Saturday 16 March 2024

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 16th March 2024

 Welcome back to another post on frugal living.  I really hope the tasks I list help you to save money,  especially when times are tough and many people are struggling.

Darren and I had a quick trip to Tasmania over the long weekend.  We took our oldest grandson Luka ( almost 5 ) with us on his first plane trip and to meet his Pop ( Darren's Dad ).  We avoided the heatwave here in Melbourne,  but it was unusually humid in Tasmania.  We've learnt to pack clothes for all seasons even if it's just a 4 day trip.

Our Summer veggie garden is coming to an end.  The sweet corn is not growing too well due to the lack of consistent heat.  We still have zucchinis growing and silverbeet to pick.  The potatoes are at least another 8 weeks away from digging up and I'm hoping my second planting of beans will produce.

Here's how we've saved money around our home and garden -

*  I made more raspberry jam using fruit from our garden.

*  I baked wholemeal bread and rolls with extra goodness for our breakfasts ( as toast ) and for Darren to take to work at the hospital.

*  I made a couple of big trays of zucchini slice using zucchinis,  carrots and potatoes from our garden.

*  We saved water in the kitchen from drink bottles,  rinsing dishes and from the thermos.  This was all poured onto the pot plants and strawberries on our deck.

*  Saved the kitchen scraps and paper for our compost bucket.  Every few days Darren emptied it into the compost bin outside.

*   I picked a beautifully scented rose from the garden.  It gave off a beautiful perfume in the kitchen.

*  We filled our thermos each morning with boiled water for cups of tea during the day.

*  I washed and reused ziplock bags for freezing fruit from our garden.

*  I baked choc chip biscuits and cranberry hootycreek biscuit to take to Tasmania with us.

*  We picked raspberries,  lemons,  silverbeet,  corn,  pears,  a few potatoes and zucchinis from our garden.

*  I bought a couple of Winter tops from Savers op shop and used a discount voucher to get 20% off.

*  I made 2 lasagnes ( 1 large and 1 medium ) using 750 grams of beef mince and stretched it out with TVP,  grated carrot and lots of shredded silverbeet.  I portioned it out into 18 hearty serves.  We had some for dinner that night and 16 serves went into the freezer.

*  Dried all the washing on clothes horses outside.  Our weather has either been hot or wet,  so standing outside hanging washing on the line was not a great option.

*  Reused bread bags over and over again for storing bread in the freezer,  double wrapping meat in the freezer and then as bin liners in the bathrooms.

LINKS-








Homemade bread and raspberry jam

From the garden

Beautifully scented from our garden

Using our thermos to save money

Drying and reusing ziplock bags

Luka on the plane with his little buddy

Pears from our tree.

How have you saved money this week ?

Have you bulk cooked any meals lately ?


I've had a few people ask for a picture of the solar lanterns we use.  They were purchased from Bunnings but they are out of stock at the moment.  They are really garden lights but we took the stake off them.



Saturday 2 March 2024

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 2nd March 2024

 It's been a week of surviving hot ( and at times humid ) weather.  Our veggie garden is suffering a little and the tomato plants died off every quickly.  Thankfully they still have fruit on them and I'll be picking any remaining this coming week.

I've done very little baking or cooking due to the heat and some nights our meals were bits and pieces from the fridge with homemade potato salad.  Sometimes these simple meals are appreciated more than a fancy meal.

Here's how we saved money this week -

*  I sold an unwanted item on Marketplace.  The money from this was put into the gift fund.

*  I picked a handful or two of raspberries almost every day.  I have enough berries in the freezer to make another batch of jam shortly.

*  I made up a bottle of surface spray for the kitchen using cooled boiled water and a couple of squirts of dishwashing liquid ( the cheapest Aldi brand ).

*  I used our air fryer to crisp up a homemade garlic bread.  The garlic bread came from the freezer.  I defrosted it in the microwave for 40 seconds,  then placed it back in the foil with the top open.  It only needed 2 minutes in the air fryer.  This is far quicker and cheaper than using the oven.

*  I picked quite a few tomatoes and 2 ears of corn from our garden.  I've frozen 2 x 1.5 kilos of tomatoes to be turned into tomato relish when the weather cools down.  I already have a couple of people lining up to buy some relish.

*  We've had a few super hot, humid days over the last week or two.  On these days we cannot use our evap cooling.  So to make our split system air conditioning work better throughout the house,  we use a couple of electric fans ( pedestal and box ) to push the cold air from one end of the house to the other.  We also close off the 2 spare bedrooms,  spare bathroom and toilet and the laundry. This has been quite effective and saves us from buying and using another $3000 air conditioning system.

*  We fed grass,  weeds,  lettuce and silverbeet to our chicken.

*  We used the solar lanterns at night to light up our loungeroom.  With it being so sunny lately,  the lanterns last all night.  By morning they give off a soft glow.

*  I cleaned the dishwasher filters with kitchen detergent.   I also cleaned the dishwasher with bi carb and vinegar and ran it on a long,  hot cycle.

*  We gratefully received 2 small hams from a friend.  They were 1 day out of their best before date so Darren sliced them up and froze it into 2 and 4 slice packets for lunches and dinners.

*  We charged up a shaver,  handheld fan,  2 in 1 vacuum,  phones,  dust buster hand vacuum and an iPad during the day when the Sun was shining to make the most of our solar panels.   

Ripening tomatoes from our garden.

Drying the washing outside

Pears almost ready to pick.

Part of our back garden.

Cleaning dishwasher filters

Afternoon tea at Jessica's home ( our daughter ).


How do you keep cool in Summer without spending a fortune ?

How did you save money this week ?


Saturday 24 February 2024

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 24th February 2024

Thankyou for your patience while I try to get back into regular blogging.  Sometimes life gets in the way and last week it was a massive storm that hit Melbourne quite unexpectedly.  We are fine and our home and garden didn't sustain any damage.  Thankfully we didn't lose power either.  It just flickered off for a second or two.

Unfortunately my Mum's power was out for almost 10 hours on a hot day.  We ended up bringing her back to our place for the night to keep her safe and cool.  We also made quite a few trips back and forth to Mum's place to rescue food,  buy new food and to help pack and unpack   Slowly,  life is getting back to normal.

Here are some of the frugal tasks I completed over the last two weeks -

*  Now that grapes are in season,  reasonably cheap and quite delicious,  I'm freezing them to eat later on in the year.  This is a wonderful tip my Mum shared with me last year.

*  I made apricot jam and raspberry jam using fruits from our garden and lemons from our tree.

*  I continued decluttering and donated to our local Savers.  I received a few 20% off discount coupons and used them to help purchase beautiful Christmas and birthday presents.  It really is amazing what people get rid of.  I've found new cup and saucer sets,  crystal,  reed diffusers,  sewing kits,  coffee mugs and craft items.  Some of our drinking glasses were looking a bit ratty and I was able to pick up new ones even cheaper than Kmart and IKEA.

*  Picked lots of rosemary from our garden and dried it in paper bags to avoid it getting dusty.  I then put it in a coffee grinder to turn it into a powder.  The powder sticks better to meats and vegetables when I roast them.

*  I made a cushion cover for our rocking chair in the loungeroom.

*  I replaced the elastic on two baby sun hats for our granddaughter Naomi.  These are hats our girls wore when they were babies about 24 - 26 years ago.  The hats now look brand new.

*  Picked a handful of raspberries from our garden each day.  I almost have enough in the freezer to make more jam.

*  I picked lemons,  silverbeet,  carrots and  beans from our garden and dug up over 5 kilos of free potatoes.

*  Darren has been picking blackberries from a couple of locations near our home.  He will be making his favourite jam very shortly.

*  Made pita chips from cut up pita bread.

*  I bulk cooked spag bol sauce.  From 750 grams of beef mince,  I made over 20 serves for dinner.  Adding TVP,  grated carrot and shredded silverbeet really helps to stretch the meat out and make it super cheap. 

*  I made cranberry hootycreek biscuits for Darren as part of his Valentines Day present.  I've also made choc chip biscuits using dough I'd frozen earlier.

*  We used our thermos to store boiling water for our morning cups of tea.

*  I altered a couple of dresses for Megan that she purchased from Savers.

*  I was given old Christmas cards from a cleaning client.  I've upcycled them into new cards for next Christmas.

*  We saved water from the kitchen to water our plants outside.

