The Cheapskates Club workshop.

On Saturday I attended the Cheapskate Club workshop in Adelaide. I also presented some tips on how to greatly reduce your beauty budget and some things you can do yourself, for little cost, that are very helpful and pampering.
It was a lot of fun. The best bit though was meeting Cath and Wendy! I feel as if I have known Cath for years but have never met her. And I feel like I have known Wendy for ages but had never met her either.
It is funny how we can truly become good friends without meeting.
Then to top it off I met Tania from  One Contented Homebody. as well. She travelled down from the edge of the outback to come. What's more she brought a huge bag of mandarins from her tree all that way! It was so lovely to meet another friend.

Cath had asked me to talk about pampering and saving money. This is a huge area we can save in. We all like to feel nice and look after ourselves but the whole beauty industry is full of tricks to get us to apart with money on products that really don't work. And then buy things we don't need! At the same time there are treatments we can do at home just as well as a salon for a fraction of the price.
We can spend this money in much better ways. Whether it is building an emergency fund or building up your pantry saving money in this area can be a massive help.

At one time I had a lot to do with a lovely beauty salon here in Adelaide. They did a range of treatments and I got to meet all kinds of specialists including plastic surgeons, therapists, podiatrists, nail technicians, you name it! I was often the voluntary guinea pig and girls training in the industry practised on me! I got to try heaps of things! Consequently I have tried a lot of things! And I asked a lot of questions!
When Chloe and Lucy worked for Lancome, Clinique, Napoleon Perdis, Revlon etc I sure learned a lot too and when Lucy studied makeup artistry and hair styling etc I was also the guinea pig at the academy she studied at. Well, this was all very interesting!
There are some things that work and some good products. But there are a lot of things that are all smoke and mirrors!

I soon learned not to spend my money and learned how to do all kinds of things at home. It was very handy!

The other day Helen was telling me about someone who spends $400 a month on her hair. I told Cath this and she said that is more than their entire food budget! Yes, it is a lot. But I went to two local salons to price the things I do every month and if I went to the hair dressers I honestly would be almost spending that much. But I probably only spend about $30 a month. (I never go to hairdressers ever). So that saving alone is kind of mind boggling. Chloe never goes to a hairdresser and nor does Lucy.

It doesn't look that bad! Chloe actually solved all her hair problems by stopping most of what she was doing and just letting her hair do it's own thing! She used to curl it, straighten it... now she just wears it how it is naturally which is a bit curly! And ta da! People ask her who is her hairdresser? I wish I knew what the three of us collectively saved. However Chloe does cut Lucy's hair. Her style is short and that is a harder thing to do... so she has Chloe cut it.

The thing is you would be surprised what you can do at home! Hair colour is one of the easiest things to do at home, that is so handy and such a big saving.
If you know a hairdresser and go to their home or they come to you then you are probably getting great value hairdressing. But going to a top salon is a very expensive thing. And they are required to sell you products, a lot of products! Some of these add up to the cost of the hair services again. Many like clarifying shampoo can be replaced at home by an Apple Cider Vinegar rise for a few cents. That will get product build up out of your hair and restore shine instead of the $30 shampoo you might be encouraged to buy. And this is just one example!


I have written a few posts on beauty related things... there is an index on the side bar... go to beauty and you will find a few posts. So far I covered...

A very good way to DIY your own microdermabrasion. Ok. it is not really mircodermabrasion but the results are the closest thing I have ever found and are fantastic! Really fantastic! This is a really massive thing for your skin. If it is well exfoliated moisturisers etc go in! Your skin feels soo smooth. Makeup glides on. You look fresher. Truly it is lovely. You save a couple of hundred dollars every time you do this. My post on this is called The Softest Skin.

I also have posted about detox baths and the power of bathing for relaxation.
The use of silk pillowcases for beauty and your hair. And how they can be made very cheaply if you find 100% pure silk scarves or possibly a dressing gown in the op shop!

A simple way to accessorise... use the colour of your eyes and the colour of your hair. You will always look great as your hair and eyes go with you everywhere. So wear those colours or carry a bag one of those colours etc.
Use the colours of nature for colour combo ideas. This gives amazing schemes we would not normally think of. ie brown loves blue.

How to make bath soak and luxurious bubble bath...

So after this workshop I have decided to add some more posts on ways to save lots of money on beauty and pampering. Some things will make beautiful gifts as well. Saving is saving.

