A Ray of Sunshine.

It wouldn't surprise me if I am not the only one who has hit a spot of crisis fatigue.  Some days have been exhausting.  Some days my nerves have felt shot.  There must be many of us feeling the same.  Vicky and I were talking about this.  Vicky is a person who makes the best out of every situation and is always cheerful.  

Years ago I realised that circumstances and cheerfulness are not necessarily related.  We have all known people who have every blessing and resource yet they are always miserable and complaining. Not only that they do nothing to help others.  And we all know people who have it tough in life (or with their health)  yet are always cheerful and helping others.   So go figure...

I have spoken before about my Nan's good friends who taught me this.  One was Mrs. Smith who had Polio when she was young and lived her whole live on crutches.   She was so cheerful and sewed both my babies beautiful clothes and gifts.  She just did what she could to help everyone!  
And there was Mrs. Mann who was in a wheelchair with both legs amputated.   She was another happy and generous person.   She knitted stunning outfits for all the babies and I still have some she gave me to this day.   Both these ladies were rays of sunshine.   
There was also Mrs. Birze. She and her family escaped (in a dramatic and desperate way) from WW2 Europe and came to Australia.  They become Nan's neighbours.  The horrors they had been though...  They knew almost no English so Nan began to teach them and they became life long friends.  She was a person who was another absolute ray of sunshine.

So how do we overcome our worries and be like them?  And how do we nurture ourselves so that we keep up our own strength, spirits and faith?  

Well over to Vicky, this is what she wrote...

How do we feel at peace these days when it seems everyday is filled with something new that is bad news? A pandemic, riots, restrictions, job losses and shortages. Is this all temporary or is this the new norm? I have a feeling it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Annabel's conversation with the older gentleman and his saying there will be another depression struck a chord in so many of us. Could this actually happen? 

Many of us have had feelings that we need to prepare and are either starting or continuing in those efforts so that we can stay ahead and hopefully ride out anything coming, but I have also spoken to some who feel overwhelmed and panicked from the Covid virus and are really riding the edge of being depressed and just too stressed out from it. 

This got me thinking. I remember my great grandmother telling me that even though they had to work hard and had very little that some of her happiest times were coming home after church and just sitting on the porch with tea. 

The Bible says tribulation gives rise to patience and also "In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer" 

I think we are all learning patience, but being of good cheer can be a bit harder when it's getting harder on us to navigate through what was our normal routines or something that should be easy like getting groceries or seeing the doctor. 

In times like these we need to embrace simplicity and the joy we can get from it, letting the small things fill our hearts with happiness as we go about our work of preparedness and stocking our pantries, trying to stay ahead and taking care of home and hearth. 

When my granddaughter comes to stay she reminds me to do this. That child finds so many things I take for granted delightful and wonderous! The things I have tucked away are brought out and enjoyed, from her little tea set and a small pitcher that is just her size so she can serve lemonade and small colander of strawberries she picked herself. 

We need to do this for ourselves as well. Do we really need a special occasion to use the things we may have tucked away and love? When the world is so chaotic it's easy to get pulled along with it, but if we strive for a bit more simplicity we can find  patience and good cheer both. Appreciate the small things as we go about our days and we are better able to deal with the big things that come our way. 

That being said here is what I have been up to:

I have been collecting pinecones to use for fire starts and decoration. They are so small this year!

I weeded under one of the pine trees to move some blueberry bushes under there for my granddaughter and found a raspberry bush start growing among the weeds. This makes me happy because I want lots of berries growing here and one day a bumper crop will give more options with food storage. 

We planted a Victory garden this year and I'm usually out there everyday tending to this and that. This week I pruned and tied up most of the tomato plants. It's coming along nicely and with around 200 tomato plants I am sure I'll have enough to can and share as well. 

And I started making little bags of fabric softener beads to use as gifts. I cut some brown paper into squares and glued on flowers I cut from a magazine and zipped them through my sewing machine. I'll fill them with store bought softener beads and glue them shut. I love taking just ordinary things and embellishing them a bit. They will just need to be torn open to use, but to me it's prettier than a plastic bottle and can be added into a basket with some clothes pegs, etc. for a nice little gift. 

XOXO

Vicky

Every day Vicky and I chat online.  Our conversations are always made up of some dumb thing we find hilarious, what we have been doing at home, the garden and the pantry...  and we encourage each other.   It reminds me of the verse in Luke where the woman finds her lost coin and calls her friends to tell them and celebrate!  We need that.  Someone to celebrate our small victories.   Someone to tell!

I try to make this a place like that as we might not have a neighbour or friend interested in our progress and achievements.   They might not see what we do as an achievement at all.
But each thing we do to build up our home, manage our economy and care for our family is an achievement!  

I am a person who needs some alone time and quiet time.  I need to be able to think.  I am better if I write things down.  I need sunshine and plenty of sleep.   The garden, nature and outdoors do me good.  I find crochet or stitching calming.  If I am nervous or worried I will clean and bake... and channel my nerves into action.
A cup of tea and climbing into my comfy bed with clean sheets, a bubble bath and a heat pack on my neck are my go dos when I need to feel better.

