@suenewark9397

11 months ago

Frugaal tips from Sue Everytime you get a letter from a company with no refs on it and a blank back sheet, I have an A5 binder and hole punch it tear it in half and use it as a Scrap pad, write shopping lists, to do sheets, notes to hubby etc then when used, recycle the paper. I actually prefer this to any shop bought notebook, I haven't bought one for ten years! Totally free and everyone in the family knew where to find a scrap of paper if they needed one! Second tip, I buy coffee in bulk at Costco, my husband is a coffee addict, couldn't function without it. The jars are thick glass and have a good seal on them, so I have washed the bottom, wiped the top clean (otherwise the top gets water trapped in it, the top is never really dirty anyway) and they make fab pasta, rice, and flour storage jars. They are thicker and better than the shop bought jars, so I am re--using something that would otherwise have gone into landfill. No cost for a storage item! And over the years I now have a uniform set, as if I had purchased a set of six! I bought the jar for the coffee, I get a storage jar for free. My old ones that were thin and hexagon and harder for me to hold , because of the shape, these are going to a Charity shop (the equivalent of goodwill in US?) so someone else can use them. Third Type: Not only do I cut my husband's hair, but he now cuts mine. I have a small face and look good wih very short hair, I have a no 3 and do my own fringe. So for about £40.00 for clippers and a fairly good set of scissors on Amazon, I have saved a small fortune. Even one hair cut means you could break even, we have done every hair cut since lockdown - No haircutting costs for a husband and a wife since 2019. This also saves a mass on hair products for both of us and time in the shower, as my hair is short and I never use a hair dryer. My hair is dry with a small towel dry. Fourth tip; I only buy really thin towels for me, as I can get 4 v large thin towels in one load. I do have quite a few towels, but with energy costs so high, it's actually cheaper to have a few more towels and save they up to do only one load every 3 to 4 weeks. He likes thick towels - opposites attract! Fifth tip: I sell on ebay, I buy on ebay, I buy on Amazon via Warehouse deals, I don't care if the packaging has been damaged, provided the item is new. I always look in ebay first, especially if I only want one pan that normally comes in a bundle - instead of paying £101.99 for two really good quality frying pans, I spent £25.00 for one pan, the actual size I wanted and £7.50 for delivery. How much of a saving was that?! Siixth Tip: In UK John Lewis and DFS both have furniture that have been ordered by people and then returned, ie Clearance items. I once bought something I had seen six years earlier, had loved but was £650.00,. it turned up as a clearance item for £149.00. I couldn't believe my luck, I had never found something that I had loved and fitted the space so much. Fifteen years later I still love the item and would move it to a new house. (It is made of reclaimed Chinese Yew, is stunningly simple with a very minimalist style) Also bought a leather chair for my son, cost £149.00 because it had a wooden leg missing, only had three legs, instead of the four. We asked for an extra £50.00 off and said we would take it away that day as very few people would be able to make a new leg for a chair, it was a four sided angled shape. So we haggled and got them to drop the price by £50.00. They really do want shot of these items, as often they are ex-display or slightly damaged items, if you are willing to renovate them then there are bargains to be had. My lovely Dad made me a leg for the chair in his garage the next day, the chair was originally £650.00 (funny, but the figures were truly exactly the same as the other example, after we had negotiated). The chair is now in his first house and will serve him for years. The leather is soft buttery and beautiful. Added to this the reminder of his grandad making a leg for him remains in his mind. He honestly loves the chair! Seven Tip: My husband took our old 1980's orange pine free standing chest of drawers and his gentleman's wardrobe and my full length wardrobe and got a 2.5 litre pot of paint, sanded it down painted it with Delux Satinwood furniture paint in Dove Grey, restained the pine to light oak with a waterproof satin stain, added crystal knobs, costing £40.00 for the whole lot and bingo a new set of bedroom furniture, cost for total transformation - £100.00. So same set of furniture for over 37 years and we will have these until we die! Eighth Tip: Boundary Method - I never realised that by limiting myself to only the clothes that would fit in one wardrobe and chest of drawers for the whole of our 37 years of married life, I would have employed the boundary method. This has saved me more money than you can imagine. I wear clothes until they fall off my body, unless I change size I can tell you that even with this limit, as I have gone up and down quite a few sizes, I still find that some items were worn very little. So I am embarking on yet another round of de-cluttering on clothes. Nothing goes to landfill, it is sold on ebay or donated to charity. I have vowed to build a capsule wardrobe I love and enjoy wearing (with colour and prints) and that make me feel fab no matter what size I am! I want to go down to half a wardrobe and half a chest of drawers. This storage covers everything I own I can wear, underwear, tops, nightwear, swimwear, accessories, jackets, etc ...! I could go on, but I won't , not very minimal. I never realised until I read your posts that I have probably been a closet minimalist all my life, but now I am embracing the opportunity to de-clutter even further. I started following you because your story was so emotionally charged and I admired your inner strength and now I also watch some of the other minimalists. We also owe it to our loved ones not to leave so much behind that they are burden with the task of clearing our clutter, something that I know will resonate with you and your journey in life. I feel blessed to have discovered your posts (I had read the Marie Kondo books and found your website, while searching youtube for her content) because it gave validation to the way I have tried to live, being frugal, sustainable and instilling these values to my own children. Finally, to all those who sometimes feel overwhelmed by their clutter. In April I decided to do the 30 day minimalist challenge and having built up my de-cluttering muscles over the last few years, I managed to get rid of 570 items, loads of books went to a charity for children's literacy in deprived areas. I felt so good to have finally given them to such a good cause. It felt like a weight had been lifted as I taped up the final box of eight and my husband dropped them off - ill health forcing me not to continue my teaching career. Knowing the books were going to teach children in deprived schools how to read really aligned with my core values. Hope that some of these tips might help others in the UK live a frugal life, good luck with renovating furniture, repurposing things etc and remember that by using Marissa's tips and others posted it might give you more financial freedom going forward!

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