This Week's Frugal Tasks

I've been very busy organising presents this week.  We've celebrated a couple of birthdays amoungst family and friends and it was great to have the presents wrapped and ready to give.  As a child I was so excited to receive presents for Christmas and my birthday.  Now as an adult the role has reversed and I love to be the giver.  I think it's all the planning,  the budgeting,  the shopping,  the making and the wrapping that builds up the excitement.

Here's my frugal list for the week -


*  Made Cranberry Hootycreek biscuits to give as part of a present.

*  Made 20 pumpkin scones using Jap pumpkin I bought for 69 cents a kilo.

* Cooked,  drained and froze more pumpkin for future baking.

*  Gave a couple of jars of homemade plum jam as presents.

*  Saved the shower water to water the garden plants.

*  Accepted some glass jars from my Mum and Dad.  I can't wait until our fruit trees and bushes start producing. I'll be in jam heaven.

*  Gratefully accepted 8 avocados from a friend at church.  These are such a blessing to us as they are a luxury item for my family.  Darren and Jessica are rationing them out and enjoying every mouthful.

*  Darren saved $50 on my car insurance by checkng other company's prices.  I'd been with the same company since 2008 as they had the best price each year.  Now we've found a cheaper deal elsewhere.

*  Wrapped most of the Christmas presents.  I buy all year round as I see great bargains.  I've even made a great start on next year's birthday and Christmas presents.  I've also beaten my present budget YAY  !!!

*  Baked two trays of peanut butter choc chip biscuits while I had a choc self saucing pudding in the oven.

*  Gratefully accepted spinach leaves and mixed lettuce from another friend at church.  Jessica used some to make up a lovely salad for tea the other night.

*  Bought Cadbury choc bits on sale at $2.09 from Coles.  I used our flybuys money to pay for them ( so they were free ).

*  Bought Vita Brits at half price from Woolworths for $2.29.  They are cheaper than the Aldi brand which is the cheapest on the market.  I bought 5 boxes.

*  On Thursday night Darren,  Jessica and I had a meal that cost us about 10 cents for the three of us.  I'd cooked half a piece of silverside the night before.  There was about 6 slices left over as some of us weren't very hungry.  Megan was on an overnight camp the next night so we had the silverside with corn on the cob from our garden last year and silverbeet ( also picked from our garden ).  A friend gave us a couple of jars of tomato relish so we had some of that.  The only cost was 1/2 a cup of white rice.  BONUS  !!!

*  Sold two dozen eggs and two dozen muffins to neighbour and a cleaning client.

Pumpkin scones - my favourite morning tea.

A gift of avocados

Wrapped Christmas presents.

Biscuits for my sister

More flowers in my garden.

Biscuits wrapped for a male.

 

What frugal tasks did you complete this week ?

What Makes You Happy ? October 2014

Just the other night Jessica came in to kiss me goodnight as she usually does.  We started talking about what makes us happy.  Earlier that day I'd wrapped more Christmas presents and was feeling very happy about being so organised this year.  Jessica said that ( raw ) carrots and bubble wrap make her happy and she'd like them in her Christmas stocking.  We had a good laugh over that and continued talking about other things that make us happy.  There are so many things that make my family happy.  Nothing big or expensive.  Mostly it's the simple things that brings a smile to our face.

As I was at work today I kept thinking about this topic.  Then it came to me.  I should start a new post for all of you to share the things that make you happy too.  We live in a world that likes to dwell on the negative.  I prefer to have a postive outlook on life.  So once a month I'll put up a new post that gives you all the opportunity to share your happiness.

I'm putting the challenge out there for anyone who reads my blog to take the time to post three things that make you happy.  Please keep in mind that this will be a regular post so don't list everything in one go.   Keep us coming back for more  !!!!

Three things that make me happy -

*  My miniture tea set / tea pot collection.  I've been fascinated with small tea sets since I was about 6 or 7. I bought my first small tea set when I was eight.  Then I started collecting them about five years ago  Every time I look at them I feel so happy inside.  When visitors come they like to look at them too.  They bring a smile to everyone's face and that makes me happy all over again.

*  Darren pickng some flowers from the garden for me.  At the moment I have iceberg roses on my bedside table.

*  Cuddles and kisses from my girls.  They are 17 and 14 and I know I'm blessed to have that affection from them.

Part of my tea set collection

More tea sets 

Roses Darren picked.

 What three things make you happy ?

