Chop Chop Chopping Board Rescue

Wooden chopping boards are considerably prettier than plastic ones, but can crack and become smelly over time. Follow my top three tips to chopping board rescue to prevent this from happening.

1. Water Tight: To prevent cracking caused by dry wood, avoid submerging your chopping board in water for a long period of time, including putting it in the dishwasher.
2. Treat It Right: Your board should also be oiled about once every six weeks. Use a butcher's block oil and some kitchen roll to buff your board, thus replenishing moisture. Alternatively, get thrifty and use vegetable oil. It'll achieve the same outcome, but for less money. Just be sure to wipe off any excess oil after a couple of hours.
3. Win The Scent Fight: Often wooden chopping boards can soak up unwanted food smells and flavours. A good way to avoid this is to have separate boards for meat and veg. If the problem persists, simply rub in a sprinkling of mustard powder using your finger tips and enjoy the more favourable fumes.

Merry Christmas

Just to wish all my Thrift-Queen readers a very Merry Christmas. Posts to look forward to over the next few days include 'My Thrifty New Year's Resolution' and 'What To Buy In The Sales'.

Mince Pie Madness

Thrift-Queen's Bargain Alert: Home Bargains are selling boxes of Mr Kipling's 6 Mince Pies for 25p! So you really can have your pie and eat it. Lots of it!

Have Yourself A Very Thrifty Christmas: Stockings

PANIC NOT! It's not too late for a few cheap stocking fillers to be purchased. I personally think no stocking is complete without a bag of chocolate coins and a satsuma. But for those of you who are looking for more adventurous, yet thrifty inspiration, there are some great websites who are still accepting guaranteed Christmas delivery.

 
Stocking-fillers.co.uk sell an amazing variety of cheap Christmas gifts and Christmas essentials. They have price brackets as low as £1 and under, perfect if you have kids, or even for the 'big kids' in your life! Their last order date is 4pm on Thursday 22nd December.

For those of you looking for more class, less tack, a couple of years ago, The Guardian compiled a list of the best Christmas gifts for less than £5. I would also recommend Find Me A Gift who have a very good 'Secret Santa' section. They also are accepting orders until 4pm on Thursday 22nd December.

Or why not get truely thrifty and make your own stockings? This step by step Guide is even suitable for sewing novices.

Winter Poundland Bargains

I happened to frequent Poundland this morning, looking for cheap chocolate and sweets, when I stumbled across two deals I just have to share with you.

Forget paying £10 upwards from your local sports shops, Poundland are selling sledges for £1. Also for £1 a pair (obviously) are their i-Touch Gloves. It would appear my mutters and moanings of having to take my gloves off to send a text/ surf the web via my touch screen phone have been heard and dealt with. A thrifty necessity this winter.

Pre Christmas Weekend Deals

With Christmas only a week away, we all need a bit of thrifty goodness in our lives, and thankfully there are some cracking (no pun intended) deals to be had. No need to break the bank, just read on for my weekend's favourite money saving potential Christmas gifts, as sourced from HUKD.

Stuck for a present idea for your bachelor brother of hard-to-buy-for husband? Head to Currys and pick up a Whoopie Pie Maker for a mere £7.99 reduced from £34.99. This 'idiot friendly' pie maker is perfect for pot pies, fruit pies, quiches and more. Simply combine ready made dough with fresh, frozen or canned ingredients, and cook. It's cheap and easy to use, an ideal gift.

Thrift-Queen Misprice Alert: News of another brilliant supermarket pricing mistake. Tesco's are selling Binatone B350 Sat Nav's for £6. They're usually priced at around £60 on Amazon, this is a misprice worth investing in. Some stores are also selling Logiteck Ultra Flat Keyboards for a bargain £1.25.

If you've managed to not spend all your money on Christmas gifts, why not make a thrifty investment in summer 2012 with this elegant Stone Falls Water Feature. It is currently being sold at B&Q for £20, reduced from £199.98. An absolute snip! Tight on space? They're also selling a smaller Bubbling Barrel Water Feature for £10, reduced from £99.98.

Know of any other amazingly thrifty deals? I'd love to hear about them. Just comment below, or on my Thrift-Queen Facebook Page.