Happily many things that are just beautiful and nourishing for bodies and souls are easy and inexpensive.   There are ways to spread happiness and joy for ourselves and others that make a world of difference.

Vicky used old pyjamas that she cut up to make the prettiest cleaning cloths above.   I feel happy just looking at them!

I brought out a fresh chocolate cake from the oven for afternoon tea.  Same effect ...  a little ray of sunshine in the afternoon.

Sometimes I can pick free flowers and this works every time for me.  Playing with flowers is just beautiful.

Simple foods are a hit.  A bowl of soup and a toasted cheese sandwich is thrilling when you are hungry and tired.   I make a Bread and Butter Pudding from left over bread and jam.  it is so divine yet made of stuff many people throw out.  

Having your table set nicely is cheerful.  Things don't have to be fancy to be lovely.

For children an extra story at bedtime or time together is beautiful.  When I was little my Great Aunt used to brush and braid my hair for me.  I would sit there, at her feet,  for any amount of time as I loved the dreamy feeling of my hair being done.  She would plait it tightly and it would last ages.   

Nan would tuck me into my bed at her house.  Her sheets were crisp and you were tucked in so tightly your liver could barely function but it was somehow so nice and secure.  The sheets smelled of sunshine.  The bed had been warmed by a hot water bottle.

So you see many things that are nurturing cost nothing at all.   We need them for our families and ourselves.

What are some ways you can take care of yourself when under extra stress and worry? 

Do you have ideas or memories of things that are good for children or others in the household that make a difference?    

Something encouraging to me has been the number of times I have heard people say they grew up in hard times, the war, a family who had very little... just they never realised until much later!   They just never knew as life was good and happy!   

So that is what I am thinking on.  There is a lot to think about.  Today is a beautiful day and I have had some time to think and plan.  This helps me.     I am sure Vicky's words will help you tooxxx 

Pantries and Preparedness. Pantry meals and expectations.

For many reasons, all added together, our meals have become much simpler.  They are usually delicious and nutritious but overall I have completely let go of some past expectations.   We have all been impacted by so many things in a short time.... not being able to shop, shortages, rations, price rises and more.   On days when someone isn't well or in a storm I have always thought a toasted sandwich and soup are a fine achievement.  Now I just think this more often!
One of my very favourite You Tube channels is Roots and Refuge Farm.   Jess was talking about how if you have a homestead dream you should act like a homesteader right now.  She says normal consumers dream up what they feel like eating and plan a menu and go out and buy the stuff to make it.  Or they just buy it ready made.   A homesteader, gardener, budgeter ... will see what they have and figure out what on earth they can do with it that will feed the family.  Big difference.   Many of us may have become better at this while the supermarkets haven't had usual choice or while we are staying home and eating what we have.  And this is a good thing.  This is a skill and a skill worth practicing.     Like in some cooking shows they give them a mystery box and they have to use just what they have.   Well our pantry, garden, fridge, freezer and what we might have found on a good deal are out mystery box.  
When we were kids  (and when my parents were kids) no one asked "what do you feel like for dinner?"  It just wasn't a thing.  Mum or Grandma put a meal on the table using what she had and usually it was something really good.  They didn't cook 19 different meals either they made it up and my Nan would set it out on the table in a serve yourself fashion mostly.  It was usually a meat dish with a lot of vegetable sides.  But on our own (rather than with everyone there)  it was very often soup and toast.  I loved Nan's soup.  And we were happy and grateful for Nan's cooking.


Vicky wrote me on this and here is part of her letter:

Life has certainly been a bit different these days, but once again if we look to our foremothers there is still lessons we can learn from them. And I always look for ways to draw upon their experience and knowledge. I also wonder if some peoples' mindset have changed during this pandemic? Not long ago I was told gardening and canning is for old ladies who don't know how to eat organic! And the statement was made of who wants jars of gross looking food sitting around? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I guess for some seeing what's in a jar is off putting and gross, but the same thing in a can is fine. That really isn't my issue, but the fact that so many overlook the resources right in front of them. We are lucky that we can politely or not snub ingredients, but that wasn't always the case. Again looking back to the Great Depression, WW1, WW11 and even beyond to the Civil War here in the states and the first peoples to settle our countries they couldn't be as choosy and persevered through way more than we can imagine. 

A few weeks ago while I was at the post office I overheard a conversation that got me thinking. Well having to stand 6 feet apart it's kind of hard not to hear a conversation haha! 

One woman said she didn't have much to make meals and the other said her problem was they had a lot of food, but nothing to eat. What?!

I think now is a good time to take a good look at the versatility of the ingredients we have on hand or are able to get. Not only to prevent waste, but also to realize that if things get harder we may still be able to do more with what we have should our ingredients get on the slim side. 

Some of the stories I've read at times the only meat available in some cities were hot dogs, bologna or Spam. And of course we know about sugar and butter shortages among other things that happened back then. 

What constitutes a meal? Or a treat? Is it a table full of food or just the blessing to have something to put on a plate or in a bowl? I would have to say right now is the time for us to think on this.

