The Box (2)

 

When I buy a Waste Not box I consider myself honour bound to Waste Nothing!  So, here's what happened to the contents of the box,.

First to disappear was the grapes.  I couldn't be bothered to cook on Saturday evening so I had a cheese and tomato roll and about half the grapes.  I grazed on the rest during Sunday.

I roasted the most of the carrots, having some with my Sunday lunch and saving the rest to eat with salads.  I've saved a couple for making coleslaw during the week.

I also roasted half the peppers (again for eating cold) and saved the rest to have raw with salads or put them into a stir fry.

I had a few tomatoes in the fridge so I sorted through and roasted the softer ones and made a tomato puree which will become soup.  It's in the freezer now.

The apples are in the fruit bowl.

The potatoes have (mostly) been set aside for baking - a baked potato with cheese is one of my favourite evening meals.  I roasted a couple with my Sunday lunch.

Sunday is a PeakSave day so I get half price electricity.  I took full advantage and cooked the peppers, carrots and tomatoes when I cooked my Sunday lunch.  

The Box

 

I love getting a "Waste not" box from Lidl.  These boxes of joy contain vegetables which are at their sell-by date, or the bags have split or are damaged in in some way .  

This morning, for £2 I got

500 g pointed sweet peppers (paprika)

5000g carrots

750g cherry tomatoes

2 apples

500g grapes

1750g potatoes.

I had to sling a couple of tomatoes and I cut sections off a couple of carrots but everything you see here is useable.  Not bad for £2.

Many people are unwilling to take these but I enjoy the challenge of using everything - I waste not

Rice up against hunger!

 

Sometimes what is needed is something teeny tiny.  Or even better lots of teeny tinies.  

I spend quite a lot of time sitting.  I can't stay on my feet too long, that's just the way it is.  I do all sorts of things whilst I sit - I sew, knit, complete puzzles, complete surveys and quite a bit more.  I read blogs, surf the net, exchange e mails and all the rest of it.

But there is a very special site which I have been using for years and which I love.  It's Freerice.com Through this site you can give rice through the Word Food Programme and it won't cost you a penny.

All you have to do is answer multiple choice questions on maths, science, language, humanities, or geography.  You even choose how hard the questions are.  For each correct answer ten grains of rice will be given through the World Food Programme.

I love it.  I've expanded my vocabulary, brushed up my geography and even ventured into maths problems.  The site is entertaining and free to use.

No matter how little money you've got you can make a charitable donation this way as no money is asked for.  There's not much that is tinier than a grain of rice but neither is there much which is more vital.  

Having the conversation

Yes, I know it's ridiculously early to be talking about Christmas but Christmas spending can be ridiculous, so here goes.  

Over the last few years I've had "conversations" with quite a few of my friends.  Actually I chat with my friends a lot but here I'm talking about discussions about Christmas presents.  It's a conversation which needs to take place well before Christmas - December is much too late.

I think most adults have more fun giving than receiving.  For myself, I also have the pleasure of making things.  I sew. crochet, knit cook and papercraft most of my Christmas gifts and love to create throughout the year.  However, I am very aware that receiving a Christmas present may create the expectation that someone has to give a Christmas present in return and of similar value. 

What I mean about "the conversation" is agreeing to dial down Christmas presents between friends.  With some friends I have a cooking agreement - I'll make you a pudding, you make mince pies, that sort of thing.  That eases the pre Christmas cooking burden for both of us.  With others it's "let's have a special day out together after Christmas" so the generosity of Christmas is extended into the New Year.  For another I give something to a charity - this year one friend's loo will be twinned with a loo in Nigeria.  That gift is much more than I would normally spend on a Christmas present but it is also a contribution to a cause dear to my own heart, with a charity working in a country with which I have a personal connection.

Apart from the cooking, this doesn't save much money but it is a more thoughtful way of giving and is truly mindful.  

