Sensibly Frugal Living

D.I.Y Dryer Sheets

I begrudge paying out for dryer sheets, so I haven’t used them until recently. I was given some for free and loved the way my clothes smelt after they had been tumble dried, but again, I didn’t want to spend out on more when they ran out.

I decided to make my own reusable dryer rags. They are so simple to make and last much longer than shop bought sheets. You simply repeat the following process over and over without waste.

What you will need:

Old towel or face cloths
Liquid fabric conditioner

Method:

Cut an old towel into squares/ or use old face cloths
Soak the squares in fabric conditioner
Ring out the excess and leave to fully dry
Throw a dried rag into the dryer with your laundry

You only need to repeat this process when the rag starts to lose it’s scent.

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Fruit Cocktail Jellies on a Budget

My children love the little pots of jelly that have fruit cocktail pieces in them, but I begrudge paying 50p+ for one small pot when I can make many more of them at home for £1.55.

*I will include prices from Tesco.com in this post. These prices are accurate at the time of posting.

What you will need:

Make a home jelly pack (any flavour) £0.55p
1 x tin of fruit cocktail in juice £1.00
Small dishes/ pots (even cleaned yoghurt pots would work)

You can use fresh fruit, but my daughter is adamant that only the fruit from a tin of fruit cocktail has the same taste and texture as the shop bought variety.

Method:

Simply fill your pots half way with the drained fruit
Make up your jelly to the instructions and pour over your fruit. Fill each pot to the level you want
Place in your fridge to set.
Once set, you can eat them as a treat or dessert. If you want to take them in lunchboxes, you must use pots with lids.

I made 6 pots for just £1.55. That is approximately £0.26p per pot.

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Back to School on a Budget

Back to school buying can be damaging to the bank account. School uniforms (UK) can be incredibly costly, and that’s not to mention the extras such as lunchboxes, sports bags, pencil cases etc.

I have a few tips to keep costs down, and at the end of this post you can find affiliate links to some great back to school buys on Amazon.

Buy Second Hand

Charity shops and car-boot sales are a great place to pick up articles of school uniform. Most schools only require logos on jumpers, but the trousers and dresses etc are pretty much the same across the board, so finding second hand uniform is common.

In my local area there are Facebook selling pages for second hand school uniforms and book day costumes etc. This is great for buying jumpers etc for a specific school.

Swap with Friends

If you have children of differing ages, it is a great idea to swap uniforms with friends. You could organise a uniform swap party with a group of parents, or do a large uniform sale for the public is you felt so inclined.

Lost and Found

At the end of the previous school year, any items that are not claimed are sold at a discount price by my daughter’s school. Check to see if your school has any similar sales.

Top Tip:

My top tip is to keep your eyes peeled throughout the year for sales or second hand buys on school supplies and uniform in the next sizes up.

Amazon Bargain Buys:

Lunch Bag: Clearance!!! Jersh ☆ Lunch Bag for Women Kids Men Insulated Canvas Box Tote Bag Thermal Cooler Food Lunch Bags Thermal Insulated Lunch Box Tote Cooler Bag Bento Pouch Lunch Container (B-Black)

Flamingo Lunch Bag: VWH Flamingo Lunch Bag Insulated Lunch Box Storage Bag Outdoor Picnic Handbag Pouch Waterproof (grey)

Unicorn Gym Bag: Unicorn Drawstring Bag for Girls Travel Storage Package Cartoon School Backpacks Children Birthday Party

Plain Colour Gym bag: BagTrek Gym Sack – Black

Rucksack Blue: BagBase Unisex’s B125JSBGP Fashion Backpack, Surf Blue/Graphite Grey, Medium

Star Wars Rucksack : Childrens Star Wars Stormtrooper Boys Bag Junior Black Backpack

Sequin Pencil Case: Gluckliy Cosmetic Bag Mermaid Sequin Pencil Pouch Reversible Sequin Handbag Double Color Makeup Bags Students Pencil Case Glitter Makeup Pouch for Women Kids (Color D)

Transparent Pencil Case: Kingko® Large Transparent Solid Color Zipper Cosmetic Jelly Pencil Case Office School Stationery (White)

Iron On Name Labels: 50 IRON-ON NAME TAGS WITH PEN school uniform labels

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I hope some of these tips and bargains are useful to you and help you save money on back to school items.

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*Disclaimer: I am a member of the Amazon Associates program. This post contains affiliate links to products. At no extra cost to you, I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

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Affiliate links used in this post

Harvesting and Freezing Basil

So, you have a living basil plant? What next, right? Well, I am here to help you harvest and freeze your crop.

Harvesting

There are a few tips to know when harvesting basil:

Always pinch off the stem above the leaf node. This effectively prunes the plant and encourages fresh regrowth.
Cut the plant back by a third only.
Harvest from the top down.
Allow a few weeks before harvesting again.

Freezing

I use 2 methods when freezing basil:

Blanching

Blanching is the most popular method to freeze basil. Blanch the leaves in a strainer by dunking them in boiling water for about 10 seconds, then dunking them in ice water to stop the cooking process.

Lay the basil leaves on kitchen paper and pat dry. Once dry, lay them on a baking sheet and flash freeze to prevent them sticking together.

Once frozen on the baking tray, you can pop them into a zip-lock bag and put them back in the freezer. Ensure you label and date the bag.

Pureeing

This is my favourite process for basil that will be used in soups or pasta sauces.

Puree your basil in a blender and add olive oil. I recommend about 1/2 tbsp – 1 tbsp oil to 1 cup of basil. It should look like a paste.

Spoon your mixture into an ice cube tray and freeze. I prefer to use silicone ice cube trays for easy removal: Metaltex Ice Cube Trays, Set of 2, 22 cm, Multi-Colour

Once frozen, you can remove from the tray and pop into a zip-lock bag. Remember to label and date the bag.

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Other items I use that may be of interest to you:

Flat baking tray: Chef Aid Baking Sheet
Breville hand held blender: Breville Hand Blender and Chopper, 500 Watt, Black (Mine is in blue, but I can only find a link for the black.)

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Leftovers for the Lunchbox

If your child takes lunches to school, they may get bored of the same sandwich and fruit combo day in day out. Why not mix it up a bit and save money by saving leftovers for their lunches. This means zero waste on your evening meals, no need to buy in lunch box foods, and a varied lunch each day.

Here are my top 5 favourite leftover lunches that work well in a lunchbox:

Pasta Leftovers

The good thing about pasta leftovers is that you can save leftovers from the whole meal such or just a little of the plain pasta and add whatever ingredients you want the next day.

If we have tuna pasta with sweetcorn and mayo, I would put the leftovers straight in an airtight container for the next day. If we have spaghetti bolognese, I would save a little of the plain spaghetti and add some ham, cheese, and mayo the next morning for my daughter’s lunch.

Potato Salad

Potato salad makes a tasty, filling lunch. Again, you could put your potato salad leftovers in a container, or if you are not eating potato salad but have boiled potatoes with your meal, you could save some boiled potatoes, then make your own quick potato salad out of them the next day for lunch.

Salads

Salad is a great leftover because you can add different ingredients to it, depending on what you have in the fridge. We tend to add leftover sandwich meat or cheeses to salads for lunches. You can also make your own croutons out of the ends of bread.

Meatballs

Meatball subs are the way to go with left over meatballs. We use any bread rolls we have on hand, put a few of last night meatballs inside and add a little ketchup or bbq sauce. These do need to be wrapped in foil or cling film.

Topped Puff Pastry

We regularly eat topped puff pastry for dinner. All you need is a roll of puff pastry, a layer of passata, and toppings of your choice such as mozzarella, tomatoes, and red onion. These can be cut into squares, so once cooked you can leave some to cool and refrigerate for lunch the next day.

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I thought I’d share the lunchboxes we use, as we have found the compartment ones work best when storing leftovers alongside other snacks etc. Sistema Lunch Cube, 1.4 L – with contrasting Clips, Blue

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Frozen Yoghurt Drops

Healthy snack ideas are a must for children, especially during the school holidays. Healthy and cheap snack ideas are even better. I have a snack idea that is not only cheap, but simple to make… frozen yoghurt drops. You could even get the children involved in the process.