LINKS -

Pita Chips

Choc Chip Bickies ( Cookies )


Upcycled Christmas cards

Luka and Bryson's birthday cards.

Making 2 cards from 1

Summer fun at Nanny and Poppy's

Spag bol in bulk

Freezing grapes


Do you upcycle anything around your home ?

How have you saved money this week ?

P.S -  I've had a few people ask me for the shortbread recipe I use. The recipe is posted in the recipe section under baking.  Rice flour is used because that's the recipe on the rice flour packet of a well known brand.  I'm new to shortbread making so I just followed the recipe.


Saturday 3 February 2024

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 3rd February 2024

 Hello friends.  My blogging break is over and I had lots of time to rest and relax at home over December and January.  I took 3 1/2 weeks off from my cleaning work and it was absolute bliss to just stay home and potter around the garden.

Our December was busy with lots of end of year functions to attend.  Darren was in our church's Christmas Eve play and Kurt was one of the backstage crew.  Darren's brother came down from NSW just before Christmas for a visit and we caught up with him a couple of times.

Our grandchildren received a blow up pool and slide set for Christmas from their great grandparents in Tasmania.  The pool lives in our backyard so the family came over for swims when the weather finally warmed up a little and it stopped raining.  We enjoyed lots of bbqs here and at Megan and Kurt's place.  There were lots of cuddles with our granddaughter Naomi who is now 4 1/2 months old and testing out her vocal chords and trying to roll over.  She's a sweet little girl with a big smile that lights up the room.

Our oldest daughter Jessica came over for a few visits and took every opportunity to hold Naomi and play cars with Luka and Bryson.

My frugal list below is written in order of when I completed each task.  I did get quite a few things done so I'll share my December / January list over this week and next week.


*  I planted heaps of beans,  corn,  zucchini and potatoes in our veggie garden.  

*  I've picked silverbeet to add to a few meals as our green veggie.

*  Over the last 4 months I've been using a small,  lightweight handbag from Kmart.  It's been great  and very comfortable to wear,  but unfortunately the strap came off at one end.  Thankfully the material is soft enough to repair so I was able to stitch it back on and reinforce the other end too.

*  I mended and cleaned 2 pairs of sneakers.  Hopefully I can get another 6 months out of my cleaning sneakers.  The other pair just needed a clean and the laces washed.

*  I upcycled quite a few retail store gift bags so they can be used for birthdays.  It's been years since I bought wrapping paper for birthday presents.

*  I made almost 1 kilo of rice flour for shortbread biscuit making.  I did this by putting uncooked white rice into a coffee grinder and ground it until it was floury with a little bit of texture.

*  I've picked about 5 kilos of beans,  lots of lettuce,  a few tomatoes here and there,  lots of potatoes,  lemons,  strawberries,  zucchinis,  raspberries,  apricots and a few plums ( the wind and birds got the rest ).  Carrots are about the only vegetable I regularly buy at the fruit and veg shop.

*  Recharged the vacuum,  handheld vacuum ( dust buster ),  Darren's shaver and phones when the Sun is shining.

*  I made a big jar of dried seasoned bread crumbs from saved breads crusts I dried in the oven.  I use these for coating chicken drumsticks and salmon patties.   They are also great in rissoles,  hamburger patties and as a topping in potato bakes etc.

*  I made up 2 big batches of brown sugar as needed when I was doing some baking.

*  I made cranberry hootycreek biscuits and choc chip biscuits.  Lots of the biscuit dough was also frozen for future baking.

*  I made up a half batch of yoghurt from scratch.

*  Darren picked blackberries at a couple of locations.  As soon as he has enough berries frozen I'll be making jam for him.

*  I made wholemeal bread with extra goodness to have as toast for our breakfast every morning.  I also make rolls for Darren to use in his lunch for work.

*  I shopped the Boxing Day sales and got some fantastic deals on presents for this year and the next.  All the presents have been allocated in my present book and all were budgeted for.  In fact,  I'm coming in well under budget for this year.

*  Darren and I went to the movies using points he'd accumulated at Village cinemas.  We rarely go to the movies so this was a wonderful treat.

LINKS - 

Cranberry Hootycreek Biscuits

Choc Chip Bickies ( cookies )

Wholemeal Bread With Extra Goodness

Dried Seasoned Bread Crumbs

Brown Sugar

Making Your Own Yoghurt

Bread making day

Upcycling store bags

A well earned morning tea

One of many bean hauls from the garden

Christmas Day with our family

Cuddles with Naomi

Australia Day photo

Making rice flour.

How have you saved money over Christmas and the school holidays ?

Did you get any bargains in the post Christmas sales ?


Saturday 9 December 2023

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 9th December 2023

 We are feeling quite organised this year in the lead up to Christmas.  Most of the presents are wrapped,  the Christmas lunch menu is sorted,  baking is in the freezer and most of the Christmas cards have been written.  I've even made a good start on next year's birthday and Christmas presents

Here's how we saved money over the last couple of weeks -

*  I planted luffa,  corn and more beans in our veggie garden.

*  I baked lots of shortbread biscuits ( frozen from the freezer ) as the occasion arose.  They really are much nicer than store bought,  which I was a fan of previously.

*  Darren made his Christmas rocky road.  This year he called it ' Christmas lights '.

*  I made 5 jars of relish using tomatoes from our garden that we  froze last Summer.

*  I bought lots of toys for our grandchildren and for charity giving at the Black Friday sale at Toymate.    The Buzz Lightyear figures were only $7 each less 5% from their loyalty program.

*  I sold 4 raspberry plants from our garden.

*  I bulk cooked tuna pasta bake,  beef stew,  chop suey and salmon patties.  Our freezers are full again and I won't have to cook too often leading up to Christmas.  I love the ' cook once,  eat four or five times ' type of cooking.  I don't do a bulk cooking day but cook larger meals at dinner time and freeze the extras.

*  Picked lots of silverbeet from our garden to add to many dishes for dinner.

*  I planted lots of potatoes in our garden including the tiny,  tiny ones.  Every little bit helps and we rarely buy potatoes now.

*  Darren saved some of our strawberry plants after I pulled them out earlier this year.  I got tired of watering them and the bugs eating all the fruit.  Darren put the plants in pots on our decking area and they've been growing well.  Not a bug bite in sight.

*  I bought boxes of 100 teabags for $3 each  less my 10% discount at Woolworths.  This is a great bargain considering most boxes of teabags are now $5 - $7 each at full price and nothing much comes on a half price sale these days.  

LINKS -

Tuna Pasta Bake

Salmon Patties

Chop Suey

Shortbread Biscuits

Tomato Relish

Darren's ' Christmas lights ' Rocky Road


Our Christmas displays around our home







Bulk cooking for the freezer

Bargain tea bags

Our granddaughter Naomi at her first Christmas party

How are your Christmas planning coming along ?

How did you save money this week ?


Saturday 25 November 2023

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 25th November 2023

This week at the Gower Abundant Cottage has been a little slower.  Darren came down with a cold just over a week ago.  Then on Monday I could feel a sore throat coming on which became a cold.  I had to cancel my cleaning jobs on Tuesday and Wednesday.  By Thursday I was starting to feel a bit better but had Darren help me with the cleaning job that day.

The rest of my week was spent resting as much as possible.  I know it's just a cold,  but I tend to get chest infections as I get older so I try to take it easy when I can.

Here's how the rest of my week looked.  Unfortunately I didn't take too many photo.

*  We fed lots of silverbeet,  weeds,  grass clipping and a few crusts to our chickens.

*  I baked a double batch of Easy Coconut Slice for a few occasions over the weekend and leading up to Christmas.  Some of the slice was stored fresh in the pantry and the rest went into the freezer.

*  Made a big pot of chunky chicken and veg soup from a chicken carcass and leftover meat.  This big pot of soup gave us  13 serves.  Most of this went straight into the freezer.  I could almost live off this soup all year round ( except in a heatwave ).

*  Dried most of the washing outside on clothes horses or the line.

*  Picked the last of the mini cauliflowers growing in our veg garden.  We enjoyed it steamed with other veggies for a couple of dinners.

*  Saved leftover drink bottle water into a bucket in the kitchen.  The water was then poured onto plants outside.

*  I baked 3 loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.

*  Bought TVP through a wholesaler and got 10%  off the whole order on their Black Friday sale.

*  Sold more hand knitted dish cloths to a friend.   

*  Sold an unwanted item on Marketplace.

*  Made a quadruple batch of shortbread biscuit dough.  I baked about 15 biscuits for Darren and I to eat for morning teas.  The rest of the dough was cut into different shapes and frozen it without baking.  As the occasion arises,  I can get as many biscuits as I need from the freezer and bake so that they are fresh.  My plan is to be as organised as I can ahead of the Christmas season so I can relax and enjoy the festivities.

*  Sold lots of raspberry plants from our garden to friends and family.  Growing raspberries has saved us so much money over the years.  We no longer buy raspberries.  I make jam for us and some to sell,  I sell some of my baking with the raspberries in it and I have given raspberry plants as presents.  This is the second year I've sold plants.

*  Took advantage of the Black Friday sales and purchased some items from The Body Shop at 50% off.  These toiletries will be for Christmas presents this year and birthday presents next year. 

*  I planted more beans where I could find space in the veg garden.  I've noticed that frozen beans have been hard to get at the supermarket over the last few months.  Growing our own and freezing excess produce will help keep our stocks up.

LINKS -







Getting ready to bake




Selling raspberry plants.  I still have a few left


Hanging towels for sale $8 each


Have you purchased anything at the Black Friday sales ?

How did you save money this week ?


Saturday 18 November 2023

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 18th November 2023

 This week we've spent lots of time in the garden tidying up,  planting,  mulching and harvesting.  With all the work we've been putting in,  we hope to rest more during the warmer months and keep on top of the weeds and watering.

I've just about finished the Christmas present shopping with only stocking stuffers ( food ) left to buy.  I'm waiting until our favourite chocolates and biscuits come on sale.

Here's what else we've been up to -

*  Picked lots of fresh Spring rosemary tips from our bush in the garden.  I've filled another 2 paper bags with the tips and it's now hanging up to dry.

*  Darren and I planted our Summer veggie garden last Sunday.  We've planted Luffa,  lettuce,  tomatoes,  beans,  snow peas,  carrots,  more potatoes and zucchini.  In a few weeks time we'll plant lots of corn.

*  Knitted another dish cloth for my kitchen.  I find it relaxing to knit while I'm watching tv and resting.

*  Collected a few eggs from our chicken.

*  Picked more lemons and mandarins from our trees.

*  Recycled old Christmas cards by cutting them down to size,  matting them and gluing to new blank cards.  I then add a little bling to make them pop.  I now have enough cards for the next 2 or 3 years.

*  Took a few cuttings from a plant growing in our garden that we love.  We've successfully grown a few from cuttings previously and planted out in our garden.  Maybe if these cuttings take,  we can give a couple away as presents.

*  I found a few freebie / volunteer plants in our garden.  I dug them up and rehomed them to fill in gaps.

*  I dug up and potted 5 or 6 raspberry plants growing in odd places in our garden.  If the plants survive,  I'll sell them on Marketplace.

*  I made a bulk amount of chicken pasta bake using leftover meat from a roast chicken.  I added  potatoes and silverbeet from our garden to bulk it out.  We ate some for dinner that night and the rest was portioned into casserole dishes and frozen ( without baking in the oven ).  

*  I sold quite a few double sided kitchen cloths,  hanging towels,  knitted face washers,  jam and knitted dish cloths to a cleaning client and a couple of FB friends.  If you are interested in buying any of my crafts,  please visit my FB pages Wendy Gower or My Abundant Life to see what's available.

*  I visited a local op shop called Basic Treasures where everything in the store is $1.  I picked up lots of toiletries,,  kids baking equipment,  cleaning supplies and a sleepsuit for our grandbaby.  All were brand new.  Many of these goodies will be put in family Christmas hampers over the next couple of years.

*  Made up a bottle of foaming handwash using the last of Darren's shower gel.  Darren had already added water to use it up but the pump wasn't picking up the last little bit.  I added extra water and poured it into our foaming hand wash bottle.  The soap color even matches the label. 


                                                            In the garden







From the garden






$1 each op shop bargains

Op shop haul.  Everything in the photo was $1 each


Double sided kitchen cloth in use

One side microfibre,  one side cotton.

Shower gel foaming hand wash.



How are you going with your Christmas shopping ?

How have you saved money this week ?