Living the Frugal Life (Semi-lighthearted) ?

I try to wash things on 30 degrees, or at least the quick wash. We have a cheaper tariff for electricity after 11pm, so if I need to do a hot wash I do it then, and also put the dishwasher on.
Always wash and re-use plastic bags. The water from the air con I use for watering plants or washing floors.

I've had my hair cut short now ,after years of long hair. Shampoo and conditioner lasts ages now I don't need so much .

Sorry my reply was to Celia1475. If you start a new thread with your question Celia it might be more noticeable

Have you looked at Airbnb? Many accommodation types are dog friendly. Perhaps a rural cottage or caravan would suit your needs.
www.airbnb.co.uk/

I use washable pads and micella water for cleansing face. I have had the pads for three years now. Must have saved a fortune on wipes. I also use Aveeno baby soothing relief cream as moisturiser. I get a lot of compliments on my skin. It is really cheap to buy.

I certainly remember Izal, not sure about the medicated bit. Ditto Bronco - memories of freezing cold loos with horrible hard paper. I can still remember the particular smell of that sort of paper.

OTOH I suppose a freezing cold loo meant that my father would not disappear for half an hour to ‘commune with my soul’, as he put it, as he certainly did after we had central heating installed.
And just the one loo for 6 of us - normal enough then - but I still have a vivid memory of my sister at maybe 3, jumping up and down outside the loo and wailing , ‘It’s comin’ it’s comin’ it’s comin’!’ ?

I’m looking for ideas or offers of peaceful, low cost accommodation on UK mainland for myself and my very friendly and well behaved dog ‘Bessie’ over the ‘firework season’ in November.
My dog is rightly terrified of the barrage of noise that goes on night after night where we live (Coventry) before and after Bonfire Night. Any ideas are very welcome. I’ve put requests on Facebook and looked at YHA options but no luck so far.
I long for the days when it was just one night and before some fireworks sound like bombs going off!

Squeezy toothpaste holder squeeze every last drop out. Can also use for any other tubes like tomato purée etc.
Also I always cut tube tops off moisturisers etc, nearly another weeks supply left usually.

Don’t flush loos unless really necessary.
We always share the bath water.
Unplug microwaves etc when not using
Reuse plastic bags

Then I blow all the money saved on a hairdresser or a new set of nails and don’t feel at all guilty!!

Save even more by reading your newspaper online !

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.

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.

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

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!

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

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!!!

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)

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!

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.

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.

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

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 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.

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 ?

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.

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.