And I am learning. I made a cake that was way too crumbly and impossible to eat since it fell apart so much. Well a little research and a ration recipe came to my rescue. That cake became a whole new cake using those crumbs, a little flour, etc. 

Stale cake was steamed a bit and served with a toffee sauce.

Self rising flour and milk, yogurt or sour cream became little drop donuts. Two ingredients became a treat and let me tell you they are good! 

Also like Annabel's pizza base plus dinner rolls and so on variety from stemming from one basic ingredient.

Vegetables whipped or pureed can be added to scones or biscuits for a bit of variety in flavor. Pumpkin or squash is especially nice. 

Herbs can be used in salads, teas or herbal drinks, freshening the home etc. and have many, many health benefits. 

Well I could go on and on, but if things get worse before they get better I want us all to realize that we can do so much even with a limited pantry as most ingredients can be very versatile. 

XOXO

As Vicky is saying I have changed a bit on what constitutes a meal.   Right now a lot of people are struggling.   There are also some pretty significant meat shortages and restrictions in some places. 

I thought what Vicky said about all that food and nothing to cook is like when we have a wardrobe full of clothes and nothing to wear! haha!   We might need to get better at some more adventurous mixing and matching!

I have heard people who have been away on a swanky holiday saying they just couldn't wait to get home for some mashed potatoes and home food. haha!  I understand this!   At the end of the day really I have to admit in the same way I would overall rather stay at home, I would rather lots of vegetables, veggie bakes,  a roast, tuna mornay, fried rice, scones, pancakes,  soup, a toasted sandwich...  stuff like that!   If you have visitors I have noticed home style food like a roast, gravy and veggies seems more thrilling to them than something "fancy."  To those that never get a home cooked meal this is really actually positively thrilling.  You don't need a 95 step recipe... just a few basic ingredients.   My go to is if I have a guest the fruit cake comes out, I made scones and put out homemade jam.   Everyone loves it and it is actually so cheap it is hardly worth counting.    Many soups made from what we have that needs using up are just about free meals too.
Tonight we are having mashed potatoes, carrots and broccoli as they are what I have and sausages I dug out of the freezer.  I have some venison so tomorrow I will make a stew using that and every vegetable I can find.  It will be beautiful and I am blessed to be given venison!

I have read things on social media that make your eyes water.  Like young Mums working out how they can buy enough school snacks for their children.  The amount they budget would make several hundred pikelets, cookies and other homemade snacks and they are genuinely struggling but they just don't know snacks do not have to come in a packet!   We really need to help and teach each other the simple basics.

The old cookbooks are wonderful.  They don't use fancy and expensive ingredients.  Whatever you have you can look it up and there will be recipes!  
Knowing your substitutions is a help.
Knowing you can halve (or less) your meat and double your veggies and sides is a help.
We have talked about this subject in different ways over time.  But now this is an area we really need to be happy to get back to basics.

If you have any family recipes that make something good out of nothing please share them! For Mum's with hungry teenagers, toddlers and babies... if you have tips please share.
For those packing their husbands and or school lunches please share your ideas.
What about those with kids who walk through the door at the end of the day ready to inhale the whole contents of the fridge?  
How about recipes that just use pantry ingredients?
I will add some recipes in the comments.  
It is ok to be basic and it is ok to be simple.  Simple is good.  At the end of the day single ingredients are better anyway, we know what is in them!  
If you have a question or struggle in this area ask away and let the Bluebirds help you!  We love to help!  xxx

The Vicky Challenge. 2020. Pressure Canning. Seriously read this! It is not what you think!

This week our savings subject is Pressure Canning.   This one is a steep learning curve for me!
I took long enough to start Water Bath canning!  I have mentioned before that I found canning to be like soap making... I was intimidated because of things I had heard.  When I confronted my fears and tried soap making I was like pppfff! it was so stupid to have worried as it was so easy and fun.  The only serious danger is that you will develop an addiction to soap making.  (oops too late...)
Water bath canning was the same.  All my worries turned out to be basically ridiculous and it was fun to do and interestingly also addictive!
But Pressure Canning still remains in the "this is scary" category for me!
Actually it has been in the "this is scary and we might die" category! haha!

Talking to Vicky who has so much experience here has changed my mind.  You can win my interest if something will save me money, stock my pantry, keep necessities on hand in times of scarcity....  and Vicky gave me many examples.  Then one thing she said got me...

World wide the have been shortages and dramatic price increases in butter.  Vicky asked if I knew if you are able to can butter?  

I was already interested in this. Since freezing isn't always a long term safe option I had found canned butter online.   I even emailed a New Zealand company to try and find out where I could buy it but they never even replied.  I found several companies that make it but no where to buy it... and it was expensive.  But I think like soap, sugar, fabric.... in a downturn or crisis some canned butter would be worth more than gold!   You can also buy powdered butter but I think canned whole butter would be much nicer.

So over to Vicky ....

Let's Talk Canning! 

