Nearly November; Friendly Frugaleers Navigating (K)nitting, Nattering and Nuturing our Pennies

[WereWolfcub]

New thread. Happy end of October/Early November frugaleering. All welcome we are a friendly bunch

Ds is resisting sleep. Someone tell me this will pass. He sounds so distressed

I’ve put my hoody in his cot.

I’m guessing separation anxiety new room etc. Right?!

It was definitely not dignified autumn I very nearly dropped my trousers on the path!! Luckily there was a loo close by which I ran in to screaming 😂 dd said a few people walked in and then walked straight back out again 😂 I had to completely strip to find the little bastard who then flew off!! I didn't think it was possible to hate wasps any more than I already did but it is 😠

Ouch girlie 😱

DS’ hair is even thicker 😱 he didn’t want it dyed this time. Dye is Colour Freedom btw, only 6-10 washes but so easy it’s like a tube of paint none of this mixing and conditioning malarkey and also not like those ones where you have to chuck away what you don’t use, we opened it a year ago. I’ll get a photo in daytime tomorrow, I can’t wait to try plaiting it!

I am thinking the hallway is the one bit of the house I may save up and pay a decorator (have an excellent recommendation) due to complicated shape and high ceiling etc. I’ve got used to the stripes but errrm I don’t think they were very careful with the masking tape 🙄🤦‍♀️😂

Had a good walk round but barely any decorated houses! One good thing though, I carried Cagletini on my back for the first time and she loved it, was chattering away, just dozed off as we got back too.

em I'm the softiest shittiest parent in the world, but I'd guess so, go and give him a cuddle! ❤

Spent just £7 on sweeties for movie night (gnome alone and Coraline), and £9 posting inner tubes (x5 lots).

Does anybody have any clever ways of organising stuff?

I've realised that I frequently run out of food that I to eat every day, and then because I haven't eaten properly, I don't sleep, and then I feel a bit rubbish for days.

Today I forgot to take prescription medication that I take every day because I was frantically busy, and that made me feel rubbish too.

Also since ds now has lots of activities to go to, I have write up what day it is on the back of the front door so that I definitely line him up for all the right things on all the right days. Although it does mean that I get to write "Horn" on the door in large letters once a week, which I like.

It makes me wonder how people manage with three children, because I only have one, and it's a bit complicated really. Maybe it's because the one child is talking to me constantly and criticising my choices of imaginary characters and battle tactics. Yes I am still a unicorn, and no I will not battle you with my horn.

How do you all remember what's going on?

Oh my Girlie! That does sound like the sensible response, in fairness. Good that you were in an NT place where you didn't meet anyone you knew. . I also hate wasps now too, out of solidarity with you.

With difficulty, autumn, is the answer to that question

LOL! Cag, I knew you would know just the right thing to say.

@Moanranger

A lot of use e-rewards to get nectar points. I earned 450 last night just doing two surveys.

If you login into the nectar website and search for e rewards you can register with them too.

I only buy bits and pieces in sainsburys, probably £5 or under each time but I get £200 or so a year in nectar points, I run an account for dh as well.

😂

Well, TBF the weekly stuff is fine. We are thoroughly in a routine of Monday means tae kwon do, etc. And before half term I fully organised the cupboard off the hallway so we now have drawers with all their dance shoes and leotards and that sort of thing (as well as general coats scarves etc) and they are gradually getting used to the “you get home, you unpack your bag (putting stuff into the right drawers, or the laundry) and repack for the next day.

It’s all the random extras I struggle with, hence missing that party the other day. I must get reacquainted with the diary.

And food planning around these things I am really shit at. Honestly heading towards “Monday = spag bol Tuesday = sausage stew” type thing which will be boring as hell but I can’t see any other way round it really.

That does sound like a very good idea Cag having a set thing to eat each day. That would simplify things a lot. Also if there was a set thing that took a bit longer and happened before a scheduled activity, then I would know to start a bit earlier. Like running a particular lab experiment that just happens to take a bit longer.

I might try to write that up in a spreadsheet and see how it works. I have ds's school lunch menu so I can work round that too.

I wonder if it's possible to buy frozen spring greens? I eat those nearly every day but they have to be bought fresh, which makes everything harder. Spring greens are my staple vegetable but some days I don't want them, and some days I don't work without them. Which means I can easily have too many or too few. How can green vegetables be this complicated?!

Autumn I genuinely find the more I have to do the better I am at remembering things, That old saying if you want something done ask a busy person is true for me. I can't make up my mind if I am less organised because I am menopausal or if it's because I have taken my eye off the ball a bit... I forget things a lot now I think you can freeze your fresh spring greens if that would make your life easier

em hope ds falls asleep soon for you. I am soft like Lonely and would need to go in and lift him but that's why ds1 was in our bed for years sometimes.

Have spent a lot of money over the last few days on Halloween crap. Glad its over.

