving spoons,  cling wrap,  foil,  plastic bags,  plastic storage containers,  serviettes, glasses and paper towel.  I left out the slow cooker but didn't use it.

*  Planning a menu.  For a couple of months leading up to our kitchen renovations,  I froze every single leftover from our main meal.  No one got a chance to have second helpings.  By the time our kitchen had been ripped out,  I had enough single serves for four nights ( 16 serves ).

When I wrote out our menu,  I spaced out the freezer meals so that we wouldn't be using them up straight away.  I also tried to use those meals on days when we couldn't get into the kitchen area to do anything.  In between those meals I tried to fit in easy cook meals like spag bol,  bbq and salad,   honey mustard chicken,  sliced meat baked potatoes and salad, 

*  Eating healthy.  This was really important for me to be able to still provide good meals for my family.  Darren joked that we could have takeaway for two weeks straight.  Infact,  we had quite a few people tell us this was the way to go.  For starters we can't afford takeaway that often.  Secondly,  I don't like many takeaway options.  Thirdly,  I'd feel sick after a few days.  We always have lots of fresh and frozen veggies on hand.  Some nights the meals looked a little different to the usual but we always had a few veggies on the plate.

*  Going to bed at a decent time.  Some nights this was hard to do but I tried to be in bed by 11 or 11.30pm.  We soon learnt that tradies work to a different clock.  They like a really early start.  One tradie tried to come to our place at 7am only to be told by the kitchen company that was unacceptable..  This is why getting enough sleep is important. You need to be showered,  fed and presentable before the tradies show up.

The finished product was worth it.

Our temporary kitchen

The items we needed

Trying to keep everything in order.

 Stayed tuned for Part 2 coming soon.