Lemon Heaven

We all know lemons and pancakes go hand in hand, but since watching an episode of How Clean Is Your House recently, I was reminded of just how useful lemon's can be around the house. Lemons cost around 20p each so it makes perfect thrifting sense. They not only smell lovely and fresh, but are acidic and can provide some antibacterial and antiseptic properties for cleaning. Below are my five favourite Kim and Aggie lemony tips:

1. Limescale Removal: Lemons are the perfect ingredient when de-limescaling taps and kettles. Squeeze on a generous amount and leave on for about 10 minutes. Then wipe clean.
2. Bleaching: Stubborn stain? Lemon juice acts as a natural bleaching agent. Put lemon juice onto white linens and clothing and allow them to dry in the sun. Stains will be bleached away. For particularly stubborn stains dab lemon juice with salt onto the mark. Leave for a while, then rinse well and wash as normal
3. Polishing Windows: Make your own window cleaner. Fill a spray bottle with a litre of water, 2 cups of vinegar and 2 tbsp of lemon juice. Then shake and spray. 
4. Restore Wooden Floors: To make your floors really sparkle, use this purse friendly solution. Mix equal amounts of lemon juice and olive oil then rub the liquid in with a soft rag. Simple!
5. Microwave Cleaning: Put half a lemon in a bowl of cold water and cook in the microwave for five minutes. The fresh citrus smell gets rid of cooking odours and the condensation from the steam loosens dirt. Simply wipe clean with a damp cloth afterwards.

Asda Misprice

Thrift-Queen Misprice Alert: Asda 8m x 0.45m brown paper roll marked at £1.20, but scans at fabulously cheap 2p! Could make for some thrifty Christmas wrapping paper?

Have Yourself A Very Thrifty Christmas: Food

Saving money doesn't mean you have to become Scrooge, it is possible to serve fabulous food over the Christmas period without breaking the bank. Try following these few simple thrifty tips to save money at Christmas to help you on your way.

• Share The Load: If you have friends and family coming round for Christmas or Boxing day lunch, ask them to bring a dish with them. An extra trifle, piece of Stilton or bottle of wine will always come in handy over the Christmas period. Besides, people like to contribute.
• Make It Yourself: Don't be tempted to buy everything ready made, get creative on the run up to Christmas and make your own chutneys, cranberry sauce and stuffing and save yourself a fortune. Christmas desserts and cakes can also be baked by you. Not enough time? Delegate!
• Home Grown: If you've grown vegetables throughout the year, Christmas is an excellent time to serve them up. My parents always have masses of potatoes left from their haul earlier in the year to get roasting and mashing.

• Set a Budget: and stick to it.
• Write a Shopping List: Before you go shopping, write a list of everything you need for all of the festive period. No matter how appealing the fresh lobster looks, if it's not on the list, don't buy it.
• Use Your Leftovers: Get thrifty in the kitchen. A turkey (or any poultry) carcass left to boil in water, vegetables and herbs will make a wonderful stock which you can use as a base for turkey curry's and soups. Even leftover vegetables can be fried up for some bubble and squeak This Busy Cooks website is full of wonderful inexpensive ideas and recipes to serve up delicious meals, from leftovers, for friends and family.

Calling All Londoners - Free £5 IKEA Voucher

For those of you who live in and around London, and don't mind braving your local IKEA, I've stumbled across an excellent recession friendly deal. London based IKEA stores (Croydon, Lakeside, Tottenham and Wembley) are partaking in a thrifty voucher swap.

From now until December 18th 2011, you can take five second-hand books into your nearest IKEA, and receive a £5 IKEA voucher in return. One voucher per household, and the books will be donated to Save The Children charity shops.

Have Yourself a Very Thrifty Christmas: Cleaning

With Christmas fast approaching, it's a good time to get organised in the home before hordes of friends and relatives descend, keen to fill your home with festive cheer, gravy stains and a million tiny shreds of wrapping paper. Not exactly thrifty, but important none the less!

The 4Homes website has drawn up a comprehensive list full of pre Christmas mayhem-reducing advise. My favourite five are as follows:

1. Child proof your home by moving precious ornaments out of harm's way.
2. Prepare your guest room by tidying up any clutter that has accumulated over the past year. Leave out spare blankets and create some hanging or drawer space for guests' storage.
3. Dust your decorations. An easy method for this is to secure part of an old pair of tights over the nozzle of your vacuum cleaner. Works well on dusty garlands, tinsel and artificial trees.
4. Be organised with your washing-up and fill the dishwasher with all the stuff you will need when everyone gets hungry for their next feed. Including cutlery, plates, and glasses. Put straight on for a quick cycle. 
5. Recycle what you can. 4Homes suggest recycling wrapping paper, drink cans, glass and plastic bottles which is cheap and easy to do. Further to this, the Woodland Trust has a card recycling scheme available throughout January at Tesco's, WH Smith and Marks & Spencer. You should also find out from your local authority where you can recycle your tree. 

