Thrifty Weekend

June, for me, is the start of the pre Summer holiday saving. With this in mind, cheap activites are a must. But it's always good to vary days out.

London's Time Out is a fantastic site for ideas of free places to visit and sights to see. The Thrift-Queen's top picks for this weekend in the capital include:

Naked Bike Ride

• London's World Naked Bike Ride - a liberating nine mile cycle past major London landmarks taking place on Saturday 9th June and it's FREE to watch.
• Open Garden Squares - This weekend 200 private gardens are opened for the public to snoop around.With gardens such as Downing Street and HMP Wormwood Scrubs on the list, the £9 ticket price sounds like an absolute snip.
• London Green Fair - Regent's Park opens it's gates to the largest FREE eco fair with exhibitions, music, and fabulous family areas.
• Or why not attend one of the many FREE performances of the Spitalfields Summer Music Festival starting this Friday (8th June).

English Country Garden

Summer Poundland Bargains

 After the success of the Thrift-Queen's 2011 post 'Winter Poundland Bargains', a summer version seems a must. My favourite seasonal products include:

• Union Flag decorations - for the Queen's jubilee and the olympics
• Kids outdoor summer toys - waterguns, frisbee's etc
• Disoposable BBQ's - *mega bargain*

Thrifty Holidays - Barn Hopping

Looking for a fun yet thrifty holiday? Bored of camping but need a cheap get-away? Look no further. I've stumbled across a holiday concept that will provide a roof over your head in a stuning setting, but for mere tuppence.

In my family, we try to get away for mini weekend breaks as much as possible, but hotels can end up costing a small fortune. Over the past year or so we've opted to camp instead, but this year we've been looking for an alternative. Then I stumbled across Barn Hopping.

Based in the Lake District and Cumbria, Lakeland Camping Barns provides budget busting accomodation, amid beautiful scenery "in buildings all situated on farms and with a distinct, individual character." Winning! Plus it only costs £8.50 per person per night. I know where we will be holidaying this summer...

Tips For The Hosepipe Ban

With mains water being so precious during summer droughts, why not get creative and save water.

• Use ice cubes in hanging baskets and tubs, they will melt slowly and provide your plants with enough water.
• Utilise rain water and invest in a water butt to store water. They simply connect to the downpipes of your house/ garage/ shed and store water to be used at a later time in watering cans. They're also very handy for re-filling little one's water pistols!
• If you are used to using a sprinkler, switch instead to an automatic drip irrigation system. The pressure reducing valve minimises water waste, which, coupled with a timer for night use (to save water being evaporated) is an easy alternative to sprinklers. Plus, it is allowed in most areas.
• Left over fizzy drinks? Feed them to your plants. They'll love the sugar.
• Keep your borders looking fresh, mix water-gel in with your soil. It holds water close to the roots, reducing the need to water by up to 90%.

Apt Apple's

Before we moved from Derbyshire to Surrey, my son and I made a teacher's apple inspired thank you hankie present.

I bought some cheap plain men's handkerchief's and turned them into a lovely thrifty teacher's gift using a simple stamp technique. It would also work well with tablecloths, or tea towels.

• Slice an apple in half and blot away excess moisture with a paper towel. 
• Use a paint brush to apply red fabric paint to one apple half and firmly press onto fabric. 
• For the stem, we dipped the wooden end of a thin paintbrush in green paint and made a small dash above the print. 
• To finish, lay newspaper over the top of your hankie and iron to seal the fabric paint.

This thrifty project got me thinking about other crafts I could use apples for.

Making budget busting apple tea light holders couldn't be easier:

• Center a tea candle on top of an apple. 
• Trace around the candle with a utility knife, inserting the knife only as deep as the candle is tall. Cut the circle into sections and scoop out the pieces using a metal spoon. 
• Insert a tea candle and light. 

(NB: It is best to use firm apples like Red Delicious, Granny Smith or Fuji.)

But my personal favourite? Home made apple cider. Perfect for those long winter evenings or hot summer days.

The Ingredients
1 litre of apple juice (I have been known to use apple cider as a boozey replacement!)
60ml rum
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cinnamon sticks
3 tsp brown sugar
1 apple (for garnish)

The Method
Heat the apple juice, rum, sugar and spices over a medium heat, stirring often. Once it's hot, pour into glasses of mugs and garnish with a sliced up apple.

So Long Summer

The evenings are darker, the kids are back at school and the post-summer holidays blues have kicked in. Sounds like a perfect time to get thriftful.

Sell any summer clothes or accessories that you no longer want on Ebay  or Gumtree, late summer holiday go-ers will snap them up. But don't go crazy for Autumn/Winter clothes just yet. Get style-savvy and save yourself money by updating your favourite summer clothes for the cooler weather. To a pretty summer dress, try adding a pair of leggings and a mac. Or team your favouite shorts with tights and a wool knit jumper. Reinvention is the key to thriftful wardrobe sucess!

If you have children, hit the pre Autumn/Winter sales and buy the next size up clothes for them to wear next summer. Similarily, maybe you could partake in a car boot sale for any outdoor toys your kids no longer play with/ have grown out of. As for their school packed lunches, instead of buying pre packaged single serve items, use tupperware or other reusable containers. It will save money in the long run. My five year old son's favourite lunch time snack is humous and cucumber/carrot sticks. Easy and cheap. But don’t forget, lunch boxes aren’t just for kids. Taking your leftovers to work the next day will also help save money.

The beginning of autumn is a good time to get thriftfully prepared for the change in season. Shop around using a price comparison site to check you're getting the best possible deal on your services, such as gas and electricity. Some companies are introducing fix rate payments over the next couple of years, and with fuel costs predicted to rise it's a good time to be prepared. As for Christmas, now is the perfect time to start shopping for gifts to help spread the cost. Plan for your next trip abroad and invest in a set of portable digital luggage scales. A good quality set will set you back a mere £15 and as http://www.digital-luggage-scales.co.uk/ notes, "for every kilo you are over your bag allowance it could set you back at least £7.50 with some long haul flights even charging £30 per kg extra". Thriftful preparation at it's best.

Let's go fly a kite...

With the summer holidays drawing to a close, funds are dwindling, and patience can be at a minimum. The Thrift-Queen's top tip: Go fly a kite! It cost me £3 from Tesco's and my son had THE best day out! Cheap yet cheerful!