If you've paid for it - use it!

I'm guilty of getting all enthusiastic about something and then letting the passion wane. One of the things I missed with the lockdowns of the past couple of years was my club/gym membership. The club had to close just like many others and my regular routines went out of the window. Now don't get me wrong, we're very lucky in that our surrounding encourage the getting outside type of exercise - running, walking on the beach and so on. I was fine to start with and then the motivation sort of slipped!

Month 4 - Bite 3

As a way of keeping up I joined online classes in Combat - one of the club classes I'd really enjoyed. I asked for contributions towards the subscription for it for my birthday and by rearranging the garden room quickly I was able to get stuck in with really good sessions which seemed even more enjoyable without all the fit young things I used to try not to look at in class!!!

The second year of it however, even though I paid the subscription I've let it slip. I reckon each session I've done over the past 12 months has cost me about £10! Some of that came once we joined a local tennis club and I spent more and more time on court along with the restart of ParkRuns and there are only just so many hours in a week.

Those are mere hiccups though so in order to make best use of my subscription (which is now due) I need to make an effort in using the online classes starting today. Just to make sure I'm going to note down how many I do partly for motivation, but also so I can see the cost per class tumble as I complete each one...

Month 4 - Bite 4

The other exercise routine which has been a success is joining a new tennis club. The people are really friendly and there are plenty of invitations to fill in for others when they can't play as well as club open sessions. So, my next step on the elephant eating road is to play as much as I can to get the maximum value out of the very reasonable subscription.

I don't need to record these session to know that playing twice a week on my present subscription makes the cost of each one less than £1.60!

It's a popular club - here's one prospective member who keeps returning and strutting their stuff courtside. Give a whole new meaning to the term game bird I guess.

Zen ironing and the joy of slow hoovering

 Month 4 - Bite 5

I've already touched on batch ironing previously. It's not my most favourite occupation I'll freely admit. I usually put the TV on as a sort of wallpaper while I tackle it. However I think I'm missing a trick. There are one or two podcasts I enjoy - by Jen Carrington and Sara Tasker mainly. I regularly download them and then forget to listen to them leaving me with a whole pile of unheard broadcasts.

Instead of flicking from one TV channel to the next I should really be clearing my backlog of podcasts - so that's what I'm going to make my next target. That way I can get stuck into a pile of ironing using the electricity efficiently while concentrating on the words of wisdom in my ears.

That's not the only task for today though. I read a while ago that rushing at hoovering doesn't actually maximise the cleaning potential of the machine. Apparently to get the most out of your hoover/dyson/whatever the passes over the carpets and floors need to be slower and more deliberate so that the brushes pick up as much dirt, fluff and dust as they can for as deep as they go. So, once that pile of ironing has shrunk I'm off for a spot of slow hoovering to get the most out of the chore and presumably if you do it more thoroughly it won't need to be done so often. (I haven't any evidence for that bit, just wishful thinking!)

Month 4 - Making the Most of It

 This month is all about making the most of everything - maximising what 's around. Hence this very happy little elephant!

I'm not sure how it'll all work out and whether it may get a bit more random as the month wears on, but hey.. let's go for it!

Month 4 - Bite 1

Let's start with my favourite area - food!

It was my sister's raffle prize that started it. She gave me a few items from her cache including the rather splendid cauliflower. That made up the bulk of last night's meal - cauliflower cheese. Some of the other veggies are tonight's offering - Mediterranean roasted vegetables.

It got me thinking. I get a bit stuck in a rut sometimes with our routine menus. Not that there's anything wrong with our diet, but a change is as good as a rest and all that...

The veggie box nudged my brain to think of abandoned recipes so perhaps it's time to nudge it again! When the first lockdown started I was good at planning meals, cooking fresh pasta and trying new ideas. As it got to be less of a novelty I drifted back to our staple choices, especially as life returned to more or less normal. 