Last time we talked about water bath canning and the foods we are able to put up with that method. This time let's look at pressure canning. This method uses steam and weight and the pressure canners themselves vary some have a weight that rocks, some have gages and some are self regulating which I find the easiest. Water boils at around 212 degrees and steam is around temps of 240 and 250 degrees. The steam rises and the weight forces it back down to basically vacuum seal the jars. Pressure canning uses less water, but usually requires more processing time. The foods we pressure can are low acid which is why hotter temperatures are required to ensure that if any bacteria is present it cannot survive and enables a long shelf life. 

Things that we are able to add to the pantry by pressure canning are numerous and after the initial investment saves us a lot and helps reduce waste, saves freezer space, builds the pantry and is great for emergencies or power outages because you can just open and heat it quick or eat it right out of the jar. 

What do we pressure can? Carrots, potatoes, green beans, dry beans, meat and wild game,  soups, stews, veggie combinations for soups or stews, peas, corn and cubes of squashes or pumpkins and more. 

We can have a good variety in the pantry if we choose and know exactly what's in it and where it comes from. 

It can be a little scary the first time or two you pressure can, but it's really not that hard. 

I know many are afraid they will explode. That doesn't happen as often as you think. My husbands grandma did have one explode, but she admitted she had left it unattended. Pressure canning does require attention. 

And there a few things to remember like if you are canning ingredients like soup for example and if you have ingredients that could be water bathed, but ingredients that have to be pressure canned  as well you always pressure can. And we can get away with reusing jars from jars of mayo or whatever from the store, but do not put them in a pressure canner. There is a higher possibility they will explode under the pressure. 

And once you are confident in your canning and get past any fears that you will poison your family there are things you can as well. Like butter! Did I say butter? Oh yes I did! You can also can cheese and cream cheese.

 Just think if there are shortages, rising costs or you plan to go off the grid there is a way to have butter on hand or ghee if you prefer. 

Stay tuned! The next canning post will be on canning some butter. 

XOXO

Vicky

Thank you Vicky! You opened my eyes to a new possibility!  So I can't wait until next week.

As a result I am now reading up further and have decided I want to start with pressure canning.

I am reading this lovely blog The Iowa Housewife.  Look how good these carrots look! So I am planning carrots. And butter of course.  I very often see cream on good deals.  If I find these I am going to make my own butter then can it.  Ok wish me luck.... and help from Vicky who is actually canning butter this week especially to photograph the process to teach us step by step!  

Now for my challenge this week:

The cotton fabrics I got from the op shop saved me at least $50.

The mattress protectors each saved me around $20 and the ones that tuned out to be a pure wool filled quilt and a pure wool fleece underlay were both worth around $200 each even if I am conservative!  You bet I am counting these as savings as they will be put to use and upgrade woollen bedding supplies.  

I will say I saved $20 on pizzas I made and $10 on jars of pesto. 

I did all the usual stuff like cook at home and make lunches and so on.  Also I did my hair colour and trim.  

It is so satisfying to see savings adding up.  Much of my savings are being channelled into my cottage project which I consider an investment.   Other savings go towards adding to the pantry and preparedness.  Due to the current virus situation Andy and I ordered two new spare pumps for our water tanks.  This is because Australia gets almost all pumps from China and a shortage would be very bad for us.  So now we will be ahead with spares.  It pays to be very watchful!

How did you save this week?

If you have any tips or success stories on pressure canning please share.

Also if you have questions I am sure Vicky and others will be happy to help you! 

I am hoping this is an area that I can begin to use to stock up my pantry and also save freezer space. xxx

The Vicky Challenge, 2020.

Having just moved last year I found it too hard to do my normal Vicky Challenge.  But it is time to take it up again!

Some of you joined in during 2017 and 2018, some of you are still doing it.  For anyone who needs a refresher (and anyone new)  you will find the original starter posts here.   This challenge was started by Vicky when she explained some of her ways to me.  I thought it was a brilliant idea!

In a nutshell it is simply about tracking all the ways you save at home and adding the savings up each week.  I always stress that your presence in the home is about far more than the financial situation and the importance of running the house, caring for children and all you do is literally far above rubies.   This challenge factors in the actual money you are earning.   I say earring because saving and earning are so alike.   Money earned is taxed.   Money you save by doing things yourself will not be taxed.  You get to keep more of it.

Vicky adds her weekly savings up at the end of each week.  Then the month and finally the year.  To many of us this is very motivating.  When you see how much difference your efforts make to the household economy it is exciting!   Usually you will find this is easily a whole wage.  If you work full or part time you can do it too and count the ways you save in the hours you are at home.

If you are a stay home Mum or ever have been someone has probably said something along the lines of  "don't you FEEL you should be contributing financially?"

First things first.  I had this from someone I knew well one time  I asked her how much then did she contribute financially to her family?  She had two small children and was working.  She said what her wage was but that is not what I wanted to know.  I was asking how much profit did she make?  She said she had no idea.  So we worked it out.  Out came paper and pen. We sat and wrote out wages less tax.  We took out childcare.  We took out uniforms, hosiery, dry cleaning, transport and fuel.  We took at work parties presents and contributions and convenience foods as she was so short on time.   The long and short of it is she was earning about 50c an hour.
Now I am not saying all jobs equal this result.  But many do.  And I am not saying it was not her choice either.  I am just saying hey, with my home industry I am saving a lot more than 50c an hour thanks very much!
So really the truth of it may not be what it seems.

