Living the Frugal Life (Semi-lighthearted) ?

same as henetha, I use tea bags twice but don`t use any milk, much nicer on the weak side

re boiling water in the electric kettle, I put a mug of water in and switch off when it gets to that loud noise. It has a temperature dial on it and keeps on moving up to 100

Try bringing water to the boil, putting the pasta in, lid on and switching off. The pasta will carry on cooking nicely without more energy input

The most (energy) cost efficient wash in my machine (miele) is 40 degree cottons with a rectangular box next to the programme. It takes almost 3 hours but is very good

Such a lot of good tips, must make a note of the ones for staff and champagne! When I was a child I had three aunts who never wrote in a Christmas or birthday card but put a separate note inside. The same cards went back and forth until they disintegrated.I may suggest it to the family! I already do most of the things suggested, the only one Ican add is using a roll of loo paper instead of cosmetic tissues. I stand the roll in an empty cosmetic tissue box so it still looks pretty on the dressing table.

Our electric car is now only charged at free chargers so the last 4000 miles have been completely free saving us £100’s.

That is free to you but everyone else is paying for it

MawtheMerrier

To save water I have compiled a list of “nice young men”,” with whom to share bathing.

And also to save water, brushing my teeth with chilled white wine.

What brilliant ideas, but tell me, are the young men local, famous or a mixture of both, and would gin work instead of the white wine?
?

Great idea of soaking pasta. I didn't know you could buy quick cook pasta.
Like the Christmas
card idea too.

JenniferEccles

I’m surprised no one has mentioned the old habit from years ago of cutting up newspaper into squares to use as loo paper!

A very elderly aunt did that, and even as a child it seemed a really bizarre idea to me.
I always used to hold on when we visited her and then dashed to our bathroom with proper loo paper when we got home !

You made me laugh Jennifer I suddenly remembered the Newspaper square in people outside loos ,they must have had better drains than inside ones, lucky you if you got a square with the actions of Christine Keiler banned at home!!
We were posher my gran saved the soft paper off satsumas and clementines

I’ve lived on a boat for the last eight years, seven of those being completely ‘off grid’ so am used to being frugal with everything. Most of our leccy is 12v and comes from our battery bank. Our gas is in big, metal bottles. Hot water was made when we ran the engine. As we had to carry our domestic water with us and find a water point to fill our tank, we made a tankful last a fortnight. We have ‘boaters showers’ - get in the shower, get wet, turn off the water, soap up, turn on the water and rinse off. Washing up gets done once a day, saving both water and washing up liquid. Our journeys were planned to include supermarket stops. The hardest part was making the rum last long enough before the next Aldi (other supermarkets were available, sometimes).

Now we’re in a marina with leccy hook up and a tap for us to fill the tank, we are still careful with what we use, especially the LPG as we find the bottles get heavier and, therefore, harder to change as we’ve got older. Our hot water now comes courtesy of an immersion heater and, with red diesel prices now as high as white diesel, works out cheaper than running the engine. Our battery bank is topped up with an electric battery charger, again, cheaper than running the engine.

Fleurpepper

RichmondPark1

Do consider turning down the thermostat in the flower arranging and parcel wrapping rooms - after all, it's only the staff that use those rooms and they can always buy themselves a cardigan (embroidered with your family crest naturally).

Well, it is funny. Take the Mick - but honestly. It is a very serious matter currently for many reasons, so perhaps we could stick to great ideas that would help?

We live in the boonies and eat with oil and wood- the current situation is serious. And water is becoming very short- for humans, wildlife, forests, industry, and mainly, farming and livestock. Funny it is not. Sorry.

Crikey!

When she was more broke than usual my mother used to say she was ‘going on frugals’. Which usually meant a few more than usual of what she called ‘dustbin’ soups, i.e. made with whatever she had - always tasty and filling.

The tradition continues in our house - we don’t even need to be ‘on frugals’ but they’re certainly a good way of keeping food costs down - using up leftovers, plus all sorts of veg, including any looking a bit sad or limp, plus red lentils or pearl barley, or both. A little orzo pasta is another good one.

Favourite leftovers to add in this house are mashed potato (if there ever is any), any leftover cheese or parsley sauce (not often) or any proper gravy left over from a roast.
Plus of course that last, lonely, dried up bit of ham or bacon, snipped up and fried gently with the onion.

Come the autum (season of mists and mellow soupfulness ?) there will be plenty of ‘dustbin’ soups here, using lots of relatively cheap, seasonal, U.K. grown veg.

Or.....just don't send Christmas cards at all. Stamps are so expensive. I expect most people would appreciate a more personal phone call, text or email instead.

42Baggytrazzas

I still cannot bear to throw away the last sliver of a bar of soap. I don't save them up either, I spend ages tying to soften them and stick them on to the new bar! Which is then lumpy and uncomfortable to use at first. I probably get about another 3 washes out of the sliver.............
My Mum used to save up all the end bots of soap, put them in one of those bags that satsumas come in and tie it tightly into a ball. It used to last ages! Maybe I'll start doing that ?

I do the same, Kate1949! If you upend the bottle on a saucer, it all comes out of the small opening, just about every drop. Takes a little while, but does work.
I have been known to cut through plastic bottles or tubes like conditioner to get everg drop.
We used to reuse teabags. May go back to that. Works fine.

