Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 18:22
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Keeping Bananas for a Length of Time; Microfibre Miracles; Old Jeans/New Jeans Recycling
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Creamy Chicken Sun-dried Tomato Pasta
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Time for a Pantry Challenge with a Difference
6. The Weekly MOO Challenge - MOO Wool Wash
7. Cheapskates Buzz
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
9. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
10. Join the Cheapskates Club
11. Frequently Asked Questions
12. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
Well our summer is definitely over. We are well and truly into Autumn weather, with such a cold Arctic blast hitting us yesterday. I'm very grateful for the rain; Tuesday afternoon I was making sure the rain barrels were all in place to catch every drop of water possible.
I'm catching the rain, preparing for when it isn't raining, so there will be water to use on the garden, because that's what I do: prepare.
I'm hoping you all prepare too, by building your pantries and growing your gardens. And, with preparing in mind, on Tuesday night I issued a challenge: to live off your pantry completely and solely for one month. No zipping to the shops to get fresh milk or top up the fruit basket. No running out of toothpaste and just nipping out to get a tube. What you have in your pantry at 12:01am next Tuesday, 10th June, is what you live off, what you eat, what you wear, what you clean with, for one month.
It's a simple challenge, there's only one rule: no topping up the pantry, what you have is it, and that's what you live off for one month.
I hope you'll join us. It is going to be an interesting month. If you want to know more, the link to the show is below, and you can always join the chat in the Forum too.
Oh, and the question was asked on Tuesday night about how to keep bananas - the first tip from the Tip Store has this covered!
Have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
PS: Love our site? We love referrals! Send a note to your favourite newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV stations, friends and relatives, and tell them about us!
2. From The Tip Store
Keeping Bananas for a Length of TimeT
o keep bananas from going soft wrap them separately in newspaper and store in crisper in refrigerator. They last for weeks, the skin may go dark but the flesh is lovely and firm.
Contributed by Lesley
Microfibre Miracles
I love microfibre cloths - even a cheap pack of 10 for $5 will last forever. Use them as dishcloths (brilliant on Teflon products), washing the car (use only water in a bucket - no suds, unless the car is filthy), cleans the windows without the need for Windex etc. Cleans mirrors beautifully - no streaking as there are no chemicals - just use a lightly moistened cloth and one for drying. Cleaning reading glasses - no cleaner required (I keep a white one for this). Shower tiles - very light spray with cleaner and wipe over every few days - or better still wipe over after a shower and no need for chemicals. Fabric lounges - dampen a corner and rub into marks - they usually disappear. To give the whole couch a clean use a slightly dampened cloth and rub all over - you'll be surprised how dirty the cloth is. Dusting - no need for Mr Sheen - just the cloth, dampened if furniture is very dusty. There is virtually no cleaning job that is not made easier, quicker and cheaper using these wonderful little cloths - just toss in the wash and ready for next time. I don't know how long they will last but I've been using the same ones for about 2 years now and still don't need to replace them. Great value for money.
Contributed by Beth
Editor's note: I was talking about this to Wendy a few weeks ago, and I showed her the shower cloth I use. It's microfibre, and almost 20 years old and yes, it is still going strong and still doing a brilliant job on the tiles and shower screens. It cost $2 all those years ago, and the brand is Mr. Clean (which I think is no longer available in Australia - let me know if it is!). I love microfibre cloths too! Cath.
Old Jeans/New Jeans Recycling
I have to share my awesome Cheapskating with you this week. My jeans were worn out, saggy in the bottom, threadbare between the thighs. I was going to use a $50 voucher I had from Christmas to replace them with some basic new ones. Then I thought I will just check the op shop first. I found two lovely pairs that look awesome on me (if I say so myself), much better quality than I would have bought new, and another pair of gorgeous Australian designer ones in a size too small for me. $15 for all three! The small ones I am giving to a friend for her birthday, even second hand you would pay well over $30 on eBay so she is pleased (I would usually spend $15 on her present). My Cheapskating continues; with the worn jeans I have ripped up the leg seams to make two car organisers to hang on the back of the seats. The back pocket fits a water bottle and the front a Nintendo DS! I folded up the bottom to create a big pocket and stitched a smaller pocket on that with some lovely fabric scraps I had. Much cooler than anything you could buy. AND I still have my voucher for a rainy day! Thanks for helping me think outside the box.
