Make Your Own Plant Labels

I've been having trouble finding satisfactory plant labels. Wooden ice cream sticks work well but I don't eat enough ice cream and they are too narrow. I've bought plastic ones but find the marker can wash off. And they are not very attractive either.

A simple, free and surprisingly beautiful solution is to use smooth beach stones and permanent marker. It was a wonderful excuse to take a late evening walk on the beach this week. We had an awesome thunder shower that day, with a lot of lightening and flash flooding, but by the time I got to the beach the sky had cleared into a swirling mass of bright blue and white with a rainbow. It was incredibly peaceful. Give me that over sizzling on hot sand under a high sun any day.



Here are some of my stones:

Wherever you are, I hope you're near a nice beach so you can make your own.

Outdoor Activities for Toddlers in and around Carrigaline

Toddlerhood is a fabulous time for exploring the world with your child. They are so excited and enthusiastic about the smallest detail - a plane in the sky or water flowing from a pipe. It's also a challenging time to be outside of the house as it is so difficult to give them the freedom they desire while keeping them safe. Structured play centres including playgrounds and indoor fun houses, although ideal in theory, are sometimes not so suitable for the younger toddler. Or maybe just my toddler who is more interested in fire escapes, hydrants, opening doors and running for the hills than playing with swings and ball ponds. Here are some of the things we like to do in Carrigaline and the surrounding areas. All are free of charge and outdoor.

1. Fountainstown Beach at Low Tide

I usually park in the car park and walk to the furthest end of the beach by road with small man in the buggy. He's only just two years old so is still happy to be wheeled around, thankfully. The front strand is quite rocky so I find the far side of the beach to be much more child-friendly as there is a huge stretch of flat sand with shallow pools of water. Here they can have a really good run and splash around without going near the actual sea. Obviously fine weather is the optimum time for this but I am thinking about buying some neoprene waders so he can splash through water in all weather without a chance of getting soaked through.

2. Monkstown Wall and Playground

Another buggy walk, Monkstown Wall provides plenty to see from marine birds, wind turbines, speed boats, anglers, dog walkers, and my son is particularly fond of a pipe on the opposite side of the road that gushes out water coming from a stream. If you bring some food, there are plenty benches with a scenic view for some al fresco dining. For a run-around, there is a small playground opposite The Monkstown Inn on Glen Road. Although in excellent condition, it is not a great playground for very young children - there is no baby swing which is surprising - but it is well enclosed and there is a stream running alongside it (at the other side of the railings) which should interest a toddler.

3. Near the Ferry Terminal at Ringaskiddy

A popular loop walk starts from a small public car park by the ferry terminal entrance. It is not really suitable for a buggy as the path gets quite narrow and stony in places but is ideal for a sling or a toddler you can trust to walk safely alongside you. There are meandering paths through brambles with some open spaces but some of the path runs right next to the water. The view of Cork Harbour is spectacular. It is an unbelievable place for spotting rabbits - they are everywhere but watch out for the holes in the ground as some of them are quite large. A toddler running around excitedly could easily let their foot slip through. They wouldn't fall in or anything but I'd be worried about breaking or spraining an ankle. It is also a wonderful place for blackberry picking and if you are carrying your toddler on your back, you can do the picking and hand them berries over your shoulder while you walk around. Pure bliss.

There is a playground in Ringaskiddy village.

4. Camden, Crosshaven

The area around the fort is a lovely area for a walk, blackberry picking and watching huge cruise liners coming into Cobh. The views are unbelievable. I'm not a swimmer but gazing at the sea on a calm day makes me dream of leaping from a diving board in the sky and plunging into the shimmering, cool aquamarine expanse. It's lovely to see random people gather just to enjoy the scene in front of them. If you walk up beyond the car park, there is a football pitch that, if empty, is a great place to let your little one have a run around. There are great views from here also. And of course you can visit the fort but it currently only opens during the summer weekends.

There is a great playground in Crosshaven village.

5. Weaver's Point, Crosshaven

When you approach the roundabout in Crosshaven, coming from Carrigaline, take the third exit which leads you up past the graveyard. This road will take you to Weaver's Point, a road of amazing houses with extraordinary views. There is a viewing point where you can park and from here there are a few little paths that will take you down to a walk that runs along the side of a grassy cliff (I use the term "cliff" loosely - although it is steep in a few places). This is a perfect walk for sling wearers. The views make you feel like you are holidaying on an exotic island (I suppose Ireland is an exotic island for a lot of people) and you can eventually descend onto a little beach. At places the path opens out into big grassy flats that allow you to really immerse yourself in your surroundings and give older, responsible children a place to run around.

6. Carrigaline-Crosshaven Railway Walk

This is a mostly off-road linear walk and cycle path that runs along the water. It's 5km in length and is an extremely easy and pleasant walk. The car park nearest to Carrigaline town is often serviced by Lulus, a bright pink van serving drinks and treats with plenty seating. The coffee is amazing and the cake slices are moist and generous. Along the walk, at this time of year, you'll find blackberries, sloes, elderberries and hawthorn berries. The walk is dotted with benches for you to sit back and enjoy your surroundings. If you have a bicycle with a child carrier, this is a great safe cycle for you. At the end of the walk, on the Crosshaven side, is Hasset's restaurant which serves great food in a beautiful building.

7. Carrigaline Library Not outdoors I know, but I had to mention it.

The library is located near Dunnes Stores and is a wonderful relaxed place to spend an hour. They have a nicely sized children's section with plenty of seating and a great selection of books. It may stir a bit of nostalgia in you when you see old favourites such as Stone Soup and The Goose Girl. They do story time on a Friday at 3pm and a children's book club on the first Wednesday of every month at 3.30pm. From there you can take a walk up to...

8. Carrigaline Park and Playground

The large duck pond is a banker when it comes to amusing toddlers. Nothing funnier than being circled by a volery of ducks, seagulls and crows as you share a snack on the bench. If you're into rat spotting, which always excites me, the banks of the pond are a good place to see some rodents scurrying around. Beyond the ducks and rats, you can walk along the Owenabue river, preferably not at low tide so you're not "looking at shit" as my other half would say. Down here you can pick blackberries at this time of year and walk back on the other side of the pond. The park is dotted with public gym equipment for adults and has a large playground divided in to two - for older and younger children. Of course my escapee gives about five minutes exploring the play things until he makes a run for the exit but in general it's a pretty good playground.



Hopefully I've given you a few places to explore. Enjoy!

Medicinal Plants to Grow at Home

As young children myself and my sister spent hours playing, what we called, Mucky Crumby. This was basically collecting muck, flowers, leaves, stones and other garden debris and making into little meals and mixtures. Somewhere buried in the backgarden of the house we moved from when I was six is a lucozade bottle filled with water and mashed up sloes in my attempt to make a some sort of an elixir.

This delight in making potions and lotions never left me and it really pleases me to add medicinal plants to my collection. Here are some plants I am growing at home that can be used as natural cures for an array of complaints.

1. Plants To Reduce Stress

Lavender

Possibly one of the most recognised floral scents, lavender is synonymous with encouraging better sleep. It produces calming, sedative effects when inhaled.

The lavender plant is quite hardy and will withstand dry conditions but a good watering before the flowering season will promote healthy blooms. It spreads, so don't restrict it too much. Place it in a sunny spot as it will not thrive without 6-8 hours of sunshine a day.

Harvest the flowers just before they come into bloom (late June-July) and to maximise the scent, collect in the very early morning. Cut the flowers at the base of the stem and tie into bunches. To retain as much colour as possible, hang in a dark place that is dry, with low humidity. A garage or shed would be ideal. You want to dry them gently. Keep space between the bunches so the air can circulate. The process can take up to a month. You can dry them quickly in the sun, but the purple colour will fade.

To lift your mood, try a homemade lavender tea. Place 1 tsp of dried lavender leaves in a cup and cover with freshly boiled water.  Leave to steep for three minutes and drain before drinking. It can be sweetened with honey.

2. Plants for Cuts, Grazes and Minor Burns

Aloe Vera

Aloe can be grown easily as a house plant. It is a succulent plant, which retains water in its leaves, so it doesn't need too much watering, particularly in winter. It likes a warm, bright location but not totally direct sunshine.

If you break the tip of a leaf off, you will be able to squeeze out the thick green gel from inside the plant. Apply the cool gel directly to a minor burn or graze. Equally you can use like a compress by slitting the leaf down the rib, open it out like a book and apply it, gel side down, straight onto the burn.

