Cleaning made EASY - Vinegar Spray

All DIY enthusiasts, frugalists or environmentally conscious folk know the numerous uses of vinegar. I have bottles of it stowed all around the house, because I always like to have some at hand. It makes an excellent mouthwash, leaves glass streak-free, disinfects my kitchen and has long since replaced fabric softener. Because I use it so frequently (and because I always like to take the lazy route) I keep it in spray bottles around the house. If I have 2 minutes to spare then I can quickly wipe down the shelves in the bathroom or my bedroom windowsill.
I use old spray bottles that have been thoroughly cleaned out and mix the vinegar with water. For the spray bottle in the kitchen and the bathroom I use a strong 50:50 ratio. For the rest of the house closure to 30:70

Saying Thank You - without overspending

Normally people spring for a bottle of wine or big box of chocolates - but one thing that is surprisingly easy and yet looks quite good is a batch of butter cream cupcakes:

A little bit of food dye and some sparkles and you have a very nice gift. Trust me - icing buns is very easy! You can pick up the icing tips in a pound shop and they will eventually pay for themselves.

Recipe:
3 Eggs (Basics 33p)
6oz Plain Flour (Basics 16p)
6oz Caster Sugar (28p)
6oz Unsalted Butter (Basics 80p)
1tbsp Baking Powder
Icing:
8oz Icing Sugar (38p)
6oz Unsalted Butter (Basics 80p)
1 drop Vanilla Extract (2p)
1 drop pink dye (1p)
Decoration (5p)
Cases (6p)
Cupcakes: £2.89 per dozen

 

How many of these will actually make it to my intended recipient? I am not sure..... I have however sickened myself of butter cream icing

Organisation: Outfits

If you are like me and have to dress professionally for work it helps to get organized. This may sound painful to some people, but having your outfits at least planned for the week makes everything run a little smoother.

If I don't organize things in advance I wear mutations of the same outfit (ie black trousers and some variation on a dark jumper) What works for me is to lay out 5 outfits for the week. I don't have to wear them in any order (and usually change one out) but it makes things easier - one less thing to organize

Zebra Rug

I found this amazing post for a humane zebra rug! I haven't time to try and make it at the minute, but I will be finishing my course soon and might find myself with a lot of free time. Watch this space!

Easy Scones

 

Scones are the easiest thing to knock up in a hurry - with a little jam or lemon curd (personal favourite)  

1. Turn on the oven at 200C

2. Sieve the flour and add the sugar and salt 

3. Chop the butter and add to the mix

4. Rub in the butter and add the milk 

 

5. Make a soft dough and empty onto a floured surface

6. Roll to approx. 2cm thick and cut 5cm circles

7. Most people lay the scones out on greased tray, but I simply use a silicon muffin tray

8. Glaze the scones with a beaten egg - the scones above had a little too much egg glaze, but they actually turned out great. I served them up with blackberry and apple jam and a wee cuppa

• 225g self raising flour
• a pinch of salt
• 55g Butter
• 25g Caster Sugar
• 150ml Milk
• 1 egg for glaze (Milk will do, if you have no egg)

Dinner Emergency - Chickpea Rescue

I had invited some friends over for dinner, and budgeted and shopped accordingly. One of my guests was gluten intolerant, so I had settled on a Bolognese with pasta for everyone and gluten free pasta for the coeliac. However as usual with my friends by the time I was preparing dinner the numbers had doubled.

I didn't have any extra mince meat so instead I added some chorizo that was in the fridge and some chickpeas that were in the cupboard. I threw in some extra veg and the meal for four became a meal for eight.

I love chickpeas and cook with them in various dishes (who doesn't love chickpea curry!!) I often add them to dishes to stretch out any meat. I make dips and hummus with them and of course my favourite falafel! Usually with a bolognese I would add mixed beans, as this also helps to stretch the meal and make it feel more hearty, but the chickpeas worked quite well.


The meal was a success (although I was not a fan of the gluten free pasta)

New uses for old things: Glove Squirrel

Has anyone else seen this adorable online tutorial for a squirrel made from a lone glove!

I can't wait to find a lone glove to try this out on!

Affordable Art

It will be a few years before I will be able to afford to buy a piece of artwork, instead when I am on my travels I buy postcards of my favourite pieces. I move around a lot and my accommodation of late has not been very spacious, nicely framed reproductions would be a little to much for me. 

All I need are some tiny pegs (these can be found in craft stores, but I bought mine on ebay) and some string. The postcards can be strung up on a wall or across the room like bunting.

 

I like the idea of bunting for postcards which have been sent to you, this allows both sides of the postcard to be visible. For postcards I have picked up myself I don't mind hanging them on the wall.

On the topic of card display (and totally out of season) I found this excellent post  from the Frugal Graduate for a Christmas card holder - I will be trying this later in the year

Organisation - Lists

My frugal lifestyle would be impossible without lists. I keep lists in notebooks, on my phone and on my computer. I make short lists on post-its, shopping lists, and I meal plan on a list on the fridge. A small notepad in my bag allows me to track my spending.

 I input everything into a spreadsheet on excel to keep on top of my weekly spending. There are apps that allow you to do this on your phone, but I prefer to sit down at the end of the day and fill everything in to see if I am on target. I save weekly shopping as one spreadsheet and keep one also for overall spending. I find this helps me to keep in mind the bigger expenditures (car tax & insurance etc.)