Contributed by Seana
There are more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
Add a Tip
3. Share Your Tips
The Cheapskate's Club website is thousands of pages of money saving hints, tips and ideas. There are over 12,000 tips to save you money, time and energy; 1,600 budget and family friendly recipes, hundreds of printable tip sheets and ebooks.
Let's get together and make the Cheapskates Club Australia's largest online hint, tip and idea library. Share your favourite money saving, time saving or energy saving hint and be in the running to win a one-year membership to The Cheapskate Club.
Share your favourite hint or tip that saves money, time and energy and be in the running to win a one-year subscription to The Cheapskate Journal.
Remember, you have to be in it to win it!
Share Your Tip
4. On The Menu
Creamy Chicken Sun-dried Tomato Pasta
We love this dish. But of course, I've adapted it to suit our tastes and our grocery budget. The original recipe is below.
I change it by using one chicken fillet, and instead of slicing the chicken, I dice it into small dice. I also use powdered milk instead of fresh. The mozzarella and parmesan I buy from Aldi as they are slightly cheaper. The sun-dried tomatoes are from our pantry; I make a batch every summer, enough to get us through a year. And the herbs are also from our garden, grown, dehydrated and powdered each year.
This dish easily serves six, with a side salad and garlic bread or a fresh roll.
Creamy Chicken Sun-dried Tomato Pasta
Ingredients:
500g medium shell pasta noodles
500g chicken breast fillets
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
100g sun dried tomatoes
2-1/2 cups milk
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
Method:
Cook the pasta as directed and drain when finished. Thinly slice the chicken. While the pasta is cooking, add the oil and sliced chicken pieces to a large frying pan and season with salt and pepper. Sauté 2 - 3 minutes until chicken is cooked about half-way through. Add the sundried tomatoes and sauté with the chicken for 1 - 2 minutes, watching that the tomatoes don't burn. When the chicken has cooked through transfer chicken and tomato mixture to a plate. Add the milk, cheeses, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder and salt and pepper together. Bring to a boil over a low heat. Cook 2 minutes until sauce has thickened. Add the chicken and tomatoes and the cooked pasta. Heat through, then serve.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Tuna Surprise
Tuesday: Creamy Chicken Sun-dried Tomato Pasta
Wednesday: Meatballs, noodles, cream sauce
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Fish, Wedges, Coleslaw
Saturday: Hamburgers
There are over 1,800 budget and family friendly recipes in the Cheapskates Club Recipe File, all contributed by your fellow Cheapskates, so you know they're good.
Add A Recipe
Recipe File Index
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge
Time for a Pantry Challenge with a Difference
I thought it was time for a pantry challenge - with a difference.
This month I'm challenging you to live off your pantry for one month, and just your pantry. No buying any fresh milk or vegetables; no topping up if you run out of something. Just using what you have in the pantry.
But I'm giving you time to prepare, because that's what we Cheapskaters do: we prepare. So you have until midnight next Monday, 9th May, to fill any gaps, because at 12:01am on Tuesday 10th May, the challenge starts.
If you like lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, buy them this week and store them so they keep. Put milk in the freezer. Butter and cheese will keep for a month easily in the fridge. Check your cleaning supplies and toiletries and make sure you have enough.
Why are we doing this? Because whilst we might think we are prepared for a complete shut-down, we don't know for sure, because we have never been tested.
Yes, this challenge is a test. A pantry test. A stockpile test. A creativity test (using only what we have for a month we may need to get creative with recipes).
