Monthly Archives: July 2014

Second hand IS always best!

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Hello Dear Reader,

Oh I say, didn’t we all have a lot of chit chat about making our own clothes. Personally, I would love to walk into a charity shop and pick up clothes that fit me straight off. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. I have plenty of clothes that I wear on a regular basis and no one would know they are second hand. I wear them to work or at home. I often buy clothes just to cut them up to make quilts. I keep my eyes peeled for pyjamas and cut them up to make quilts. Sometimes, I back quilts in flannel so they don’t slip off and have a warm side that can be snuggled underneath.

My local charity shop often has a sale day where all men’s shirts or all skirts, or in this case, all pyjamas are £1. I pointed out that the top was just half the set and got what you can see above for £1.50. It takes no time at all to cut them into component parts, I just rip along the seam. I want square pieces and you’ll see why below.

There is a tiny bit of waste (apologies for my old comfy slippers!) and I keep this to burn in my stove.

I even keep the piping ribbons and again, you’ll see why if you keep reading.

Here’s the pyjama top, cut into squares and it becomes a total piece almost one metre square. In ‘old money’ a yard. Not bad for 50p! I hope this adds credibility that second hand is always best.

So I have one yard of cup cake fabric and three yards (a lot more fabric in the bottoms than the tops) of soft flannel monkey fabric to use for quilt backing. If you make quilts for your children, anyone else’s and especially for a baby gift as some we know is always having a baby, then there is nothing nicer than a soft flannel quilt.


It doesn’t matter what you buy second hand, whether it’s your clothes, your furniture or as most of us do your car it’s always the best way to buy.

There was a bit of a discussion yesterday about the cost of making clothes. Firstly, I would always advocate buying second hand if you can as recycling, passing clothes on and making good is the best for our pockets and the planet. I wouldn’t think there is anyway more ethical to clothe ourselves or provide for ourselves than making do and mending or just using something again and again.

 If, like me, you’re an odd size then you might want to have a go at making clothes. I was suggesting that homemade is better if that’s an option for you because you’ll get something made to your size. Lots of cheap clothing has cost someone something somewhere, in some cases an individual’s health and well being. But let me make this very clear, if you’ve got children to clothe and can’t find what you need in charity shops or find that charity shops are too expensive then take a look at ebay for clothes bundles, at Gumtree, in your local paper, on the notice board at school, nursery, church or playgroup. Swap with friends or if you have to because that’s your budget and that’s what suits you, clothe your kids from discount stores because children keep growing and need clothes!

Over to you Dear Reader, who agrees that second hand is always best and is ethical because you’re reusing, saving the planet and keeping clothes out of landfill? Also, who else quilts from old clothes?

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxx

p.s Frugal Queen has a Facebook page - if you like this and want another way of keeping up to date them ‘like’ this https://www.facebook.com/pages/Frugal-Queen/303116143168721 and get daily updates. Thanks lovvies xxx

Make your own clothes?

Frugal fashion


Hello Dear Reader,

I do not profess to be a good dressmaker, but I am improving. I have kept the first quilt I ever made as a reminder of where I’ve come from. It’s not perfect but it’s colourful. I have done the same with the first dress I made. It didn’t fit well. I did learn a lot.

  1. Read the instructions carefully.
  2. Check the patterns sizing.
  3. Check and use the correct seam allowance.
  4. Add extra to the hem/length or shorten accordingly.
  5. Work carefully methodically; it’s not a race and you are not on the Great British Sewing Bee.
  6. Start with thrifted fabric, such as a second hand duvet cover and use that as a practise. Then, when the fit is right and you can follow the pattern, then make the skirt/blouse or onesie for real.
  7. Sewing patterns are expensive, use them over and over and they will be worth every penny.


I also spent too much time looking for the right parts of a pattern when I use it the next time. This time, I’ve divided them into the skirt bits and the blouse bits! I’m going to practise the skirt on some fabric I picked up at a jumble sale for 50p and I shall practise the blouse on some sheet fabric. They might turn out good enough to wear but I may have to adjust the fit. I’ve measured myself and know neither patterns are long enough for my lankyness and I will adjust them by and extra 1.5 inches.


It’s easy to think that we can all just pop into the bargain retailers and buy clothes but they don’t last, certainly don’t fit me very well and I don’t like the idea of throw away fashion. I actually want something of quality that lasts. I hope to have a couple of winter skirts made and some blouses that I could wear at work or with jeans at the weekend. I would love to be able to afford to go out and shop ethically and even better to buy British made clothes. I have a few very well made British items and I wear them over and over as they cost a lot. However, the people who made them are safe, paid properly, can be in a union, entitled to sick pay, maternity pay and a pension. Until, I can add to my wardrobe without doing something unethical, I’m going to keep trying to improve my dressmaking. Some of my loveliest pieces of clothing have that magical label inside “St. Michael” and say made in Britain on them! Of course, I found most of them in charity shops but they are certainly better made than clothes I could buy cheaply today.

