Tidy Friday

There was salad-y food waste this week. One and a half tomatoes and some lettuce. Maybe it's because one iceberg lettuce seems to go on for a very long time, even with four of us eating it, or maybe it's because the weather is flitting from summer to winter and back again faster than you can say Food Waste Friday.  One minute we're eating salad in the garden, the next we shivering over mashed potato and sausage casserole. 

Elsewhere in the house, project Tidy is going steadily. Surplus crockery was disposed of via Freecycle. Freecycle is such an easy peasy way to declutter and I should use it more. I've never 'received' anything as you have to be so quick off the mark to respond to listings on the Freecycle website, but that works in your favour when it comes to decluttering! 

Within half an hour of advertising my crockery, there were three responses, and within two hours it had left the house. Given that there were four heavy bags of it, that was almost faster than I could have got it to the charity shop. The hamster cage and accessories (RIP Fudge) is taking a little longer to go but I have high hopes that a new furry friend will be benefiting from it soon.

The other success story is the shelves on either side of the porch which went from this:

to this:

   

resulting in one bag for the charity shop, one bag for recycling, one odd welly that had somehow lost its partner (not sure how to recycle that - any ideas?), some random leads and wires (recycled to Husband's 'man drawer'), and a pair of crocs that have been divested of Daughter's girly Croc adornments and should fit Son this summer.

And two overwintering chrysalises (or whatever the plural of chrysalis is). I left them undisturbed and hope they have survived the winter and will become butterflies or moths soon.

Any food waste or decluttering successes at your place this week?! Are you a freecycler?!

8 things to do in Bath for Free!

This weekend I was trapped in Bath for a few hours (that's the Roman city not the kind that you fill with water) between Daughter street dancing her way through a rehearsal and end of year Music Academy Show.

What can you do for free in Bath if you've got a few hours to spare?

1) Check out the Beazer Maze near the weir. I loved watching these little girls laughing and running wild.

2) Visit the Victoria Art Gallery. You have to pay to see some of the visiting exhibitions but the permanent galleries are free (donations welcome).

3) Bath Abbey is beautiful. Like the gallery, donations towards the upkeep are appreciated.

4) The Central Library is spacious with a large children's section, study area, reference section and lots of computers to use. My idea of hanging out here for an hour on Saturday and reading the newspaper, perusing a few magazines and doing some writing, was scuppered by the fact that everyone else seemed to have thought of doing the very same thing.

5) Look up above the shop fronts, take a stroll and enjoy the Georgian architecture.

6) Get some peace and quiet at the Botanical Gardens in Victoria Park. I spent some time communing with the squirrels and enjoying my picnic tea here.

7) The play area at Victoria Park is always popular with my kids and there's a great skate park for older kids and teenagers.

8) Bath's street entertainment is as good as anything you'll find in Covent Garden. I'm already a big fan of Ben Powell the guitarist, so it was a treat to find him playing outside the Roman Baths. And I couldn't help but think of my bloggy friends down-under when I saw the didgeridoo player. (N.B. As a fellow musician who's also hoping to busk in Bath this summer, I'm not advocating that you pass by these guys without giving what you can!)

 

Local readers, what have I missed? 

Not so local? What's your local town or city and what are the best things to do for free there?

Tidy Friday

I've been blogging for a whole year now, and that year has seen some very positive changes to our food waste habits. Most Fridays for the last year, I've joined in with Food Waste Friday and blogged about it.

As a result our food waste has been drastically reduced. Special thanks to Frugal Girl and Simply Being Mum for inspiring me to begin my food waste and blogging journey!

I daren't stop blogging about food waste for fear of jinxing all the improvements in our cooking and eating habits that we've made over the last year. However I'd also like to see if we could extend this careful stewardship of our precious food to the rest of our resources. So far all my fighting talk about decluttering at the end of the Slim Your Bin project, has really been nothing but hot air I'm afraid! 

All the skills we've gained and put into practice about using what we've got wisely, not neglecting what's in our cupboards, not buying more than we need to etc, should be transferrable to our possessions. Add these skills to all the waste watching we did earlier in the year, and my trial of Stephanie of No Ordinary Homestead's Decluttering Made Easy course (which is currently on hold at Stephanie's end), and we should be in an ideal position to clean up our house, declutter and simplify.