The plan is to not shop at all after this week for one entire month - I can't wait! Are you going to join me? What will you do with the grocery money you don't spend?
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. The Weekly MOO Challenge
MOO Wool Wash
I've been washing and putting away the summer bedding and getting the winter bedding out and readied to go onto our beds, and just in time, the nights are starting to cool.
I use this wool wash for washing our blankets, jumpers, doonas, sleeping bags, winter coats, gloves, beanies - anything that contains wool or is put into long-term storage. The eucalyptus and pure soap in the mixture help to deter silverfish and moths from woollies perfect for jumpers or woollen blankets going into storage for the summer, or for the winter.
I also use it to freshen up sheets and quilt covers, pillow and mattress protectors that have come out of storage. Yes, they are clean, but I like to freshen them up before they go on the beds, and this time of year, when it is still reasonably warm, sometimes sunny and slightly breezy is the perfect time to do this.
I think this recipe may have originally been a copycat of the Martha Gardener's Wool Mix, and it was given to me by a colleague over 30 years ago, written on a slip of paper and left on my desk. And I'm still using it.
MOO Wool Wash
Ingredients:
4 cups Lux flakes*
4 cups boiling water
1 cup methylated spirits
2 tbsp eucalyptus oil
Method:
Mix together and bottle. To use dissolve 2 tablespoons mixture in hot water, cool before gently kneading woollens to wash. Rinse well and dry carefully in the shade, preferably flat to retain shape.
*Lux flakes - you can use any pure soap flakes or grate cakes of pure soap to get the flakes. Depending on the size of the cakes of soap you'll need 2 or 3. If you use the zester side of your grater the soap will dissolve easily and quickly. And they are still available, but you'll probably find them on the bottom shelf of the soap powder aisle, you'll need to look for them.
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
7. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
What to Keep in the Pantry
Living from the Pantry
How to Make a Stock Soup
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
One Month Pantry Test Challenge
How to MOO Recipe into a Bulk Recipe
Keeping Track of Your Money
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
Show ScheduleTuesday: Around the Kitchen Table - join Cath and Hannah for a cuppa and a chat around the kitchen table as they talk about living the Cheapskates way.
Latest Shows
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Keeping Bananas for a Length of Time; Microfibre Miracles; Old Jeans/New Jeans Recycling
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Creamy Chicken Sun-dried Tomato Pasta
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Time for a Pantry Challenge with a Difference
6. The Weekly MOO Challenge - MOO Wool Wash
7. Cheapskates Buzz
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
9. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
10. Join the Cheapskates Club
11. Frequently Asked Questions
12. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
Well our summer is definitely over. We are well and truly into Autumn weather, with such a cold Arctic blast hitting us yesterday. I'm very grateful for the rain; Tuesday afternoon I was making sure the rain barrels were all in place to catch every drop of water possible.
I'm catching the rain, preparing for when it isn't raining, so there will be water to use on the garden, because that's what I do: prepare.
I'm hoping you all prepare too, by building your pantries and growing your gardens. And, with preparing in mind, on Tuesday night I issued a challenge: to live off your pantry completely and solely for one month. No zipping to the shops to get fresh milk or top up the fruit basket. No running out of toothpaste and just nipping out to get a tube. What you have in your pantry at 12:01am next Tuesday, 10th June, is what you live off, what you eat, what you wear, what you clean with, for one month.
It's a simple challenge, there's only one rule: no topping up the pantry, what you have is it, and that's what you live off for one month.
I hope you'll join us. It is going to be an interesting month. If you want to know more, the link to the show is below, and you can always join the chat in the Forum too.
Oh, and the question was asked on Tuesday night about how to keep bananas - the first tip from the Tip Store has this covered!
Have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
PS: Love our site? We love referrals! Send a note to your favourite newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV stations, friends and relatives, and tell them about us!
2. From The Tip Store
Keeping Bananas for a Length of TimeT
o keep bananas from going soft wrap them separately in newspaper and store in crisper in refrigerator. They last for weeks, the skin may go dark but the flesh is lovely and firm.
Contributed by Lesley
Microfibre Miracles
I love microfibre cloths - even a cheap pack of 10 for $5 will last forever. Use them as dishcloths (brilliant on Teflon products), washing the car (use only water in a bucket - no suds, unless the car is filthy), cleans the windows without the need for Windex etc. Cleans mirrors beautifully - no streaking as there are no chemicals - just use a lightly moistened cloth and one for drying. Cleaning reading glasses - no cleaner required (I keep a white one for this). Shower tiles - very light spray with cleaner and wipe over every few days - or better still wipe over after a shower and no need for chemicals. Fabric lounges - dampen a corner and rub into marks - they usually disappear. To give the whole couch a clean use a slightly dampened cloth and rub all over - you'll be surprised how dirty the cloth is. Dusting - no need for Mr Sheen - just the cloth, dampened if furniture is very dusty. There is virtually no cleaning job that is not made easier, quicker and cheaper using these wonderful little cloths - just toss in the wash and ready for next time. I don't know how long they will last but I've been using the same ones for about 2 years now and still don't need to replace them. Great value for money.
Contributed by Beth
Editor's note: I was talking about this to Wendy a few weeks ago, and I showed her the shower cloth I use. It's microfibre, and almost 20 years old and yes, it is still going strong and still doing a brilliant job on the tiles and shower screens. It cost $2 all those years ago, and the brand is Mr. Clean (which I think is no longer available in Australia - let me know if it is!). I love microfibre cloths too! Cath.
Old Jeans/New Jeans Recycling
I have to share my awesome Cheapskating with you this week. My jeans were worn out, saggy in the bottom, threadbare between the thighs. I was going to use a $50 voucher I had from Christmas to replace them with some basic new ones. Then I thought I will just check the op shop first. I found two lovely pairs that look awesome on me (if I say so myself), much better quality than I would have bought new, and another pair of gorgeous Australian designer ones in a size too small for me. $15 for all three! The small ones I am giving to a friend for her birthday, even second hand you would pay well over $30 on eBay so she is pleased (I would usually spend $15 on her present). My Cheapskating continues; with the worn jeans I have ripped up the leg seams to make two car organisers to hang on the back of the seats. The back pocket fits a water bottle and the front a Nintendo DS! I folded up the bottom to create a big pocket and stitched a smaller pocket on that with some lovely fabric scraps I had. Much cooler than anything you could buy. AND I still have my voucher for a rainy day! Thanks for helping me think outside the box.
Contributed by Seana
There are more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
Add a Tip
3. Share Your Tips
The Cheapskate's Club website is thousands of pages of money saving hints, tips and ideas. There are over 12,000 tips to save you money, time and energy; 1,600 budget and family friendly recipes, hundreds of printable tip sheets and ebooks.
Let's get together and make the Cheapskates Club Australia's largest online hint, tip and idea library. Share your favourite money saving, time saving or energy saving hint and be in the running to win a one-year membership to The Cheapskate Club.
Share your favourite hint or tip that saves money, time and energy and be in the running to win a one-year subscription to The Cheapskate Journal.
Remember, you have to be in it to win it!
Share Your Tip
4. On The Menu
Creamy Chicken Sun-dried Tomato Pasta
We love this dish. But of course, I've adapted it to suit our tastes and our grocery budget. The original recipe is below.
I change it by using one chicken fillet, and instead of slicing the chicken, I dice it into small dice. I also use powdered milk instead of fresh. The mozzarella and parmesan I buy from Aldi as they are slightly cheaper. The sun-dried tomatoes are from our pantry; I make a batch every summer, enough to get us through a year. And the herbs are also from our garden, grown, dehydrated and powdered each year.
This dish easily serves six, with a side salad and garlic bread or a fresh roll.
Creamy Chicken Sun-dried Tomato Pasta
Ingredients:
500g medium shell pasta noodles
500g chicken breast fillets
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
100g sun dried tomatoes
2-1/2 cups milk
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
Method:
Cook the pasta as directed and drain when finished. Thinly slice the chicken. While the pasta is cooking, add the oil and sliced chicken pieces to a large frying pan and season with salt and pepper. Sauté 2 - 3 minutes until chicken is cooked about half-way through. Add the sundried tomatoes and sauté with the chicken for 1 - 2 minutes, watching that the tomatoes don't burn. When the chicken has cooked through transfer chicken and tomato mixture to a plate. Add the milk, cheeses, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder and salt and pepper together. Bring to a boil over a low heat. Cook 2 minutes until sauce has thickened. Add the chicken and tomatoes and the cooked pasta. Heat through, then serve.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Tuna Surprise
Tuesday: Creamy Chicken Sun-dried Tomato Pasta
Wednesday: Meatballs, noodles, cream sauce
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Fish, Wedges, Coleslaw
Saturday: Hamburgers
There are over 1,800 budget and family friendly recipes in the Cheapskates Club Recipe File, all contributed by your fellow Cheapskates, so you know they're good.
Add A Recipe
Recipe File Index
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge
Time for a Pantry Challenge with a Difference
I thought it was time for a pantry challenge - with a difference.
This month I'm challenging you to live off your pantry for one month, and just your pantry. No buying any fresh milk or vegetables; no topping up if you run out of something. Just using what you have in the pantry.
But I'm giving you time to prepare, because that's what we Cheapskaters do: we prepare. So you have until midnight next Monday, 9th May, to fill any gaps, because at 12:01am on Tuesday 10th May, the challenge starts.
If you like lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, buy them this week and store them so they keep. Put milk in the freezer. Butter and cheese will keep for a month easily in the fridge. Check your cleaning supplies and toiletries and make sure you have enough.
Why are we doing this? Because whilst we might think we are prepared for a complete shut-down, we don't know for sure, because we have never been tested.
Yes, this challenge is a test. A pantry test. A stockpile test. A creativity test (using only what we have for a month we may need to get creative with recipes).
The plan is to not shop at all after this week for one entire month - I can't wait! Are you going to join me? What will you do with the grocery money you don't spend?
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. The Weekly MOO Challenge
MOO Wool Wash
I've been washing and putting away the summer bedding and getting the winter bedding out and readied to go onto our beds, and just in time, the nights are starting to cool.
I use this wool wash for washing our blankets, jumpers, doonas, sleeping bags, winter coats, gloves, beanies - anything that contains wool or is put into long-term storage. The eucalyptus and pure soap in the mixture help to deter silverfish and moths from woollies perfect for jumpers or woollen blankets going into storage for the summer, or for the winter.
I also use it to freshen up sheets and quilt covers, pillow and mattress protectors that have come out of storage. Yes, they are clean, but I like to freshen them up before they go on the beds, and this time of year, when it is still reasonably warm, sometimes sunny and slightly breezy is the perfect time to do this.
I think this recipe may have originally been a copycat of the Martha Gardener's Wool Mix, and it was given to me by a colleague over 30 years ago, written on a slip of paper and left on my desk. And I'm still using it.
MOO Wool Wash
Ingredients:
4 cups Lux flakes*
4 cups boiling water
1 cup methylated spirits
2 tbsp eucalyptus oil
Method:
Mix together and bottle. To use dissolve 2 tablespoons mixture in hot water, cool before gently kneading woollens to wash. Rinse well and dry carefully in the shade, preferably flat to retain shape.
*Lux flakes - you can use any pure soap flakes or grate cakes of pure soap to get the flakes. Depending on the size of the cakes of soap you'll need 2 or 3. If you use the zester side of your grater the soap will dissolve easily and quickly. And they are still available, but you'll probably find them on the bottom shelf of the soap powder aisle, you'll need to look for them.
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
7. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
What to Keep in the Pantry
Living from the Pantry
How to Make a Stock Soup
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
One Month Pantry Test Challenge
How to MOO Recipe into a Bulk Recipe
Keeping Track of Your Money
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
Show ScheduleTuesday: Around the Kitchen Table - join Cath and Hannah for a cuppa and a chat around the kitchen table as they talk about living the Cheapskates way.
Latest Shows
9. Ask A Question
We have lots of resources to help you as you live the Cheapskates way but if you didn't find the answer to your question in our extensive archives please just drop me a note with your question.
I read and answer all questions, either in an email to you, in my weekly newsletter, the monthly Journal or by creating blog posts and other resources to help you (and other Cheapskaters).
Ask Your Question
10. Join The Cheapskates Club
For just $25 you can join the Cheapskates Club and get exclusive access to the Cheapskate Journal, the monthly e-journal that shows you how to cut the costs of everyday living and still have fun for a full year.
That's unlimited 24/7 access to EVERYTHING in the Member's Centre!
Click here to join the Cheapskates Club today!
11. Frequently Asked Questions
How do I change my email address?
This one is easy. When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name at the top of the page to go straight to your profile page where you can update your details, change your password and find your subscription details.
Not a Cheapskates Club member? Then please use the Changing Details form found here to update your email address.
How do I know when my membership should be renewed?
Memberships are active for one year from the date of joining. You will be sent a renewal reminder before your subscription is due to renew. You can also find your membership expiry date on your profile page.
When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name to go straight to your profile page where you can will find your join date and your expiry date.
What will you do with my email address?
We never rent, trade or sell our email list to anyone for any reason whatsoever. You'll never get an unsolicited email from a stranger as a result of joining this list.
How did I get on this list?
The only way you can get onto our newsletter mailing list is to subscribe yourself. You either signed up to receive our Free Newsletter at our Cheapskates Club Web site or are a Platinum Cheapskates Club member.
12. Contact Cheapskates
The Cheapskates Club -
Showing you how to live life
debt free, cashed up and laughing!
PO Box 5077 Studfield Vic 3152
Contact Cheapskates
We have lots of resources to help you as you live the Cheapskates way but if you didn't find the answer to your question in our extensive archives please just drop me a note with your question.
I read and answer all questions, either in an email to you, in my weekly newsletter, the monthly Journal or by creating blog posts and other resources to help you (and other Cheapskaters).
Ask Your Question
10. Join The Cheapskates Club
For just $25 you can join the Cheapskates Club and get exclusive access to the Cheapskate Journal, the monthly e-journal that shows you how to cut the costs of everyday living and still have fun for a full year.
That's unlimited 24/7 access to EVERYTHING in the Member's Centre!
Click here to join the Cheapskates Club today!
11. Frequently Asked Questions
How do I change my email address?
This one is easy. When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name at the top of the page to go straight to your profile page where you can update your details, change your password and find your subscription details.
Not a Cheapskates Club member? Then please use the Changing Details form found here to update your email address.
How do I know when my membership should be renewed?
Memberships are active for one year from the date of joining. You will be sent a renewal reminder before your subscription is due to renew. You can also find your membership expiry date on your profile page.
When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name to go straight to your profile page where you can will find your join date and your expiry date.
What will you do with my email address?
We never rent, trade or sell our email list to anyone for any reason whatsoever. You'll never get an unsolicited email from a stranger as a result of joining this list.
How did I get on this list?
The only way you can get onto our newsletter mailing list is to subscribe yourself. You either signed up to receive our Free Newsletter at our Cheapskates Club Web site or are a Platinum Cheapskates Club member.
12. Contact Cheapskates
The Cheapskates Club -
Showing you how to live life
debt free, cashed up and laughing!
PO Box 5077 Studfield Vic 3152
Contact Cheapskates