Over to you Dear Reader, who else would like to have a go at making their own clothes? Who else tries their best on an ever shrinking budget to shop ethically for clothes? What about readers from other countries? Are you wearing clothes made in India or China or does your country still have a manufacturing base?

To help you look that little bit more lovely, not that you possibly could, enter the giveaway to win some lovely smellies and the most stunning dusky pink scarf. Please check that you read the T&Cs and check on Friday morning to see if you have won as you’ll need to email me your address straight away.

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxxx



a Rafflecopter giveaway

1. Enter the rafflecopter.
2. Be or become a follower.
3. Check if you have won this Friday morning and email me, see contact above, by 10 am GMT this Friday 1st August. If you don’t then it will be redrawn.
4. Leave a comment telling us all about the bargain stores in your area that some of us may not know about. No need to tell us about the national stores.
5. UK giveaway only.
6. Overseas entries if you would like this to be sent to a friend in the UK.
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Investigating the thriftiest ways to furnish your home.

frugal home
image found at thrift-ola.com - Kempton park antiques market…..just the sort of items I’m looking for.




Hello Dear Reader,

Today has been all about investigating some furniture and effects for our home. We’ve looked in all the usual and unusual places. Obviously, we started with the local charity shop warehouses where they sell second hand furniture. I was shocked that they wanted so much. We live close to the local auction house and know how little second hand modern furniture sells for. We also understand it’s a charity but would question who would pay more than it’s worth when you can buy similar items for so much less. We didn’t get anything from the charity shop for our home.

We looked on line. Surprisingly retailers such as Ikea and even Tesco can furnish your home for far less than my local charity furniture warehouse! I’m determined to buy second hand to stop waste but I won’t do so at the my own personal expense.

Our favourite starting place for anything at all is ebay and we use www.baycrazy.com to find items for sale locally. I need a much smaller dining table and chairs and I’m watching sales on ebay. I’m determined to buy for the very least I can. We’re happy to sand down, paint or wax. We’re also happy to do some repairs. We are ‘watching’ pine tables and chairs that we can refurb with chalk paint and have in our dining room. We’re also looking in charity shops for curtains for the rest of our rooms that yet have bare windows.

We had a touch of cabin fever and needed to get away from the sanding, stripping and mending. We took ourselves around the antique shops of Lostwithiel. We were surprised at how reasonable some very fine pieces of furniture were. Most of which are beyond our intended budget but we did discuss how we could buy one key piece that we would love forever. We were amazed to see completely refurbished and working antique clocks with melodic ticks and hypnotic pendulums that had come out of stations and ceiling oil lamps that had once hung in local chapels with safety certification and ready to be wired in. As we’ve just about got enough free wood to see us through the winter, we might spend the ‘log money’ on one such item.

My advice. Look every where and don’t be afraid to go into local antique shops. Also, don’t be afraid to contact sellers on ebay if something doesn’t sell and make them an offer. Get chatting to people in second hand shops and antique shops, tell them what you are buying for and you’ll be amazed what they have out the back or really want to get rid of. It’s just like selling, you have to establish a relationship with them, sell them the narrative and then when they’ve warmed to you and likewise, then start haggling. Don’t be afraid to ask ‘what can you do this for?’ and if there’s no reduction, what can they throw in with it? Also, don’t be afraid to make them an offer.

Over to you Dear Reader, share your advice or tell your story of where you managed to buy furniture for your home at a very reasonable price. Have you ever fixed something and made good and then been proud of it for years? I always look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Don’t forget to enter my little giveaway, it’s a quick one and I have another one this weekend!!! This time something useful for your kitchen!!! Please make sure you read the original T&Cs from yesterday and follow the instructions to be in with a chance of winning.

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxxxx

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Beautiful Giveaway

giveaway



Hello Dear Reader,

From time to time, PR companies or companies themselves contact me and ask if I would be interested in reviewing or advertising a product or company. I will say yes if I think there are bargains to be had or it will save you money. I was contacted by a company from the S.E of England called Choice discount. I took a look at their website and they are certainly very good value for the products that I had time to look at. I particularly liked their homeware section and their range of cook ware is really affordable and the brands they sell are of good quality.

Currently, they are having a summer 50% off sale which means, if you are local or wanted to use their website then you could go and buy Christmas gifts at really reduced prices. Also, if you are off to a family wedding and wanted to buy the couple a wedding present, their homeware section is really good value. If you live in the South East, then you’ll probably have heard of them. If not, then I think it would be worth taking a look.