One way to work out what areas you could really save in and so would be worth doing yourself (or finding an inexpensive alternative) is to work out your annual spend on each area. Sometimes things sound quite reasonable until you hear it as an annual cost. Then suddenly it seems shocking! THEN you think what else could I do with this amount of money? You can have a huge impact with this!

I have been so passionate about building up the pantry and emergency fund that lately I didn't blog about beauty treatments etc. But here is a way to possibly free up some money and use it to do both of those things in your household or perhaps save for a holiday, pay off debt....

If there are any subjects you would like covered would you please let me know?

This is me, Wendy and Cath.I felt proud to be associated with these ladies. Both have been on TV so many times. On Saturday there were TV cameras again and neither bat an eyelid or get frazzled by that!


 It was lovely to meet so many people wanting to learn how to save, how to stretch their food dollar and how to do better.
Several ladies asked me questions afterwards and I invited them to ask anything here in comments and I will try to help. Hello to those ladies if you are here!

Cath and Wendy are so passionate to help people cope with their budgets. Learning new skills can be the biggest saver of all. Making your own items from condensed milk through to washing powder can save a fortune. All of these recipes are on  The Cheapskares Club website.

Wendy runs a discussion on The Cheapskates Forum  which is a $300 a month challenge. This is based on a family of four. Reading it through from the beginning is fantastic. Each month she covers a new subject. Her blog is My Abundant Life.

I hope you had a great weekend as I did!

And now for a new week! I am heading off to do some shopping and errands so that I can get the week moving well. I hope we all have a wonderful week. We can learn a lot in a week! xxx

Feather your Nest Friday, 14 Aug. 2015.

I am quite excited today as its Friday and tomorrow I am presenting a work shop at The Cheapskates Club day in Adelaide!  I get to meet Cath, Wendy and Tania all in one day! My aim will be to save everyone who attends THOUSANDS of dollars over the next few years.

This week was really good and yesterday was the best day. I had so much luck!  I had a Target catalogue for a sale and yesterday was the first day. So I planned to go and do my grocery shopping afterwards.  In the catalogue there was something that I thought  would save me a lot of money this summer. So in I went....

My favorite item from Target is a pretty stretch knit and lace nighty I wear (night gown). It is lovely. They have it fairly often and bring it out in different colors. Years ago I had one similar from a lingerie shop that had been quite expensive. But the material in it wasn't terribly nice. And one day I saw Target had something similar and the fabric felt just lovely. So I bought my first one and it was about one third the price of my original one. Well, I LOVED it. Over the last five years I have had a heap of them. They bring them out in different lengths and designs. I feel comfy in them but they are super pretty.
Anyway yesterday they were all marked down to $10 and $7. And in about eight colors!  I pretty much stood there giddy with excitement! Especially as I am down to my last two and they are looking a bit sad.

I was thrilled! I stocked up!
In fact all up the things I bought... the nighties, a top for Andy, summer sandals... it all came to less that that original nightie. I had so much stuff. I am still smiling!

Some other ways I saved money this week:

I found a $6 pack of turkish breads for $1. It will make several meals.

Tomatoes and apples were on great specials. Both under $2 a kilo. So I bought up.

We had a creative meal of left overs.

I almost finished another Christmas Present. You can see me working through different color schemes... these are to match my friends kitchens. This one is a black and white kitchen.

I still have the black one to finish so you can see my hook and yarn. I will tie them up with a big black satin bow.

Also for my Uncles Birthday I made a garden bowl into a succulent garden. Using Shelley's idea that she told me a couple of Friday's ago I added a little sign to it... I love it! This makes the gift and a card all in one and is really cute! Thanks Shelley. 

Earlier in the week I made all those sausage rolls, banana cakes and muffins. (recipe was Monday) These made the week so easy. I still have an enormous number in the freezer.  Wonderful to have.

The cake I sliced and wrapped portions in non stick paper. A slice thaws out in minutes. Muffins that quite fast also. I can pop one in Andy's lunch box and it is fine by lunch anyhow. And perfectly fresh!

I built up my home by adding to my pantry and cellar.  I added meals to the freezer. And I learned to use a grinder for my dried herbs. I had always crumbled them... and it is too coarse. 

I hope you had a good week! We are all probably feeling the change in the seasons...

Here there are signs of spring everywhere! Blossoms on trees and flowers peeking out. Yesterday I saw this gorgeous tree on the way to Lucy's. Glorious! It was humming with bees.

(I don't know what it is, if anyone knows please tell me!)

