Five Frugal Things

I began my more frugal journey with Rhonda Hetzel's Down-to-Earth blog and book and since then have gathered lots of ideas from many more blogs and books. I really enjoy reading about the simple everyday savings that people make and that I can do in our home too. Here are five frugal savings I've made of late:

Homemade lavender room spray.

I made up a simple and fragrant lavender room spray following the instructions I found on Wendy's blog, My Abundant Life. I mixed up cooled, boiled water and a small amount of water soluble lavender oil (from the supermarket) in a little spray bottle that once held a face toner. This room spray is simple, cheap, took very little time to make and smells beautiful without all the chemicals one would find in a tin of air freshener. I 💜it!

Delicious home baking.

There's always something baking at our place. Lately, some of the delicious mulberries from our dwarf tree, which we picked and froze by the handful, have found their way into homemade apple and mulberry pie. Mmm! The sweet orange juice, squeezed from my friend's homegrown fruit, has been the star ingredient in batches of orange breakfast muffins. A delicious way to make the most of gifted produce. Not one, but two chocolate slices were baked while the oven was already on. One was shared with friends for afternoon tea and one was sliced and frozen for another day. Everyday, inexpensive pantry staples, like flour and cocoa and coconut, became a home baked treat with a simple recipe and some time. 

A little sweet gift.

I made a simple little notelet card, for a loved one in lockdown, by reusing the front of an old greeting card, some homemade paper and a piece of ribbon from my stash. A tiny bar of chocolate was wrapped in some saved tissue paper and, together with my notelet and message, was sent on its way in a salvaged envelope. 

Magazines from the library.

Many years ago, I would faithfully buy this magazine every.single.month. I still enjoy reading it and looking at all of the beautiful country-style homes inside the pages, but I no longer buy it. Instead, I borrow it from the library. This magazine costs $8.50 at the supermarket so over the course of a year not buying it saves $102. I still get to enjoy it but for free!

A second hand bargain!

Two sets of this children's construction material were purchased second hand. Both sets are in excellent condition and cost at total of $50. A single, new set can cost more than that! All these plastic pieces will be used and enjoyed often instead of ending up in landfill. As I use this material regularly, in my work, I consider this a bargain as well as a saving of resources. 

None of these things, on their own, lead to jaw-dropping savings but a more frugal mindset has made me more resourceful, creative and conscious of what I do spend money on. That does lead to healthy savings over time, for us and for the Earth too.

I'd love to hear about the ways you save at your place.

Meg

Shades of Pink

Different shades of pink, from delicate and pale to bright and deep, ...

 Pink petals of a Cranberry Hibiscus bloom.

Pale pink strawberry  smoothie.

Deep foxglove pink.

A fluffy pink puffball.

Playing with pinks for a quilt patch.

Bright pink salvia bloom.

...are such pretty variations on a sweet colour.

Meg

Vintage Food Tins

I 💗 vintage tea and biscuit tins. With pretty designs or distinctive logos, rusty edges and battered lids, they take me back to those olden days before plastic became ever-present and persistent in our lives. I can imagine my grandmother prising the lid off a tea tin and scooping out the leaves for the teapot! 

Many such tins were on display in the kitchen of an old cottage at the historical museum we visited recently. Some once held iconic products, like Arnott's biscuits, Weetbix and Uncle Toby's rolled oats, that we can still buy today.

Arnott's biscuits began way back in 1865. 

(It is no longer an Australian-owned company.)

Weetbix were first produced in the 1920s. 

Images of Australian animals decorated tea tins.

A flowery design on an old sugar canister.

A display of old tins on a shelf.

(Doors, windows & lids shaped like rooftops.)

The Uncle Toby's company was founded in 1861 as Parsons Bros.

(Nestle acquired Uncle Toby's in 2006.)

 

Before pre-packaged goods, like these from yesteryear and those we find at the supermarkets today, my great-grandmother would have done her shopping at the local grocer. Bulk foods, kept behind a long wooden counter, would have been measured out according to the order she made with the grocer. She may have brought her purchase home, wrapped in brown paper and tied with string...how times have changed!  

Meg

p.s.  If you'd like to take a walk down memory lane, to the shops of old, this link may interest you:  

Living History: How Shops Show Their Age  

I especially enjoyed reading about Bickmore's General Store, at Kurri Kurri, on pages 21 & 22. There's a photo of the shopkeeper behind a long wooden counter!