Costco Fun

After my last disastrous expedition to Costco, I was looking forward to hitting it again at a little less chaotic time.

My suggestion to hubby that we go on a weekday evening was met with an affirmative grunt so off we went. 

The store was refreshingly empty, so we were able to amble about at leisure. Hubby immediately found the tool and hardware section so that put him in a positive frame of mind straight away. 

I was just grateful to have a proper look at everything, and let my other half push the trolley (those things take some practice!)

I agree with those who say that Costco is a great place for catering a party - the platters are amazing. Where else can you buy a massive tray of prepped buffalo wings?

We ended up spending just over $100 on random stuff. I didn't really have a list so we decided to get things that struck is us a bargain or we really loved. 

Here is the haul. Ignore the other crap on my bench, I beg you.  Not pictured: 48 rolls of toilet paper that I do not have a storage solution for. 

The only thing I regret buying was the tray of Danishes (they're under there somewhere), 10 of which are now in the freezer and I'm not sure how well they will defrost. 

Best buy: Pop Tarts. Where have they been all my life?

My novice tips for Costco: don't go on a weekend, and know your prices. Other than that, just have fun! Aussies aren't used to seeing stuff in bulk, so a lot of the stock may be a novelty. 

Is it worth the yearly membership? Yes, if you team up with some family and friends and split up some purchases. Or if you have a family of ten or more!

My Costco Fail

I have been excited about Costco for a while. Yes, I am a fan of reducing consumption and shopping local, reducing food miles and supporting local business but there was something about the American giant that intrigued me. Mysterious foods in bulk? This I must see. 

I bought my membership months ago, but such has been the popularity of the North Lakes store I was put off by the crowds and didn't actually go until this last weekend. 

And still it was crowded and busy. I must say I can see the appeal to the average person. Australians haven't seen a shop like this since the old Campbell's Cash 'n' Carry. Not only do they sell everything conceivable, Costco sells it in gigantic quantities. 

Put off by the masses of people, I found it hard to look at anything closely, so I just wandered about, aimlessly pushing my trolley up and down aisles  

To be honest, most of my attention was taken up by trying not to ram my trolley into anyone. I think I was the only person there alone! Seems to be a fun family day out, buying 12-packs of hot sauce and 20kf bags of rice. 

In the end I only had one item in my trolley: a 60c packet of bagels. Frankly too embarrassed to line up at the checkout and pay for them, I searched for a quiet spot to ditch it and run. There was none, so I abandoned it in the frozen food aisle and slipped out, pretending to be part of someone's family group. 

So my verdict? I don't know if I will be getting my membership fee's-worth. But I do know when I go back, I'm taking my mum and it will be at a quieter time!

Do you have a Costco membrrship? What do you love about it?

Tiny Houses - living with less

I've heard of the slow living movement - but tiny houses are new to me! Have you heard of the Tiny House Movement?

[Image source]

So what are tiny houses? Well, they are what they say on the box - houses that are very, very small. People who build and live in them say they want a lifestyle of reduced spending, less waste and more conscious living.

Tiny homes are less expensive for things like heating, cooling, electricity and maintenence. Plus they are said to encourage a less cluttered and simpler lifestyle - imagine the reduced size of your environmental footprint! Many decide to build them on wheels, so they can move easily about.

[Image source]

The below video gives you a better idea of what this kind of lifestyle is all about.




There are quite a few blogs about tiny house living. I'll leave you to google - I find the whole thing intriguing and more than a little charming. And it doesn't have to be minimalist - check out this caravan of luxury in France!


I will leave you with this cool site to check out: Tiny House Swoon. You'll want to sell up and build a little wooden cabin, I swear.

And sealing the popularity of the movement - there's going to be a tv show.

What do you think? Could you downsize into a tiny home?

Fighting Food Waste: Herb Butter

If you're like me and have a black thumb when it comes to plants, growing your own herbs is something that you may struggle with.