I really love the seasons. They stop one thing from getting monotonous. I loved winter, being inside listening to the rain, hot stews and soups, crocheting a rug and it keeping me warm as I work on it. A rest from watering the garden.

Now I am looking forward to some sunshine again. I am thinking about what I will plant and all the fruit I might be able to collect and make jams and pies and wonderful things. Easy meals of cold meats and salads... 

We just need to get stuck into what the season we are in has to offer! We don't want to waste the blessings of the season. To me summer is the busiest of them all. It is our chance to put away a lot of fresh produce. I am quite excited just thinking about it!

How did you save money and feather your nest this week? xxx

Pantries and Preparedness. A lesson on food preserving by Glenda.

Last week we talked about it is better to have something rather than nothing. Now on to a whole series of ways to preserve food so we can build up our supplies and make the most of what we might have or have come by on a great special. There are so many ways to build up a pantry!

This week I am thrilled to have a post by Glenda who is a great teacher to me. Before we get started I have to show you Glenda's stove...

I just love it. I just had to show you!

Now over to Glenda...

There are many ways of preserving foods to stock our deep pantry shelves. History is the best teacher to learn different methods of food preservation, storage, and stocking. Very early forms of preservation of foods were sun drying, open fire or stove drying, salting, smoking, fermenting, and root cellaring.

In earlier times, farm wives and homesteaders grew what they were going to eat for the upcoming year. The homemaker had to work long and hard in her garden and in the kitchen, preserving the food for the non-growing months. The Little House on the Prairiebooks are full of examples of the hardworking homesteaders and the difficulties they faced. Laura Ingalls Wilder, wrote in her book Farmer Boy: “There was no rest and no play for anyone now. They all worked from candle-light to candle-light. Mother and the girls were making cucumber pickles, green-tomato pickles, and watermelon-rind pickles; they were drying corn and apples, and making preserves. Everything must be saved, nothing wasted of the summer’s bounty. Even the apple cores were saved for making vinegar.”

Early homesteaders built smoke houses to smoke the meat for winter. Sometimes, the meat was hung and the dairy items kept in early ice houses which were built with thick insulated walls and high up ventilation. The ice would be packed in sawdust to preserve it for long periods of time. Some ice houses were built partially underground.

The modern form of canning in jars and cans is relatively new. Jar and metal can preserving of foods was first developed in the early 1800’s. The modern two piece canning jar lid was not invented until 1915. We live in an age of blessings and convenience.

In our home, we employ several methods of food preservation. All work well and, due to modern conveniences, it takes a lot less time than it would have 200 years ago to preserve foods.

Air drying is one of my favorite ways to dry herbs, although they can also be dried in a dehydrator. I hang the herbs, I cut from the yard, on a large clothes drying rack in a room with a southern facing window.

I cut the herbs, place a rubber band around the stems then put a large paper clip through the rubber band. Next I make a label for the herb bunch and put the label on the paper clip. I hook the paper clip over string or ribbon that has been tied onto the dryer rungs. This is a very easy and inexpensive way to dry herbs to use during the year for cooking.

Once dry, I place the bunch on a piece of wax paper, fold the wax paper over and roll it around rather vigorously to shake loose the leaves. I dispose of the stems and grind the leaves in a small manual herb grinder, then store them in labeled glass canning jars of various sizes for future use. I sometimes vacuum seal the canning jars if I have a lot of an herb, which keeps the herbs fresher longer.

Dehydrating foods, using a food dehydrator, is another favorite method of food preservation. Dehydrated food saves a lot of space on shelves as it reduces in size significantly during the dehydrating process. We use our dehydrator for drying fruit and vegetables. One year we were blessed with 250 pounds of fruit from one of our dwarf plum trees, so after canning plums, canning plum conserve, and canning plum jam, we dehydrated the remainder to eat like candy.

Carrots and celery are easy to dehydrate and inexpensive when found on sale. They are nice additions to soup, stews, and casseroles during the winter. We purchase a four pound bag of organic carrots from Sam’s Club for $2.98. We wash the carrots thoroughly, then dry them before slicing into a uniform size with the electric slicer. Then we just lay the slices on the dehydrator trays and dry for the specified time required. Celery is done the same way. A good old fashioned cutting board, a sharp knife, and a good eye for size will elicit the same results.