Turn up at friends and relatives houses at dinnertime, they will feel obliged to offer you food , thus saving you a fortune. Seriously I use bread wrappers as plastics bags, wash them when they get messy and reuse . I line dry washing and air dry indoors to save use of the tumble dryer .Even in winter if the ground isn't damp it's dry enough to dry your washing.
I have Jack Monroe's cookbooks, she can throw together good, cheap nourishing meals if you don't mind going veggie for some meals.
I save newspapers and paper bags to light my wood burner with . I also save all my fruit tree prunings , after a year they are seasoned and good as kindling.
Extra layers and blankets in winter mean I don't need the heating up high.
I keep yoghurt pots to use as plant pots for seedlings , cut some into strips for plant labels . I keep a couple of plastic trays that come with vegetables for picking blackberries . They make good. drip trays under plant pots. I grow my own veg and fruit .I buy clothes from charity shops(but never shoes or undies) and make do with what I've already got in the wardrobe. We use Meerkat deals for cinema and meals out.

I wash out plastic food storage bags too- get several more uses from them! And I mix my regular moisturiser ,on the back of my hand, with a smidgeon of my foundation, so it goes further, and actually feels better and lighter on my face

I grow tomatoes from seed as well a patty pans, salad leaves, courgettes and sugarsnap peas. I do the cutting of tubes as well. I also prise all that leftover solid antiperspirant out and press it on top of the new one. It is amazing the amount that most throw away when it gets to the point the plastic won't let it go on skin. I also use shampoo bars. They last a lot longer than a plastic container of shampoo as well as being friendlier on the environment.

Narrowboatnan
I lived onboard for 20 years. All that time off grid.
Cad I ask why you don’t have solar panels and wind generators.
They supplied our bank of batteries. From them we had an in-line converter which automatically clicked in if I used the microwave, iron, Hoover, hairdryer etc.
All our domestic hot water came from our gas bottles.

Bar soap lasts for ages, also bar shampoo - much more economical. We also cut dishwasher tablets in half - just as effective. Loose tea instead of bags - two spoons instead of four bags make a strong pot . We've cancelled the local paper as we get a weekly freebie that is almost as good, and having a newspaper subscription has saved £300 a year. The hot water is on for two hours in the morning, instead of twice a day, and we don't run out at all. I'll take some of the handy tips above, too!

Instead of expensive moisturizers and foundation primer, I use Coppertone 50 for Sensitive Skin. If you have fair to medium skin tone, it smooths easily and lightens spots. I use a little powder puff for foundation and a powder blush and both last for hours. Start spreading with a little dab on your finger first.

I buy homemade oatmeal and gentle oils soap and use until it’s a tiny sliver. Wearing sunscreen (and washing face) 365 days a year will not only save you money on costly products, your complexion will look great! Cheers!
(Age 62.5)

We also have 'dustbin soup' type meals, but we call them 'concoctions'!! I'm no cook, and will eat anything, so we have sometimes had some really odd meals, which has been quite a laugh (but usually they're pretty good, if unconventional!). Luckily my DH is the same - and he always says he enjoys them (though I'm not sure he always enjoys them equally!!) A stir fry is always a great way to use up veg that needs eating, and very quick to prepare, and healthy too. I draw the line though, when I persuaded my DH to cook (one thing in the house he rarely does) and he made a quick concoction stir-fry, and added frozen chips!!! Absolutely disgusting - soggy warm insipid looking things that ruined a perfectly good meal - I can't imagine what he was thinking!!!

I've stopped my netflixs and brit box subscriptions and cut down on food waste plus trying not us electricity during the day

Re the makeup/ no makeup debate . For some it is essential. I have a noticeable scar on my lip , caused by an accident to my face and jaw several years ago where I had to have extensive stitches ,splints and braces and dental reconstruction . All I'm left with , thank goodness is a scar on my bottom lip that looks like a slash and a cold sore. I disguise it with foundation lip pencil and a red lipstick . Other people I know have self confidence issues and makeup helps them feel better. I have a friend who has acne scars , she wears makeup all the time. If you feel better with it , wear it I say!

When i leave for work in the morning i turn everything upstairs off by the mains - then if any chargers etc are left on by accident there is no electric going to them (favourite of my son is to leave the bathroom light on on and then go to work - this puts apid to him doing that) for obvious reasons i cant turn off the kitchen and living room (fridge, freezers, sky box).

I get home and my smart meter registers 1-3p for hour

Yammy

JenniferEccles

I’m surprised no one has mentioned the old habit from years ago of cutting up newspaper into squares to use as loo paper!

A very elderly aunt did that, and even as a child it seemed a really bizarre idea to me.
I always used to hold on when we visited her and then dashed to our bathroom with proper loo paper when we got home !

You made me laugh Jennifer I suddenly remembered the Newspaper square in people outside loos ,they must have had better drains than inside ones, lucky you if you got a square with the actions of Christine Keiler banned at home!!
We were posher my gran saved the soft paper off satsumas and clementines

Does anyone remember IZAL Medicated loo paper that came in a cardboard box. I hated it as a kid. It was crisp, somewhat shiny, non absorbent and a pale beige colour..... it never actually did the correct job...excuse the pun. And it smelled horrible. Luckily it was a short lived phase of my mothers.

I buy a lot in charity shops. Ladies tops around £3, tee shirts for grandson 50p, wool 50p or £1 a ball, books 50p each. I knit to give back to charity so cheap wool is essential.

Save even more by reading your newspaper online !