Make It Monday 29th January 2024

Good morning!

This week I've been jotting down things as I do them. I'm finding I need to make notes to keep track; life is busy at the moment and now we are all well again, I'm playing catch-up, although it isn't taking much to exhaust me. I do a bit, then do a sitting down chore, do a bit more, do another sitting down chore. The weather isn't helping either, but I'm going by "if you do things, things get done".

I placed a big online order of groceries. Honestly, with free delivery it was easier than trying to do it in person, and my shopping day was so hot I didn't want to go out. Amazingly everything on the list was delivered! 

Getting the groceries delivered is a tool, or a handmaiden as per The Bluebirds Are Nesting on the Farm. I remember Mum getting groceries delivered when I was a wee girl. The grocer would knock on the door, and bring in the groceries in a box. He would carry it through to the kitchen - true service. We need to use all the tools at our disposal to ensure we can do our jobs properly so if I need to get the groceries delivered occasionally I will do it, guilt free. 

When it was all put away, the shelves looked much better. I've been reading and listening to podcasts from various experts and while they are mostly speaking about the northern hemisphere, what happens those to economies eventually finds its way to us; all those experts are predicting mass shortages and rising prices across the board. I've been working the canning plan and keeping the stockpile stocked as best I can. Being prepared isn't panicking, it's simply looking ahead, and doing what is necessary now to be able to survive what the future brings. Good old fashioned commonsense. 

The tiny toms are going so well, every morning a pasta bowl full has come off the vines and been added to the freezer. When there is enough to fill the slow cooker, I'll make sauce.  We've been eating them every day as part of our salad and as snacks. 

Same for the raspberries. They have been a little slow this summer, but now they are coming on and a cereal bowl full is going into the freezer every morning, ready to make jam when the weather cools down.

I had another 6kg of brisket in the fridge, and the thought of cutting it up to pressure can almost made me cry, so into the slow cooker it went. It cooked all day, and came out so tender I could shred it with a fork. Bagged it into meal portions, vac sealed and into the freezer it went. 

The Happy Mail Project is making me so happy. These are the cards I made and sent off this week. I just love picking names from my address book and sending a little card to let those dear people know I'm thinking of them and wishing them a good day. My goal is to send five a week, so this week another three cards were made and posted. Next week I'm hoping to reach the five. 

Kitchen towels were on my to-do list for the present box. The easiest way I think is to create a production line. All the tea towels were prepped. All the toppers were cut out and sewn. All the buttonholes were done together. Then the all the toppers were stitched to the towels and lastly the buttons sewn on. I love to work this way; if I need to stop to do something else, then I can and when I come back I can move onto the next step.

I cut down an old, torn sheet to make polishing cloths. It's pure cotton, and soft, perfect for polishing. Total cost for 10 good sized cloths $0.

Cooked all our meals from scratch from the pantry. I can't stress how much this saves us. I was listening to a YT and they quoted Dave Ramsay as saying the average American, single person, not a family, spends over $3,600 a year on eating out! 

Now I'm thinking that would be about the same here, Australians have embraced the home delivery service for meals. I don't spend that much to feed my entire family for a year. 

I've been picking tomatoes and cucumber from the garden too. The tomato seeds cost $3 for the packet, and so far I've picked around 8kg; tomatoes were $6.95/kg yesterday so growing them is saving us a fortune - $52.60 to date. We have some hot days this week so I'm expecting to be picking and bottling all week. 

I cashed in some rewards $$$ to pay for the groceries this week. 

Opened the windows and doors and turned the air con and fans off. 

It rained so I didn't have to water this week. 

Used my rewards and RACV card to save 13c/litre on diesel. 

I'm still using materials in my stash to make gifts, and it doesn't seem to be shrinking! On the up side, I'm not buying anything. 

Looking back it was a good, frugal week for us.