Further Frugalities

(Please note that this post is a little old as intended to publish it a couple of weeks ago, but am nevertheless publishing it.)

I seem to be gradually getting back to my old frugal ways, which is great.  I don't know what came over me post Christmas.  I think it was the relief at virtually having paid everything off.  I think I felt like I just needed to indulge myself a little.  Anyway, back to normality now, hopefully.

In the last couple of weeks I've been engaged in the following frugal activities:

1) I picked up these lovely twigs full of catkins on a dog walk one morning, which  had fallen/been blown from some of the trees on the edge of the marshes near where I live.  They looked very cheerful on my kitchen windowsill as they unfurled.  I don't buy flowers very often, so to find such beautiful botanical specimens for free was a real treat.

2) I received a free packet of sweet pea seeds in a Goody bag on a recent visit to the Ideal Home Show (my ticket was free too, as I've mentioned before in a previous post).  I'm thinking of growing these up the front of my shed this summer.

3)  Still menu planning, sticking to it and using up what I have in the cupboards and freezer before buying in more food.  My cupboards are wonderfully devoid of old, unused food now.  It feels refreshing to have a weekly turnover of food in them for a change.

4)  Still decluttering bit by bit. More items have been removed and although some of them were quite cute and quirky, they never got used, so have been donated.

5)  I took advantage of a couple of good offers in Boots the other week. There was a buy two get one free on all makeup and a buy one get one free on skincare. As a consequence, I bought myself a matt face powder and pink blush that I'd been promising myself for a while and then got a pink lip liner for free. I also needed to replace my toner and I decided to try out a different brand. I ended up getting two for the price of one on this, which should keep me going for a good while.

6). Talking of beauty products, I'm still using up all of those products that have been hanging around at home for the longest time.  Some of them were originally mine, but I had given them to Little Bird. She didn't use them, so they bounced back to me and I have been trying to use them up.  I don't want to buy new products until they're finished and can't bring myself to just throw them out, as it would be such a waste.  Why is it that when you are looking forward to treating yourself to trying some new brands, your old products seem to last for ever?  I shouldn't complain really as it's saving me spending any money, but I am looking forward to a time when I can move on to some new to me beauty treats.