I recently used aloe vera on a graze on my toddler's head, and it was gone the next day. Maybe it was his small-child powers of healing the countless bumps he gets but I like to think my efforts helped.

Onion

Onions contain sulphur and quercetin (an anti-oxidant that has anti-inflammatory properties) which help sooth the pain and heal the burn. To help prevent a blister forming, finely dice a raw onion and apply to the burn, wrapping in a bandage to secure.

Sore Throats and Colds

Onion

Another use for onion is to help sooth an irritated throat. You can make a simple cough syrup using raw onion and honey. Make in small batches as it only lasts a few days. Simply add half a chopped raw onion to a clean jar, add enough honey to cover the onion and store in the fridge. Eat a two spoonfuls every few hours.

Garlic

The pungent aroma alone is a great decongestant when you are suffering with a head cold and garlic is also reported to have anti-viral and antibiotic powers. If you are partial to garlic, try eating a whole raw clove a few times a day until the cold passes. A gentler way of ingesting might be to mince the clove and spread on buttered toast, creating a simple garlic bread.

Indigestion

Raw potato

I can attest to this one too. Chew a small cube of raw potato to fight indigestion. Not the nicest texture to invite into your mouth but it does the job, quickly.

So there you have it, a few simple remedies for common complaints.

Leftovers: Natural Yoghurt

Proper sugar-free natural yoghurt is one of those foods I think lasts a lot longer than what is stated on the tub, usually a conservative three days. If you happen to have some leftover after the three days and would prefer not to eat it straight, consider using it in a cooked dish before you throw it out.

1. Baking

My excess yoghurt usually goes into the healthy breakfast muffin recipe I have posted here before. These muffins are a simple batter mix that freeze excellently and defrost rapidly. Take one straight from the freezer in the morning and it will be ready to eat by the time you get your tea break at work.

2. Healthier topping on savoury meals

For meals that call for a cheese topping (enchiladas for example), consider making it healthier by only using half the required quantity of cheese and mixing it with enough natural yoghurt to spread over the dish. You can then bake/grill as normal. It will still brown and look delicious.

3. Cool down or cream up a curry

If you need to tone down a spicy curry, stir the natural yoghurt into the dish a minute before it finishes cooking.

4. Marinade your meat

Natural yoghurt will tenderize your meat and is especially suited to chicken and lamb. A no mess technique is to put your meat in a ziplock plastic bag, pour in the yoghurt, seal and shake/squeeze/mush to coat at the meat. Store in the fridge until cooking, preferably overnight.

So become a cultured individual and get friendly with natural yoghurt!

Why Frugal Living Works For Me

A constant state of dissatisfaction is, I think, a pretty accurate description of today's quintessential sedentary 9-5 urban modern life. In Ireland, where we have freedom, opportunities and safe living, people are still not truly happy.  And you might be surprised to discover the kind of people who are happiest. In my experience, it is not wealth, social status, beauty or anything tangible that increases a person's happiness.

But we are all different and have to do the best with what we've got, so everybody's path to happiness will be different. For me, free time is my ultimate goal. That is time to do anything I want, whether that be to do nothing at all. I am lucky to work in a job that allows me to apply for unpaid leave so keeping my living costs down means I can afford to work less. I have been working a four day week for six months now. My expenses are still the same from when I was working five days (slightly greater in fact as I now have a child), and I am still saving money. My job is not a high paid job. I pay rent of €350 a month. I pay for part time child care. I have a car (which I bought for cash with savings).

I began to look at purchases in terms of time. I see a beautiful pair of boots in a shop window and I want them. I look at the price - €80 - or one day's work. So it's the boots or a day off work. The day off wins and I walk on.

I just don't buy things anymore. By things I mean non-perishable items (not food/medicine/cosmetics/cleaning products/fuel - of course you can make frugal choices with these life necessities too). It took me a while to get to this point. I built up my possessions for the first few years that I started working - long lasting pieces like a guitar, cooking appliances, reference books, a range of jewellery, good clothes and shoes. But once you get to a certain level of personal and household items, you just don't really have to buy much anymore. What I need was a reason. Becoming a mother was the driving force, but I had been thinking about paring down my lifestyle for a while. My time is everything to me now. When you wear the same clothes for years, they eventually come back into fashion!

