School ready

Parents let's all breathe a sigh of relief as kids all over Australia went back to school this week. We survived the school holidays, hooray!
Rejoice in getting to palm them off to their fantastic teachers.

I hope to keep Kobe's first year of full time school low key. I just know he will be whingey tired by Friday as he adjusts to full time hours.
I won't be enrolling him in every after school activity, just a quick play with friends. Swimming lessons and life saving water awareness term 1. With a splat of drownings with kids under 5 lately I really want to hone it into Kobe the importance of water safety. It can take less than a minute for a toddler to climb a pool fence which leaves me paranoid with my lil ones around water.
As per last year, I left stationery order to the last minute. Note to parents, go first thing (8am) to avoid getting crushed in the lunchtime panic. Also bring your school list to OfficeMax so you get the quoted price not the retail price (which can be double for some items). Definitely I'm ordering as soon as the school list comes out for 2018.
I was organized with school uniforms (bar 1 shirt which I'm trying to find preloved) & found 4 pairs of pants (2 Permapleat shorts brand new with tags still on, one long pair of pants & one navy boardshorts) all preloved for $14.50 in total. Saving over $30 if I bought new. I'm hoping Kobe keeps them in great condition so can handball onto Dylan. I will be laying out uniforms the night before. And laundering mid week & weekends so we are always uniform ready (I find by hanging them wet from the machine onto a hanger it saves me ironing the shirts). I dyed his faded school hat to save buying a new one.
I picked up some Reflex sandals half price in the after Christmas sales a couple sizes too big. I found these the best casual sandal for active boys, the quality is great & lasts the whole year thru rough play. Kobe's pair from last year will be his normal everyday summer sandals (as he wore these as both school & casual wear last year).
I remember every year of school getting a new school bag (& the old one binned regardless even if still good quality) & so Kobe will be reusing his Trashpack bag which is still in good condition this year (I found it brand new at markets beginning of last year for $5, saving me $20 buying a generic school bag).
School lunches bar fruit cut up will be packed the night before. To save me rushing in the morning.
I am also allocating a day of baking when Kobe is at school to get both boys snacks organized for the week. Excess baked goods I will freeze (sausage rolls, apple carrot cake etc) so not to waste. Plus Dylan needs this day as his downtime, he tries so hard to keep up with his energetic big brother but is exhausted. I will also be continuing with bake swap weekly which saves me some baking time.
The only thing I did to get Kobe school ready was getting him to practise his reading; with books about school like Miffy, Curious George, Spot, just incase there were any nerves about going back to school. Turns out I needed worry as he "was excited to get a break from mummy" (his words lol).
I should of got him to wear him his new sandals in to save blisters which I have a feeling he will get (bad mum I am).

I would love to hear any tips on preparing your kids to school:)
Or even easy to make lunchbox snacks as we stay away from tetra juice cartons, packet cookies in our house.

Happy Wednesday friends!
Grace

Living on a tiny budget

It's another year of me tightening the purse strings of this family of 4 on 1 income so that we can save for a holiday & also be able to dine out where possible. Here's a few pointers if your also reevaluating your budget. And I would love to hear your tips!

Food
*I will be meal planning lunch, dinners & snacks every 2-3 days to elimate bought lunches or impulse buys at the shops.
*Using whats in my pantry. Basing recipes around ingredients I already have. Food wastage is the number 1 item binned in our house.
*Eating leftovers or freezing them for another day. I definitely need to work on getting creative with leftovers.
*If we dine out at a restaurant or cafe, I will pack a take home container incase I have leftovers. Instead of wasting food if we don't finish a meal, we may have lunch sorted for next day. It's also worth it to see in getting an entertainment book or going in with a friend or family member to receive discounts at eateries.
*Attempting to grow more herbs and vegetables. We sadly only got a small amount of beans, potatoes, silverbeet & tomatoes last year. I have a brown thumb but maybe 2017 is my year...
*Gifting excess produce, we were lucky enough to receive excess passionfruit, lemons & mangoes last year from family & friends.. I also plan to go here to this produce swap to check it out.

Clothes
*I will be trying my hardest & going without buying new the lastest fashion & instead opt for preloved threads (but not underwear). I am being realistic & allowing 4 slips up of new items for the year but I'm hoping I will find a happy substitute on Ebay.
*Upcycling & mending my clothes. Earth Carers hosts every Saturday a crafty mend season for gold coin entry. There is also a craft session at Yangebup with crèche for charge if you need little ones looked after on Tuesday's afternoon during school term.
*I found Kobe some new school uniform shorts at an opshop & saved about $22. I'm hoping I can find some secondhand shirts at the uniform shop.
*Dylan will be wearing mostly hand me downs from Kobe bar some new clothes he received at Christmas.
*At Easter instead of chocolate, I'm asking grandparents for pajamas for the boys. They will def receive chocolate as well.
*We use half cloth nappies & cloth pads (to save buying bulk disposable ones). It's not for everyone & the majority of people cringe at having to launder sh1tty nappies & bloody pads (including myself). But hey it's even dirtier putting your disposables into landfill & letting it sit there for aeons until it disentegrates. Out of sight shouldn't mean out of mind when it comes to your personal rubbish into landfill.

Entertainment
*Embracing the local library- we rely fortnightly to borrow books & dvds. I joined up with 2. Plus I let Kobe watch abc iview or you tube on the free wifi. It's a bonus that there are free workshops & kids events. Instead of buying magazines I borrow titles like Australian traveller, Delicious & Vogue magazines which save me around $150 a year.
*Free kids entertainment; like Froggys on the green & parks. If your kids are into recycling or fire engines def go to this & this (thank you Kym for letting me know about the fire engines).
*Using any coupons from this free kids pamphlet, Lets go kids.
*Buying preloved where possible. Over the years, I have found duplo, activity books, reading books, puzzles all at tiny fraction of what they are new.

(Lastest thrifted bargains are these Teletubby sheets & 3 Teletubbies for $6.50).

*The hardest thing at the moment is teaching the value of a dollar to Kobe as he is going thru a want it now "toys phase" (damn you Grossery gang!!!). So he started a cleaning business for grandparents 😭.Where he wrote down all jobs he can do for a $1 a job (which is the blog header photo). And has boxed up some old toys (mostly Dylan's toys he has outgrown) that "mummy will sell at markets" (at some point).

Home
*I sewed curtains from op shop fabric for my loungeroom a couple years back & lined with thermal lining & when I find enough fabric at the opshop for the boys room I will sew some for them too.
*Placing a bucket in the shower to collect cold water, which will supplement herb garden.
*Sleep timer on tv incase I/Luke fall asleep infront of it . Better yet turn appliances off at wall when not in use.
*Using a fan instead of air conditioning.
*Utilizing the back of paper to write shopping lists, Kobe's recipes/drawings.
*Verge collection; councils usually organize this twice a year. I have seen many a great thing on the side of the road, I have scavenged a booster chair & artists board which both needed a good clean but otherwise perfect working order.

I hope you found some useful tips here.
Happy Friday friends!
Grace