DIY 'mixed vegie bags' makes meals faster and easier

This simple tip saves me money and time every day when preparing meals. Whenever I buy frozen vegetables, I bring them home and immediately divide them into portions, placing them into ziplock bags, then popping them in the freezer. I often divide up broccoli, peas, cabbage, sprouts, carrots into the same bag. This way, they take up less space in the freezer and I know exactly how many meals they will serve. None ever get wasted and they can be either stored together or placed with other food to make it instantly possible to grab a complete meal. The same method works well with fresh food in preparation for things such as school fruit or lunch breaks, when time is at a premium in the mornings!!

Lock in fuel savings and make them last!

Our household has found a super easy way to make the most of cheap fuel prices. We watch the fuel cycles with the ACCC petrol price cycles website (https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/petrol-diesel-lpg/petrol-price-cycles). When it is getting to the lowest point of the cycle, as well as our vehicle, we also fill up five 20 litre fuel containers. If it is inconvenient to do so, we prepay and lock in the fuel price on both of our phones on the 7/11 app. This guarantees that locked price for seven days. We then use that fuel through the next 3-4 weeks (the length of the fuel cycle generally). It's like having our own petrol station at home!

Fuel containers cost around $20-$25 at BCF and the savings per cycle paid for each container. Now it's pure savings of $30 per cycle. Petrol works out around $520 per year less for us, for very little effort! At first, my husband was concerned that the fuel may not last (he is a qualified mechanic), but I showed him some tests BP had done on this matter, finding that six months later, the values were still the same. We notice zero difference in fuel consumption, km/L, or parts wearing out any faster.

Everyone we tell thinks this is an amazing idea, we find it strange that no one else seems to have thought of it!

Organise your freezer for less with 'freezer mould'

Just one plastic container is all you need to organise your freezer and save a small fortune on storing frozen food! I recently read an article which suggested freezing tasty, home cooked meals in small containers so you can whip one out in less time than it takes to get takeaway. Brilliant idea - but going out and getting all the plasticware I needed to do this was going to kill my miserly budget! So instead I bought just one plastic container that was an ideal size and a huge stack of small freezer bags. Now whenever I freeze a meal, I can line my single container with a freezer bag, seal it and once the food has been frozen, I can simply remove the container as though it was a cake tin! I have a ready-made 'freezer mould' and my freezer is still tidy with perfectly rectangular, scrumptious meals in minutes!

Handy pillowcases make for a tidy linen cupboard!

I have saved myself the frustration of constantly losing items from my sheet sets (and the expense of having to buy replacements) by keeping them all together in a simple but ingenious way! I used to be constantly searching for a full set of sheets and pillowcases in my linen cupboard no matter how many times I tidied it up. It's crazy but, in my frustration, I actually found myself buying new sets! Knowing this wasn't a real solution I finally pulled everything out, put all the sets together and placed all the sheets and extra pillowcases inside one matching pillowcase. Since then I haven't lost a single item! I can easily see my sheets and duvet sets and the kids can now find their sets and make their beds on their own.