Crusty Life: 3rd October 2014

Today was a score! day. Everywhere I went, freebies seemed to throw themselves at me.

First I had a bag of large cucumbers bestowed upon me. Unlike the typical supermarket offering of smooth thin cucumbers, these are fat knobbly things as you can see below. I have included a shop bought specimen at the top of the photo for comparison. I will pickle most of them.

Later in the evening an unexpected knock at the front door turned out to be my next door neighbour with a large jar of honey from his father's hive. I pay a small fortune for local honey so this gift was a real victory. We have passed on fresh fish next door on a few occasions. It pays to be generous to people because you will always get something back in return. I recently got empty jars from some of my colleagues, including some lovely little kilners, and I will say thanks by giving back a jar to each of them filled with a preserve of some sort. I'm thinking maybe some Haw jelly.

Leafmould: Making Fallen Leaves Useful

The serene orange and yellow hues of leaves on lazy mild evenings is what earns Autumn its place as my most-loved season. The low sun searing through the curtain of illuminated foliage is blinding and beautiful. Too bad the wind usually picks up and strips the trees bare in a matter of days. And with the rain, soon what once crunched deliciously underfoot now sticks to your boot like sludge threatening to slip you up.

Instead of sweeping up the leaves and adding them to the compost heap, you can isolate them to make your own soil conditioner called leaf mould. By digging the finished product into your soil, you will improve it. For an acidic mix, use pine needles instead of leaves (they are shed all year around but particularly in the Spring). The leaf mould can also be used as a mulch or soil coverer.

The easiest process is pack the leaves into a black refuse bag. If the leaves are dry, add some water to accelerate the decomposition process and tie. Leave for at least one year, preferably two. Indeed it is not quick gratification but the effort required is minimal.

The photo below is of a bag I ripped open today, which had been sitting there for one year. The leaves have broken down into papery sheets. Some larger leaves could break down further but it is certainly useable. 

Leaf mould is not particularly nutritious but it's crumbly texture will help loosen your soil to move it closer to that illusive "friable" state. It also provides a perfect habitat for beneficial soil life like earthworms and fungi. It is extremely moisture retentive, making a great mulch. If added to the compost heap, it brings good levels of carbon helping achieve that perfect carbon:nitrogen ratio which can be difficult to perfect with the usual high levels of nitrogen in most plant life.


Make it. You've no excuse.

Rescue your rotting vegetables!

The flawless displays of fruit and veg in the supermarket are evidence (or the cause) of our desire for picture perfect produce. Bruised or even just misshapen food are left to shrivel and die. Don't be so quick to discard fruit and veg that appear unsightly, a quick investigation with a knife and you'll often find that there is plenty perfect flesh inside.

Recently I was gifted with two cabbages (in exchange for my hand in marriage - a good deal I thought) that I had great plans for. A week later I noticed a slight smell in the kitchen which turned out to be my cabbages.. on the turn. Oh no I gasped, cursing my neglectful ways, and was about to dump them into the compost when I decided to examine them further. A few minutes later this:

Had become this:

Shredded and ready for the freezer to be added to soup or stew or something else starting with S at a later stage.

Shredded cabbage can also be used to make good old coleslaw or brined to make sauerkraut.

So quick, take a look at your fruit and veg and rescue any casualties.

Eat Your Weeds!

We all have those tiny ambitions, little dreams that would be easy to fulfill but other things keep getting in the way. For some it might be to complete in a triathlon...for me, it's to eat nettles. I have no excuse, they grow in my back garden, but it's taken years of thinking about it for me to finally do it. And today was that day. As per foraging guidelines, I snipped the young tips from the plants. Nettles should be eaten young, and definitely before the plant flowers as growth at this stage can be damaging to the kidneys.

The nutritional benefits of nettles include iron and vitamin C.

I washed the nettles and gently sweated in a pot with some butter. 

To compliment the dish, I pulled a very young garlic plant and chopped it into the pot. Even though I was full sure that cooking removes the sting, that first taste was nerve racking! I was rewarded with a delicious spinach tasting, textured but soft mouthful. It's not a great photo, sorry.

So I can confirm that nettle eating is not just foraging play but a viable side dish to complete with any other green leaf you might buy in a shop.