In season, most fruits and vegetables are available for a reasonable price in grocery stores or at Farmer’s Markets. It is relatively easy to grow one’s own fruit and vegetables. People are now enjoying their home grown food in areas as small as patio’s and balconies. Many vegetables and herbs grow very well in pots. Some people are fortunate and know gardeners that have excess and will either give it away or sell it at a very inexpensive price. Some farms allow people to pick berries, corn, or other farm produce and purchase it less expensively. Some people who have fruit trees will allow neighbors to glean the produce as they don’t want it for themselves. Water bath canning, pressure canning, or dehydrating these items adds significantly to the pantry and food security for difficult times.

We purchase broccoli, fruit, and chicken breasts, currently, from Sam’s Club in large packages. It is very cost effective to buy a large bag of organic vegetables or fruit and break it down into serving sized portions and vacuum seal it.

I love the vacuum sealer attachment for the Food Saver as it helps extend the shelf life of dry goods. I use canning jars for sealing chips, nuts, seasonings/spices, bay leaves, crackers, and many other dry items with the vacuum sealer attachment for jars.

Fermenting foods is another good way to preserve them. Sometimes, depending on the food, it might require refrigeration after the fermentation process. A few foods that would classify as fermented would be yogurt, sauerkraut, and fermented vegetables. Wine is, also, a fermented product from grapes. Elderberry wine or syrup is a wonderful addition to the home pantry.

A good source of information for early methods of food preservation is the bookPreserving Food without Freezing or Canning. This book addresses various preserving techniques using salt, sugar, oil, alcohol, vinegar, dehydrating, cold storage, and lactic fermentation.

A few other books that I have found very useful are Making & Using Dried Foods, by Phyllis Hobson; Sourdough Cookery, by Rita Davenport, and two of my very favorites arePantry Cookbook and Growing and Canning Your Own Food, both by Jackie Clay.

In addition, the internet is a good source for historical and current information on food preservation. If I find an excellent article on the internet I will run a copy, site the source, and save it in a binder for future reference.

Thank you so much Glenda. And also thank you to Glenda's husband John for taking the photos. 

This summer I am planning to use air drying much more. Also to use the sun to dehydrate tomatoes, apricots etc. 
How many times have we wasted things that we could have preserved in some way? Sometimes time beats us. But it doesn't have to. Once I was given a whole bag of plums the day before we were going away on holidays. I put them in the freezer and stewed them and made jam when I got home! The freezer is very handy for buying time!

The more we learn, the more we can save money on food and add to our pantry.

Thank you so much Glenda! xxx

The money saving baking day.

Having staples in your pantry means you always have on hand the means to whip up food and fast! Baking seems like a miracle to me. You go from basic and pretty boring ingredients to amazing things in such a short time. When the cupboard is bare it is time to bake.

The simplest things take minutes and yet a tray of scones or a pile of pancakes are always such a hit. People go crazy over such simple things. The cost is tiny and the fill up hungry bellies factor is huge!

I am going to give you Hilde's Scone Recipe. This is a really easy one and fast. If you know visitors are arriving get this going... or for the kids on the way home from school. Or arrive at someone's with these still warm and deliver them!

Hilde's Easy Scones. (In the US Biscuits)

Turn on the oven to a hot temp. setting.

300 ml carton of cream (10 ounces US)
Use same carton and fill it with milk. Swish to get the last cream as well!
Add to 3 1/2 cups SR Flour.
Mix to a dough. Cut into thick rounds, place close together, bake until lightly golden.
That's it!
Start to cooked in half an hour.

If you are a person like me who makes scones like rocks add a teaspoon of baking powder to your scones. This conquers whatever it is with people like us who turn things that are meant to be light and fluffy into lead. It is the antidote so to speak.

As I always have jam in the pantry if I make scones I have something nice for afternoon tea.

Nana always had baking day. Like she had washing day, shopping day... she had baking day! She was a wonderful cook and made rock cakes (which I loved), biscuits we called cockles which had pale pink icing in the middle.... sponges, sponge rolls, fairy cakes, cream kisses, cream puffs,  pies, pasties, sausage rolls... so many beautiful things!

I used to have whole baking days and make enormous supplies for school lunch boxes and things like that. Now I tend to make a lot of something at one time and then divide it up into many meals to use and freeze. Number one is using things that come my way or are a big special or maybe just something that needs using up like some tired carrots or apples.

Last week I was given nine bananas. So on the weekend I made banana muffins and banana cakes. These are good and easy and freeze really well. I also peeled and froze several for smoothies later.

This is a recipe I have used for years. I use it for cakes or muffins.

