Anyone up for a Use it up and Don't spend January thread?

[nocutsnobuttsnococonuts]

I've sorted out my cupboards in the kitchen and bathroom today and realised I have so much stuff I have never gotten around to using and desperately need to use up.

we are on a tight budget and I seem to keep buying without using up the store cupboard stuff. I want to get to a point where we have 2/3 tins of each item and a packet of lentils/rice etc. not the 15 tins of chopped tomatoes, 4 bags of lentils and 12 soaps (Dr botanicals thanks to the bargain thread), 8 bottles of contact lenses solution I currently have!!!

we are in a smallish house and there's stuff everywhere so storing all this is ridiculous. plus I'm a terrible cook I have no idea what to do with lentils....

who's up for joining me? share your hoards and let's use up our cupboards up together 😁

Hope I can join the party a bit late?

I could've written this thread asd I love a bargain, and to be prepared, and I've probably enough toothpaste/soaps, shampoos, etc to last a year or two.
I've also found all the consumable presents I was bought last Christmas (eg soap&glory, B&H, etc) none of which have yet been opened.
Some of them (with dates until next year), I actually regifted as Christmas presents this year to people I know who will love them, and actually use them!!

Still have a mountain of cleaning/ hygiene products as well as an extremely well stocked pantry.

Also need to tighten the belt a bit, and stop impulse buying, especially when I've already got it at home, as we've got a lot of bills to pay.

I also have 3 large 6ft freezers(all full) and an 8ft by 4ft pantry, which is also full

@theoldtrout01876, lol, I have 20kgs+ of lamb, as I bought a whole one plus extra as it was a really good offer for free range lamb, we are slowly working our way through it, but I keep buying more bargains. The latest being 3 large free range turkeys!

I could probably open my own supermarket, come to think of it.

Baileys4two
I have freezer and pantry envy😁
That's a lot of food! But if you are only buying bargains and using up other stuff it's fine. You just have to remember to use up what you have😂 Mind you I would think it will take some time to get through all that lamb😂

I am keeping all my receipts for this month to check what I am spending on. I have spent in past week on top up shops for bread and milk and fruit and veg. Plus ds1 needed new shoes. But haven't gone mad. Got toothpaste on offer in boots 2 large tubes for £5 instead of £4 each.

Defrosted prawns today and used a jar of curry sauce I had in store cupboard (for lazy days) so attacking freezer and stores at once. Have small brexit store of basics so am using that up so no need to shop for lots of things for a while. Will restock it when its closer to shtf.

We still have Xmas treats hidden away which will be dished out now and again (like now😉)

Sorted the chest freezer in our garage this morning-
48 meatballs
16 burgers
22 chicken breasts
Something that looks like a beef casserole but the label has fallen off
A Chinese chicken curry
And loads of bits of frozen veg/chips/smiley faces

I have laminated a piece of paper and wrote what’s in there so I can cross off when we use things

Did we find out what happened with the pigs blood? I'm intrigued!

The person who was given a gallon of pigs blood uses it to make black pudding, she says so in her post.

I have so many things to use up, mainly freezer stuff, cat food and alcohol.

We have a ridiculous amount considering that DP works away a lot and I don't eat or drink that much, plus the bloody cats keep refusing to eat what I buy them. Previous attempts to reduce the stocks have failed miserably but I'm determined to reduce to sensible levels this year, not doing too bad so far.

We have only been buying fresh produce and dairy for 6 months now as I've been using up the brexit stash. I bought laundry powder for the first time in a year last week.

Donate to the food bank the short dated groceries (not fresh) that you won't be able to use in time. Same with cleaning products and toiletries. Plenty of refuges, hostels and Foodbanks will take excess if you just have too much. Better to donate than for it to go off out of date & then thrown out.

Lentil recipes

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/lentil

Willow2017, lol, thanks. It was one of the things on my wish list when we moved, along with a laundry chute.

I've always kept lists on the freezers detailing what's inside and best before dates, etc, but in November I decided I really needed to start using up the older items, and working out what's worth replacing and what we can do without/ won't eat or miss, etc.

I managed to reduce my Christmas waste this year as well, by thinking about what we didn't use the year before and then tailoring my spend.
I could definitely still improve next year though by buying less snacks as we didn't eat a lot of them, (although they'll keep for a long while, so not dreadful in the scheme of things).

I've always used up the carcass/bones, etc, from meat so that's nothing new, but I made soup from the turkey carcass, and we used the rest for sandwiches, curry, quesadillas, etc. The leftover veg, stuffing and potatoes were also used in the soup, and it was really tasty. This year 99% of everything was used before it went bad, so I'm pretty pleased.

I've also started saving the stalks, peel and leaves, etc, from my veg prep and I'm using them to make soup once a week. So far I've been impressed with the taste and you'd never know it's been made from the bits you'd normally throw away.

I'm also clearing the house and donating toys, etc, that the dc have grown out of.

Once my cleaning and soap, etc, stock have run down I'm intending to replace only a few essential items with eco products, as well as just cutting down on products in general.

