My Last Week & eBay Sales

This last week has made me think about my work life balance and I want to give you Wednesday & Thursday as an example.

I worked from home on Wednesday morning for a couple of hours so that I could avoid the rush hour traffic and time consuming journey into the office. I started work at 7.30am and I left for the office at 10.45am. At this time of day the journey only takes 45 minutes rather than the rush hour time of over an hour to an hour & a half. I arrived at the office at 11.30am and then worked through to around 6pm. No lunch break as I just ate on the go during two meetings. I drove home and again at this time avoided the rush hour traffic, called into Marks & Spencer on the way home for some fresh bread and the Dine in for £10 meal deal. By the time I got home it was after 7pm. It was then a case of putting the bins out to be collected the next day, feeding the cat, putting the evening meal on to cook and finally eating at 8pm. I was ready for bed at 9pm as I was tired and knew I had a busy day on Thursday.

Thursday I was up at 5.30am and on the road at 7am for my first meeting at 8am. I was then at a conference from 9am until 4.25pm and home for 5.30pm. I refreshed my make-up, fed the cat and David and I were out and back on the road by 5.45pm to get to the cinema for 6.15pm for a free film showing at 6.30pm. We had planned to go for a meal at the retail park at Cafe Rouge but the film was a long one and it was 9pm by the time we left the cinema and we did not want to be ordering a meal at that time of the evening. We were home for 9.40pm where both of us had a glass of wine and then off to bed by 10pm.  During the conference I was picking up my emails on my blackberry and dealing with phone messages and I noticed my boss had sent me an email to me at 6.30am. She had to leave the conference part way through and I asked a colleague why she had left and she said she had too much work. I ended up emailing her and offering to work the weekend to help her. Where is the relaxation and downtime in my life? Am I raising something and nothing or do you think I should get more down time? The film we went to see is called 13 hours and was gripping.

I have carried on listing items over the last week and am enjoying getting rid of some items as I have realised we have far too much stuff. Some of the items have been used but fallen out of favour whereas others are new and unused and have just been cluttering up the house. Some of these unused items are freebies and I have listed some make-up which has come free with a magazine like the Clinique chubby lip balm whereas others have come free with a purchase like the Boots No7 eyeshadow palettes. I had three of these with colours which I just would not wear. I can't even recall getting them as I've had them so long.

I've been listing most things as an auction rather than "buy it now" and I've put low starting prices as I am more interested in getting rid of them than making loads of money although the funds have been slowly adding up and I like it when I have a good amount to transfer from my PayPal account to my bank account. I am thinking it may be an idea to start listing things as buy it now as I've had some people asking would I sell it at a buy it now price. I may try this over the next couple of weeks although it does cost more to list them as buy it now.

Clearing things out has led me to find things that I have forgotten that I had - I said we had too much stuff. I found this great original Mulberry Emmy handbag that I bought at the Cheshire carboot sale for just £18. It needed two small screws replacing in one of the fastenings and I got these last year but had just not sorted out fixing it. David did this for me in two minutes and now I have a fab handbag. I wondered how much these were these days and was taken aback to see them being sold at up to £299 on eBay. I don't know why the lady sold it for £18 but a fair few of the stall holders at this carboot sale are clearly not short of cash judging by the cars they have and the designer items they are selling. I think they must do the carboot sales for a clearout and a bit of fun.

My Week

My last week has been a fairly typical week for this time of year. 

My dad usually visits me on a Saturday morning while David is out at work. We have a coffee, cake and a chat about the last week.  I usually carry out anything that my dad needs doing on the computer. He has no interest in computers. My sister bought him a laptop and arranged wifi for him on a contract but he was just not interested and so everything was cancelled and I now do anything he needs. This last week it has been sorting out new car insurance and renewing his driving licence as he has to re-apply for it every few years now he is getting older. He brought me a bottle of Chambourd liqueur this week as it was an unwanted Christmas gift. He said it was "more for girls" and I was pleased to receive this as it is lovely when added to a glass of Cava. It is a black raspberry liqueur and makes a great glass of pink fizz.

I sold a few items on eBay. Two of the coats I was selling went for £10 & £11 and I also sold a pair of boots for £15.50. The boots had been languishing in my loft for around a year so it was wonderful to get rid of them. I sold a Kirstie Allsop book for £2 (I'd paid 50p for it on a carboot sale last year) and a tube of hair styling creme for £3.50. They are all small amounts but when added up over lots of items I usually end up with a tidy sum. I have another 13 items listed at the moment ranging in price from £1 - £20 so I will add up every quarter how much I have made and let you know. The items that I am currently selling are just things that are catching my eye around the house rather than specifics so there is a leather jewellery box (unwanted gift), books, unused travel mugs, boots, a handbag etc.

I am loving some Yankee Candle tea lights that I have started to use this week as they smell divine. They are Black Coconut and I love their deep warm toasted coconut smell. They make a real change from the Christmas scents that I've been burning over recent weeks although I loved the salted caramel ones that I used last week.

I have been watching episodes of Hurcule Poirot from my boxed set bought at the Cheshire carboot sale last year for just £2. I love the 1930s Art Deco styles, the clothes and the glamourous lifestyles of some of the characters. Hercule's neat ordered mind also appeals to me.

I have just recently found the American series Fixer Upper on itvBe on TV at 7pm in the evenings and have found this addictive. I just love it as it has inspired me to look at all the things that need doing around our house and I'm contemplating starting a list for David. He is not pleased on two fronts. Firstly that he would rather watch "Whatever happened to the Likely Lads" which is on at the same time and secondly I keep saying "ooh look at that kitchen, bathroom, lounge etc." when they show the reveal and comparing it to my house while glaring at him.

I've worked from home a couple of days which has been a relief on the travelling front as it takes about an hour and a half sitting in slow moving traffic to get across to the other side of Manchester to get my office. Just over 3 years ago they moved the whole office location from near where I live to the far side of Manchester and my journey changed to 15 minutes to an hour and a half or just over an hour on a good day. It's soul destroying sitting in nearly 3 hours of traffic and depresses me. I weigh it up with being able to work from home a couple of days a week with no travelling whatsoever so I count my blessings for that.

I am doing my best to get on top of the housework and get rid of the detritus around the whole house. I have found I am procrastinating over some things such as a beautiful bead necklace that I love but the clasp has broken. I can't fix it myself and it is only worth a couple of £ and to fix it at a jewellery shop would cost more than it is worth. The answer is to throw it away but I am struggling with this and so far I have moved it around my bedroom to 3 different places. I suppose this is how our homes get overloaded with "stuff". I will see if David can fix it and if not then it is time to say goodbye to it.

Finally we have spent quite a bit of time this week chatting about the future as David finds out whether he is to be made redundant or not next month just I start to go through the consultation period at work for more job losses. This will be my third time in four years. I've managed to keep my job twice while some of my colleagues have been made redundant and here I go again seeing if I am for the chop or not. It is out of our hands and there is no point in worrying as this is just wasted energy. It is a good job we know have to live fairly frugally and we know we will manage.

A Week Of Lunches

I find getting some variety to our lunches so difficult. I refuse to pay a fortune for a sad looking lunch from my work canteen and if I did not make David a packed lunch he would either do without and be faint with hunger or pig out with a chippy meal.

I like healthy variety whereas he likes boring stodgy white bread sandwiches. I really am trying to get something healthy for both of us that it quick to make, cheap and will keep us interested in our lunches over the week. I've found from experience that I need various sizes of plastic tubs and plenty of plastic bags to be able to make the whole packed lunch thing work. 

Here is a look at the lunches we had this week:

Monday

David - salmon paste sandwiches made with white bread (yuk!) and some sliced pieces of vintage cheddar

Mrs Danvers - small portion of left-over homemade lasagne, home made fruit salad of white & red grapes, apple slices, blueberries and strawberries with honey & fig yogurt poured over it

Tuesday

David - same as Monday

Mrs Danvers - cinnamon soft pretzel mid morning.  Red onion & chive bagel with Brie and tomato chutney. Homemade fruit salad of red & black grapes and sliced banana with honey & fig yogurt poured over it.

Wednesday
David - just some buttered toast
Mrs Danvers - small portion of left-over homemade lasagne (I glad it has now all gone!). Mango with lemon yogurt poured over it. I bought two pots of mango pieces reduced from £2 to 45p each. The yogurts were reduced to 25p for 4.

Thursday
David - chicken & sweetcorn sandwich and a chicken & avocado sandwich (bought reduced from M&S)
Mrs Danvers - cinnamon soft pretzel mid morning. Red onion & chive bagel with Brie and tomato chutney. Mango with lemon yoghurt poured over it.

Friday
David - chicken & sweetcorn sandwich and a pulled BBQ pork & coleslaw sub
Mrs Danvers - left over BBQ pulled duck & coleslaw slider. Cherry yogurt.

Oh and a word of warning on the fruit and yogurt front - never pour strawberry yogurt over sliced banana as a sweet and healthy treat unless you like your food to taste like hubba bubba bubble gum! I speak from experience.

Meal Planning

I rarely plan what meals we are going to eat each week mainly because I use the reduced items that I buy several times a week on the way home from work. I am also always looking for new recipe ideas and am a sucker for the latest foods that supermarkets promote.

After defrosting and organising my freezers in my garage a few weeks ago, I really felt that I should start to plan our meals for the week so that I would not end up with freezer burn on food again or with items that have been in the fridge or freezer for far too long. I ended up having to throw some food away which hurt me in my pocket greatly. In addition David has taken to constantly asking me what is for lunch, what is for tea (not dinner - I am northern after all). He seems to be mentally planning his meals and if I deviate from what I have told him he gets slightly huffy. 

I also have lots of items in my pantry that need using - mainly sauces, cooking sauces, jams & chutneys. There are some tinned and dried food too. It has got to the stage that I can't find things easily and have to move packets and jars around to find what I am after. It is time for a change.

Firstly I have started to write a shopping list. I will see how long I last writing them but I found that I had to write a list at Christmas time to ensure that I didn't forget anything. This worked a treat so I have found a little lined ring-bound pad for my shopping lists. I add to it whenever I remember I need something.

Secondly I have been meal planning for the week and incorporating items that I have in my freezer and pantry and then just buying items to match up with these to make my meals. There are just the two us (plus PG the cat) so planning meals has not been that difficult. I found that I was doing this anyway starting a week or so ago to make sure we were using up all the leftovers from our Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year meals. We had turkey soup made from the stock from the turkey carcass with the left over vegetables thrown in plus there was prawn & avocado salad which were leftover from the starters. I had some smoked salmon left too which was served with scrambled eggs for breakfast. This is the plan for this week but I have drawn a blank for Thursday. I need to look in my freezers in the garage but I'm not venturing out yet as we have had snow overnight and it is cold and slippery underfoot

Thirdly, we have realised that we have not been eating very healthily over the last few months. Too many carbohydrates, sugar and general garbage food such as crisps, chocolate, cakes and biscuits. Our portions have become larger too. Overall we have put on weight, clothes have become just that little bit too tight. So more healthy eating. I don't mean total denial of the things we like as this will just lead to a binge but a few gradual changes so you don't notice too much. One of things that we both agreed would be a good idea is to have more fish and some meat free meals. I need to plan these into the weekly menu.

I'll see how I get on and whether I stick to lists and planning and whether I save any money which I am hoping will happen with less food waste. I'll keep you updated.

One thing I have noticed is that I have really started to scrutinise my shopping bills from the supermarkets and so far I have been overcharged EVERY TIME. Not one has undercharged me for items but Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Sainsburys have all overcharged me. Sometimes it has been scanning an item twice or charging me full price for a reduced item. Waitrose charged me £2 for some packs of napkins that were on offer at 75% off so should have been 50p each. I bought four packs so that was a £6 overcharge. Marks & Spencer had some Chinese meals reduced from £4 to £3.10 and then reduced again to £1.10. I bought 4 and was overcharged on two of them which came up at £3.10 each so that was a £4 overcharge. Sainsburys scanned a £2.49 cake through twice and charged full price on two reduced items which ended up being a 97p overcharge. So in a little over a week I was overcharged £13.46. The supermarkets must be making a fortune out of us all on overcharging. I have had to go back every time to get a refund and that is all I get - a weak apology and no compensation for the inconvenience. Naughty!!!

End of the Sales

You can't beat the end of the January sales, sure there is not as much choice but if you are not too fussy you can get some great bargains. I have hit Marks & Spencers over the last two days. On Thursday it was on line because their prices were up to 70% off in some areas. I bought a comfy casual cardigan complete with pockets and hood for wearing around the house and at weekends as a snuggle-up. 

This cardigan should have been £25 which I think is too expensive for a jersey top but at £7.99 I am happy. I would not wear this out and about so to speak but I think it is great for over a t-shirt for in the house. I once read that you know you are getting older when you buy clothes for wearing at home and admire shoes that look comfy. I've just scared myself by realising I have said that this cardy is comfy....but it is, and who wants to look either too dressed up or scruffy when you are just pottering around at home doing the housework?

My second item is this gorgeous waterfall black jacket which looks great on and is really flattering. This was reduced from £49.50 to £14.99. It will be great for work with black trousers, a skirt or over a dress and is smart enough to wear in the evening over a dress. I didn't really need it but could not resist it at this price.

Delivery times are great these days when you buy on line. I bought these around Thursday teatime and delivery was the next day after 12 noon. As I was collecting these from the M&S shop two miles away, I thought I might as well buy the M&S Dine in for £10 for a meal for us for over the weekend and use up a £5 off a £30 shop voucher that I been given just before Christmas.

I bought a large Oakham chicken £7.49, the Millionares dessert £4, Ultimate mashed potato £2 and a white Frizzante Italian wine £7. All of this was £10. I will make roast potatoes to go with the chicken for our Sunday evening meal and use the mashed potato as a side with some cod which I am cooking in a white wine sauce for our meal tonight.

I looked for the Christmas clearance shelf and found a small selection of items that were up to 75% off. I bought two tins of mixed nuts £4 down to £1.50. I bought these to take away to Pine Lake in a month's time. We are going there for a 4 night break on Valentine's weekend with my sister and her family.

I bought a large box which contained 5 bags of mixed sweets for £1.50 (reduced from £6) and 8 chocolate polar bears at 15p each (reduced from 55p) I bought these as I make up "goody" bags for my nephew and niece for each time I see them which is between 6 - 10 times a year. I put in them bags of sweets, chocolate, biscuits and other items such as DVDs, books and make-up for my niece or toiletries for my nephew. Nothing too expensive and usually just little items bought reduced or from a carboot sale. I have always done this since they were little children. Now that they are 19 & 17 I asked if I should stop this as they are all grown up now and the look of disappointment on their faces was unbelievable. My niece said jokingly that if I stopped "all hell would break loose".  It has become a low cost tradition which they really look forward to. I keep a large cloth bag in the bottom of my pantry that I keep stocked up with reduced or on offer sweets or chocolate etc so that I can just dip into this to fill up their bags. I keep any paper or cardboard bags that I have from Selfridges or Harvey Nicks etc to use for their "goody" bags.

Finally I bought two jars of the odd sounding but I am sure will be tasty Christmas Cake curd. Like the usual lemon curd but just Christmas cake flavour. I am a sucker for curd. Over the last couple of years M&S have stocked a crystallised ginger curd which I became addicted to - delicious on hot toasted bagels for breakfast. So at 50p reduced from £2 a jar I had to give it a go.

Clearing Clutter - eBay selling

I said in one of my earlier posts this year that I was going to start clearing the clutter. Well I have taken up the "little and often" approach and been doing a little each day this week. All things Christmas have been put away because in the past some things are still on the kitchen table in February - usually a couple of bows, ribbons and a Christmas dish. I feel good that everything is away.

I listed three coats on eBay last week and this week I have upped the amount listed to double figures. The items I have listed are a little bit random but that is because they have been items that are to hand or in my eyesight. 

I was bought a selection of books from various people for Christmas. There was a set of 10 Agatha Raisin books by one of my favourite authors M C Beaton. I had read four out of the ten and they were destined for the charity bag but did not seem to make it from the lounge into the bag before it went so I listed them. 

I bought two Kirsty Allsopp books last year for 50p each and have read them and decided they are not for me. A little too twee for my liking so I have listed these today too.

My sister bought me a lovely Vera Wang tote bag but I am not a sparkly bag kind of gal so I have listed this. I am sure she would not mind if I told her but I will keep this quiet for now.