1 1/2 cups milk with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice added.
2 cups raw sugar.
1 teaspoon bi carb soda.
380 g butter (10 oz)
4 eggs.
sprinkle cinnamon.
4 ripe bananas.
5 cups SR flour.
Soften your butter and add in sugar, beat, add eggs, then milk, bananas and flour mix in.

Makes one very large tray cake. ie in your largest baking tray.
Or medium cake and 12 muffins.
Or loaves... or whatever suits.
Line your pan with non stick baking paper.
Bake in medium oven until risen and skewer comes out clean.
(muffins 15 minutes as a guide)

You can use ordinary icing or this cream cheese one...

2 packs cream cheese, 1 cup icing sugar, a tablespoon golden syrup. Blend until smooth.


This weekend I made 12 giant sized muffins and a medium cake from this.

Some were eaten, some frozen some given away. It make a lot!

I gave half the cake to Chloe to slice up and freeze for her work lunches.

Then I made a big lot of sausage rolls. Forty four to be exact! I find these really handy in the freezer.

Now I haven't costed my ingredients but I took notice in the local bakery and 44 sausage rolls would be about $150. Making them is a fraction of that. But I could also cost and compare my muffins and cake.
Stopping to grab lunch out, buying from the school canteen etc. all adds up very quickly.

Once I made a couple of dozen pretty cupcakes and compared the pice with the local shop. My two dozen cupcakes were so cheap to make but would have cost $105 at the local cup cake shop. I am pretty sure they cost under ten dollars to make.
The savings by baking are not small, they are crazy! If you do some comparisons it can be very motivating to start baking!

Yesterday the boys went fishing. They headed off out the door with hot sausage rolls wrapped in foil and in a hot pack to keep them warm, a pile of banana muffins and some drinks. (very happily) I don't know what this saved but compared to them stopping somewhere and buying food, no doubt a lot.

                                                       Mt. Sausage Roll. South Australia. :)

This morning I had a visitor and sausage rolls were in the oven. My visitor said "your house smells BEAUTIFUL" and again my supply was a hit!

Lunch boxes are full, the freezer is stocked up. That is the power of doing a bit of baking.
When yummy things are in the fridge and freezer no one looks to going out for food.  All those emergency times are avoided. A lot of money is saved. And you get asked questions like "are there any more of those sausage rolls left?"

There isn't always time to bake but when you have an hour or two if you whip up a big batch of something it is an investment that really saves money. It doesn't hurt your popularity either!  The thing is you don't have to do anything complicated for everyone to think it's wonderful. I stick to really easy things and make big batches.

To be able to pop things into lunch boxes for the next few days is so easy. To have things in the freezer ready for lunch boxes, after school snacks, emergency dinners... it is just such a help. Baking also has a transformative power over less than fresh things like fruit, many vegies, and use it up powers over dairy products etc. If I have apples that need using up I might make an apple pie or crumble. If there is milk or cream that needs using I might make a custard, creme caramel and big pile of pancakes. Cream that needs using might become quiche, scones or go into a baked rice custard.... baking gives many things a second chance at life!

Have a really good week!
Wednesday we have a post from Glenda and we will learn a whole series of ways to preserve foods for our pantry. This will mean options you may not have even thought of to keep excess produce (or inexpensive produce), reduce waste, save money and build up your food storage! xxx

Feather your Nest Friday, 7th August, 2015.

Today I saw pink blossoms on a tree so I know spring is around the corner! But it has been a wet and cold week.

Some of the ways I saved money and build up my home this week were:

I finished pruning the roses.

I took on the pruning back of a big mop top tree we have. It was really overgrown the last couple of years and had lost it's ball shape. Normally a job like this Andy would do. But he has worked every weekend for more than I can remember now. So I decided to take it on. Most of it could be cut with snippers... but maybe twenty branches were too thick and needed a saw. Plus I could only reach these from a ladder. I am very good at falling off ladders but there is a lot of mulch under the tree so I was game.
It took three days of doing as much as I could and I did it! It is now a neat pruned shape so I hope it grows back into the lovely ball it's meant to be!  I'm quite proud of this as it looked really daunting!

I finished another Christmas present.

This is a set of kitchen towels and pot holder. I really enjoyed working on these as they are so pretty and I love the color! 

I kept sewing vegie bags/lingerie bags/gift bags and used up some laces I had by combining them with the tulle. These were fun as bits and pieces turned out really well and I used up what I had.

Also I was given nine bananas. Tomorrow I will make Banana Cake and Muffins and I already froze some for smoothies.