Any other ideas to reduce waste and spend less would be welcome . I'm not loyal to any brands, and tend to buy what's on offer, etc, and I often prefer the essential range anyway.

@listsandbudgets, you sound like me, lol. I also love a bargain, and am a bit if a hoarder when it comes to food, household products, etc, so I'm always on the lookout for reduced items, offers, etc, as long as it is something we already eat/use.

I can’t wait until my household cleaning products run out. A wonderful local cafe has started a refil business where you take your own containers. It’s a very green, ethical company. They’re also doing refil dry stores too, so herbs, spices pasta, rice, lentils etc. Meant to be much more economical too. The owner said it will make you think about what we pay for packaging at regular shops.

Today I bought 3 sheds, so haven’t quite succeeded in not spending! But they will be part of something that will make money in the future!

So lovely repair man came this evening. Sadly the fridge freezer is seriously wounded, though not fatally - compressor was v v hot. I'm rather unhappy that we have had to turn it off & there's inevitably some waste but thankfully family live near enough to take some of the load. (Fortunately it's cold enough outside for some of the jars etc to stay there for a bit)
Meanwhile I'm focusing on being very relieved that we have avoided a house fire, which it where it was headed!
Prob a £350+ repair cost, but frankly that's nothing compared to the excess on our home insurance

That's a relief Rosey, although looking around at our mountain of clutter I have considered just burning the house down and starting again! I think it would be quicker.

Dh is getting in on the idea of using what we have though, he's set himself up what appears to be a mini farm on my kitchen windowsill, growing seedlings from veg seeds, we have tomatoes, peppers, avocados and celery so far. All from supermarket veg. Apparently if you put the end of a bunch of celery in a drop of water you can make it grow roots and regrow. We will see if it works!

Baileys4two You've described me almost to a tee.

Today I intend to buy nothing.. or at least I intended to until DS came home having made huge holes in both legs of his school trousers - tried to patch them but I think they're beyond repair - had to order 2 more pairs from George - thankfully only £6.

Otherwise need nothing today.

At home today Used up some blackening bananas to make some banana soda bread (equal amounts milk and flour - sour milk with lemon juice, add spoonfull bicarb for each 200g flour, mix everything together to make dough like substance, mash in banana, add a handfull of dried fruit if you have it, spoon into loaf tins lined with baking paper and bake at 180 for 45 minutes)

Am having a cheese toastie using some of the endless cheese left from Christmas, made enchiladas from Gousto box for dinner and eying up the Christmas cake :)

wineandchoccy you've just reminded me that I may have a large beef casserole in the chest freezer along with a mound of frozen mashed potatos. I stupidly froze them both as they came rather than in batches. We will never eat it all by ourselves so need to invite some people round to dinner to get through it all :)

^^teaspoon of bicarb... .do not use a tablespoon it will taste like bitter death^^

Dammit thought I'd get away with a no spend day but seems I need tampons as actually run out. Luckily I've got a ton of pain killers

@Baileys4Two when you make the soup with veg cut offs, do you leave them in the soup when you eat it or strain them out? I'm so interested in this because I need to lose weight and save money!

Well we had chicken and mozzarella for tea, both out the freezer, along with pasta of ehoxj I have a ton and some left over veg in tbe sauce!!

One of the challenges for me is not buying presents in advance. I love a bargain nanf always have tons of bits for dcs presents well ahead so it's hard to actually buy something short notice based on their changing tastes. I have books he prob won't read for 4 years or more. So no bargain present buying!!

WE used up the baking Camembert followed by fridge soup that dh made

Finally a no spend day. I will need milk tomorrow though.

We finished yesterday's enchilada for lunch and I've made curry for tonight.

Sleepingstandingup I buy presents in advance too. I bought some in the sales I knew would be suitable for ds to give at birthday parties but otherwise I've resisted.

I remember the celery growing thing from when I was little, katmarie - is it working? if you put some food colouring in the water it travels up the outside of the plant & is V V cool!
Made outstanding sausage rolls (honestly, they were superb!) from everyday sausages with a grated apple, in puff pastry - obviously, the spoils of the defrosted freezer, but none the worse for that. Chuffed!

This is a good thread for me alongside a decluttering one I'm on.
I am working my way through a stash of cleaning products and won't need any new until next month. I have a silly amount of shampoos and conditioners on the go; finished one the other day but won't need to buy any for at least a couple of months.... Working my way through various other toiletry and cosmetics.
We have a stash of food in the cupboards and freezer which has reduced over the last week or two and helped keep the food bill down.

Well that failed. Popped to shop for milk and cream and came back with milk..

and 6 chicken kiev and a pack of dough balls.. all well reduced of course.. £2.65 the lot

I found blackberries in the freezer left over from picking last year and still have meringues left from Christmas so that's why I wanted cream.

Oh dear.

I've taken a dozen of my small bottles of nice shower gels out.and line them up in the shower in the hope I will actually use them if they are in front of me.. l'occtaine and Molton Brown here I come. I had been saving them for best but whats the point when I can enjoy them now