I’m giving away the toiletries and scarf they sent me. They are lovely and in gratitude to you for reading, here’s a chance for you to stock up for Christmas or just keep them as a treat for yourself.

Here are the terms and conditions. Please make sure you have read them.

The prize is a scarf, shower gel and body butter.

The draw is open from midnight tonight until midnight this Thursday night.

1. Enter the rafflecopter.
2. Be or become a follower.
3. Check if you have won this Friday morning and email me, see contact above, by 10 am GMT this Friday 1st August. If you don’t then it will be redrawn.
4. Leave a comment telling us all about the bargain stores in your area that some of us may not know about. No need to tell us about the national stores.
5. UK giveaway only.
6. Overseas entries if you would like this to be sent to a friend in the UK.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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As always, I really appreciate you reading. It might be the middle of summer but I know that thrifty families will be getting ready for Christmas and this giveaway might be a lovely gift for someone you know.

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxxxx
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Keeping an eye on the budget

frugal home
Hello Dear Reader,
The sun is out and I’m in shorts for the duration. I’m in the hairless legs fan club which can soon add up if I were to use fancy lady razors and foam. Instead I buy men ‘s disposables from Aldi and hair conditioner instead of shaving foam. I never pay more than. £1 for either. It doesn ‘t make my legs any slimmer but I can stay hairless for less.

We’ve had a plasterer out to quote for the work. My advice, do not send your children to college to study anything academic, they will earn more than a teacher and civil servant combined in a day by rendering and plastering! If you want them to earn more than the Prime Minister, get them trained as a heating engineer !!!!! I have two chimney breasts that will take me a week’s salary to have plastered! Thankfully, they are jobs that only need doing once!
It’s a good job I’m thrifty to pay for all this and prepared to have a free holiday so we can renovate the house.
Dearly Beloved, worked all day and used a lump hammer and bolster to removed the fire place stone by stone. He then bagged it up and took it load by load to the tip.

Sorry for the blurry photos, blogging has been courtesy of my phone due to internet speeds slower than pigeon post!
Here’s what we have to budget for:
Chimmey lining and chimney alterations.
Energy effecient woodstove,
Strip the wooden floor and seal it.
Paint the wall and woodwork
And that’s just one room ! Fortunately we are again in a rising market and we shouldn ‘t lose any money on our investment. We then have the rest of the house. It’s really imortant to work out what we could afford and then stick to that budget. We can’t change our minds or do anything fancy and our home will have to be very simple.
I’ve had another slow day , migraine tablets leave me feeling hungover for twenty four hours afterwards. I’ve pottered and cooked to make the most of the oven and have roasted a joint of lamb and a gammon joint. I’ve then cooled it and sliced it with the electric slicer. As we’re busy with the house we need easy to grab food we can just eat with salad.
Tomorrow, the ‘scratch coat’ goes on the chimney breast and we ‘ll at long last get to remove the pongy carpets!
Over to you, what difficulties do you foresee with our budget renovations and how can we avoid them ?
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxx

Summer lovin’

staycation
Hello Dear Reader,
34 in the shade outside and. 29 indoors with the fan running and I’ve spent 24 hours in bed with a migraine.

Thankfully, and with the aid of a prescription, I could stand up and face daylight by six this evening.

It’s been so warm this evening that we headed to the beach.

His feet and my feet…….nothing better than sand every where. It kind of epitomises a Cornish house in the summer…….full of sand!

This is what my feet will look like until September.

Over to you, what epitomises your home area in the summer?
I promise, I’ll be a lot more productive tomorrow.
Until then,
Love Froogs xxx

Cheapest way to send parcels

Saving money

Hello Dear Reader,

As you know, I recently gave away lots of quilting goodies and I needed to get the very best price to get them delivered. There is no way that I automatically just take something to the post office any more than I would just walk into a shop. I always do my research first. Money Saving Expert recommended the search and comparison company Parcel2.go.com. I tried them and other price comparison search engines and found the best price and the most suitable system. I do not want to wait in between 12 - 6pm just in case some one calls and picks up the parcel. I also used a company I’d heard of and have successfully delivered parcels to me in the past (Hermes if you’re asking).

It’s cheaper because you have to weigh and measure the parcel yourself, fill in the details on line and then print off a prepaid label for the parcel and of course, you have to drop it off at a local shop. They gave me a receipt and really, it’s no different to using the post office…………….except it’s less than half the price.


Look out for symbols such as this and you know you can easily drop parcels off.

Here’s how to save money in a nut shell: go to ww.parcels2go.com, find the price and service you like and use one with Collect+ if you choose and then pay online, print your label and drop the parcel off.