Each morning I drank the juice of a lemon in water. I also sliced up a dozen lemons and froze the slices to put in jugs of water in the summer. I still have about fifty lemons!

Another  one will go into Banana Cake so that's one less!

I added to my pantry and cellar.

I cleaned out and organized a bathroom cupboard. Now I am trying to build up spares of the things that Andy uses like shampoo etc. It looks much better and I can see what we have and what is needed.

Some parsley plants came up in odd spots where they were doomed so I shifted them so they can grow up.

Again I learned new things. And next week hopefully you will too as Glenda has written a contribution about ways to preserve things that is wonderful. I am excited about this!

I cut Andy's hair. Then altered four pairs of good pants for him. They were from an op shop and a really good tailor had made them for someone. They would have been very expensive. Anyway he loves them and they needed slight alterations which I did. Now he has four new pairs of dress pants.

Today it looks like I am spending money. I really need new jeans. It has been a really long time since I had any and the jeans I like are 30% off today only at a shop I know. So today is the day.

I hope you had a great week! There is a lot to be said for being busy and doing what you can to build up your home. It all adds up so fast. You see and feel progress. You see the fruit of your work. We need to feel good about this and be glad about what we did get done and count our blessings.
I think it always applies but in times of stress or worry I do best if I get on and do things. Cook, clean, make someone a meal...  we can make a difference and make the day better by what we do. Achieving a few things makes a big difference to how I feel.
We also need to take into account the season we are in and do the work that presents itself as timely right now. Apart from the seasons in the weather there are other seasons in life... babies through to a grown family and Grand children. All these seasons involve different work and ways of managing things.
Then there are bigger picture seasons. Times to prepare and get ready and we need to be watchful for them too.  That is being prudent. I have come to love this word! I never really knew what it meant! I followed A PRUDENT Homemaker and began to learn what this word means. It is a wonderful word!
It means to be wise or circumspect in affairs, careful in providing for the future, provident.
Provident means "timely preparation for the future."
The Proverbs 31 woman is prudent.
The Prudent Homemaker, it turns out, chose a name that exactly describes her!
Scripture is full of references to being prudent. It is worth a study. Maybe I will do a study on it and make a blog post.
"The prudent see danger and hide, the simple go on and suffer for it"
"a prudent wife is from the Lord"
Now I love this word and think about it a lot. It is prudent to spend your week well!


Having said that there are times when we can't do a thing too. But the times we did get ahead, put food in the freezer etc. cover us during the down times.
Be encouraged that your work makes a world of difference to your family!

How did you save money and build up your nest this week? xxx

Pantries and Preparedness. Something is better than nothing!

One of the highlights of the week is the great letters I get! I am learning so much!  Some time ago Helen and I both watched a series on You Tube called War Time Farm. It was wonderful. It is a British series about England in the war and how they had food shortages, rationing and everyone had to work together to survive. It is really interesting and educational.
I know from my Nan's that they both lived through similar here as Australia had rationing also. We also had a "Dig for Victory" plan that encouraged everyone to grow everything they could and make the most of all produce that could be harvested anywhere.
Rations were pretty minimal.  I know here it was one egg per person per week for a long time. It is easy to look up what rations were  in your country. Mostly it was a little butter, some sugar, a small amount of meat and so on, down to soap rations. People supplemented these rations as best they could with home grown produce etc. Imagine the advantage of having a garden and chickens back then!

Now and then I wonder how people would go today? To begin with there would be a riot over the rations as people would start on individual dietary requirements, is this egg organic? was the chicken free range? and 101 other things. People have come a long way from just being grateful for something to eat.  While I understand preferences when things are ideal ,could people cope with just having to make do?

Conversations such as this led to a lovely email from Vicky which I thought I would share as she touches on the idea that something is better than nothing and it is better overall to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it!

Vicky herself recently experienced living near somewhere with civil unrest. Now apart from natural disasters, weather events and economic issues this is a reason to stay at home we haven't even talked about! But this it seems is becoming quite an issue for some of us. I have several ladies who have written that they fear riots and civil unrest generally and they are now a reality. This is also a time when you would need to stay home and wait it out. Anyway this is from Vicky...

