New house, NEED HELP!

Zoelikesjam

Hey everyone, i'm sort of new in here! Been ghosting for the last week or so, and now feeling confident enough to ask for all your help!:rolleyes:

Having moved into a new house saturday just gone, We are very low on cash to say the least :mad:
I've so many things that i need your expert help with i think i'll write a list!!! :eek:

1. The house is a MESS:eek: Its soooooooo filthy! The previous owners must have had a 40 a day habbit, tabbaco stains EVERYWHERE...and a no cleaning pact into the bargain. I have no idea where to start, or what to use :rotfl:Cleaning wood? Cleaning Grease offof kitchen cabinets(deep fat fryer ) Cleaning off as much of the nicotine stains, off UPVC windows? Anyhelp with what to use would be fab! And, erm where to start?!

2. The house is run on electric and gas meters, I have only ever been used to bills and the monthly direct debit. I have been assured by BG that the cost is the same, however because i can now watch the money slowly(or very fast!) dripping away it is making me notice the cost much more, therefore i could do with some tips to keep cost's down?

3. The GARDEN! :eek: Its scary to say the least!!!! Its huge for starters, needs tons of work, but luckly i've found brambles with plenty of blackberries, and just this minute discovered a plum tree...or what i assume is a plum tree I have no idea haha! If anyone knows when the fruit is suposed to be ready, and what i can do with the crop that would be fab.

4.Thrifty shopping. Obviously i am now on a money saving kick, due to hardly having any money! Any tips for keeping shopping costs down would be brilliant. We are a family of five, me and DH, DD(5) DS(3) and DD2(1)

5. Decorating. Obviously, as you will have noticed, i already stated the house if filthy, therefore it might be an obvious statment but the place needs decorating. Money saving ideas for getting it nice?

Thanks in advance!!! :j

Ladywhisper

For decorating check things like freecycle. You often get people offering tins of paint they've not used.

LilacPixie

Stardrops for cleaning and as hot water as you can handle (get rubber glove) Meters are generally more expensive, Can you ask BG to change them from prepay to regular meters

Jam with brambles/plums. No idea when you know its ready, i presume when its the right colour and not green. Obviously crumbles are also cheap to make

tori.k

Try washing everything down with sugar soap that will help shift the tobacco stains you can get it most pound shop type places or diy stores, cream cleaner works well on upvc.
decorating with such small kids i would personally magnolia the whole place then add colour with soft furnishings and pictures etc that way you can just wipe/paint over the worst of the marks as they happen.
As for the Garden...lucky !!!!!! huge mess just means a bigger veg plot saving more money on your shopping
sound like your going to be very busy over the next few months but it will be great fun

angelavdavis

New home - how exciting!!!

Definitely sugar soap for the tobacco stains and kitchen cabinets, stardrops for everything else!

Electric/Gas - ensure you only fit low energy bulbs and thermostatic radiator valves if you can on the radiators if not already fitted. Also, make sure you only really heat the boiler when you really need to. We actually fitted an electric shower and now its summer, we don't have the boiler on at all! We just boil a kettle if we need hot water in the kitchen (we have a cold fill dishwasher though).

Just tackle the garden a small piece at a time, it is exhausting. You will probably be able to clear enough space in the garden to plant onions/garlic in September if you fancy growing vegetables.

Plums should be ripening from now, through to end August - depending on the variety. I generally find that they smell of ripe plums when you pick one and then I have to be brave and bite it to test. If its sharp, leave it for longer.

Shopping/etc, check out the sticky for newbies. Lots of information on meal planning, grocery challenges, storecupboard challenges, etc which will help save the pennies. I put together a calendar from Old Style tips on here that you might find useful - 2009 and 2010 versions.

LameWolf

Invest in a supply of Stardrops and white vinegar, for a kickoff.;)

I'd break the tasks down into manageable chunks, so that when you've done one chunk you can feel like you've achieved something. Eg thoroughly clean out ONE kitchen cupboard and tick that off the list. Etc.

If it's any help, we picked a whole load of cherry plums on Saturday, so those are ready NOW. Not sure about other varieties.

If you're into meal-planning (I'm not, I have to confess) there's a weekly meal plan thread you could look at; many OS-ers find this a good way to keep on top of the grocery money.

Good luck in your new home.:o

Butterfly_Brain

Definately sugar soap for cleaning walls wood work and ceilings, stardrops for everything else (There is a whole range of stardrops in poundland at the moment)

smallemz

Hey everyone, I am new, I just joined today after ghosting for a while.

Anyway, I recently brought a house March 09 and I have a few tips for moving into a new house.

zoelikesjam wrote: »

1. The house is a MESS:eek: Its soooooooo filthy! The previous owners must have had a 40 a day habbit, tabbaco stains EVERYWHERE...and a no cleaning pact into the bargain. I have no idea where to start, or what to use :rotfl:Cleaning wood? Cleaning Grease offof kitchen cabinets(deep fat fryer ) Cleaning off as much of the nicotine stains, off UPVC windows? Anyhelp with what to use would be fab! And, erm where to start?!

I would recommend Hot water and washing up liquid, you can buy alot of cleaning products at the moment from places such as Tescos and ASDA for £1 a bottle, also try places such as 99p stores or pound shops as they sell name brand items for cheap.
Hot water and washing up liquid will help combat the grease but you may need to wash a couple of times to get rid of it completely.

I know you may not have much money but sometimes investing in something expensive to do the job may work out cheaper than spending the same amount on many different cheaper items.

zoelikesjam wrote: »

2. The house is run on electric and gas meters, I have only ever been used to bills and the monthly direct debit. I have been assured by BG that the cost is the same, however because i can now watch the money slowly(or very fast!) dripping away it is making me notice the cost much more, therefore i could do with some tips to keep cost's down?

when we first moved into my house we were on meters and we found it a more expensive way of paying for gas and electricity. we are now on monthly direct debits and we found that southern electric and gas worked out cheaper per month. we pay £30 a month for each utility and either have a roll over or under payment which works out even at the end of each year. for example more gas and electricity is used in the winter but less in the summer so it works out even.

zoelikesjam wrote: »

4.Thrifty shopping. Obviously i am now on a money saving kick, due to hardly having any money! Any tips for keeping shopping costs down would be brilliant. We are a family of five, me and DH, DD(5) DS(3) and DD2(1)

I only have an OH but we find shopping later at night, about 9pm and at about 3pm on a sunday is cheaper as we get loads of bargains which you can freeze. also buuy multi packs of items you use alot of as that works out cheaper. some of the cheaper brands taste just as good but certain ones dont so shop around. also dont nesecarily go to the cheapest place as you find you often spend more money because you are telling yourself if is cheaper.

zoelikesjam wrote: »

5. Decorating. Obviously, as you will have noticed, i already stated the house if filthy, therefore it might be an obvious statment but the place needs decorating. Money saving ideas for getting it nice?

at the moment B&Q have loads of cheap tins of magnolia and white paint, in crown and dulux brands. we brought huge tin of both and painted it all magnolia walls and white ceilings. i then accessorised with colourfl pictures and other items that i picked up for cheap from places.

Good luck!!
emz

smallemz

Oh yeah i forgot, i would definately write a list of everything you want to do, and break it down so instead of just decorate living room make it:
paint wall 1
paint wall 2
paint ceiling
Accesorise

and then tick each bit off, it will look like a HUGE list but it will spur you on ticking each bit off!!

Thats how I'm managing it anyway

greenbee

Re the gas & electricity prepay meters - these will cost you no more than BG's standard tariff, but there may still be cheaper options for web-based tariffs. Obviously you don't know how much you'll use in the new place, but if you knew how much you were using (not paying) in your old place, plug those figures into the comparison sites to see what the best deal is for your region and level of usage - have a look on the gas & elec board, but I think BG's websaver 3 is one of the cheapest for most dual fuel users at the moment. Try to persuade them to move you to credit meters and explain that this is because you want an online tariff on DD for ease of use & payment. If you haven't previously had an account with them and they therefore don't have a credit record for you, they may ask you for a deposit as it costs them to change the meters over. You could ask to go on a smart meter trial if they're changing the meters anyway.

Have a look at the gas & elec board for more ideas on how to save energy.

Zoelikesjam

Thanks for all the tips guys! I shall be trying out most of them, roll up my sleaves and get scrubbing!