Day 2, going strong

Well today was really good. No spend again today. Just paid 1 bill, which is a need.

We got stuck into the housework today and got it over and done with, so i could spent time with the kids. We also made plum Jam, i guess I'll work out tomorrow if it worked lol. I'll let you know.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to whizz around with the housework, and get out for a walk with the boys. to start with were going to visit a friend and take her some plums, and visit her chooks too. I'm hoping to show the boys what it will be like when we get our own chooks. After this, I'm going to take the boys on a picnic to the park. everywhere we go we will be walking, and the boys may ride to the park. so it will be a no spend day again, and no fuel used either.

The Challenge Begins!!!

Well the day has arrived. The beginning of the year long NO SPEND CHALLENGE. We've been recovering and cleaning today from our new years eve party. As a bonus, i have discovered we have a lot of nibblies left, and drinks from the party, so i have packed these away and will ration these out for outings while on the challenge.

Well i have worked out the next weeks menu plan from what i have in the freezer, so if i do need to shop, it will only be very small. for things like milk, veggies, and toilet paper. other than that i have no need to be anywhere near the shops. Although i might have to go to the post office to pay out the Credit card, yes you heard right, pay out the Credit card he he, finally after months of saving, we will be able to pay it off. that effectively makes us debt free. what a wonderful feeling.

as part of my no spend challenge i also wanted to get some chooks, i was going to make my own coup for them, but a friend of mine has a new coup for hers, and she is giving me their old one, free. now all i need is to find free chooks. lol. and if i don't have enough scraps for them, i can always go down the local produce store and get their scraps. I'm looking forward to getting our own home grown eggs.

as well as the no spend challenge, i also have many other challenges i want to achieve this year. i being, to get myself organised. so my days will be mine again, and i can still achieve everything i need to achieve. so we are starting with  a top to toe clean of the house, yard and sheds. I'm still trying to have that garage sale, which is very hard with this weather we've been having. i really need to have the garage sale by the 17th Jan, as that's when we have hard rubbish. and anything that doesn't sell, and i cant sell on eBay, or give away, i want out for hard rubbish. i am determined , by the end of January, my house, yard, and sheds will be spotless. and will be so easy to take care of.

so for now I'm going to sort out kids, and my kitchen (clearing up after dinner), will write more later on.

Time to clear out!

I have been getting increasing unhappy with my house and the lack of space. all i have been able to think about lately, is to move into a new house. which would end up being very costly, there's the cost of the move, plus the extra rent, and coming up with the bond, and fixing up and cleaning this place etc. in all costs could come upto around $4000 or more.

so instead i have decided to have another declutter. this time i have decided to be very ruthless. so far i have managed to move things around, and get rid of some stuff. in doing this i have managed to clear off an entire shelving unit from the meals room, which means i can get it out of there and clear some space. tomorrow I'm going to finish off the kitchen and get stuck into the kids rooms.

so for the next week i will be decluttering the house and shed, and the following week i will be doing a full spring clean. i find i think clearer, and I'm a much happier person when i have space and the house is spotless. I'm less stressed too, and seam to have a lot more time. so once all this is done i will be able to have more time to do the things i need to do to help me with this challenge next year.

Time flys

wow this month has gone so fast. i cant believe i have only 3 days left of my month long $21 challenge. and I'm excited to say i did get the shopping in at just under $90 for 4 weeks shopping, not bad. mine you my freezer is extremely empty. i will be giving it a defrost and a clean for i restock it lol.

i have redone next months menu plan. and i have taken all the recipes out of the "symply too good to be true" recipe cook books. there all healthy low fat low sugar meals. I'm also going to keep a copy of the recipes in the folder with the menu plan and the shopping lists, to make it easier to find things.


I'm hoping to do a heap of baking to clear out my baking cupboard too. i want to try and start baking healthier snacks for the kids too. will post some more recipes when i do start baking them.

well i guess i should really go and do my house work, so i can free up some time to get back to making Christmas and birthday presents.

Home made all the way!!

Well Ive finally done it, Ive made some cloth pads, well 1 anyway lol, but now i know how to do them they wont be that hard to do. Ive posted some pics so you can see what it looks like. i love how it folds up.

ill post later on the instructions as to how to make them.

now i just need to make a little bag to carry them in when I'm out.

Liquid Hand wash.

I made some Liquid soap the other day and i thought i would share it with you. the best part is i got 1.5 Litres of Liquid soap for free. i use a bar of soap i was given at a perfume party, and i used empty shampoo pump bottles. all it cost me was some time.

First of all, you need to grate up the bar of soap into a reasonable sized container.

then add 6 cups of boiling water and stir.

once the soap has started to melt, and the mixture has started to cool, add your favorite essential oil. if you want to make anti bacterial soap, use tea tree oil.

make sure it is essential oil and not a fragrance oil.

after the solution cools down it will go to a solid mix. very thick and goopy. this is when you blend in the blender (you could also use a stick blender). it has to be totally cold when you do this.

after its blended you can put it into your dispensers. it will feel thick and slimy, but it works a treat, and smells lovely.

$1000 down

well I'm excited to say that tonight i transfered $1000 to the Credit card. Yay!! so i now only have $4000 to find before Christmas. I am down for another shift this weekend, finger crossed i get one. and the following weekend i have a stall at a car boot sale. Kev also has someone coming to look at some car stuff which he has forsale, so hopefully combined we can come up with another $1000. will be very nice.

today i cooked up a bit of a storm. i made home made yoghurt, Anzac bickies, jelly, and marshmallows. most of which will be lucky to see the end of weekend lol.

Marshmallow

No cooking involved...making it very easy and quick.

Use electric beaters

6 tspn Gelatin
½ Cup Boiling Water
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
½ Cup Cold Water
1tspn Vanilla
Colouring as desired
Coconut

1. Lightly spray plastic container/mould with oil.
2. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water
3. Pour cold water and sugar into a large bowl. Beat for 1-2 minutes on high.
4. Add gelatin mix, vanilla and colouring.
5. Beat until thick, 9-10 mins. (Becomes thick quite suddenly)
6. Pour into prepared container.
7. Place in fridge to set.
8. When set use a wet knife to cut into squares. Roll in coconut.
9. Store in fridge


Anzac Biscuits

Ingredients

350g rolled oats
300g flour
550g sugar
175g coconut
1 tsp salt
350g margarine or butter
1/2 cup golden syrup
75ml boiling water
10g bicarb soda

Method

Combine flour, sugar, oats, coconut and salt. Melt margarine and golden syrup together and add to dry ingredients, then add boiling water and bicarb soda and mix well. With wet hands, roll mixture into balls, place on trays with room for spreading. Cook in moderate oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let biscuits cool, then store in airtight container.