Android App 10p Sale

Android users, look no further. An amazing thrifty deal has been brought to my attention, available at the Android Apps Market. Yesterday, Google released a press statement announcing the Android Market had reached 10 billion downloads worldwide with an increasing monthly pace. They said:

"We want to celebrate and share this milestone with you, the people who made it possible. So what better way than by offering you more of the apps you love? We partnered with some of the top Android developers to make a bunch of great apps available at an amazing price. Starting today, and continuing for the next 10 days, we’ll have a new set of awesome apps available for only 10 cents each... Check in tomorrow to see what new apps our developer partners are making available on Android Market - for only a dime."

Alerted to this amazing offer this morning, by HotUKDeals, the growing list of 10p downloadable apps includes:

• Great Little War Game
• SketchBook Mobile
• Sound Hound 
• Asphalt 6 
• Fieldrunners HD 
• Swiftkey 
• Minecraft 
• Flick Golf 
• Beautiful widgets
• Doubletwist airplay 
• Reckless racing 
• Christmas HD 
• Fruit Ninja 
• Read it Later Pro 
• Star Chart

 Go on, take advantage and get it while it's hot!

Have Yourself A Very Thrifty Christmas: Decorations

Looking to save money this Christmas? Look no further thanks to the Thrift-Queen's thrifty Christmas tips, starting with decorating.

When decorating your house, it's important to remember less is more. It is easy to get caught up in the spirit of Christmas and end up having to live in a glitter-tastic, sparkling frenzied house. But equally, decorating doesn't have to be elaborate or expensive to look fabulous. Some people like to decorate the whole house - inside and out - whilst others decorate one room or only the tree. Whatever your preference, avoid the wrath of the recession and get thrifty. Below are my top three thrifty tips to achieve a beautiful, yet inexpensive, festive home.

• Be Natural: Add some free natural cheer to your home. Use ivy to wind round your banisters or drape over the mantelpiece. Pine cones make excellent Christmas tree decorations. For a more elegant look, they can be sprayed silver or gold. Or why not fill a bowl with them as a simple table centre piece. Tree branches arranged in a tall vase can look stunning as a decoration or as a Christmas tree alternative. Add colour and hang some pretty baubles on them.
• Get Kid Creative: If you have young children in your family, encourage them to help with decorating the house. Make paper-chains, use empty toilet rolls to make fairies and cut snowflakes out of paper. You could even let them loose with a can of fake snow to spray window. Disney's Family Craft website is an excellent source for cheap and easy Christmas decoration ideas. My favourite is Santa's list, with a twist; using a painted thread spool (see below.)

•  Make Existing Decor Seasonal: At Christmas I like to make other things in my house look festive. I decorate candles and mirrors with tartan ribbon, and add candy canes to fruit bowls or scatter them on my dressing table. Instead of a table runner, I alternate candles and either pine cones or nuts in a line. It makes the table look festive yet elegant. When I bake, I make Christmas shaped cookies and display them on a cake stand in the kitchen. The key aspect of this thrifty method of decorating is to use what you have and dress it up with either garland, ribbon, pretty beads or some other Christmassy items.

Budget Cath Kidston Wallpaper

 I LOVE all things Cath Kidston, but I find a lot of her products to be quite expensive. But panic not! A British wallpaper company, Eden, make a range of purse friendly wallpapers called Millie which have a charming likeness to some of Cath Kidston's most sought after designs, but for over half the price!

There are several websites that stock these style-savvy designs. One of my favourites, wallpapersandborders.co.uk sell the above featured Red/Cream Rose Millie Flower for an amazingly thrifty £10.99 per roll. It would make a beautiful vintage feature in any room. For fans of the floral look, I've found that Focus DIY sell a variety Millie wallpapers, including Millie Blue, which features small red roses on a sky blue background.

The Thrift-Queen also recommends the website wallpaperdirect, which sell a few varieties of Millie wallpaper. Specifically, they do an exact copy of Cath Kidston's now discontinued blue polka dot wallpaper, Blue Spot for £15.99 per roll. So now there is no excuse not to have beautiful rooms on a budget.

Gumtree Goodness

I recently posted a thrifty article on an amazing Gumtree Daily Deal Paypal Cashback Deal, after a heads up from a reader (thanks Kieran). I am now well and truly hooked and I'm especially loving their Twelve Deals of Christmas. Today is day five, so subscribe soon to receive some amazing money saving offers on the run up to Christmas.

They have deals ranging from experiences to products and potential presents.. My favourite today? Hard to call but given the time of year and my distinct lack of transportation it has to be the amazingly good value £29 6ft artificial Christmas tree which is delivered to your door.

