I love these occasional five frugal things posts. When you think the week has flashed by in a blur of busy-ness, it is good to stop and reflect. So here are my five frugal things to kick off October.
Frugal thing 1: Using up the stores
I am eating out of the cupboards this week. For one reason or another it is just me almost every night. It can be hard to find the motivation to cook properly when I am by myself but tonight I made myself a delicious store cupboard stew.
I used chick peas and tinned tomatoes from the larder, along with a few frozen vegetables and some fresh ones that needed using up. Also chucked in were celery, carrots, mushrooms, a green pepper, some left over cooked spinach, a single new potato I found lurking and the end of a packet of mixed frozen vegetables. The addition of half a pint of stock and some smoked paprika – my favourite spice – gave it a lovely flavour. It was absolutely delicious! I had it with some brown rice for a really cheap and healthy dinner. Which leads me onto:
Frugal thing 2: Batch cooking and freezing
I love the odd home made freezer meal and frequently batch cook. It saves time and money. Tonight I deliberately made a big pot of my stew so that I could eat it tomorrow and freeze a couple of portions.
Frugal thing 3: Rented out the spare room
I welcomed my new lodger on Sunday. She seems really lovely and is settling in well. It has been nice to have a bit of company this week. The extra money is hugely helpful to my budget. I found her through Spare Room, which is a good site in my opinion.
I gave the room a refresh the other week – bit of frugal DIY. It was well worth it as it looks lovely and clean now.
Frugal thing 4: Making the most of windfall fruit
Mr S arrived home with a huge box of cooking apples a couple of weeks ago, far too many for us to use in fact. I have given a load to friends and neighbours and got back some pears in return. These are currently ripening in the fruit bowl. I didn’t have to buy any fruit this week at all.
I also peeled, chopped and froze some of the apples to mix with the home grown and foraged currants and berries already in the freezer.
Frugal thing 5: Completed a no spend week
I have purchased nothing this week except cat food, milk and a pack of reduced price mushrooms. I didn’t intend to do this – it just happened! We didn’t need any groceries except milk as we have been eating from the stores, but when I saw the yellow sticker on my half price mushrooms I knew I could use them in tonight’s stew. I don’t spend unless I need to. At the moment I am conscious that Christmas is on the way, and I want to save the pennies for presents.
I’m linking up with this Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s ‘Five Fabulously Frugal things I’ve done this week’ linky. Pop over to their blogs to see their five frugal things. What have your money saving achievements been this week?
Margaret Powling says
I do like to batch cook, especially soups and stews/casseroles, and even things like fruit loaf and banana and walnut loaf (oh, and a nut roast loaf). When they are cool enough to put into the freezer, I cut them in half and freeze two halves so that when I take them out there is sufficient for husband and myself for a few days – a whole fruit loaf or nut roast would be too large. and we’d not eat it all before it went stale. I box up all soups and stews/casseroles into two-person portions, ideal for just getting out in the early morning and they’ve thawed out ready to re-heat by lunchtime. We don’t have a microwave, nor do we want one. Batch cooking is a lovely thing to do, I find it most enjoyable, even relaxing, spending a morning in the kitchen preparing food for future use.
Margaret P
Lizzie says
This will sound silly, but I cut the ends of my shoelaces to make them shorter! “How is that frugal?” do I hear you say?!!! Well, the stupidly long laces have been annoying me ever since I bought the shoes (canvas ones) last year, and I was constantly tucking the ends out of the way so they didn’t get caught while on my bike. I thought – shall I buy a shorter pair? No – don’t want to spend any money. Have we got a shorter pair in my bag of saved laces? Yes, but not in white (and I didn’t want to ruin the so stylish shoes – ha ha!). I can’t believe it hadn’t occurred to me before to just cut the ends off……….. I tied a knot in each end to stop them fraying. I think I was thinking that I had to be able thread them through the holes, but of course I didn’t need to do that as they were already in!
I am now trying to think of a way to improve our decades old plastic kitchen soap dish. The soap on it keeps going soggy – I suppose the plastic raised up bits must have worn down over the years – but I’m determined not to buy a new one! I need to find some stiff plastic trellis with small holes to fit over the top, or something….
Oh and smoked paprika is my favourite spice too!
Margaret Powling says
I hope Jane won’t mind if I put in a suggestion to Lizzie re her soap dish. I saw this on another blog where a very stylish blogger had a little bowl filled with small pebbles that she had collected on various beaches and her soap on top of the pebbles, so that it would drain after use. I expect the dish will need cleaning out regularly, but all soap dishes need a regular clean out, but if you have access to a few pebbles, then perhaps this is something Lizzie might try – I can’t say I’ve done it myself, I’m just passing on what I’ve seen and read elsewhere.
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
Great idea!
Lizzie says
Oh thank you! I love this idea and although I’m nowhere near pebbles I’m sure I can find some suitable stones locally. I will definitely give this a go!