Homemade Fire Lighters

I love candles and big ones are great to look at but they are a terribly inefficient use of wax. They burn down though the centre leaving you with a big hunk of coloured wax. Well don't throw away your candle ends, use them to make cheap fire lighters. These do work, the idea is not just for a post's sake.


You will need:





- An old pot that will not be used for cooking

- Old candle ends (mine are mainly white at the moment so the finished colour is boring but you can get cool results with brightly coloured wax)

- Cotton face pads (the pound shop does big packs really cheap - I got a pack of 80 for €1.49)

- Greaseproof paper

- A source of heat to melt the wax


Directions


It's fairly straight-forward. Melt the wax slowly over a low heat, and dip a cotton pad in the liquid wax (use a tongs to save your fingers but you could use your finger to block a piece of the pad from the wax - it is easier to light the dry part. It's not necessary though, the wax will set alight too but you may need to hold the flame to the pad for a few seconds longer).





Lay the coated pad on the greaseproof paper and allow to harden. Use as you would normal fire lighters.

Frugal Yet Thoughtful Christmas Gifts

Christmas is about the joyous act of giving and receiving and if you are like me, every year you pour over a list of names trying to dream up the perfect present for everyone. I'm not always frugal; I do like to treat some people but there has to be a balance to make this possible. Here are some gift ideas that won't cost a lot but are a bit better than a Christmas decoration made from an empty toilet roll.

1. Family Movie Night Gift Pack

This one is great for taking care of extended family members with children who you would like to/feel you have to give a present to but don't know them well enough to give individual gifts. It also costs very little.

Put together a pack with a few fail proof DVDs (I recommend Studio Ghibli's beautiful cartoon movies for families with children) or a voucher for the local video store or, in the modern way, a flash drive with some movie files on it. Include a packet of popcorn and other treats.

2. Books

Unless you are buying a well thumbed school book, the quality of second hand books can be fantastic. If you have children of your own, a fun way to encourage reading, as well as creating some suspense, is to follow an advent style way of giving a different book for the twenty five days of December leading up to Christmas day.

3. Pre-made cookie/cake dry mixes in a jar

You've probably seen many beautiful photos of this idea online. The basic premise is to layer the dry ingredients of a chosen recipe in a jar and attach a label with baking instructions and a list of the remaining wet ingredients, usually eggs and butter.

4. Vegetable seeds

Growing your own food is addictive. There is nothing more satisfying than planting a tiny seed and a few months later pulling a swollen delicious root for the table. Seeds are really cheap and there is a massive, exciting range of vegetables, some of which you might not have heard of, that will grow in the Irish climate. I love Seedaholic for a mesmerising catalogue of flower, ornamental, herb and vegetable seeds at great prices, fast delivery and superb information sheets.

The main idea behind all of these ideas is that by providing a few key items, you are gifting an experience and therein lies the thoughtfulness.

Say No to Convenience Products

In matters of food and home, convenience can be expensive and quite often, unhealthy. A person working long hours can’t be expected to do everything from scratch all the time but here are some easy tips that I hope identify the main convenience culprits.

1. Avoid single serve portions. They are evil. Even if you are only feeding one, you are much better off investing in a good freezer and buying food in bulk, where cheaper. It is a simple habit to get into, and once you get into that mindset, it is hard to go back to paying premium prices for nicely packaged portions for one. Chopped plastic wrapped vegetables are the worst. The mark up for the convenience of having them peeled and chopped is astronomical. On a recent trip to Tesco, the normal celery head was 89c, where a bag of celery stalks, chopped from the base was €1.65. The actual size of the edible portion was about the same.

2. If the reason for buying smaller portions is to control weight, don’t be fooled by marketing ploys. Stay clear of low fat “weight watchers” products that claim to be healthier but are really just a smaller portion of the same food you could buy from any brand. Instead of buying your diet sliced pan, which is just reduced in size so the portion calorie count is smaller, learn how to make a decent brown bread and enjoy a full portion knowing that it is better for you. Better still; rise above the notion that low fat, processed products are a good way to control your weight. The healthiest, fittest people I know are those who eat well, enjoy their meat, carbohydrates, full fat dairy products, a daily treat and so on, but do not eat processed junk which often falsely parades itself as healthy. Belvita breakfast biscuits? Special K? No thanks; I’d rather have a boiled egg and brown bread. You can poach an egg in the microwave in less than a minute so limited time is no excuse.

3. Instead of buying packets of biscuits, bake your own. It is too easy to open a packet of supermarket biscuits and scoff five without even thinking. If you put in the time and effort to bake your own, not only are you getting physical exercise from the actual task of cooking and cleaning, but also you will appreciate them more and will be less quick to eat them so fast. Plus they defrost in no time so you can control your portions by freezing the batch and taking one out daily. It is more rewarding.

4. If you do not have a problem with eating sweet treats, just make a slab of chocolate biscuit cake every week and keep it in the fridge. I make a 6inch x 6inch x 1 inch portion once a week using a 125g bar of Lidl Madagascar chocolate [€1.25], 4 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp golden syrup, handful mixed dried fruit and 75g rich tea biscuits [you can buy a 300g pack for about 35c in Lidl]. It costs less that €2 to make and keeps two of us in chocolate for a week or more. If we were buying a chocolate bar a day for each of us in the local newsagent, we would be spending €2 every day - €14 a week!

5. Make a “rag bag”. Well make two – one for clean and one for dirty. Cut up any old clothes that have gone beyond wearable, store in a cotton bag and when used, put into a material net bag. The whole bag can be thrown into the washing machine with your usual load. You can stop buying paper towels and the by using the bag system, you’ll have a neat and tidy system.

For an ultra neat system, use plastic containers to contain the bags:

Uplifting homemade rags made from clothes!:

And don't get me started on take away teas and coffees..... If you have to have it on the go, buy a flask.

Money Saving Tips Part 3

Even though the weather is still quite warm for the end of September, it's time to start thinking about the winter, which means fuel costs. So this weeks money saving thoughts are centered around energy.


1. Invest in heavy duty curtains, especially in the living areas of the house, and close them in all rooms at night. You could leave them closed all day in rooms that you are not using. It's all extra insulation.


2. Put draught stoppers along the base of doors. Even a rolled up towel or blanket would do.


3. Before you put on a load of washing, stop and think about what temperature you are setting the machine to. You might be in the habit of putting everything on the one setting, but do the clothes you are washing need 60 degrees of heat? Try separating your loads so you can wash some clothes on cold. It will make a big difference to your electricity bill.


4. Even if the weather isn't good enough to dry your laundry to a usable level, try to dry loads of clothes to some extent. Never put clothes straight from the washing machine to the tumble dryer. Try to let the wind do some work for you.


5. Keep your watering can outside the back door so you can pour any waste water from cooking [e.g. potatoes/veg/pasta/rice] straight in. It saves in water use, has all the tap water additives boiled out of it and contains some run off nutrients that will benefit your plants.


6. Double up on oven use so if you are doing a roast, maybe think about doing your baking on the same day so you are not preheating the oven twice.

So rethink your energy costs and soon you'll be flying high like mr monkey

Homemade Biodegradable Seed Pots

This simple idea of pots made from old newspaper is not only money saving but it allows you to pot on seedlings without disturbing them. The newspaper will quickly rot down in the soil, allowing the seedling to acclimatise nicely to it's new surroundings.


You will need:



1 bottle - wine bottle would be perfect
Newspaper
Scissors are optional as the paper is easy to rip

Method:



Tear off a strip of paper for the pot, about twice the height of the actual pot size you want. Wrap it around the bottle to shape the pot.



Fold the end of the paper around the base of the bottle to form the bottom of the pot.




This may take a few attempts to get the paper nicely wrapped together.



Stand the bottle up and press down to firm the base into place



Remove the bottle and voila! you have your pot.

Money Saving Tips Part 2

Leading on from Part 1 here, these are some more of my money saving tips.

1. Join the library

Not rocket science but if you are a book lover like me, buying books can be addictive and costly. You'd be surprised what your local library is stocking and it's a chance to take a risk on books without reaping the expenses and building up clutter. My philosophy now is to rent or borrow fiction books and if I am going to invest in a book, it's usually for reference. Some reference books are invaluable to have in the home, especially if they teach you a skill or how to avoid paying someone else for a job you can easily learn to do.

If you are going to buy a book, think SECOND HAND before you wander into Waterstones or Easons. Such is the quality of some second hand books, that I would not be embarrassed to give them as gifts. Online, I find play.com to be the best source of second hand material and I have never been disappointed with the physical state of the books. And it's free shipping!

