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Living the Frugal Life (Semi-lighthearted) ?

(259 Posts)
FannyCornforth Sat 06-Aug-22 12:26:49

Hello!
Further to the ‘Tightening our Belts’ thread; what are your penny pinching tips?
Serious ones and not so serious ones.
Thank you! ?

BlueBelle Mon 08-Aug-22 18:10:05

I ve always reheated cooked rice I use a rice cooker and use it up in different dishes over two or three days Arent you supposed to ?

Shinamae Mon 08-Aug-22 18:16:03

BlueBelle

I ve always reheated cooked rice I use a rice cooker and use it up in different dishes over two or three days Arent you supposed to ?

You have to be very very careful reheating rice, it is a major source of food poisoning

Fleurpepper Mon 08-Aug-22 18:18:30

Shinamae

BlueBelle

I ve always reheated cooked rice I use a rice cooker and use it up in different dishes over two or three days Arent you supposed to ?

You have to be very very careful reheating rice, it is a major source of food poisoning

Yes, you have to be careful. If you put in fridge and re-heat properly the next day- it should be fine. I have done this all my life and never ever have had an issue.

Witzend Mon 08-Aug-22 18:19:32

We have a tiny saucepan, bought oddly enough in Majorca, for dh to boil his daily one egg on the smallest gas burner. Previously he used an ‘ordinary’ small pan, much bigger.

It holds just a mug full, so I’ve been thinking that I should use it instead of the electric kettle umpteen times a day.

It’s 11 cm diameter - for interest I just looked on Amazon for anything similar, since I’ve never seen anything so small in U.K. shops, but there was a 10 cm one in enamel, for £6 odd. According to one review it holds one mugful nicely.

Thought one or two GNers might be interested.

ANMI52 Mon 08-Aug-22 18:31:58

Love your tips?

Ffion63 Mon 08-Aug-22 18:34:11

I bought a hydrator and dry my own herbs and flowers to make herbal teas. I store them in plastic tubs from takeaways etc. It was an outlay at the start but it’s well used. Pot Pourri next for Christmas. We don’t have takeaways very often now but use any suitable plastic container.

nannypiano Mon 08-Aug-22 18:36:56

I am frugal with water I put in the kettle for drinks and only put in the amount needed. My D/S though always fills the kettle so I empty most away when his back is turned.

varian Mon 08-Aug-22 19:04:10

My smallest saucepan is big enough for five eggs so if we want two boiled eggs for breakfast, I boil five. Once the extra eggs are cold they go in the fridge to be used for salads or sandwiches of sometimes peeled and reheated in a small cup of boiling water.

I never waste vegetable water. If I boil veg, I use the water for soups and sauces.

varian Mon 08-Aug-22 19:19:34

When our old white facecloths go grey they are repurposed as cleaning cloths.

varian Mon 08-Aug-22 19:20:20

My oldest cleaning cloth was a nappy for my first child in 1970.

fluttERBY123 Mon 08-Aug-22 19:22:55

I add some water to the last bit of hand wash or washing up liquid to.get it all out. Cut up.potatoes quite small, bring to.boil with lid on turn off gas, go way. Come back.in.20 mins or half an hour and they are cooked. I usually cook a whole bagsworth and put some in fridge to.use later.

Auntieflo Mon 08-Aug-22 19:33:00

SusieB50, you did make me laugh in your post where you say "Can't get in my bath anymore. Use the slow cooker a lot"!
I had visions of you contorting yourself to squeeze into it.

Bazza Mon 08-Aug-22 19:48:17

Just for general information, I had the worst food poisoning ever after a Chinese restaurant meal. I contacted our local council who had a food safety department in those days. Someone came to my place of work the same day with sample tubes (don’t ask!) and the eventual results was bacteria off their testing scale caused by rice. I’ve always treated cooked rice with the greatest respect ever since. Incidentally the restaurant was closed down because of many complaints but no one had been willing to give a sample. Apparently cooked rice was just chucked in a bin without refrigeration and reheated. Lots of other hygiene problems.