On Tidy Friday I'm hoping that I can bring you good news about what's going on in the kitchen AND with tidying and decluttering in the rest of the house.

In the kitchen this week, there was food waste...a mouldy lemon and a small tub of decanted yogurt from weeks ago. Stale bread was turned into bread crumbs. And of course there was cake, well muffins actually.

Despite my love of home baking, I've never made muffins before, although I've probably read a million recipes for different muffins on various of my favourite blogs. This week Daughter suggested we make some 'breakfast' muffins to use up some defrosted blueberries. Cake for breakfast?

Actually a true muffin is not really a cake, as all you muffin makers will know. They have less sugar, less fat and less eggs than a cake, in fact probably a lot less unhealthiness than some breakfast cereals on the market. And the mix is referred to as a batter, so it's more of a substantial pancake/yorkshire pudding.

We made a batch of blueberry ones, using this recipe (we substituted 150g blueberries for the apricots and almonds) then used up an old apple and a small packet of cranberries to make some more. They're truly multipurpose and have been served at breakfast, eaten in the packed lunches, and dished up after school for a snack.

I'm a convert.

So that's the food waste. What about the rest of the house?

One black bag of man clothes to the charity shop, two bikes listed on Ebay and two books sort of disposed of.

This year, another goal was to slim the bookshelves. My plan was to read all the unread books that I have and get rid of a lot. In reality I have borrowed lots of library books, have been lent several books and received some as presents for my birthday.  I cannot say that NOT buying books is a grand self sacrifice or hardship in any shape or form!

The getting rid of books part has been slow and I'm not sure that my discovery of selling them via Green Metropolis is going to speed things up, but it certainly feels good for the soul.

I know I could just take the books to a charity shop and some of my books will certainly go this way, but I thought I would give Green Metropolis a go. They are a UK online charity bookstore that sells all its books for a flat fee of £3.75. They list your books and pay you £3 when they sell. You hold on to the book until it sells, and then post it to the buyer. They have several charity partners, and their blurb claims that "By using our website to buy and sell your books, you're not only helping yourself, but you're also doing your bit for the environment and helping us support the great work of the Woodland Trust and our other great charity partners. And by making the most of what we already have, is one of the best and most effective ways to help protect the planet!" I've chosen the Woodland Trust for my charity as that seems to complete the circle when it comes to the life of a book. 

It was easy to register, and if the books actually ever sell, it looks like a win/win method of parting with books. Far preferable to having tax dodging Amazon or Ebay take a cut of the purchase price.

There's a friendly forum for booksellers on the website and from this I can tell that depending on the popularity of my books, they may take some time, possibly weeks, to sell, so it's not a route for the fast track declutterer. I have set up my Green Metropolis bookshop in a drawer under my bed, and am hoping it will have more than 2 books in stock soon.

How do you get rid of your books? Have you ever sold online or maybe even bought or sold from Green Metropolis?

Kiddiwalks giveaway winner!

There were three entries for the bank holiday give away on the blog and two on the Facebook page. The winner, drawn at random, is:

Fran (the Anonymous)

Congratulations Fran! Please could you email me (everydaylifeonashoestring@gmail.com) your contact details and I will forward them to Countryside Books who will send you your Kiddiwalks in Oxfordshire book!

Does what it says in the Kiddiwalks book...

Firstly, don't forget to enter the bank holiday book giveaway! (Details here).

The giveaway is for a Kiddiwalks book from Countryside Books. The Kiddiwalks books cover many of England's counties. As I said in Friday's blog post - don't be put off by the 'Kiddi' part; the walks are great fun for kiddis AND those of us that are now only kiddis at heart rather than in body. 

We put our Kiddiwalks in Wiltshire book to the test again yesterday when we went for a walk on the Pewsey Downs. Our area of North Wiltshire is geologically more like the Cotswolds, so the chalky downland landscape is very different, and once we'd got past Devizes, the kids were exclaiming that it felt 'just like being on holiday!' That's exactly what you want from a Mayday bank holiday outing. 

The walk starts at the Pewsey Downs National Nature Reserve free car park (GR 116637). From here there are walks in all directions but this Kiddiwalk heads west. We had the Ordnance Survey map of the area, and although we could probably have managed with the book's sketch map and by following our noses, it was a useful cross reference.