Peak save

 

My current energy fix ending mid-June) is with British Gas and they offer five hours of half price electricity on Sundays.  Five precious hours!

I save laundry for Sunday, especially if I have to do a more expensive load and even more especially if I have to use my tumble dryer.  I realise that some people may be tut-tutting at the very mention of a tumble dryer but please remember that I am disabled and struggle with some tasks.  I hang things on airers when I can.  A couple of weeks ago I washed my bedspread.  It is quilted and heavy and needs quite a bit of tumbling.  While the bedspread was drying, I did the quarterly clean of the washing machine and monthly clean of the dishwasher.

My trundle truck (mobility scooter) goes on charge as do my iPad and iPhone, vacuum cleaner and electric scrubber.   The rechargeable batteries get a treat as well.  I try to do my freezer inventory during these PeakSave times as the freezer door is open quite a bit when I am doing that.  

I didn't use my oven this week but sometimes I fill it with bread and batch cooked meals.  

British Gas offers PeakSave to encourage domestic consumers to use energy during periods of low demand from industrial and commercial consumers.  I get things ready on Saturday as I don't like rushing around on Sundays but most of these things look after themselves once I have switched them on.  

Reducing water consumption 1

Did you know that the average person here in the UK uses around 150 litres of water each day?  

I had to look that one up but I know how much water I use per day in my single person household.  Fifty two litres.  That is my average daily consumption so far in 2026.  So I use about one third as much as the average person.

Back in 2024 I got a smart meter for water.  It's not quite the same as a smart energy meter.  That comes with an in-home display so  can see how much electricity I am using in real time.  For water there's no in-home display but I can go to the Anglian Water website and see how much water I use each day.  

It has made me very aware of my daily consumption.  I have a spreadsheet to help me monitor usage and work out how to cut down.  

I have a wet room rather than a bathroom so I don't take baths.  Instead I take navy showers.

What's a navy shower?    It's water saving technique.  I stand under the shower for 20-30 seconds to get wet then I turn off the water.  I apply soap and shampoo and then turn the shower on again to rinse myself.  The shower is probably running for less than two minutes in total.  And I have a water saving shower head as well.

The faintest ink is more powerful than the strongest memory

I'm a great one for writing things down.  I record my energy usage on a daily basis. I check and note my weight and the number of steps I take.  And I write down every penny I spend.  

Each day I check my bank and credit card accounts and count the money in my purse and work out what has disappeared since yesterday and where it went.  I know a lot of people don't record their spending to this degree but I have found it helpful.  Maybe there will come a day when I trust myself enough not to have to be so "accountable" either.  The only person I am accountable to is me!

Once a month I create an account of all that I have spent and what I have done.  To use fashionable language, I have made myself much more mindful of where the pennies go

Before I retired, I was far less obsessive about it but I realised that I would have to be more careful now that I have a reduced income.  The amazing thing is that I feel as if I have an increased income.  It feels as though I have more money than ever I had!  I go out for lunch several times a month, I have a few mini-breaks each year and yet I never have to worry and I can save for treats or the inevitable rainy days.

Flylady used to have the acronym FACE - Financial Awareness Continually Empowers - maybe she still does.  Knowing what I've got and where what I had went to has certainly empowered me.  And writing it all down makes it even more real. The faintest ink is truly more powerful than the strongest memory.

Cottage cheese

 If there was one everyday item which I used to waste a lot, it was milk.  I know this isn't a problem for most people but in a household of one person who doesn't eat breakfast cereal and drinks her coffee black, it can be difficult.  

I buy UHT milk to use for tea/coffee when guests call unexpectedly.   If I know guests are coming I buy pasteurised milk.  The UHT stuff comes in one litre containers but I can buy just a pint of pasteurised and sometimes even less.  I can manage to use up the remains of a pint but a litre is a lot of milk!