If you are an ebay trader then this will save you loads.

This is not a sponsored post and no one has paid me. This is my genuine advice on saving money when sending parcels.

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxx

Saving money again and again

Uncategorized
Hello Dear Reader,
Another great day on my staycation. Popped out this morning to visit a friend for coffee. Always the thriftier option to socialise at home or someone else’s home.
Home for lunch and back to stripping wall paper. It’s certainly laborious but this is saving me a fortune by doing this myself.
One thing I can’t do myself is sort out the 70’s fire place. DB will demolish the bottom half and then the entire chimney breast will be rendered and plastered.

You asked for before and after photographs so here ‘s the before. The fireplace really doesn’t suit the age of the cottage and has to go.
Thanks for the thrifty home renovation advice. My advice would be to be prepared to do the preparation for the builder you get in. Demolition doesn ‘t require any skill, just hard work.
Over to you, who saved money on house renovation by doing some or all the work themselves.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxx

Thrifty renovations of Thrift Cottage

frugal home
Hello Dear Reader,
It actually got too hot to go outside today. 28 in the shade by 11 am and just got hotter. I tried sitting outside at 4.30 and soon had to retreat indoors. I even bathed the dogs in cool water and just towel dried them to leave them damp so they could feel cooler.
I have wall paper which I inherited and don’t like so I’m stripping it. It has two layers, a vinyl top layer and a backing paper underneath. I peel the top layer off really easily then I’ve sprayed plain water onto the wall paper and it just scrapes off.

It won’t take me long. To keep costs to a minimum, we’ll just paint the entire of the inside of the cottage white. Where we can, we’ll just have sanded wooden floors or tiles. We don’t intend to spend too much and want it to be simple to maintain .
I want to spend the bulk of what we can save on the mortgage balance. A home is important; a fancy house isn ‘t.
Over to you. Share your thrifty decorating tips to help me and anyone else, keep the house renovation cost down.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxx

Mighty Meaty Mushrooms

frugal food


Hello Dear Reader,

On the second day of my holiday, I got teacher’s guilt. Teacher’s guilt is where the teacher in the relationship feels guilty that they are on holiday whilst their partner is at work. Well, I got a really bad dose of that today! I tend to turn into 50’s housewife when that happens and try to cook something that I know Dearly Beloved will really love.

We both love Portobello mushrooms but they usually pricey. I picked up four priced at 79p in Aldi. To cook my Mighty Meaty Mushroom recipe you will need:

4 large flat mushrooms 79p
1/4 chorizo - chopped - 50p
2 sliced of bacon chopped - 40p
half a jar of pesto - 50p
1 onion finely chopped - 6p
100g of finely grated cheddar - 50p

Total £2.75 plus salad came to about £2 a head - To be honest, this was a blow out and in reality, one mushroom each with some salad would have been quite enough. For a family serve this with crusty bread and salad to bring each meal well into the £1 a head threshold.

Here’s what you need to do.

1. Get the oven on to 180
2. Get a pan hot and chop the onion, chorizo and bacon.
3. Fry those until cooked through.


Wipe your mushrooms clean.
Fill them with pesto. Again, I over did this and could have used less pesto but the jar had been opened a while and I hate leaving the ‘odd bit’ in the bottom of the jar. If you have just a smidge of pesto left, keep the jar in the fridge and dilute with water when you need to use it and add to sauce for pasta. The pasta below is from Lidl, it’s 89p or you can buy one just as good in Aldi for 99p.

As you can see, I’ve loaded the pesto into this and we could have had a lot less. Teacher’s guilt……he loves pesto!

Now, the mighty meaty bit. Load in the bacon, chorizo and onions. You could do a veggie version with peppers, courgettes, grated carrot and plenty of garlic all cooked until softened in olive oil or butter.

Now, pile the cheese onto each one. Bake in the oven for around 20 - 30 minutes.

I made a very simple salad of beetroot (ready cooked and vacuum packed) - 69p for four beetroot in Aldi, with a few cherry tomatoes, 1/4 of a cucumber diced. All tossed in one tablespoon of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. I always have bottles of lemon juice and buy then 3 bottles for £1 from Approved Food.

The end result is a real meat feast. The mushrooms have a steak like texture and are really substantial. At one point, DB closed his eyes whilst he was eating these as he really savoured them.

Here they are, Mighty Meaty Mushrooms on a bed of chopped beetroot.

Next time, I will use less cheese, less pesto and only have one!!! Such a big meal has made me very sleepy! I also think these are good enough for a dinner party and would make a brilliant starter. Of course, they would have less filling.

Over to you Dear Reader, who loves filled mushrooms and what do you put in yours? Plus, any teachers who get ‘teacher’s guilt’?

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxxx