Lemons

In older Australian suburbs, lemon trees are (or at least were) a standard feature in most backyards. If you're like me, living in a small town in regional Victoria - you'll have two.

Lemons are, at various times, a bane or a boon. They're a bane when the tree is laden to the point they're falling on the ground and I'm too busy to even bag them to sell at my front gate. They're a boon when I'm making lemon cordial or I need a squeeze of lemon in the raspberry jam.

Ripe lemons ready to pick.

There are lots of other uses for lemons and I'm going to start trying a few. Here are just two of the great ideas I found on www.whydontyoutrythis.com. See the whole post here.

Boost Laundry Detergent

For more powerful cleaning action, pour 1 cup lemon juice into the washer during the wash cycle. The natural bleaching action of the juice will zap stains and remove rust and mineral discolorations from cotton T-shirts and briefs and will leave your clothes smelling fresh. Your clothes will turn out brighter and also come out smelling lemon-fresh.

Keep Insects Out of the Kitchen

You don’t need insecticides or ant traps to ant-proof your kitchen. Just give it the lemon treatment. First squirt some lemon juice on door thresholds and windowsills. Then squeeze lemon juice into any holes or cracks where the ants are getting in. Finally, scatter small slices of lemon peel around the outdoor entrance. The ants will get the message that they aren’t welcome. Lemons are also effective against roaches and fleas: Simply mix the juice of 4 lemons (along with the rinds) with 1/2 gallon (2 liters) water and wash your floors with it; then watch the fleas and roaches flee. They hate the smell.

Can you add any more uses to the list?

Fugalista - Home Baked Cinnamon Rolls

It's no surprise to most of us that cooking and baking from scratch is so much cheaper than buying a similar product ready made.

In the spirit of keeping costs to a minimum while still enjoying the finer things in life, I fired up the oven and baked some cinnamon rolls.

Home Baked Cinnamon Rolls

I found the recipe here and used it as is however, in the future I'll make a lot less icing as I had a heap left over. It wont go to waste though, it's in an air-tight jar in the fridge awaiting the next batch of cinnamon rolls.

I haven't purchased a cinnamon roll for a while but I'm guessing a mass produced commercial one would cost between A$2.50 - $3.00. I'd estimate my total ingredient costs to be not much more than that (Aldi flour, bulk cinnamon, etc.) and in return I produced a dozen good sized rolls. The rolls froze really well, too.

Being frugal isn't about being 'cheap' it's about spending your money (and time) wisely. 

Home Made Lemon Cordial

Now that we're half way through spring, we're starting to indulge in cold drinks again. While water is always the best choice in cold drinks... sometimes bubbles and sweetness are needed, too. So this weekend I've made use of a bucket load of lemons from our trees and made lemon cordial. We can then use this cordial to flavour plain old tap water or for a bubbly treat, soda water. 


I used this recipe from www.homemade-gifts-made-easy.com. I'm very pleased with the result and will use it again next time.

The 'hard work' - squeezing lemons.

Simmering the sugar syrup and lemon zest .

The finished product!

No artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners and no added preservatives, just sugar, water and lemon juice. And, cheap! Just $2.19 for 2kg of 'plain label' sugar!!!


If you have access to some lemons, give it a go.


Now I'm looking forward to the raspberry crop so I can try making raspberry cordial. Recipe recommendations gratefully accepted!

Self-Reliance

Self-reliance is about finding ways to live life without always looking to outside sources for what you need. I prefer the term self-reliance to self-sufficiency because it really is impractical to be truly self-sufficient. Not many of us are in the position to provide for ALL of our needs. It’s one thing to make your own laundry powder but can you also produce the raw ingredients to make that product? Probably not, but in order to be self-sufficient, that’s what you’d need to do.

However, by purchasing the raw ingredients I can make my own laundry powder and not only cut out the  extra ‘nasties’ in the ingredient list but also the corporate layer that makes the most profit from the laundry powder. Meaning it costs me a whole lot less. Less money going into the coffers of the corporate world means more money in mine. Making your own laundry powder is just one example of how being self-reliant can also save you money.

When you choose to use your own time and skills to provide for your family, you’ll save more money and experience a greater sense of accomplishment.  And, it’s not rocket science. Often the most important skill you need to begin your self-reliance journey is the willingness to ‘give it a go’.

Each success; yeast doughnuts from scratch or a plant grown from cutting or seed builds your confidence. Each task you accomplish enables you to take greater control of your money and your life.

The important thing to remember is that being self-reliant takes time and not everyone has a lot, so choose one thing that you believe you can do for yourself, do it regularly and then build on that. That’s what ‘Patchwork Economics’ is all about, finding small changes you can make so you can create a new financial fabric for your life.

Here’s the recipe I use for home-made laundry powder.

Laundry Powder Recipe

4 cups grated laundry soap (Velvet) or homemade soap

2 cups borax

2 cups washing soda

Mix all ingredients together.

Use just two tablespoons of this powder for each wash. Suitable for both top and front loading machines as this mix is low suds.

I use my kitchen whiz to grate the soap and mix the ingredients – quick and easy.

Learning to Love Legumes

If you’re like me, your stockpile contains an assortment of dried beans. It’s easy to see why, they are cheap, easy to store and nutritious. Trouble is, they’ll go to waste if you don’t actually eat them!

Which is a timely reminder of the number one rule of stockpiling: Only store what you normally eat. There’s no point in stockpiling either dried beans or tins of baked beans if you don’t like them and/or don’t normally eat them.

So, if you’re new to legumes (beans) then now is a great time to learn to love them. Start small and work your way up. Don’t try to get your family to eat beans for breakfast, lunch and dinner right from the start. Try adding small amounts of beans to meals you already make, then as your family becomes accustomed to them, you can get a little more adventurous.

Beans are the friend of the frugalista because they are also a great filler for a variety of dishes, for example, you can super charge a basic vegetable soup by adding beans or you can flesh out a meat dish like lasagne by adding red lentils to the meat sauce. These are frugal ways of increasing the volume of the dish for very little cost.

Are beans a big part of your diet? Do you have a favourite bean based recipe?