2. Barter

Look at those around you, family, colleagues and neighbours and identify what skills you can trade. The easiest way to approach this is the to be the first to offer a favour to someone and most times, they will remember it and repay you in some way. I started bringing excess freshly caught fish to work to offer to colleagues and I have since received fresh rabbit, pheasant and baked goods in return. Which brings me on to my next tip....

3. Take up fishing

You do not need a licence to sea fish in Ireland, and during the summer any fool with a cheap rod can catch a bounty from the shoals of mackerel that migrate towards land. It's a delicious, healthy, oily fish that almost wants to be caught and it's not unusual to through out a line with six hooks and to fill the whole line in a matter of seconds. Once you catch your first mackerel, you'd be hard pushed to pay the price they are charging for measly fillets in supermarkets.

4. Keep shopping bags in the boot of your car

Small savings to be had but at 22c each, not to mention the waste, it's a good practice to keep a stock of shopping bags in your vehicle. They don't weigh anything so no harm carrying them around. On that note, if you have a roof rack on your vehicle that never gets used, take it down. It is wasting fuel.

5. Buy your hobby magazines in second hand shops

If you are not fussy about keeping up to date, there is no reason to spend the usual €5-€6 that hobby magazines cost. If you like arts and crafts or cooking, you'll hardly notice if the magazine is recent or from three months ago.


I'm sure I'll be back in a few weeks with some more tips I've thought off.

My Experiment: Earning Money Online

So as I am on a budgeting buzz these days I am looking for all sorts of ingenious ways to make money, find freebies, get samples. It's alot of work for so very little but in the last few weeks I have:

Received free samples of Wheatgrass supplements and Vichy face cream [so exciting getting them through the post!]. I am also waiting on free tea.

Joined Swagbucks to earn online money which can be converted into vouchers for many websites, including Amazon. £5GBP on Amazon costs 849 swagbucks and I've made 300 in the last three days by just messing around on the site, doing one survey and watching some videos. You gain points from using their search engine, playing games and other little tasks. If I can make the £5 by the weekend, I'll be very pleased. 

Joined an Irish online survey company called Irish Opinions who send you surveys to complete, based on your profile. I've made €3 by doing three surveys [and missed out on two more because I couldn't access the site at work]. When you reach €10, you can convert into a voucher for Tesco or Boots.

It might be a short lived buzz but it's proving quite addictive so far!

Homemade Wooden Floor Cleaner

I tried out this simple potion and it worked wonders for my wooden floor [albeit cheap laminate].

    

Mix:

500g washing soda

100g baking soda

Small squirt washing up liquid

200ml vinegar

7 litres of very hot water.

Don't get worried when it starts to fizz - it won't explode! You could add some scented essence to give it a nice smell.

Before

After

The Wonders of Owning a Chest Freezer

Looming motherhood in two months has awoken my organisational skills and all of a sudden I had to have a chest freezer! How have I lived so long without one!?? Well we do have a freezer but not one that allows much more than the obligatory fish fingers, ice pops, frozen veg and random pieces of meat.

So empty freezer at hand, we begin to fill it.

A butchered whole lamb is purchased which will keep us in meat for a long time. Not baaad.

I spend a few days cooking up the following:

Chicken and Sausage Casserole with lots of lovely leeks

Chili Con Carne

Red Thai Curry

Giant fish casserole

Seafood Chowder

Other goodies made are:

Beautiful rhubarb scones taken from this recipe

Buttermilk pancakes with cranberries and sultanas

Double chocolate cookies from here

Bolognese using this lovely slow cook recipe - I didn't use nearly as much salt.

Im so glad I got a chest freezer. Im almost emotional. Sniff.

Money Saving Tips Part 1

With bambino on the way in four weeks, I have gone into budgeting overdrive. I've always been good with my money but by writing down all expenditures for the last few days, it's incredible how easily even a money conscious person can make un-necessary purchases.

Here are my top tips for saving money:

1. Use your freezer to the max and invest in a chest freezer if possible

We have saved a fortune the last few months by being ultra organised with meals and always thinking "what's in the freezer?" before making any purchases. If you have a contact, buy a whole butchered animal. We have bought a whole lamb for the last three years running. I reckon what we paid for the full animal would only cover the price of the chops if we were still buying lamb in the shop.