So when you do buy fresh bunches from the shop for whatever ambitious cooking endeavour you're embarking on, what do you do with all the leftover?

Well, you make herb butter.

This is an old frugality chestnut, but I recently saw it on Save With Jamie. I had some flat-leafed parsley left over and it was rapidly wilting in its little plastic container, so I thought I'd give herb butter a go.

The method is pretty simple. Get a big block of butter. Leave it on the bench for a while while you have a cup of tea and a sit-down.

Come back and finely chop your leftover herbs. I'm assured you can use any you like. I used my mezzaluna because I have hopeless knife skills (and also it's fun!).

Put the herbs in a bowl with the soft butter and mix it all up.

Spoon onto some baking paper and mush it into a little log. Wrap it up and twist the ends. Put in freezer.

Here's the important bit: remember it's in there! Take it out to spread on crusty bread for soups, on top of steak or whatever you fancy. You could also add some garlic to make it even more awesome.

Fighting Food Waste will hopefully be a series here at Surely Sarah, feel free to tell me your tips!

Frugal living

 [source: own photo]

I don’t like talk about it much but as a household, we are finding it tough to cover bills and put away any savings. This living from pay to pay thing is getting old, and though we have made some changes to our lifestyle, there are still some things that we have not been willing to cut back on or give up in order to curb our spending.

Last week when a trip to Coles for the “bare necessities” to get us through to payday cost me $45, I ranted a bit on Twitter and had to wonder – how in the hell are families getting along? We  just have the two of us and I cannot seem to budget so that we are comfortable on our current income.

Reading this blog recently on Rhonda’s Down to Earth  made me have a think about what more we can do to live more simply, more frugally, make our money stretch further.

So, what have we already done?

• Swapped to shopping at Aldi rather than The Big Two Supermarkets. I save at least $30 a week doing this, though the fruit and veg is not very good quality. Thinking about shopping separately for it at the local grocer but this necessitates an extra trip somewhere which is just beyond me sometimes
• Cut down to fast food once per week. We get pizza on Friday nights – but it is expensive pizza because we both believe that paying a bit more to get something nicer than the cardboard served by the franchises is worth it.
• No longer buy magazines in the quantities we used to. Now, we have subscriptions gifted to us or purchase as a special treat only
• I hardly ever buy new clothes. When I do, it’s usually from the op shop. I try to buy all my accessories there also
• I’ve stopped buying vintage homewares; it was getting to be a bad habit! I have far too much stuff already, need to sell some 

What more can we do?

• Make our own passata – we use a lot of it, and although Aldi sauces are only $1.80 a jar or something, I think we could make some cheaper
• Explore frugal recipes, making meals go further
• Make our own pizza instead of getting take away
• Grow some veges. This has been high on my list for a while but I don’t have a place to do it yet. Now we have some bricks left over from the old shed knockdown, I’m hoping that we can make a proper garden
• Grow our own herbs. Must do!
• Learn to sew. Repurposing old clothes looks fun and is a great way to reuse old things, something I am passionate about.
• Start making our own bread. I have a breadmaker that I never use!
• Make my own birthday/gift cards. I have so much scrapbooking stuff this should be a breeze. Saves at least $5 a pop! 

Things I still don’t think I/we’ll give up:

• Foxtel. We enjoy it too much and watch it all the time. But perhaps we can cut back on our subscription, get rid of the some channels to save a few bucks a month.
• Movies. We go at least once a fortnight and use a reward card to redeem a free ticket with points. But it can still be an expensive exercise when you factor in snacks and drinks. Alternative – go on cheap Tuesdays.
• Soft drink. Both hubby and I are addicted and spend quite a bit. Because the cost of Coke is astronomical at service stations and corner stores, I try to buy in bulk from Aldi each week.
• The occasional scrapbooking supply purchase. It’s my hobby dammit. But I commit to buying a lot less and to a “scrap your stash” mentality for the foreseeable future.

And of course I'm reading a lot of simple living blogs. What are you doing lately to save money/simplify your life? Any tips?