My Top 12 Uses for Foil

We all have a roll of aluminium foil sitting in our cupboard, and yes it's good to store your sandwiches in, or wrap around a jacket potato in the oven. But there are many other fabulous uses for the stuff to help simplify everyday tasks. Get thrifty, save money and become a foil god/goddess!

Some of these tips I use ALL the time, and some are courtesy of the wonderful Reader's Digest.

In the Home

1. Clean pots and pans - Don't have a Brillo pad to hand? Scrunch up some foil and get scrubbing (works well on barbeque's and silverware too). Foil can also be useful for preserving the life of your Brillo pads. Prevent rust after initial use by wrapping it in foil and storing in the freezer. Go on, get your money's worth!
2.  Move furniture with ease - To slide big pieces of furniture over a smooth floor, place small pieces of aluminum foil under the legs. Put the dull side of the foil down, the dull side is actually more slippery than the shiny side. 
3. Speed up ironing - I hate ironing, it's such a boring chore. So anything to help speed it up is a winner with me. When ironing your clothes, a lot of the iron's heat is sucked up by the board itself, requiring you to make several passes to remove wrinkles. To speed things up, put a piece of aluminum foil under your ironing board cover. The foil will reflect the heat back through the clothing, smoothing wrinkles quicker. You can also use foil to clean your iron. Simply run your hot iron over a piece of aluminum foil. 
4. Sharpen your scissors - I use this method all the time to sharpen up my dull scissors. Fold a piece of foil about seven or eight times and cut a few times with the scissors. It works a treat. 
5. Keep a paintbrush wet - Going to continue painting tomorrow morning? Don't bother to clean the brush, just squeeze out the excess paint and wrap the brush tightly in aluminum foil (using a rubber band to secure). For extended wet-brush storage, think paintbrush ice-pop. Put your wrapped brush in the freezer. But don't forget to defrost the brush for an hour or so before you paint.

Out and About

1. Protect tree trunks - Mice, rabbits, and other animals often feed on the bark of young trees during winter. A cheap and effective deterrent is to wrap the tree trunks with a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil in late autumn. Be sure to remove the foil in spring. 
2. Put some bite in your compost - To keep hungry insects and slugs away from your cucumbers and other vegetables, mix strips of aluminum foil in with your garden compost. As a bonus benefit, the foil will reflect light back up onto your plants. Be eco-friendly and try using Lovechock's biodegradable foil.
3. Keeping your sleeping bag dry - When camping, place a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil under your sleeping bag to insulate against moisture. Stay warm without spending a fortune on gadgets and gizmo's
4. Keep matches dry - It’s a tried and tested soldier's trick worth remembering (I learnt it in Scouts): Wrap your kitchen matches in aluminum foil to keep them from getting damp or wet on camping trips. 

Do you know of any amazing uses for regular household items? Leave a comment, or email me at thrift-queen@hotmail.co.uk.

Hello Again

Hello again Thrift-Queen readers, apologies for my blogging absence. In the past ten days I have had an offer accepted on a beautiful new house and I've also organised and hosted my son's 6th Harry Potter themed birthday party (I feel old). Which was a roaring success.

New thrifty related posts coming soon 'Moving House Doesn't Have To Cost The Earth' and 'DIY Children's Birthday Party For Less Than £60'.

Pumpkin Recipe (2)

As promised, my next most loved pumpkin recipe. My ricotta and pumpkin lasagne is a simple, purse friendly dish packed with flavour. A seasonal delight, perfect serving if you have vegetarian dinner guests. Pumpkins are still available in most green grocers, I bought one last week for 50p! Thrifty goodness. Alternatively, you could use a large butternut squash.

Ingredients
1 large pumpkin/butternut squash, peeled, cut into 2cm piece
350g ricotta
8 lasagne sheets
1 egg
1 cup grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon sage (dry or fresh)
½ teaspoon on chilli flakes
A pinch of salt and black pepper

• Preheat the oven to 190°C.
• Place the pumpkin on a baking tray, drizzle with oil. Then season with chilli flakes, salt and black pepper. Cover with foil and roast for 25 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Allow to cool slightly. 
• Use a blender to puree the pumpkin with the sage. I prefer to leave a few chunks of pumpkin in it for texture. Set aside. Then blend the ricotta, egg, parmesan, salt and pepper. 
• Lightly grease a square baking dish and begin to build up the layers of your lasagne. Start with a layer of pumpkin then add the lasagne sheets. Spread with another layer of pumpkin and then spread with half the ricotta. Repeat process, then sprinkle final layer of ricotta with extra parmesan. 
• Cover your dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 15 minutes or until golden. Stand for 5 minutes. 
• Serve with a salad or seasonal vegetables.