Today's task needs to be a voyage of discovery. Time to look again at the contents of the fridge, freezer and cupboards and list all the possible meals I can think of using the ingredients there. Then I can list any that only need one or two additions and add them to subsequent shopping lists. Then, finally, I'll reward myself with a browse through some of our cookery books for something new to try!

Month 4 - Bite 2

I'm setting tomorrow's task straightaway as it's been prompted by looking around the kitchen while planing the above. 

On the windowsill was the basil plant that I got from the supermarket. One plant usually does us three pesto meals until it keels over as well as providing leaves for pizzas, etc.

                                      

Once the weather is better I usually grow basil from seed and that keeps us supplied for months, providing cheap, fresh pesto. I had a feeling that there was a pack of seeds from last year so I've investigated the shed and 'yes' there was along with a pack of rocket seeds. The rocket is a big saving as salad leaves, lettuce and so on from the supermarket are sold in quantities too big for the two of us to use economically, but we buy them anyway. Growing our own stocks means that I can pick exactly what we need for each meal and there will still be more growing with little waste!

Tomorrow I'll be checking the Sow Before dates on these and any other seeds packets up in the shed and then checking I've got everything else I need ready for sowing it all (once the geraniums vacate the shed/greenhouse!).

Something for Nothing!

 Now the next couple of items I'm not sure come under the umbrella of finding more income, but as they should generate stuff that I don't have to buy, thereby meaning I don't have to spend out I think they qualify!

Month 3 - Bite 29

Sending off for things...

                                        

I have in the past been surprised by what you can get sent to you for free! I dabble from time to time when I notice something in my inbox and fill in a form, but perhaps it's time to take it a bit more seriously. There needs to be a rule about this as just sending off for anything is wasteful, but if it's something I can use or can be stored away (bonus mouthful to come!), then why not.

As it happens I've got one or two things that have arrived in the last few weeks...

So now it's time to address this is a more organised way and explore which websites list the best links to freebies.

Month 3 - Bite 30

Now and again I've entered free draws and raffles and have been known to buy the odd lottery ticket! I don't often win, but when I saw what my sister won at her recent slimming club raffle it did make me think that perhaps I ought to be revisiting this. Not that I'm willing to part much in the way of funds - or it doesn't really count as money saving, let alone extra income, but there are free draws and competitions out there - time for me to find out about them!

                                                

And so to that extra mouthful to round off this month!

Bonus Mouthful 3

It's something I've mentioned in the distant past when writing about Christmas. Here's some of it...

A few years ago after I'd moved to Devon we were able to get all our diaries aligning and got together on Christmas Day. It was a bit last minute and I wanted to take something, but my sister had already got everything sorted out. The only thing I could think of was a Lucky Dip'. I amassed a number of small items, wrapped them randomly and we spent a long and enjoyable time picking our Lucky Dip items out and swapping any inappropriate ones with anyone else who'd appreciate them more.

It sort of grew from there. The year my younger niece, who lives in Italy, got married in England she even took a mini Lucky Dip for her household back with her, as they were having an Italian Christmas and wouldn't be with us.

We then moved onto a Christmas Tombola for a couple of years. This year, with luck 'our Italians' will have moved to England and there will be loads of us including a gaggle of little ones! So, we're going to have a Lucky Dip for the adults and a Treasure Hunt for the littlies (well that's the plan anyway). I'm about halfway through the clues so that's going well, but what about the presents you may ask. Well, that's this bonus mouthful. Throughout the year we collect up any freebies (see above)  and extras that we all see along with sending off for anything that will be suitable and buying bargains (especially when Christmas items come on sale). That gets topped up with makes - coasters, decorations, and so on. Throw in a few lottery cards and mini Christmas sweets and hey presto! a Christmas fun time for all of us (we now do it on Christmas Eve) and without spending oodles of cash.......

Cash or Trash!

Hopefully it won't be long until we go on our first holiday abroad since the first lockdown! We're all booked and keeping our fingers crossed that all goes to plan, but who knows... Anyway a bit of planning meant hooking out the box with spare currency that hasn't been touched over the last couple of years to see what's there and that led to..