Then I get "aren't your bored at home?"  Well no.  I am so busy I don't have time to be bored.  There are not enough hours in the day.  So I cannot figure this one out at all.

It is up to you what savings you count.  I do not count housework.  But if you want you can count that and if you take up cleaning your own home over hiring a cleaner I certainly would count it.    I do count window cleaning as a number of times in the past I have paid a window cleaner.
I count my baking.   This week I made four dozen sausage rolls.  

I need to check our local bakery prices.  But lets say  full size sausage rolls are $5.  Then I made $240 worth of sausage rolls.   Now I will estimate my costs to be around $30 as I cheated and bought pastry!   So my savings are around $210.   Not bad for an afternoons work.
Further, the supply of quick tasty meals in the freezer means we basically never get take away.  I won't even bother to count that but I hear it is nothing for a lot of families to spend $2000 a year on takeaway!

I do my own hair.  In Adelaide I dropped into the three closest hair dressers for a price list.  To my surprise I was saving  $200+ a month.  I should now check our new local prices.  This week Chloe trimmed my hair for me.  I do my own colour and treatments.  It can't be too bad as I get compliments on my hair.  This is a savings of over $2400 a year.

When Andy was working in Adelaide I packed his coffees, lunch and snacks every day.  At that time I worked out this saved around $10 a day.  So that was another $50 a week or two and a half thousand dollars a year.

Even if you would do this challenge for a week you will be amazed!  It is worth doing!  It is certainly motivating.

Week one this year I had so many things to count.   By putting the word out about wanting to can and needing jars I came into over $1000 of free canning equipment and jars!

I count the amount I save on gifts by making them myself.
I count the savings on bargain priced items I find.
The amount saved on things we fix ourselves.
Sometimes I can't quite decide whether to count things or not!  For instance when we came here everyone expected me to want to rip out the kitchen and oven.  But I love all things farmhouse and I love the old oven!   I wonder what I saved there!?!

Savings Andy makes are also counted and this motivates him.   Many things he makes himself or fixes are big savings.

The other day I learned to make Meringues.

Lucy told me she saw a small bag of coloured meringues for $15!  So now I will adapt and make pretty little ones and colour them.  That is my next project!

Just now I have a Pavlova in the oven for Mums Birthday.  Since the eggs are from our chickens it is only costing me a tiny amount.  I will work out my savings and count those.

At Christmas I gave out homemade treats and worked out what I saved there over bought things.  Some of these savings are surprising!

I trying to keep up to date with the going rates for hand crafted goods.  I have found soap making a big saver.  I gave my son in law chunky and rustic homemade soaps.  Some he had were from Lush and they were around $14 a bar!   Mine were just as good or better and cost me so very little.

Making my own laundry detergent is a huge saver.  It worked out to be a savings of about $90 last time I made this up.

Each day there are just so many ways to save!  The possibilities are just endless.  

It is absolutely up to you how you do your own Vicky Challenge and how accurate you want to be.  I mainly to quick checks on retail prices or services, usually get a shock,  then record my approximate savings.   I do not spend too much time on it.  The main thing is I quickly jot things down so I will remember them! 

Tonight I am making pizzas.  I am using tomatoes and basil from the garden.  I will figure out my savings over buying pizza from the nearest place which is a local Tavern.

Apart from it being motivating I think knowing just how much difference you are making to the home economy is very uplifting.  It also gives you ammo when someone tries to tear you down.   Trust me, you may be contributing financially more than them.  Not that is is anyones business but that does not seem to stop negative comments!

At the end of the day you need to know your own worth.  Read Proverbs 31.  Study it.  The work you are doing might involve wiping snotty noses and endless washing but it is more than that.  Building a family and strong foundations, good nutrition, morals, charity, education and so much more are all things that will pay off long term.  The work you do WILL affect at least several generations.  

If you have no children at home then your work is still important.  Read Titus 2.  There is much work to do.  Coming along side a younger woman who needs encouragement, teaching how to save money, how to cook, garden, sew, make soap or whatever you can is helping someone else in their home.  

Many people are struggling and one pay check away from disaster.  The need to learn skills and encouragement are so needed. 

If you really want to save this year ,or just get ahead in any way, it can be helpful to work out what area to attack first.  If gift giving and Christmas are big expenses for you come over and join The Tuesday Afternoon Club, start now and make your gifts for next Christmas! 

I find a secret in crafting too.  I am CONTENT AT HOME.  In fact I would rather be home than anywhere else.  I can't think of anything worse than the mall.  I would rather have time to get some crochet done.  Or some card making.... (Oh the savings in card making!!)  A while ago I said I would rather be making jam than jetting around.  I am serious! 

When you are truly busy growing some veggies,  feeding the chooks,  making your yoghurt, sewing or mending,  baking and decorating and so much more you do not have time to be in the shops.  You are busy.  I say this because shopping is an addiction for many people.  Spending on things you do not need is a big problem for many families.