"One of the things I wanted to touch on about stocking our pantries and living frugally is I think that a lot of people think it means going without. Although I have to say yes we do sacrifice to stay home and build our pantries I think some people think it means that you have nothing and go without everything. For new learners I tell them that is really not the case. I don't feel poverty stricken. It is about getting the most bang for your buck! And yes you can have really nice things, it is just a matter of waiting for the best price.  And even though I prepare I am not an obsessed loon I cook and we eat I just do it all on a budget and I have everything budgeted and if it is not in my budget for the month I do not get it. As I said before at first your pantry may look like a mish mash of things, but just a few things at a time and it starts falling into place and that is really all it takes is a few things at a time to start. You know my motto, It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it! One is better than none.

Since you are building your pantry and starting to prepare for whatever may occur let's assess what we may need. For example people talk about bugging out. I am staying right here unless forced so I don't need a bug out bag. If I had to I am confident I could throw things together in a timely fashion so bug out bags are not on my list. As to the main parts it is obviously food, water, being most important and then being able to cook have heat and light and protection.

 So when thinking about your pantry building and what you would like to have, store what you eat and eat what you store (I have had people tell me we only eat fresh, organic no processed foods etc, and I say good luck!) if you are looking at survival you have to compromise. Herein lies the some is better than none. For example if you like a pot of coffee if you could not get coffee would instant be worse than going without? Plus a lot of instant coffee is freeze dried so stores for years longer than regular. If we do happen to eat out which is not often I take sugar, salt and pepper packets home with me. I know what they retail(not expensive) for and all of it is factored into the cost of a meal. They go into my food storage. If I get a free sample of instant coffee or creamer it goes in there too. So could I not get or run out of coffee guess what lady will still be having a cup! And for free to boot!

Assessing the pantry: Do you need or have? These are just examples:

Do you have:

canned goods like vegetables, fruits, soups, broth and gravies

baking products like flours, yeast, boxed cake and brownie mixes, baking cocoa, baking powder and soda and cornstarch

fats like butter, vegetable oil, shortening, lard(which has a longer shelf life),olive oil

proteins like canned meats, tuna, peanut butter, beans, nuts(I keep dry roasted peanuts)

sweeteners like sugar, honey(neither ever expire), brown sugar, powdered sugar

pasta and rice maybe soup mixes

drink items like coffee, hot cocoa tea, chocolate milk mix, protein shakes(can serve a dual purpose), powdered juice mixes or juices and lots of water maybe a little wine or vodka if you like a nip or two.(I am not a drinker, but keep wine given as gifts) instant ice tea and coffee

assorted spices, bouillon, vinegars, flavored extracts, etc.

comfort foods like chocolate, popcorn ( I have lots of M&M's they store well and have many uses), fruit snacks or leathers, things like that 

disposables like paper plates, utensils, foil pans to bake in(in case water is an issue), aluminium foil

household items like toilet paper, hygiene products, garbage bags(sanitation is something to consider) matches or lighters, candles or lamps, batteries

medicines like cold and flu, aspirins, allergy meds or if you are on a prescription somehow getting ahead on those.

Also even just having a little if possible of powdered milk, powdered butter, powdered cheese(I have all of these, but would like) powdered sour cream and buttermilk

and of course anything we are able to can or dry ourselves.

Everyone has different amounts they will want or need, but this is how I see my pantry and know what I need to look for to stock. Since winter will be here before I know it I plan on restocking flour, butter, more canned broths and lots of cheeses when they are a great price. I use a lot of these items in the winter and other things I find at good prices will be for food storage."

Vicky also made a good point that I loved about space and priorities...

"I know a lot of people who say they don't have room to store food, but have 500 cookbooks or a collection of 10,000 stuffed animals. I had a lot of cookbooks and noticed that there were a select few I used a lot and the rest sat on the shelf, so I took a day and went through each one and pulled out the recipes I wanted to keep and put them in a folder and donated the rest of the cookbook. I then had room for a lot of canned goods."

I also did this with cook books. Most sat there while I used over and over a collection of favorites. And beyond that I go searching on Taste.com, Jamie Oliver or Doona Hay if I need a new recipe. If I find a great one I then copy it into my scrap book. In my kitchen this also saved a while shelf of room.

Next this very good point. As above, we may prefer a Latte with no fat milk and vanilla BUT in a crisis is some coffee better than NO coffee? Are will going to be grateful for powdered milk rather than no milk? and so on...  the next step is if I am cooking on the gas BBQ because the power is out am I willing to do easier things and will I need to make some compromises?

"And even though I cook a lot from scratch I still have "instant" foods that only require water to cook. Pancake mix, instant potatoes, gravy packets, ramen noodles, stuffing mixes etc. Under duress is not the time to have to cook from scratch and figure out how your going to manage it especially if it were to be a grid down situation."