Thanks Born. I'm putting this spreadsheet together now and realising I have acres of time in which to put sausages in the oven. This is a great idea. Also if I print it out then dh could help too, as he would know what was to happen next.

I never left ds to cry either. Also the chat after lights out is the best.

My problem is I am a professional procrastinator, the more time I have to do something the less time I will actually spend doing it. Those sausages wouldn't be in the oven until the very last minute for me and then I'd be worrying they wouldn't be ready in time

That's exactly the problem born. I'm thinking I should put the sausages in the oven first, and then press reload on youtube 45 times, rather than the other way round. This would solve many problems.

God Bless you Cag. You're an actual organisational genius.

Is anyone watching inside the factory. I think I draw a line at 42 year old tinned fish even if it is in perfect condition.

I agree Born with the ask a busy person thing, there is no time to procrastinate so jobs just get done. I once went on a CI course where the lecturer recounted a story of a fellow who, after day one, suddenly realised what he could get done on the time it took to make his morning coffee. Prior to the course he stood and watched the kettle and was late every day.

On a more practical note the calendar on your phone and a wipe clean wall calendar can help both you and dc get organised. My wall calendar has a list of the things ds needs for school each day. Now he is at high school responsibility for being prepared for the day is up to him and the list.

Sleeping baby.

I picked him up. We sat on the floor in his room with the night light on and played with some toys for half hour or so. Then he went back in his cot. And was asleep in 5 minutes.

Seperation anxiety maybe (as he cried the last 2 days at nursery drop off). More likely though a change in bedroom and we just haven’t been giving him enough attention.

Spends today £34 in home/kitchen store on two soup cups, a magnetic strip for knives and a small washing up bowl for storing bathroom cleaning kit in.

Dh has gone to do a food shop. Because although I did one on Sunday I didn’t actually buy anything useful. He’s done a meal plan and has made a list.

Catface is being brave and has hopped up on the couch next to me. She’s been neglected a bit too if I’m honest. Don’t get me wrong she’s been fed watered and litter cleaned but she’s not had the reassurance she needs. But we’re day 4 here and she’s on the couch. Probably helps that I didn’t clean the cushions before t went into storage and she can probably still smell “her” couch.

What kind of wall calendar do you have werewolf? I have this one:

www.amazon.co.uk/Mark-Perpetual-Laminated-Repositionable-W900xH600mm/dp/B000J6A1EA/ref=sr_1_1?s=officeproduct&keywords=wipe+clean+wall+planner&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1541018857&sr=1-1

It's fantastic, but there's no room for lists of things for each day. I sort of need another one that is just one week in great detail.

I don't have a phone calendar as I can't use LED backlit screens so I have a prehistoric phone.

Thanks for the ideas. I really could do with about a 100 helpful suggestions on organisation.

That’s good that he’s dropped off Em. They’ve both had three homes in a short space of time I think n a bit of being unsettled is to be expected. It will improve in time

Dh is a procrastinator. I’m a get the longest thing done first type. So I feel as though I’ve achieved something. Spurs me on. For example I might start cleaning with putting a load of washing on.

Autumn I have a wallpops one. It’s just one month so I’m only ever looking at one month’s worth of data at a time

They look nice Werewolf.

That's great that ds went to sleep Em. Moving house twice is probably quite a thing really, isn't it? You're both doing so well there.

I'm also a great one for bashing away at things, but I'm recovering from burnout which means I'm trying really hard to learn to rest when I get the chance. Finding the balance takes a certain amount of planning I'm finding.

When you said that getting up early helped Em, it reminded me of the time when I discovered that I could get an uninterrupted bath finally by having it at 3am. I was so sleep deprived that I didn't notice the loss of sleep at all. I couldn't honestly recommend being in that place.

I have an adorable sleeping toddler on me, gently snoring. Fingers crossed the transfer to bed works so that I can eat now!

Total spends: £926 including childcare for November and credit card (paid in full)

Also £75 to savings but I'll hopefully be able to send more across later in the month. Maybe I should also get one of those automatic saver apps. Any recommendations?

I don’t think you’d call me an organisational genius if you met me

I just made a fruit sauce to go with our usual Halloween dessert (body bit soup). Stuck it in a jug and called it blood. Masterchef has nothing on me clearly. Tasty though!

I don’t think I’ve had a bath since ds was born. I’ve tried initially in the early days when I was bf still but seemingly every time I went in the bath he’s want feeding. So I gave up.

May have one this weekend. Using ds’ bath bubbles and lavender oil.

I fear the days of my hour plus baths with a book and a glass of wine are gone. For a while anyway.

Dh is back from the shop. £68. It would have been £65 but he bought a Christmas lottery ticket.

He also got coop stamps and stickers for free knives. We have enough now for a free paring knife (worth £15). Yay. You get 1 sticker for every £10 spent and need 20 stickers per knife. Dm collected most of them for us to be fair.

First mortgage payment comes out tomorrow. Eeeeeek. So we’ll see what sort of shape we’re in then...