At one time Friday night pizza night cost us a lot of money.   So I just learned to make a good pizza base and began making my own.  Over time I have picked a lot of areas to see how I can save.   One of my best tips is just to take time to think over any purchase.  Many times a good idea will seem like a stupid idea after a few days.

Now with the money you save you have options.   But I would PLAN what you are going to do as your increase your savings.  It might be wise to pay down debt.  It is always wise to have a good emergency fund. 

Four years ago I gave up weekly coffee and cake and used that money to build up a pantry in my cellar (at our old house).  I saved $8 per week.  I chose half price items to use it on which gave me $16 worth of goods to add to my pantry every week.  Building up a pantry is a very good investment.

You might bank it. You might decide to invest in things that will further increase your savings.   Some of the things we invested in were chickens,  a bigger freezer,  I invested in a spinning wheel...   when I began making my own yoghurt I invested in a yoghurt maker.  If they are well planned they will give you new savings!   

This year my savings are going to be invested in doing up the cottage.  I could have a potential income from letting out the cottage or as a B and B.  To me this will pay me better dividends than the bank.  So that is where most of my savings are going for 2020. 

I hope you can see just how important your work is and how much potential there is to save. 

If you would like to join in you can do it privately or share each week your savings.  We can get so many ideas from each other!   

You are very welcome to ask for ideas and you are very welcome to share how you save.  I would love to hear of anything you have invested in that you feel has helped you save more.  Also any skills you learned that have helped with savings.  

Together we can make 2020 a year of getting ahead, even though it is a year in which we are expecting to see some pretty big food price rises. We are battling ever increasing electricity and water prices also.  But when things get tough the tough get going!  So be encouraged. xxx

Good investments.

This is my third post to get the year started!  First, The Tuesday Afternoon Club and lots of making and creating.  Second a use it up and set it to good use challenge. And now something about wise investments.  I think I have set my intentions and focus for the year!

There are a lot of things that I think are the best investments I ever made.  Some are investments of time and others are things.   With moving to the country we have had to make quite a few investments in equipment that will help us live here and manage some of the challenges.  Some are for safety too. So as circumstances change you have to re consider your investments.

My all time best investments that I can think of are:

Collecting big storage jars for most of my life.  Most have been 50c but these days I still might add one for two or three dollars.  I love them.  They store so much.

The same with Pyrex and Corningware cookware.  All from op shops!  I am not a fan of cooking or storing in plastic and these just go on and on.

Slow cookers.  Oh my goodness my slow cookers are my best handmaiden!  Some I have from new and others $5 in the op shop.  It is nothing for me to have three going at once!
Learning to use it and things like turning left over casseroles into beautiful meat pies has built up my freezer so often.  Right at this moment I know there are a dozen meat pies in the freezer ready and waiting.

Learning to cook from scratch, make stock and soups.

Learning to crochet, knit, sew and embroider.  And mending!

Chickens!  Chooks are one of the best investments!  Always having eggs and never having any green waste is just wonderful.  Plus bug control and fertiliser for the garden.

My non electric yoghurt maker.  I always have fresh yoghurt and never have to buy sour cream or buttermilk either as it substitute for them all.  Also probiotics!

Insulated lunch boxes, thermos, insulated travel mugs... picnic basket.  All of these save a fortune.  I cannot imagine what they save.  One time before we moved I worked out two coffees at work would be about $8 a day for Andy.  That is what his work mates spent.  And this didn't include the actual lunch.  He worked taking his insulated coffee cup or thermo everyday for five years.  Five working years at  $8 a day is over $10,000 savings in coffee alone.  I thought this has to be wrong but it isn't!
Imagine what the insulated lunch bags saved!

Twice last year I went on long day trips with my Dad.  Before we left I packed a picnic of rolls and slices of fruit cake, a thermos of tea,  a thermo of coffee, cups etc.  As the day wore on and we had travelled a lot of miles Dad pulled up under a big tree and we took a break.  Out came the drinks and the cake.  Dad  happily talked to me about all kinds of things out there on the side of the road, in this beautiful scenery and miles form no where.  I thought what a good investment it was to have made up these picnic supplies.  At that lovely moment it felt like the best investment ever.

Other things include:

My sewing machine.

My mix master.

A good mattress!

Essential oils and learning about them.

Decent first aid, medical supplies and a first aid course.

The things Andy has invested in is a whole additional list but he has a tool for everything and can fix most things.  Tools are a great investment.

So many skills are a great investment.  I took embroidery classes years ago and embroidery became a sideline income for me.  Each new skill we learn seems to pay dividends!

Maybe " the set it to use"  and making things challenges you will save some money.  If so investing in something that will save you more money (or time)  is a way to get further ahead.   You can multiply your savings many times over with good investments!

What are some of the things that have helped you the most?
What have you invested in that really paid big dividends?

Some investments we are planning now include fruit trees to establish a bigger orchard.
Because we invested in a trailer we can go pick up a heap of manure for the garden.  If we invest our time in this the benefits go on and on.  One good investment leads to another!

Tomorrow is the first Tuesday Afternoon Club "get together" on Facebook and next Tuesday will be the first one here on the blog.  xxx

The World Within our Walls. Getting ahead with meals.