Making Your Own Air Freshener

Over the years I've tried buying many different brands and scents of air fresheners ( always on sale ). They smell so nice in the supermarket don't they ?  I have one can in each of my bathrooms / toilets and by the time I have half a can left  I can't stand the smell of it any more.  It seems to irritate my nose leaving it tingling and my eyes watering. I also had concerns about spraying all those chemicals in a small closed room.  It can't be good to breathe them in.

So one day I thought there must be a better and healthier way to freshen a room.  I already had a bottle of water soluble lavender oil that I use to help relieve bad headaches.  I thought I'd have a go at making my own air freshener and I've been very happy with the results.  My nose is very happy too.

Here's what you need to make your own air freshener -

Water soluble lavender oil
Cooled boiled water
Small spray bottle

Partially fill the spray bottle with the cooled boiled water.  For a 100ml bottle add about 10 - 15mls of the lavender oil.  Top up with the cooled boiled water,  replace the lid and give it a good shake.  Spray as needed.

TOTAL COST - 70 cents  - $1.05 approx. per 100ml bottle


NOTES -

*  I use Eureka water soluble Lavender Oil found in the toiletry aisle in the supermarket.  Generally it's on the bottom shelf next to the tea tree oil.

*  I used a small spray bottle from the Body Shop that originally had a body spray in it. Megan used a spray bottle that had an ear disinfectant spray in it at one time ( the one you use when you've had your ears pierced )..

*  Using cooled boiled water is important as normal tap water contains flouride etc.  Boiling it gets rid of any germs too.

*  Don't be tempted to use a large spray bottle.  We've found the small 100ml bottle lasts a very long time.

*  Other water soluble oils can be used eg - eucalyptus oil now comes in a water soluble form.'

This Week's Frugal Tasks

Darren and I have spent some time out in the garden every day this week.  So much is happening that we like to be out there observing and enjoying all of God's creation.  It's pure joy to see a seed we planted grow into a vegetable that feeds our family.  Excitement fills my soul to see fruit appearing on our little fruit trees.  Who needs a reality show when reality is happening in my own backyard.

Here's my frugal tasks for the week -

*  Planted more corn,  lettuce and bush bean seeds. I used seeds that I bought last year so no cost to us this year.

*  Dried all washing on clotheshorses under the pergola.

*  Went to a food /garden swap at a friend's place.  This was so exciting.  Everyone brings excess garden produce / plants or seeds to share with others.   A garden tour takes place with lots of information shared.  Afternoon tea is provided by all attending.  We bought a big bag of lemons from our tree to share.  We came home with 20 strawberry plants,  a Jostaberry plant,  bumble bee tomato plant,  pesto,  2 jars of tomato chutney,  some flowers and seeds.  I'm hoping to organise a garden swap in my street soon.

*  Fed our compost with food scraps and a few pages from our local newspaper..

*  Used the clean water from our showers to water the fruit trees. 

*  Used the watering can to water the vegetable seedlings,  fruit trees and other plants.  It might take a little longer this way but so much water is saved by using a watering can.

*  Sold two dozen eggs to a cleaning client.

*  Made some spag bol sauce and soups to sell to a cleaning client to help her extended family in need.  This extra money was added to my food slush fund to buy groceries when I see them on special.

*  Froze two leftovers from a mince pasta bake I made.

*  Accepted a few jam jars from a friend at church.

*   Bought 10 boxes of Lipton teabags on sale at half price for $2.34 in Woolworths.  I still have 12 boxes of Tetley for soy teabags that I bought from NQR for 69 cents a couple of years ago.  It lasts a few years past the best before date and as we don't drink coffee,  they will all be used in good time

*  Saved a cereal box liner and cut it up to go between foods that I freeze.  I used the cereal box to add two more page dividers to my price book.

*  Used the two light rule as much as possible.

*  Picked silverbeet from our garden to bulk out a mince pasta bake.  No one noticed it was in there.

*  Fed all our fruit trees and veg seedlings with a seaweed solution that was given to us.

*  Poured some saved water into the washing machine.

*   Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread.

*  Baked lots of luchbox muffins.  I will be selling most of them to a cleaning client.

Flowers Darren grew from seed

Peaches forming on our little fruit tree.

Flowers from the garden swap

Flowers on our strawberry plants

Strawberry plants from the garden swap growing in guttering

Part of our back garden

Our raspberries are looking healthy

Daisies we grew from cuttings

Our feijoa tree has lots of new growth.  Can't wait for the fruit.

Have you been out in your garden this week ?

What did you do this week that was frugal ?