Callistemon21 Mon 08-Aug-22 20:01:40

Fleurpepper

Shinamae

BlueBelle

I ve always reheated cooked rice I use a rice cooker and use it up in different dishes over two or three days Arent you supposed to ?

You have to be very very careful reheating rice, it is a major source of food poisoning

Yes, you have to be careful. If you put in fridge and re-heat properly the next day- it should be fine. I have done this all my life and never ever have had an issue.

Rinse what you're not going to eat immediately in cold running water, put in a container in the fridge asap.

Rice contains toxins which can develop if it's left warm.

Callistemon21 Mon 08-Aug-22 20:04:42

If you do not have enough wool knit your jumper in two colours one for the back one for the front two for the work of one.

That's fashionable again, Yammy ? Or wide stripes.

Make leftover yarn into blankets and throws.

Yammy Mon 08-Aug-22 20:13:23

nandad

Yammy, my DH dries himself with a a flannel after he’s showered, whilst standing in the shower tray. His towel is dry.

My mum told me to do it when I was a student it meant we did not have wet towels everywhere. Glad to hear the trick lives on.

Yammy Mon 08-Aug-22 20:19:40

Callistemon21

^If you do not have enough wool knit your jumper in two colours one for the back one for the front two for the work of one.^

That's fashionable again, Yammy ? Or wide stripes.

Make leftover yarn into blankets and throws.

If you make stripes it uses the same amount of wool but they actually wore their jumpers back to front somedays. I have a photo of my mother and you can see another colour at the back of her jacket. Fancy it coming back into fashion.
We crocheted blankets as students with wool from relatives and then joined all the squares with black. It put in time between lectures. Not much study going on.smile

SusieB50 Mon 08-Aug-22 20:22:03

Auntieflo ??that would indeed be sight for sore eyes !!

narrowboatnan Mon 08-Aug-22 20:34:11

MerylStreep

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.

We did have solar panels, but didn’t have any solar dump to heat the water. We did think about a wind turbine, but when DH researched it he didn’t think they were as efficient as the solar. We had a 1000 watt inverter, which powered my washing machine. We didn’t have a gas water heater.

HillyN Mon 08-Aug-22 22:10:48

I bought a set of mini spatulas to scrape the last of the sauce etc out of the bottles or jar.
I catch the cold water that comes out of the hot tap until it runs hot in a jug and use it to rinse the flannel or water the plants.
I have just made a quiche using up the odd bits of bacon/ham, cheese, tomato and mushrooms. It was very tasty and filling.

Baggytrazzas Mon 08-Aug-22 22:56:18

Bazza

Some great tips here, but my favourite is how to cook a whole chicken in less that half an hour. Place in saucepan, cover with water, add salt, an onion, any herbs you fancy and bring to the boil. Simmer for between 20 minutes to half an hour depending on the size. A tight lid is essential. Turn heat off and leave overnight or until cool. You will be rewarded by the most tender and that m word we all hate. Use for risotto, coronation chicken, curry, whatever. Do not remove lid at any time until cool. Never failed.

Hi Bazza, thanks for this and I am going to try it. But could you not just have said tender and left it at that? gringringrin

For anyone wondering, please look at the "words that make you cringe or snigger" thread.

AussieGran59 Tue 09-Aug-22 10:10:45

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AussieGran59 Tue 09-Aug-22 10:15:06

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

silvercollie Tue 09-Aug-22 10:22:47

My ex-husband has living frugally down to an art form.
Don’t think he will be a bit inconvenienced!

nipsmum Tue 09-Aug-22 10:31:46

I don't have a dishwasher or tumble drier. I cook in batches and freeze portions. I buy in bulk when appropriate. Rarely use ready meals. Don't have a bath only a shower.