We have talked about how important meals are to the comforts of home.  Not just filling bellies but the smell of cooking when family come in the door, meal times together. Celebrations.  Soup on a cold night.  There are so many beautiful family moments around the table.

Achieving all these meals is another thing!   There is shopping, budgeting, menu planning, leaning new recipes, using up left overs,  staying ahead of life little surprises like visitors, illness, storms and simply sometimes running out of time.

I am a member of quite a few Facebook groups and blogs and one thing I continually see are posts by people who are simply out of food.   They have children to feed and they have run out of money before pay day and the pantry isn't in good shape either.
Then of course there is illness and other things that go wrong where even if the fridge is full we are too sick to do anything about it!  There are too many reasons we might fail to get dinner on the table to list!   It happens.  It has probably happened to us all at some time.

If you are new here I have lots of posts on Pantries and Preparedness in my index.  I have spent a few years now building up my pantry and supplies so I always have lots of meals I can make even if the shops were shut.

Having a baking day or a baking afternoon is a great way to get ahead with meals. 

And use stuff up!  This is a post with some handy recipes.... The money saving baking day.

It was with the help of Laine that I really changed my shopping habits drastically.  I went from going to the supermarket and getting what I needed and coming home to shopping many different shops, markets and locations every month and menu planning from what I had, what needs using up and what great deals I have found. It kind of flipped grocery shopping upside down!  Shopping this way roughly doubled my stock or halved my bill whichever way you want to look at it.
You can read this post and Laine's menu planning here.

Once I got going on menu planning I developed a system where I keep a list on the fridge of all the ready to go meals I have in the fridge, freezer and pantry currently.  This list is always changing but I like to have at least thirty meals listed.
My pantry itself holds more possible basic meals but my list is usual meals I either have ready to thaw or cook from the fridge.   These are good backups but I also want actual ready meals too, meals that just need thawing with no work involved for times I might be sick or unable to think!
Once I did this it became both a challenge and a form of security.
All the time I am working on building up my list!

During a week I will cross off things as I have used them.   When I shop or do some cooking I will love to add all the meals to my list and get a few more!   Trying to do this has made me see many more ways to stretch a meal, use things up, create a new meal with left overs....  save something over for another meal. I will think about how I can add a meal to my list!
The list also stops me from forgetting something at the bottom of the freezer and later finding mystery packages that need carbon dating to identify!  So less is wasted!

When I cook up some spaghetti sauce this is a chance to freeze a few batches for later.

I will also make up a Lasagna. 

When it is cold it slices neatly and then you can freeze single portions. 

These are so handy! 

Saturday night Chloe came to watch the Royal Wedding.  I had a huge crockpot going full of pumpkin soup and I made pumpkin scones (gf) as I love soup and Chloe loves this pumpkin one.   Andy ate left over roast chicken pieces and scones.  This was all in front of the TV where we were snuggled up!   It wasn't a normal meal but everyone was happy.
Last night I had more soup and I heated up a Spaghetti Bolognese pasta bake for Andy.  I had one individual portion frozen from another time.  He loved that and I loved my soup.   Sunday nights are often a use it up night.  This is a breakthrough for me as years ago I though everyone needed to have the same thing for dinner (for some reason) and now if there are a few things left over then we will have a meal of this and that.

Other ways to build up some spare meals are to simply always double a recipe if you possibly can and put away a meal.

 I have had it where people keep coming back for more regardless of how much they just ate.  (Years ago I had this problem although not now.)    I learned to set it aside immediately and put it out of the way.  

Add a side to a dish that can be stretched to two meals.  And/or add a soup or a desert that will stretch it further into "enough".

To make up casseroles in the slow cooker and bulk them up with lots of veggies.   The left overs then make the most wonderful pie fillings.   Keep some puff pastry in the freezer.   Pies freeze as perfect instant meals.  You can make family sized pies or individual ones.  Little ones in muffin trays are lovely for children.   Pies are great emergency meals!

Have a use it up night and create a pizza, fried rice, soup or something with all your odds and ends left over.  Make extra and fill the lunch boxes for tomorrow.

Serve up lots of left overs Indian style in little bowls,  add some rice, bread, salad or something to make it go further.

Have a toasted sandwiches,  eggs on toast night.   Toasties and soup used to be one of my favourite dinners.

Save ingredients for another time.  Mimi mentions this... be aware of what is enough and save something for another time.  Over time you get extra meals this way.

Half your expensive ingredient and double the rest.   i.e. if I am making something like Blueberry Muffins I will use a single recipe amount of the berries and I will double the rest.  Same with chocolate chips etc.  No one notices, you just get more!   This recipe will use up a tiny bit of anything and turn it into a tray of muffins....  Miracle Muffins.  (sweet or savoury)

When you have an abundance have a cook up.   These were cobblers I made in my last house when I had lots of apricots.  I would just make as many as would fit in the oven....

They were great on soup nights!

The same with baking....  if dinner is a smaller meal I have fruit cake on hand to offer.

Then I am glad I had a baking day and stored these away!