I had two pairs of boots that are both nearly new but I have not worn for years. They have been stored in boxes in the garage and I noticed them when I was putting away the Christmas decorations. I have listed both pairs and hope these sell as they take up a fair bit of space.

I bought some lovely Ralph Lauren napkins to match a table cloth and napkins that I already had only I bought the wrong colour. They have been in the kitchen for a few months so these are going and listed already.

I had a massive clearout of my toiletries last year in November and found some tubes of styling creme which I have never used. As they have not been used I thought I would list these too. I always have a look on eBay to see if anyone else is selling the same items that I want to list and I was suprised to see the Goldrush styling creme for sale at £70 and £24.99. It has been discontinued so maybe people want it and will pay these prices but I don't feel comfortable listing mine at a hiked up "buy it now" price so I have listed mine as an auction starting at £9.99. I'll see if I get any takers at this price which is more than I originally paid so I am happy to make a small profit. I've listed the others at a low starting price just to get rid of them.

I have bids on one of my coats, plenty of watchers on another and no interest in the third one. To be fair the third coat is more of a summer jacket so I should have waited for Spring before listing it. I will relist it if it doesn't sell and if it fails to go again I'll pull it to relist in April.

I'll let you know how I get on with my sales ad how much money I get once all the fees have been taken off.

First January Weekend

I meant to post this last weekend so apologies for the delay but here it is.

I never know how much I spend on groceries and drink in our house. I read some blogs where people keep a strict budget and strict tabs on their spending. I thought I would try to keep an eye on how much I am spending just so I know. I have downloaded a free app called Accounts Free and have just set up two accounts in it - one for groceries and one for alcohol.

My first two logged amounts were from my shopping trip to Waitrose on Saturday morning. I had written a shopping list (more about this in my planning meals blog) but as the shelves looked like they had been picked clean I could not buy some of the items I needed. I bought some staples such as bread and milk as well as yogurt and fruit for packed lunches at work this week. 

There was a 75% off shelf for their Christmas items so I bought some none essentials as I could not resist the bargains. I bought a good sized box of mixed shortbread for 79p - the only one left and two boxes of Heston Blumenthal mince pies at 87p a box. I will put these in the freezer for taking to a weekend away that we have planned in February. David does not like mincemeat so I would end up eating the whole box myself which is not good.

I also bought some half price items including two large Lindors for £5 each. These are best before the end of September so one will be for my Dad for his birthday in March and one for my nephew for his birthday in June.

 I had a £25 John Lewis/Waitrose gift card as part of a Christmas gift from my Dad so after using this my bill came to £18.21. 

We had a roast chicken dinner on Saturday evening. The chicken was ready stuffed and half price from M&S at £3.50. We had roasted potatoes and finished off a half price pack of mixed M&S vegetables with gravy. Dessert was the last of an icecream roulade bought for Boxing Day. 

The legs & thighs have been put to one side for Monday evening tea and the chicken carcass used to make stock for a chicken and vegetable soup made in my small slow cooker.

Lunches at work this week are sandwiches made with prawns and avocado bought for starters over Christmas. I bought additional avocados at Waitrose as they were reduced to 79p for two. My Dad brought round a selection of 5 cheeses that had been bought for him as a gift. He is not a massive cheese eater whereas David is like a large mouse and will eat it every day. I will make Brie and (my own homemade) cranberry sandwiches for myself but just cut up some cheese into chunks for David to eat on its own as part of his lunch.

I also had two reduced packs of fresh figs from M&S (35p a pack) that I bought to use as canapés but this did not happen so I have sliced them into a fig & honey yogurt and will add a spoonful of granola to have at lunchtime.

The decorations came down this weekend with the lounge being stripped on Saturday and the dining room on Sunday. I always think the house looks so bare when the decorations are taken down and put away but after a while I adjust to it.

Sunday afternoon we visited the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester for a fantastic concert - the Glenn Miller Orchestra. It was very civilised with the concert starting at 3pm and finished by 5.30pm. It was a wonderful evocative afternoon with that fantastic big band sound, 3 different singers and a dance act too. We loved it and found it just a charming way to spend an afternoon. I wasn't able to take any photos of the act but here are a couple of photos of the hall from our seats.