Freeze left over wine in ice cube trays to use for cooking.

When you buy herbs/ginger/garlic and other cooking accompaniments that you probably will not use in full, freeze a percentage immediately. You'll always end up throwing out a half mouldy lump of ginger root otherwise!

When you have the spare time, make up batches of bread dough and freeze uncooked. Imagine taking out the dough the night before and next day you're only 30 minutes away from freshly baked bread. In fact, make extra of everything and freeze the excess. Pretty soon you'll have a huge choice of food to chose from.

2. Grow your own salad vegetables

Even if you are not into gardening, it is worth everybody's time to grow lettuce, tomatoes and herbs. These are some of the most expensive vegetables to buy. I put alot of time and labour into growing vegetables like potatoes, carrots and onions but apart from the satisfaction, freshness, superior taste and lack of chemicals (okay they are all really good reasons!), I don't save much money by doing so. However, by having a crop of salad leaves in the garden, I have saved at least €3 per week [€156 per year!] by not buying bags of mixed leaves in the supermarket (which deteriorate in quality rapidly once the bag is opened). I recommend everyone to grow spinach. The baby leaves are tender petals of gorgeousness and the older leaves add to almost any savoury dish you can think of. Plus you can cut and cut and cut those leaves and the plant will keep on giving.

If you want to branch out, peas and beans are also a lovely easy crop. Mangetout just gives gives gives and is easy to freeze [steam for a few mins, plunge in icy water to cool, freeze on a tray and bag when hard]. Plus those little salad bags of podded peas are quite expensive in shops.

3. Consider re-usables instead of disposables

Not only are you saving money but the landfill will thank you for it.

My guilty pleasure is kitchen roll [paper towels] but I'll have to discipline myself into sticking to cloths.

The cloth nappy library of Ireland allows you to rent high quality cloth nappies to try out before you buy. Huge savings can be made on these nappies which will last a child from birth to toddler. Most people will be saving money after six months. Also, if you are using re-usables, it is not as painful to pay the extra for eco friendly disposables when needed.

Consider a silicon menstrual cup instead of buying sanitary products every month. At €30, the Moon Cup would start saving you money after a few months.

4. Consider installing a wood burning stove to replace your open fire

I always loved our open fire and was hesitant when the landlord wanted to install a stove but once we figured out the knack of using it, I realised it was one of the best improvements made to the house.

It's more heat and fuel efficient. By using mainly wood, they produce less ash than the open fire and is much easier to clean out as everything falls into a removable tray. We use a little bit of coal to establish the fire and top up only with wood, which we bought in bulk for very cheap. Last winter, we used a fraction of the amount of coal used in previous years. There is plenty of fallen wood to be found in any forest. I also saved in firelighters by melting the ends of candles and soaking cotton pads in the melted wax. A great way to make use of those candle ends that amass around the house.

5. Always carry a bottle of water/juice from home

Buying fluids when out and about is a major money drainer. Its a simple habit to get into.

Last but not least...

6. Write down all expenditures

This makes you aware of where your money is going and soon you'll find yourself getting a kick out of making it through the day with spending as little as possible. Making shopping lists used to give me pleasure but it also turns spending into a hobby. I still make sure I buy everything I need, and treat myself but Im not going to find myself €5 less at the end of the week because I somehow bought a bottle of water on three separate occassions, water I might not even have drank in full.


Read Part 2 of my best money saving tips HERE

Cheap, Easy and Nutritious Lunches: Part 1

Save time and money on your lunch break by either bringing your leftover dinner or making up something in advance. I personally hate sandwiches [especially those pathetic excuses for food consisting of packet deli meat between two slices of white convenience sliced pan which is just junk food in my eyes] so a bit more effort is required, but not much more.


My first favourite lunch to bang together is:


COLD PASTA SALAD


You can add anything you like but my key ingredients are:

Cold cooked pasta

Cold boiled egg

Tomato

Spring onion

Salad leaves




Today we a selection from the garden including beetroot leaves, peppery nasturtium leaves and young spinach. Get experimental with your leaves people!! There's more to life than iceberg lettuce and those expensive mixed supermarket packets.

Mayonnaise

Salad Cream

Chop and mix everything together!









Make double the amount needed because you will eat half of it without realising..