Right now I can get extra meals by having a quick look in the fridge and crisper.  I can freeze some portions of soup giving me a couple of emergency meals.  I know I have two zucchini to use.  I will see what else.... then make a plan to use these up in the next few days.   Doing this I very often get a couple of extra creative meals.  I can build my list!  

The slow cooker is a big help to me as when you make soup, a casserole, curry etc you can add so many things that are left overs...  my pumpkin soup on the weekend had a bunch of broccolini stalks thrown in.   My last casserole had a few tomatoes added that needed to be used.   Spaghetti sauce is a place you can hide all kinds of grated veggies.   So is meatloaf, sausage rolls, hamburgers, rissoles... you can fill all of these with veggies that need to be sued up and greatly bulk out your meat.  (and also trick kids who are being difficult!)

How do you speech ingredients and make more meals from what you have?

Do you have tricks to get ahead and save?   

I think our Mum's and Grandmas were experts at this!   My Nan used to make a tomato bake Nans Tomato Pie  that consisted of zucchini, onion, tomato, bread and cheese topping.  She also make great stuffing!   These were served with roast meals.  I LOVED them both.  It took me years to realise she was stretching the meat much further by all the sides she served! 

Other cultures do this wonderfully... the English add Yorkshire Puddings.

Asian cultures tend to add lots of little bowls of sides and the meat part is actually quite small but it goes such a long way!  You have wonderful sauces and condiments, rice and veggies... the meat portion goes a mile! 

We can learn a lot from this!

However you achieve it having meals to fall back on when you need them adds a lot of peace and security to your home.  I look at my list on the fridge and think that actually when I shop I need nothing.  The only money I will spend is on absolutely fantastic deals.  With luck these will get me further ahead!

I hope you have a wonderful week!  I have lots of plans including a further afield shopping day and seeing Hilde.... this always builds up my pantry. xxx

Gardening with Sewingcreations.

Regular readers here all know Sewingcreations and how she and her husband work so hard toward building their house deposit fund.  Gardening always features in her household savings.  Eventually some of us started saying that we just have to see this garden and learn more!

Very kindly Sewingcreations is taking us on a garden tour and giving us her tips on how to garden inexpensively.  I could have almost included this post in The World Within Our Walls as really our garden and surroundings are such an important part of the world we create and live in.  A garden and a beautiful setting are so wonderful.  Over to Sewingcreations...

We have around 188 square metres of herb, berry and vegetable gardens here which supplies us with most of our vegetables all year round which we blanch and freeze and use fresh as well.

A little story about the gardens is that none of the back gardens were here in our rental property when we arrived and we put them all in ourselves as we had the money to do so. We funded everything piece by piece by doing cleaning and gardening jobs. The back garden beds were set up for about $400 with the drip irrigation systems and we also funded buying 2 x 1100 lt water tanks by doing paid gardening jobs for others too. I might add ask permission if you are in a rental whether it is okay to put in garden beds but most real estates are only too happy to see lovely gardens set up in rental properties.

Our on going vegetable garden costs are mostly covered by selling saved garden seeds and dried herbs we produce in our gardens on the internet as well as a bit of paid gardening work that DH does.

The ways we save money in the gardens are -

- To buy our cow manure from a local livestock transport company for $25 for 3 cubic metres and likewise buy our horse manure from a local horse stud for $20 for 3 cubic metres that they both load into our trailer by front end loader. This saves an absolute fortune over buying bags of manure in our local garden centre for the same quantity.

- For our mulch we mix half dried grass clippings, leaves and half Lucerne hay we also buy for around 1/3 saving from a local horse stud to mulch our gardens with. We run over this in piles with our ride on lawn mower with a catcher and then back it up to the garden beds to use. This saves so much money not buying hay as often as the price of hay is getting expensive here.

- We save around 50% or more of our own seeds that we plant year in year out which saves a huge amount on buying seeds from the local garden centre. For instance as we have bred heirloom tomatoes over the last 4 years that are now frost resistant we squeeze the seeds into the ground and have fresh tomatoes all year round.

- From our fellow gardening friends we get plant cuttings and bulbs which we use in our gardens and we trade amongst one another which saves a huge amount on buying plants and herbs.

- When planting seeds in the gardens we plant directly into the garden beds in bulk around a few drippers and then transplant them when they get bigger. This saves on rain water usage for supplement watering rather than planting in every drip irrigation hole.

- The household lawns and flower beds get watered with saved grey water from our showers and washing machine as we use biodegradable products for both. We also use our white grey water for watering vegetable seeds in on occasion if there is severe water restrictions and we alternate with fresh town water watering too.

All I can think of currently but I hope this gives people lots of ideas to save money in their gardens and know that even if you are renting you can supply food for your families all year round just as we do.

Sewingcreations15.

Thank you so much I love it all!  My ambition!  I love the row of pumpkins. I want the biggest pumpkin patch that is my dream!  Whether we have smaller or larger gardens it is a matter of making the most of the space.   Sewingcreations what you have done on a rental property is amazing!

I hope you all have a good week!
Do you have any money saving tips that help set up, maintain or plant a garden?
xxx