Chicken Curry

Here is my family's all time favourite recipe. It came from an American slow cooker recipe book. I've changed and adapted it so much that I can call it my own recipe. The original recipe only had two vegetables included so I added some more.  My family would happily eat it 2 - 3 times a week.

2  chicken fillets diced and cooked, or use leftover chicken bits
1 - 2 sticks of celery sliced
2 carrots sliced
1 1/2 cup of green beans ( I use frozen )
1/2 a capsicum diced
4 medium potatoes peeled and cut into medium pieces
1/2 cup of sultanas
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 can of water
1 teaspoon of curry powder - more if you like it hot
1 teaspoon ground ginger
dried onion, chives and garlic to taste ( use fresh if desired)
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of corn flour plus 1/4 cup of water to thicken

Cook chicken and place in bottom of slow cooker. Place the potatoes on top of the chicken
Add carrots, beans, celery capsicum, salt, pepper, onion, chives and garlic on top of chicken.

In a separate bowl, mix the soup,  water, curry powder and ginger.
Pour the soup mixture over the ingredients in the slow cooker.
Add more water if needed until everything is just covered.
Cook on high for 8 - 10 hours until the potato is soft.
Add sultanas 1/2 hour before serving.
Thicken with corn flour if needed just before eating.

Serve with rice

Chicken curry just before serving

Leftovers for the freezer

This Week's Frugal Tasks

I've spent the week pottering around the house doing a bit of this and that as well as my usual housework chores and my cleaning work ( my paying job ).  Here's my frugal list for the week -



*  Bought lots of strawberries at 2 punnets of 250 grams each for $1.  I'll be freezing lots to make fruit icecream in Summer.

*  Diluted some laundry detergent by 50%.  I bought it years ago for 99 cents a bottle.  It's way too thick to use as it is so I dilute it making it super cheap.  This laundry liquid is not made any more so I ration it out for when my washing needs a spruce up as it smells so nice.

*  Made two batches of chocolate brownies at the same time.  Half was made with crushed cashews for added flavour.  I froze some,  took some to church for a lunch and kept some fresh for us to eat.

*  I dried some rosemary a few weeks ago.  Now its been pulled off the dry stems,  crushed a bit to make it small enough to be shaken out of it's jar and stored ready for use.  I've also picked some more and that's drying too.

*  Made a fresh batch of vanilla yoghurt from scratch.

*  Saved the shower water to water our vegetable seedlings.

*  Picked lots of silverbeet to eat with our meals.  While I was away last week I wasn't able to eat as well as I usually do.  My body was craving normal food and the silverbeet helped me feel better.

*  Refilled my shampoo and conditioner bottles in my toiletry bag ready for the next trip away.  I like to check everything over and put in new things like soap and toothpaste so that I'll never run out.  It's one less thing to worry about when I'm packing for a holiday.

*  Mended a fitted bed sheet.  It's a tight fit when I put it on my bed and the corner seams ripped apart recently.  Now they are fixed and strong again.  I've saved myself from buying new $70 sheets.

*  Saved the crumbs from the bottom of the wheat bix packet.  I've added them to the dried bread crumbs I made.  Shortly I'll make it into seasoned bread crumbs for coating salmon patties and chicken drumsticks.

*  Dried the washing on clothes horses under the pergola when it was raining. It was dry within 5 hours.  Much cheaper than the dryer.

* Made french onion dip from scratch using drained yoghurt and french onion soup mix.

Chocolate brownies with cashew bits

Diluted laundry liquid

Super cheap strawberries 2 punnets for $1

Darren's cherry tree in full bloom

Pita chips and french onion dip

What frugal tasks did you complete this week ?

A Birthday Thankyou

Thankyou to everyone who sent birthday wishes via email,  facebook,  texts and my blog My Abundant Life.  Your thoughts and wishes were greatly appreciated and helped to make my day very special.

Megan made breakfast in bed for me that rivalled 5 star room service.  The girls and I spent the day doing what we like doing best - SHOPPING although I didn't do the buying ,  the girls did.  We went to my favourite op shop Savers which is almost on my doorstep.  I just love looking especially in the kitchen department which is like a trip down memory lane. I always have a giggle at the kitchen trends of the 60's,  70's,  80's and 90's.

For dinner we had homemade lasagne which was from the freezer so no one had to cook.  Megan and Jessica made profiteroles using a White Wings mix we found in the clearance trolley at NQR about 2 months ago.  Oh so yummy and there are leftovers for tonight.  A very frugal but delicious dinner enjoyed by all - especially the birthday girl.

Thankyou again and here are a couple of birthday photos -

Breakfast

My birthday dessert

Profiteroles