It’s been a busy week catching up after our holiday in France. There was lots of post to do from our eBay sales and the garden had gone wild in just a week! Here are my five frugal things for the week.
Catching up in the garden
As there was so much rain whilst we were away, the slugs had been at the garden. This is annoying! We try to garden completely organically, but just have to give in to the slug pellets sometimes. Otherwise, all our efforts go to waste.
We are trying to save money by growing some of our own food and it’s disheartening when you lose all your prospective crops to the pesky creatures. Mr S has been tidying up, putting down pellets where needed and generally trying to save some of the plants. Hopefully all will be well.
Say it with flowers
Some old friends lent us their apartment in France for the week, which was so kind of them. To show our appreciation we sent them some flowers. As ever, I found a deal through Top Cashback*, which gave 16% cash back. I thought this was amazing. Actually, there was a 25% deal but you had to spend quite a bit to get that. Whatever you buy online, it is always worth going through a cash back site.
Charity shop tour
I had to drive my daughter to Clacton the other day to get her car repaired. To make it worth the petrol money, we decided to do a tour of the charity shops whilst we were there. They have some good ones, including one that regularly has a whole store £1 sale.
She picked up a whole load of summer dresses for £1 each and I got a few bits and bobs too. Now we just need the weather so that she can wear hers!
Off to see the Queen
Well, we aren’t actually going to see the Queen, but we are going to Windsor Castle! This was booked ages ago through BuyaGift.co.uk for Mr S’s Christmas present. It was paid for so long ago it feels like a free trip. We get a tour of the castle and a cream tea for two in the Castle Hotel.
I’m not sure this is going to be Slimming World friendly. However, as I managed to lose half a pound even though we were on holiday last week, I am not too worried. I expected to put on about 4lb!
Frugal fitness
Did you see my post on frugal fitness, contributed by Petra at Be Healthy Now? I am still doing my morning exercise/yoga routine, which takes about 30 minutes. It costs me nothing at all and makes me feel a zillion times better. Reading Petra’s article has inspired me to mix it up a bit and add some exercises with weights. I bought some a couple of years ago in Aldi, but haven’t used them much, so it is time I did.
Now that my neck pain has improved so much I need to work on building some strength. It’s easy to devise a free fitness routine from home as there is so much advice and information on the internet.
What small frugal things have you achieved this week?
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PennyP says
Slugs and snails are driving us nuts too – our lovely strawberries have been decimated. We have dogs so can’t put out slug pellets so we’re going to do battle in other ways.
Julia says
Ugh, snails! After the torrential rain on Wednesday, I happened to go into our paved courtyard garden at twilight and there were snails everywhere! Well there are about 2 dozen less now! 😀
Have you considered putting in a small pond, and stocking it with frogspawn next year to deal with them? I’d love to do that but don’t have that kind of garden. Sadly even the blackbirds aren’t interested in it – though they would have a feast if they were!
I really need to get back into my morning yoga practice – it’s been a year now for goodness sake! But with all the other daily practices I have/am trying to establish, I’ll need to get up at silly o’ clock to fit them all in! 😀
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
We have a tiny pond in a barrel but I really want a proper one. We need a couple of hedgehogs too!
Wendy says
My Dad used to say the best thing is to hoe everyday as it keeps the weeds at bay and brings the snail and slug eggs to the surface and they would dry out and die. It seems a bit of a chore but I have managed to do it this year and touch wood seems to be working.
Once in a routine it only takes us about 5 minutes and we only do the veg patch
J. Higbee says
I’m new to your blog, writing from Vermont in the Northeast of the US. We’ve had a very wet spring with slugs galore. Have you tried beer in shallow containers, like jar caps? They go right for it & die a happy death! You do have to refill after rain, but as an organic gardener for 30 years, it actually works and harmless to pets or the soil.
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
I have tried that but think I would need a crate of beer in our garden . Maybe I should have another go