Month 3 - Bite 26

In amongst the Euros that I need I found some other coins, that led me to wonder about any others that might be around, even old sterling. On chatting to my sister she reckons she's got some too. So today's task is to track down any that are hiding around the place and research where I might be able to make use of them (and my sister's too). I remember reading about a website that takes old and foreign coins so it's time to find out more...

Month 3 - Bite 27

Talking of reading, I also recall an item about rubbish. Yes, rubbish - that you can sell. It seems that there's a market for empty perfume bottles, plastic bottle tops, all sorts of things so no prizes for guessing what the next task on the list is!

                                         

Month 3 - Bite 28

I've been looking at the list of what I can do that I made a couple of days ago. I won't go into how many times I put things on the list only to take them off when my confidence waned and then having to force myself to put them back on again! 

The list is useless unless I find something to do with it so research at the ready I need to find how the skills, etc. can be used by looking at some websites such as Fiverr where you can market yourself and offer your skills for sale...

So, just what can I do?

 No, seriously, what can I do? I'm very aware of what I can't do, what my weaknesses are, but what of my strengths and skills. I'm really good at downplaying any good stuff - you know the sort of thing where someone says something positive and you go 'it's nothing', or 'it wasn't just me', or 'no, no anyone can do it' or - well you get my drift.

When I started on this month's project of looking of ways to increase income I began by looking at the obvious of selling unwanted things that were part of the sorting process that I had embarked on. Very quickly using any skills I have crept in so now it's time for...

Month 3 - Bite 25

Taking a long hard look at myself ... in a positive way.

I enjoyed and often return to 'The Multi-Hyphen Method' by Emma Gannon. It always makes me stop and think about how I've often tried to describe what I do/like/make and so on - like my butterfly brain description. She make it feel ordered and reasonable - it's well worth a read.

Anyway, if I'm going to explore all the ways in which I can benefit from my skills and/or talents (get me!) then I need to start from recognising what they might be. 

knitter..                        

fabric worker..               

literacy consultant...              

spinner...                            

 weaver..                            

classicist...                         

writer.. or perhaps food lover!

it's certainly not style icon!        

So, this task is a thinking and listing one (I love a list), and requires a cup of tea, a pencil and paper (for writing I'm more at home in front of a keyboard, for thinking the physical holding of a pencil does it for me) and a space of time to establish just who and what I am and what use I can make of that information. 

Hmmmmmmmm......

Purse busting task

 So having tidied my purse I’m now going to give myself a task that’s going to fill it up again!

Month 3 - Bite 23

I often use coupons and vouchers so this addition to the job list is an extension of that. I’ve got one or two vouchers and now need to maximise any other offers out there. This means having money off vouchers and coupons with me whenever I go shopping as well as remembering any loyalty cards that can add to savings.

My current task then is to track down all those I've already got and store them in my purse/shopping bag so that they are ready and available when I need them.. then all I've got to do is remember to actually use them!

I also need to research where I can lay my hands on more to get the best possible results from any shopping trips.

An aside....

Back during the clothes mega-sort I found a pair of jeans for repair, I also discovered a cut up pair which must have been part of some project or other. Rather than throw this remnant away I did my usual distraction routine of watching endless 'how to' videos online. It was obviously time to stop watching from the sidelines and start creating so here's my attempt.. The lining isn't perfect and the air was a bit blue while I was working out how to sew through multiple thick layers, but that's the creative process I guess.

Month 3 - Bite 24

Watching those step-by-step videos made me think about what I could provide helpful instructions for and after thinking 'I couldn't do anything like that' I gave myself a good talking to. This was along the lines of - you were a teacher for about 35 years, why can't you produce some simple instructions. So, dear reader that's what the next item on my joblist needs to be. 

First, make a list of what I could give a broken down list of steps to make and then research how to disseminate this material. I have no idea about any of this, only to know that me making mini-films about how to do anything isn't going to work! Research then....