Realistically it's like camping. You do not attempt lasagne from scratch while camping. You do easier stuff. It's about making the most of what you have and can do!

So something is usually going to be better than nothing. Compromises need to be made in not so perfect circumstances. Do not have nothing on hand! Vicky's patience was tested a few times...

"Seriously I really cannot help someone who "wants to build a pantry", but then every suggestion you give is answered we don't eat that or we can't have that or I can't afford foods. I admit to being totally at a loss with those people." lol 

It is true that we need to think in terms of plan B and plan C and no, they might not be as great as plan A but they are all better than having nothing.  I think a lot of people will just have nothing.  Or expect the government is coming to help or to be rescued somehow. But even just now around the world there are so many people wishing they had put away SOMETHING rather than nothing! The basics can look so wonderful when there is a need or shortage. The humble bar of soap became the most exciting thing ever during the war. As did butter or sugar. These basics are wonderful to have on hand. 

Thank you very much to Vicky for teaching me via "long distance learning!" Thank you for the message that we need to be realistic and sensible too. xxx

The flowers are from my current, winter and messy, garden.

An easy and useful project. Also easy gifts!

This week I made lovely vegie bags. You know all those horrible thin green plastic bags that you pop fruit and vegies in when buying them at the supermarket? They are such a waste and pretty yuk. These can be used in their place. But also they have other uses as you can keep your vegies in them at home ie hang up a bag of onions or garlic or even for air drying something like herbs or mushrooms.

I got this idea from The Cheapskates Club. This is the link to the instructions...

Re useable vegie bags.

Thanks Cath for such a lovely idea! As soon as I saw this I thought !!! I can make this, I have everything I need.

I had left over tulle from IKEA curtains and as far as I can see this is also the cheapest way to buy tulle by far. For $6 a set of tulle curtains gives you pretty much a life time supply of tulle!
Other options are to buy fine net, nylon sheers or lace curtians from the op shop. I have to say lace is a very pretty version of this!

They are so simple to make and would be a good project for a beginner sewer or a teenager at home.

The key element in making them for vegie shopping bags is keeping them light as air. Otherwise you will be paying more when the vegies are weighed. For these I used the tulle and fine organza ribbon. They are truly light as air.  And taking a photo of them is like photographing air! There is nothing of them!

I thought these would be a lovely gift for my friends who I know hate plastic bags and are keen recyclers. This would be another way to reduce waste that they would love. I have a few people in mind!

Then I decided I really needed to make lace ones. I went to the op shop and got a lace curtain (huge) for $5, brought it home and soaked it in laundry soaker and hot water. It came up beautifully. Once cut into what I thought was about the right size for versatile bags I started a production line.

As I made these I noticed they would also make lovely gift bags... I thought of using them as the wrapping of some of my kitchen themed and pantry themed gifts. It would be useful and pretty wrapping that could be re used in all kinds of ways.

Then I thought of how light they are to post and will make great gifts for those I post parcels to.

Or they would also make lovely wash bags for delicates!

Smaller ones could be filled with Bay Leaves for your pantry. (this cures pantry moth problems) So as one thing leads to another then I raided my lace collection and found some delicate wide lace my friend Sue gave me. I thought it would make a smaller version and sewed these pretty little bags..

These could also be for the wardrobe with bay, peppercorns and cinnamon to keep away silverfish/clothes moths.

Or could be used for fragrant herbs in your wardrobe or linen press.

So basically these have all kinds of possibilities! So simple to make and so inexpensive. A great way to reduce the number of plastic bags I use as well.  Also, I thought that I am always picking fruit and when I am out I have a way of coming home with a dozen lemons or some such thing... a few of these in the car would be really handy too and one hidden in my handbag!

Thank you Cath for such a lovely idea! So far I have made about twenty and am still going. I thought I would give them in sets of three. I have used up all my lace curtain and am still going on IKEA tulle. I think I have another eight cut out. They look so pretty, I love them!

While the sewing machine is out and the weather is rainy I am going to keep sewing this week. I have lovely floral sheets, a rose doona cover and plan to make kitchen towels from them. Tee towels (kitchen towels) are not usually very pretty. And nice ones are often really expensive. So I will make up a heap later after I have finished this project.

Have a great week! I am off to try and get lots done today, do my grocery shopping and hopefully find some bargains too. The weeks have been going so fast! xxx