The book promised fine views on a clear day and this was certainly the case. Up on the hilltops it really did feel as if we could see forever, or at least as if the whole of Wiltshire was laid before us. The only down side of the downs is that it's very exposed and breezy up there, and everyone agreed that battling the wind made it feel as though the walk was longer than 2.75 miles.

Hair blowing sideways across face - Beaufort Scale 6?

There was plenty of interest from the Wansdyke, a two part bank and ditch earthwork, the origin of which is unclear. Maybe it marks what would have been the limit of North Wessex, or maybe it was a Romano-British defence against the Saxons. Most importantly to us, it provided some shelter for our picnic.

Possibly the only time I've eaten a picnic wearing woolly hat,
sunglasses, suncream  AND a waterproof!

And an opportunity for Son to take some of his lying-on-the-ground photos. Later on in the year, the area is especially good for orchids, but at the moment there are plenty of cowslips and dandelions!

There were views of the Alton Barns White Horse from up close, and a cake break at Adam's Grave, a late Neolithic long barrow.

All in all, another successful Kiddiwalk. If only I could enter the book giveaway myself!

A bank holiday book giveaway!

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time you'll know that I love a good walk, and the rest of the family reluctantly keenly enjoy walking with me! Joking aside, even though there may be grumbles at first, once they're out of the house the kids enjoy it. Of course I can go on and on at them about why we need to save the planet, but I'm sure that getting out there and experiencing its beauty for themselves will do more to inspire them than all of my droning.

For my recent birthday I was really pleased to get a replacement copy of Kiddiwalks in Wiltshire. This is one of a series of walking guides aimed at families produced by Countryside Books, covering various counties in England. Our original copy went walk about itself, and it's been missed ever since so I was very happy to receive another. Having completed about a quarter of the twenty walks in the book, there were still plenty waiting to be discovered.

Part of the success of the walks is that they all have to pass the Kiddiwalks 'S' test: 

Simple - circular routes that aren't too hilly and some of which are suitable for buggies.

Short - all the walks are between 1.5 and 3 miles.





Stimulating - Plenty of variety and points of interest, places to play and open spaces.

Stops - Each walk features somewhere to stop for a refreshment - this could be somewhere for a picnic, a cafe or family-friendly pub.







We can vouch for all those criteria as we've enjoyed some of the walks so much that we've done them more than once. Several friends have been taken to see the grave of the first person in Britain to be eaten by a tiger, in Malmesbury! As if that isn't excitement enough, the grave is but a few metres from a stained glass window in Malmesbury Abbey devoted to Elmer the Flying Monk.

Another of our favourite walks is one which leads the walker to Brown's Folly near Bath. And our monthly walk up the By Brook valley, which I've been chronicling on the blog, is also taken from this book. We're not native Moonrakers so the walks have helped foster a connection to and love for this area of the country - an area we didn't really know before moving here.

The Kiddiwalks Wiltshire book is well written and clearly laid out with easy-to-follow maps and descriptions, as well as lots of information about the history and wildlife you are likely to encounter. Although they're aimed at families, you'd still gain a lot from the books even if you don't have kids. With a map of the local area, you could easily work out how to extend the routes to give you a longer walk if you wanted. 

We've been to see this White Horse at Westbury many times,
but are hoping to see another of Wiltshire's chalk horses this weekend.

We're planning an afternoon out this weekend with extended family, based on one of the walks that we haven't done yet and which is further afield from us in Wiltshire and I'm certain that the five out of the seven people in the group who are over 39 will enjoy the walk as much as the under 13s! With free parking, a picnic and no admission fees, this will make for a frugal bank holiday outing, even if you take the cost of the book (£7.99 with a 20% online discount) into account.

The books are all available from Countryside Books and the really good news is that they have kindly agreed to provide a Kiddiwalks book free to one of you lucky readers! All you need to do is to visit their website (click here or on the link above) and decide which Kiddiwalks county you would like your book to cover. (Countryside Books do lots of other books, not just walking guides, so the website is well worth a visit). There are too many Kiddiwalks books to list here, but they cover North, South, East and West. And London! (But not the far, far South West - Devon and Cornwall are notable omissions in the series). You might like the book that covers your home county or one that you can use on holiday. The choice is yours! Once you have made up your mind then leave a comment by 7pm BST, Monday 6 May on this blog post or on the Everyday Life On A Shoestring Facebook page, specifying which book you would like, and I will draw a winner at random. 

