Dairy-free oat milk for 26c per litre

I make dairy-free milk for my allergic daughter for just 26c per litre! I make oat milk at home, and it tastes just like the shop-bought version that we used to buy on special for $2 per litre. I also use it in desserts, baking and cereal, even though I’m not dairy-free. It’s even cheaper than prepared powdered cow’s milk, which I recently priced at 80c per litre!

Here is the recipe (costed out using Coles home brand ingredients) -

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats 120g (22c)

4 cups water

1 tsp brown sugar (2c) - optional

1 tsp sunflower oil (2c)

Method:

1. Blend all the ingredients in a blender for one minute

2. Strain through a muslin or a nut milk bag (I use old muslin baby swaddles).

3. Store in the fridge for up to five days.

My husband and I eat other dairy products and my daughter still has two cups of calcium-fortified, shop-bought, non-dairy milk per day as a drink, but we now use at least three litres less of shop-bought milk per week, working out to a saving of over $300 per year!

Online tips and tricks to stop nail biting

To prevent nail biting, let your fingers do the walking online to find some 'handy' solutions! These nail cover rings are one way -

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1pc-Finger-Nail-Art-Crystal-Fake-Nails-Decoration-Design-Ring-Jewelry-Crown/143196160954?hash=item21572803ba:m:mQfsbiR-zn8wkg769J1yrCw

Or you could even try Thai Dancers tips with a little modification -

http://www.ramthai.com/ramb007.html

http://www.ramthai.com/ramb059.html

Self cast tips would be more costly, unless you know someone in the business; or invest in a set of silicone tips if you can stop the nail biter from peeling them off!

https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xsilicone+finger+protector.TRS0&_nkw=silicone+finger+protector&_sacat=0

'Nothing' feeds us for weeks

My husband is self-employed and over Christmas and New Year we were waiting on a payment that had been due in November. I had not done any shopping for over a month, and we felt like there was nothing in our pantry, especially my five kids who repeatedly moaned ' there's nothing in here!’

Of course, that wasn't the case. It's amazing what you have stashed away in containers or hiding at the back of each shelf. On a closer inspection, we found dried beans and lentils, flour, sugar, cous cous, rice and lots of other bits and pieces.

We managed to feed our family of seven on the 'nothing' in our pantry for another two weeks. We are lucky enough to keep chickens, and have a very basic vegetable garden, so all I really needed to purchase was milk. We made pancakes, pikelets and scones, and even a chocolate cake with the cocoa we found - these snacks kept the kids, and hubby, very happy!

We survived until our very overdue payment finally arrived. We have now decided that we will eat the cupboard clean every month, as this encourages us to save money by using what we already have and by not allowing things to go out of date.

Stylish storage for virtually nothing

I created a storage system in my home office that cost next to nothing!

I stacked four white planks, one on top of the other, supported in between by two house bricks at either end. The bricks are covered in bright red fabric to stop scratches and to blend in with the office décor. Instead of buying cane baskets from Spotlight at $22 each, my 20 filing baskets are black mushroom boxes, free from the supermarket. These boxes are strong and sturdy and the perfect size for A4 papers; they even have handle slots, so the boxes can be pulled out easily. I stuck large labels on the front of each box indicating what is inside, and my invoices, accounts, bank statements and so on are now readily at hand.

My storage system is a great time saver, the red/white/black colour scheme looks great and it cost nothing except for the MDF planks which Bunnings cut to size to fit my space. I saved over $400 on the baskets alone!

Pleased with how well this worked, I did a similar thing in my craft room, to store and organize all my sewing, patchwork fabrics - immediately visible when the box is pulled out – knitting wools, card making paper and supplies. I covered the boxes in pretty pink wallpaper off cuts bought for a few dollars from a garage sale. Same story in the kids' playroom, where their storage shelves acts as a room divider. The kids have painted crazy designs on the boxes, which hold colouring pens and pencils, card, paper, scissors and toys. The kids are allowed to pull out only one box out at a time, so the toys are always cleaned up and put away before the next one can be pulled out.

Simple, cheap as chips and such a stylish way to stay organized!