Hot UK Deals

Just a quick Thrift-Queen recommendation: Hot UK Deals is an amazing community website which searches the best money saving deals to be had. They find and share the best deals, promotional codes, special offers and vouchers from on and off the web. A perfect site to visit before embarking on Christmas shopping. Go on, get yourself a bargain.

My favourites deals at the moment?

1. Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard. £7.99 at Staples.
2. Muddy Fox Hustle Mountain Bike. £25 in store at Tesco.
3. Binatone F350 UK SatNav (with full 12 month warranty). £27.98 at Argos.

It is no secret that I love a bargain, but I love a freebie more. I am happy to report there is even a section for this! Other great deatures include competitions and deals in your local area.

Pumpkin Recipes (1)

Pumpkins are rife at this time of year and very cheap to buy. My son and I made two awesome jack-o-lanterns for Halloween, and with the leftovers I made a delicious chicken, pumpkin and jalepeño soup. A light and aromatic winter warmer with a lovely heat of the jalapeño's. It not only makes your house smell wonderful, but is easy peasy to make and inexpensive to boot.

  
Ingredients
1 medium sized pumpkin peeled and chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2–4 jalapeños, seeded and chopped (2 jalapeños give this soup a hint of heat, but if you like it hot, add all 4)
1 potato, cubed
Flaked chicken breast, if you prefer your soup to have texture
1 clove garlic, minced (I use Very Lazy garlic)
2 tablespoons unsalted margarine or butter
A pinch of pepper, curry powder and [preferably fresh] chopped parsley
4 cups of chicken stock (I tend to make my own from a chicken carcass)
2–3 drops hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
½ cup low fat sour cream (optional)

• Melt margarine in a large pot over medium heat; add onion and jalapeños. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 4 minutes. 
• Mix in potatoes, curry, garlic, and pepper and cook for 1 minute longer.
• Add carrots, pumpkin, parsley, 2 cups chicken stock, hot pepper sauce and bring to the boil. 
• Decrease heat to low; cover and simmer until vegetables are cooked.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Using a hand held blender, puree the soup until smooth.
• If require, add flaked chicken breast, heat through and serve, with a dollop of sour cream swirled in, if desired.

Want to impress? Serve in a hollowed out pumpkin. The perfect way to get thrifty for a dinner party.

Frighten That Spider Away

Common house spiders are useful for getting rid of annoying insects in the home, and are probably more scared of us than we are of them. I, personally do not have too much of a problem with them. But if you are a bit more on the frightened side then this thrifty tip, recommended by Thrift-Queen reader Jennie, is for you.

My son collected an enormous amount of conkers this autumn, which are now collecting amount of dust in his bedroom. So why not put the conkers to good use? Spiders are terrified of conkers, believed to be something to do with the smell.

Place one conker in each corner of a room and keep spiders at bay. An inexpensive, but effective tactic.

It's Been A While...

Sorry for my absence in the blogging world. I FINALLY managed to sell my house, but it would seem the finding somewhere to live and relocating 180 miles is pretty time consuming. But I'm back, with a vengeance.

Hope Halloween's were appropriately spooking and bonfire nights' sizzle-tastic. For those who like to cook, I'll be blogging about my favourite pumpkin recipe's shortly. With many other top thrifty tips to help save you money on the run up to Christmas, heading your way soon. Watch this thrifty space...

Paypal Cashback Deal

A reader just got in touch with me to tell me about this amazing deal. Sign up to today's Gumtree Daily Deal and recieve £10 cashback for any £15 transaction using Paypal. Amazing value for money that makes thrifting sense to me.

Freebies: Free Race Day for Armed Forces

On Sunday 20th November, 2011, Exeter Racecourse are holding a FREE race day for members of the armed forces. There are 2000 free places available on a first come, first served basis. The event, which is a fundraiser for Help For Heroes, has been named the BAFFTAS (The British Armed Forces Families Thanks & Awareness Sunday). More information on the event is available at The East Midlands Reserve Forces Website.

Families are welcome to accompany members and each free entry will be entitled to bring a guest for just £7.50 (half-price) and children under 17 years will have free entry too. There will be six races to watch and many other activities to participate in.

To reserve free tickets (subject to availability) or take advantage of pre-booking discounts, book online via Exeter Racecourse using promotion code EXEH4HNOV20. Military ID or British Legion Membership will then have to be presented with ticket on arrival to guarantee free entry.

The Thrift-Queen recommends as it's free and for a worthwhile cause.