Please note that I approached Countryside Books for this giveaway and they generously co-operated, not the other way round (so let's make sure there are lots of comments folks!) I was going to write about the books anyway as I think they offer such good value and such good material! 

Many thanks to Jackie at Countryside Books!

Good luck!

Birthdays, bikes and bottom humour...

When I was a child, a birthday party was simple. You put on your long dress (it was the 70s) and headed off to the birthday girl or boy's house for party games with a few friends, followed by a birthday tea.

Fast forward to the 21st century, and the kids' birthday party has become an elaborate beast. My kids have been to simple affairs akin to the classic 1970s party of my childhood, but they have also been to birthday parties with magicians and entertainers. They have been go-karting, and travelled in a limo to the cinema. They have been to craft parties, swimming pool parties. They have done all sorts.

And in turn, we've done our bit to fuel the elaborate party craze. Parties at home, parties in the park, parties in the garden, parties at the leisure centre, a climbing party, the party where I was Princess Leia from Star Wars and Darth Vader arrived all the way from next door...

But then again, we've also had no brithday party. Last year Son had a new bike for his birthday, which was way more than we usually spend on birthday presents, and part of the deal was no extra expense of a party.

So how did Son want to celebrate this year? Two friends for a sleepover and a bike ride. Simple!

We were able to piggy back onto the Spindles and Sprockets (our local community bike collective) monthly bike ride. Three boys cycling 18 miles in the afternoon = a blissful night's sleepover for all involved! (Thank you Spindles!)

There was also DIY Pizza all round. Add a whoopee cushion and a healthy dose of fart humour into the mix and you're guaranteed a successful supper. Ten year old boys are easily amused.

While the pizza dough was rising there was just the right amount of time for a flag capturing game in the garden.

And before they hit the sack, there was the compulsory DVD.

In the morning, ice cubes from the breakfast orange juice provided amusement for some considerable while. Melting holes in ice cubes by blowing through drinking straws is good fun (if you're ten). And it was a small step from hole-blowing to requests for more ice cubes, and a bold announcement that they would be constructing the Statue of Liberty from ice. Sadly this project was dropped in favour of kicking a football around...

All this got me thinking; years of planning fancy birthday parties, and it turns out whoopee cushion farts and a pile of ice cubes are as good an entertainment as anything!

However, even with the more complicated birthday parties we've organised, there have always been ways of keeping it simple and keeping the costs down. Based on our experience here are my thoughts:

• We've shared several parties with other children who have birthdays at the same time as ours, which spreads the cost and the workload.
• We have had lots of parties at home. We haven't got a huge house or garden but if you don't invite the whole class and all the extended family, then you can fit quite a few kids in a small space. My kids have brithdays in April and October and we've often been able to overflow into the garden for both.
• Choosing a theme can jazz a party up a bit, and make it easier to think of activities. Most of the usual party games can be adapted to fit the theme. Over the years we've had a Postman Pat party (Pin the tail on Jess...), a Star Wars party (Husband spray painted pipe insulating foam silver for light sabres and they all went home covered in flecks of silver paint...), a Spiderman party and a Pocahontas party (complete with a teepee in the garden made from bamboo poles and bed sheets...)
• Bake your own cake. I'm not an expert cake decorator, but a simple iced sponge decorated with maltesers or chocolate buttons or hundreds and thousands goes down just as well (and tastes better) as a bought cake.
• Once you've planned the amount of food you think you need to buy, halve it! Kids never eat as many sandwiches as you think they will. (The same rule applies to the length of time you think eating the birthday tea will take...you might think eating will require a civilised half an hour of the party but they'll demolish the food in ten minutes!)
• Don't spend a fortune on party bag stuff. A bit of cake, a lollipop and a balloon, and you're done.

There were plenty of other birthday party tips on the Non Consumer Advocate last week.

And other bloggers have been busy recently blogging about their kids' birthdays too: check out how Jen tackled her two year old's birthday on My Make Do and Mend Year (and also her mum's and brother's all in the same week!), and Ted's nature walk party at Bradshaw and Sons.) Wondering how to organise a frugal 18th birthday party for twins? Check out Lili's blogpost last month on just that topic at Creative Savv.

What are your favourite frugal birthday party tips?