So I make cottage cheese.  Heat the milk to just below boiling point, add a generous squeeze of lemon juice and stir.  The milk will curdle.  (IT IS NOT THE SAME AS LEAVING MILK TO GO OFF!   DO NOT DO THAT!)  Leave it to cool a little then strain it.  I use muslin inside my sieve.  Leave it until all the whey (a colourless liquid) has drained off then put the cheese to chill in a dish in the fridge. The whey can be used in baking.

It does not have the same texture as a commercially produced cottage cheese but it has more flavour.  You may want to add salt.

Small saving

Pasta doesn't take long to cook, but did you know that if you soak it, it will cook even quicker?  Just put dry pasta to soak in water for an hour or two before boiling. It will then only need a couple of minutes of cooking time, because it’s absorbed the water it needs, and only has to heat through.

I find that I can then put it into the pan with the sauce I am making (maybe just chopped tomatoes, pepper and onions) and heat both together.  That way I've saved both time and money.

Keeping it clean!

 

Laundry is the bane of my life.  Largely because of the last three letters D  R  Y.  Washing is fine, drying is the tricky bit!.  

My clothes don't get very soiled but they still need washing if I am to keep my friends.  I use the "mixed fibre" setting on my washing machine a lot.  I save my "dirty" clothes and sort whites and coloureds but beyond that they usually don't get sorted much.  Towels and bedding get a hotter wash sometimes but the rest is OK at 30C or even 20C.  I try and do as much as possible on Sunday to take advantage of cheaper electricity

I try and dry smaller items on the airers.  I put the airers outside when I can but I can't move very quickly if it starts to rain, so often the conservatory has to suffice.  It gets quite warm in there if there is any sunshine.  Sheets go in the drier, at least in the winter, and towels are finished in the drier.  I like fluffy towels.

Free holiday

 

My friend Holly

A couple of years ago I was at a coffee morning when a lady whom I knew slightly was bemoaning the fact that she couldn't find a dog sitter.  We got into conversation and somehow I offered to look after her two dogs.

Two years on I'm still looking after her dog.  Sadly one dog has died but I still look after Holly, a delightful Border Terrier.  I'm now looking after her for the ninth time.

It's no hardship!  The house is in the countryside about eight miles from my home and in a village where I have several friends.  I treat each visit as a holiday.  I don't take any "shoulds", "oughts" and "musts" with me.  I take prepared meals and some sort of project to do, and I just chill.

So it's win:win for my new friend and me.  She can get a dog sitter at very short notice pretty well whenever she wants, and I get free holidays.  

Sam Vines boots

 

You probably know about boot theory: that people in poverty have to buy cheap products that need to be replaced repeatedly, proving more expensive in the long run than higher-priced items.  Put more simply it's buy cheap and you need to buy twice (or even more!).  I am able to set money aside to save me money long term, eg I bought an air fryer and thus save on energy costs, but others can't afford that investment.  

Although I try to be frugal, my frugality is by choice.  I have a fair income (state and occupational pensions) and my needs are modest.  I am aware that there are many who have to choose between heating and eating.  There are parents who go hungry to feed their children.  There are many for whom Christmas is a time to dread.  Frugality is not a choice but a life sentence. 

My frugality is about getting value for money rather than getting the cheapest possible.  It's also about avoiding waste as a matter of principle.  It's about mindfully using my money, possessions, skills and time.  

I take my hat off to those who have far less choices and still live a glorious life.  

What? why?

  

I am very conscious that, although I am pretty careful, there are those who are much more frugal than me because they have no choice.  Some may find my calling myself frugal offensive.  

I've decided to leave my "Frugally Challenged" blog for a while and to take a year looking at how I use my money, possessions and time.  It will be a very personal record but if others read it I shall be very happy, especially if they find anything useful in it.  

I'm by no means wealthy but I have an occupational pension as well as the state one.  I try to use my money, possessions and time wisely.  I've been retired nearly fifteen years.  I live alone.  

My hope is to write very short posts on this  blog, each highlighting a saving or a failure.  I will use labels so that I, and any readers, will be able to find what I did.