Ingredients

Natural Yoghurt
Fruit pieces of your choice (banana and strawberries works well)

Method

Spoon out small dollops of yoghurt onto a clean baking tray
Top with a slice/segment of fruit. We used strawberries that needed to be used up
Place the whole tray into the freezer until the yoghurt has frozen, then remove from the freezer, place the yoghurt buttons into an airtight, freezer container, and pop them back in the freezer.

It really is that cheap and simple. A large, unbranded pot of natural yoghurt can make tens of buttons. You could just leave it at that, but we like to garnish with fruit. My children enjoy them on a hot day.

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3 Ingredient Summer Foot Scrub

Walking barefoot, wearing sandals, and many days at the beach leave my feet needing a summer pick me up. This simple, 3 Ingredient foot scrub is frugal foot care at its best… a coffee foot scrub!

All you need to make this footscrub is:

A small container
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp ground coffee
2 tbsp of olive oil

Mix all the ingredients in your container, rub well onto the skin, and rinse thoroughly.

Warning: I advise against using this in the shower due to the oil posing a slipping risk.

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Second- Hand Gifts? They’ll Never Know

Are you worried that your second hand gift looks exactly that… second hand? There’s nothing wrong with gifting second hand items, but here are 5 fab ways to give your gifts that pretty touch. It’s all about the presentation.

Jewellery Boxes

If you buy second hand jewellery, it doesn’t always come in a box. You can rectify that buy purchasing jewellery boxes from Amazon. I always buy the 5 pack you can check out via the link. They are good quality and amazing value. SODIAL(R) 5PCS Paper Package Bowknot Jewelry Necklace Bracelet Earring Ring Gift Box Case, Style-4 Rectangle(8.5X5cm).

Organza Bags

Organza bags add a touch of prettiness to a gift, whether it be jewellery, trinkets, or even small toys. You can buy them in all sizes for great prices. Amazon offer a pack of 50 white organza bags that I buy regularly for gifting drop earrings. Sannysis Organza Bags, White, 13 x 16 cm.

Paper Bags and Stickers

Paper bags and stickers are a great way to spruce up a second hand gift. They come in all colours and sizes, and you can get stickers in many designs, even personalised if you wish. I have gifted candles from the charity shop in this way. I just popped the candle into the bag and sealed closed with a sticker. Here are the bags and stickers I used:

Bags: The Paper Bag Company Candy Stripe Paper Bags, 5 x 7 Inches – Pink, Pack of 100.

Stickers: Flybuild® 100pcs Round Thank You Kraft Paper Stickers Wedding Favours Letter Gift Self Adhesive Labels (Silver).

Hessian Style Bags

I think hessian style bags work best when gifting toiletries. Do you have any unopened body lotions or soaps you would like to gift? Pop them in a linen jute bag from Amazon. Snner Gift Bags, C-10pcs Linen Jute 1014cm.

Cellophane

I love using cellophane when re-gifting toys and trinkets etc. The following link is for one 20m roll that is amazing value and it will last you a good while. I secure mine with ribbon for added prettiness. 20m x 80cm Clear Cellophane Florist Wrap.

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Instagram Goal Achievement

This post is a little different as I wanted to share an Instagram wow I have achieved and thank my followers for their support.

When I set up this blog, I also started an Instagram page to run alongside it. I told myself that 1k followers in 12 months would be my Insta-goal. Well, I hit 1k followers in 5 months!!!

I’m so grateful for all the support, folks!!!!

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After Beach Hair Mask

If you are like me, the summer will see you at the beach. The sea water really dries out my hair, and the extra washing doesn’t help my hair replenish its natural oils. I have a simple 2 ingredient hair mask that replenishes dry hair.

Mayonnaise and Egg Hair Mask

Simply mix 1 x cup of mayonnaise with one raw egg and apply liberally to wet hair. Leave it on for about 30 minutes, then rinse well with shampoo. I use this mask once a week in the summer as I am regularly at the beach.

It is that simple.

You can add a little olive oil to add shine, but be careful not to over do it or your hair will look greasy.

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