FRUGAL SUCCESSES
I grew up on a farm some distance from the nearest town and the family shopping was done once a week. My mother tended a large vegetable garden and there were so many fruit trees. We had apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, figs, mulberries, oranges, pears, grapes and also almonds.
Surplus fruit was preserved and used later in the year and surplus tomatoes were cooked and frozen as ready made sauces. Huge pots of marmalade, jams and jellies were bottled. Nothing was wasted.
I’m trying to be more frugal and use up everything, too, motivated by the amazing hints shared online. I’d like to use less and spend less. I try to avoid single use plastics; look for loose rather than packaged fruit and vegetables and recycle/upcycle as much as possible. I draw the line at compost as I only create evil smelling, horrible muck but do feed the worm farm fruit and veg scraps.
My frugal successes are mostly about food and the garden. I admire all the clever people who download coloured and decorated meal plans, fill them in and shop based on their plan and use almost everything.
I’ve tried different systems and none have worked for more than a few weeks at best. So, I use up all the leftovers I can in frittatas, soups and pastry or potato topped pies. Sometimes I add homemade curry paste or chickpeas or even baked beans. I try hard to not throw away food.
Growing herbs just outside the back door means I have easy access to a wide range of flavours to add more depth to whatever I’m making. Most frequently used are chives, spring onions, mint, rosemary and parsley which just keep growing . Seasonal herbs, in Western Australia, are basil and coriander. I have blueberries which I share with the birds, likewise the apricot tree. They seem to get more than us. I also grow chilies and lemon grass for particular things we make but the most important is probably tomatoes, which I grow in pots. They taste so much better than bought tomatoes and it’s so easy to pick some when I need them. Another constant is silverbeet which I grow in three pots. I pick enough for the three of us, rotating which pot I use and within about ten days the leaves are back to picking size again. Small, fresh leaves are delicious.
Flowers in the house have always been important to me so I mostly grow my own. They are so pretty but I rarely buy them. I usually have roses and for several months of the year, alstroemerias. Now I have sweet peas and soon I’ll have an orchid which will flower indoors for a few weeks. I love fresh flowers but not the cost. Also, the cut flowers at my local supermarket all seem to be imported.
FRUGAL FAIL
I had a frugal fail recently, too. A well known coupon site was advertising oven cleaning at a very tempting price. Effective oven cleaning products give me a headache, so I clicked “buy”, imaging my oven beings fresh and clean.
Booked the date and time online and had a response confirming the appointment, rang the day before they were due just to be sure and that’s when my great plan fell apart. Mr Unbelievably Rude had obviously over booked and had no intention of cleaning my oven. Although I was refunded the cost immediately by the coupon company, the whole experience was very off-putting. I will look more closely at the reviews next time.
So, I’m interested in your frugal things. What do you do to use less and save more?
Yesterday was INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS DAY. The records of the world began with illustrations on cave walls and our joy in art continues. Get yourself to an exhibition or do something artistic yourself.