Great Isn’t it Obvious MoneySaving Hunt: Tell us the secrets you didn't know you had

jessegee

Blackberries - jam packed with good vits and antioxidants - suggestions

Smoothies
Compote
Crumble
Pie
Sponge
In porridge
Breakfast cereal topper
Wine/liquer
Icecream
posh pudding topper
Handy Snack
vegitable dye ( they stain your clothes so watch out!)

Just soak in cold water for 20 mins - rinse and chuck floaters
Freeze or be a glutton!

jessegee

Angua2

jessegee wrote: »

Free Fruit! Its blackberry season, dont pay £1.99 for a punnet, they are everywhere, free for the picking!

jessegee

Fab! You can "eat wild from the hedgerow" - all sorts of lovely things to complement your diet take just a little knowledge*, a keen eye and give you a nice bimble in the countryside. :T

*Everyone should take GREAT CARE if/when gathering - especially mushrooms/fungi!!

garden-lover

Borneogirl wrote: »

I agree with this tip! I'm on a water meter and they've just put up my monthly payments from £20 to £46 - ridiculous as I live alone and work during the day, and take showers. Anyway, my mum told me about using dirty washing up water on my pot plants and that the detergent actually deters (no pun intended) the bugs. Good tip!

Are you sure you don't have a leak in your water pipes, might be worth checking it out. I too live alone, out all day, etc, and my monthly payment has just gone down to £16 per month.

sparrer

Borneogirl wrote: »

I agree with this tip! I'm on a water meter and they've just put up my monthly payments from £20 to £46 - ridiculous as I live alone and work during the day, and take showers. Anyway, my mum told me about using dirty washing up water on my pot plants and that the detergent actually deters (no pun intended) the bugs. Good tip!

I'd agree with garden-lover, there's definitely something wrong here - my water co just tried to put my dd down from £24 to 11 a month, I thought that was far too much of a drop and we agreed on £18.

Get your water co in to check for leaks. I may be wrong (and if I am someone please correct me ) but I believe that if the leak is road-side they have to pay for the repair, if it's on your property you have to but it would definitely be worth paying for.

hth

kidcat

jessegee wrote: »

Blackberries - jam packed with good vits and antioxidants - suggestions

Smoothies
Compote
Crumble
Pie
Sponge
In porridge
Breakfast cereal topper
Wine/liquer
Icecream
posh pudding topper
Handy Snack
vegitable dye ( they stain your clothes so watch out!)

Just soak in cold water for 20 mins - rinse and chuck floaters
Freeze or be a glutton!

jessegee

We have loads of blackberry bushes in our garden so I freeze loads, they can be used to make really fabulous desserts for parties and dinner guests. Dont wash before them you freeze though!
Another tip is we have so many blackberries each year that I freeze enough to last all winter (that includes enough desserts for several parties, dinners etc) but still have loads left, I had an arrangement with a local farm shop that he would buy my extras from me, he charges £1.50 for a punnet at the moment and pays about 75p, I sold him about 30 punnets per week during blackberry season last year.

mateypeeps

madmum33 wrote: »

I can't wash clothes without using fabric conditioner, but instead of buying the concentrated version which I find you use just as much of anyway, I buy the standard large bottles of own brand fabric softener, and pour half into the previous empty bottle then top both up with water. Each full bottle lasts weeks and I have nicely scented washing.

To be slightly greener you should consider keeping the 2 empty LARGE bottles and get the CONCENTRATE next time you use it all up.

Moving mostly 90% water around takes more petrol/diesel for delivery vans/lorries/trains/boats/planes than if the manufacturer removes (or in fact, does not add) water to leave 90% active ingredient weighing less than half what it would otherwise weigh, and taking up less space as well.

The container can be recycled, but at least it is also smaller, so took less oil to make (assuming plastic, not glass or plastic lined cardboard is used).

trickypockets

....cling film, fabric conditioner, disposable wipes, anti-bacterial anything, air fresheners.

Haven't used cling film in years. I use a sandwich box for work, and put things in boxes or dishes with plates on top in the fridge.

I stopped using fabric conditioner when the compartment in my washing machine was bunged up, and didn't noticed the difference at all (except perhaps for towels, but they go soft again as soon as you use them). The clothes also come out less scented, which is a plus in my book.

Disposables are great news for the manufacturers, because you having to keep buying new all the time, but bad news for landfill.

Anti-bacterials are a particular bugbear of mine. You cannot hope to get rid of all bacteria, and as most of them are benign, if not actively beneficial, you wouldn't want to anyway. I read an article once that said the average adult touches 300 different surfaces in an hour, so unless they'd all been disinfected, the anti-bac soap you used to wash your hands was a complete waste of time, and probably more expensive than the other kind.

If you need air freshener, either fix the source of the smell, or open some windows, but either way don't surround yourself in a fog of unneccessary chemicals.

Adverts
Look at all advertising with a very sceptical eye - before they started trying to sell you a washing powder that got rid of the smells in your washing, had you ever thought 'gosh I've just washed these clothes and they still smell' ?
The latest one is they're trying to tell you that you should wash clothes to get rid of dirt that you can't see !
Advertisers are trying to get you to buy things, not trying to do you a public service.

Re using up bits of left over soap by squishing them together etc : I always buy hand-made soap. It is slightly more expensive, but never cracks or goes slimy and can be used down to the tiniest sliver. It also doesn't dry your skin like ordinary commercial soap, so you don't need hand-cream or moisturiser every time you use it.

carefulspender_2

I use thin cheap plastic bags(£1 for 500 from poundland and markets) for separating chops or small amounts of other foods for the freezer.Then place in a thicker freezer bag to freeze.When the contents of the freezer bag have been used up I can then reuse the outer bag again.It hasn't ever come into contact with food,only with other plastic bags. I freeze Seville oranges in January to use later in the year. To cut down on freezer space I gather and cook brambles and elderberries and then sieve them.Freeze the pulp and then use for seedless jam or sauces.
Garden tips- Use the cuttings from fruit bushes to get more....place cuttings in a bucket of water and put somewhere in the garden for weeks till they root. Free bushes ! When you have no more room in the garden then do as my DH does and plant in the hedge in the lane where we live.The birds get free fruit.-or in the case of the redcurrants this year-the birds didn't find them so I picked them for more redcurrant jelly for us.
I make homemade mint sauce concentrate. I whizz up lots of washed mint leaves in a processor and then add to some golden syrup.Fill small jars with the mix and keep in the fridge till needed.To make mint sauce mix one teaspoon of concentrate with vinegar to taste (white vinegar is best).
To make easy peasy strawberry jam use a bag of sugar with pectin already in it and follow the recipe on the pack.Very quick to make and tastes good too. Pectin sugar where I live is only about 5p dearer than normal sugar per bag. I grow the strawberries but it would be worth doing if you could get fruit at a cheap price. This works for other low pectin fruit too.

Son

Taffybiker wrote: »

No, provided the switch is off at the socket.

That's what I thought. Thanks for setting my mind at rest.

estherg69

:rotfl:

Three tips to save money with dye!

- Hair colour: colour your hair at home by yourself! You can buy a hair colouring kit at Boots for £5, they are very easy to use and the dye is kinder to your hair than the one used at the hairdressers!

- Your colourful shoes looking a bit old? Dye them black! They would look good again and will give you another few months of wear for about £10.

- Clothes looking washed out? Dye again! you can buy fabric dye at shops like Roys. This works better with natural fabrics, specially linen, and also anything black that is looking off colour can be revived with black fabric dye. Also good with curtains that don't go with your new colour scheme!!