FRUGAL LIVING CHALLENGE 2010, part 1. (Living on £4,000 a year)

babyboysmommy

I've just ordered a Kenwood Chef from Amazon, they are on offer at the moment, was £249.99 but is now £140.60. I know it's a luxury item but I'm glad I bought it at such a good discount, there is no way I'd have paid full price for one. I was given some money & decided to use it to by the Kenwood & a sewing machine so it's not out of our budget

I'm taking DS out on his bicycle today to visit family & have house work to do. I also want to get going on a cross stitch I've been avoiding for too long. Add in keeping a 3 year old happy & it's going to be a busy day.

knithappens

top_drawer wrote: »

hello everyone!

Well I managed TWO NSD's over the weekend but had to do some shopping this afternoon ... I only got what I needed and it still came to £13.58!! I am really looking forward to planting my veg garden as it will save me a futune in feeding the piggies.

Over the weekend I had a massive cleaning drive and tried to use all Frugal/Natural cleaning stuff but found it quite hard going ...

I have a spray bottle filled with vinagar and bicarb soda and water for cleaning the bathroom and found it really difficult to get the grim off and it wasnt even THAT dirty! I ended up scrubbing and scrubbing and then finally used some One For All cleaning spray I had in reserve to finish it off. I soaked the Oven trays in the bath in vinagar and Bicarb but found they didnt come hugely much cleaner than I would have expected from just water.

I also attempted cleaning the oven with a mixture of vinagar and bicarb made into a paste and left on the appropiate parts of the oven for around an hour - the grim didnt come off at all easily and I again found myself struggling and scrubbing at it, when I was then too tired to do anymore I gave up and wiped it all clean with a cloth - or so I thought... I opened the oven this evening and I seem to have created more work for myself as the oven had a white residue all over the parts I thought I had cleaned so it taken more time to wipe all that clean!

Its been a frustrating day all round here ;(

TD

Biological soap powder is by far the best thing i have found that cleans my oven, i sprinle it on, spray a little water on, and leave a while then when i come back it iis so easy to clean

BigMummaF

top_drawer wrote: »

....really looking forward to planting my veg garden as it will save me a futune in feeding the piggies. I am too in a fingers x sort of way [I'm not renowned for my green fingers ] in the hopes it will help feed Iggie as much as ourselves ....soaked the Oven trays in the bath in vinagar and Bicarb but found they didnt come hugely much cleaner....Kim & Aggie recommend biological soap powder for cleaning cookers because the enzymes break down the food fats or summat like that? ....cleaning the oven with a mixture of vinagar and bicarb made into a paste and left on the appropiate parts of the oven for around an hour....
Its been a frustrating day all round here ;( Maybe--but what a work-out! You'd spend a fortune in a gym to do all that :rotfl:TD

Know what you mean about the white streaks too--self cleaning ovens my eye --obviously a male designer's definition

grandma247 wrote: »

A few drops of stardrops or washing up liquid or even bubblebath in the spray bottle will help to release the bathgrime

Starclens is better for ovens if they will not come clean. Bicarb works better if you clean it very often

A recipe I use for spraying the bath is 1 cup vinegar,1/4 cup stardrops or 1/2 cup of washing up liquid in a spray bottle and top up with water. Shake to blend the ingredients then spray on the bath and leave for a few minutes. It should clean of without scrubbing.

I have trouble with spray bottles--perhaps I use too much bicarb, but the sprays won't spray after a couple of days Don't suppose you could recommend a specific type or brand please as I've tried all sorts over the years, from el chee-poe to ultra garden centre & most things in between...

Fishcake_Random wrote: »

....I had heartburn....x

Ooooh..I'd be so tempted to report that assistant to the manager, &/or the Trading Standards too. That's just fool-hardy & irresponsible to put an opened food product back on sale! Anyhooz, wanted to say that I was told heartburn was a sign of Babby having a good head of hair--which mine did--but I drank gallons of soda water & sipped my way through a few bottles of [neat] peppermint cordial during my heartburn pregnancies. I keep both in the cupboard now for those times when your tum feels a bit 'wobbly' on the inside; doesn't do a thing for the wobbly on the outside tho :rotfl:

candygirl

Thinks i'm on my 3rd NSD in a row.Had a massive think about where my money was going, and have decided to stop stockpiling stuff, and only to buy it when it's running out, with the exception of really good deals that will save me cash in the long run:D:D
Have got Boo for the day today, and she's got a really chesty cough and cold, but will still take ehr to see my Mum, as they love each other;)
Have fabby frugal days everyone:A:A

Kiwisaver_2

crystals2632 wrote: »

hey KIWISAVER where do you list all your books please thanks.

Hi Crystal, I'm not in the UK and use a local site that is our equivalent to Flea-Bay. I'm out of touch with UK sites, but have seen lots previously mentioned on this thread.

I did my punishment and listed five more this evening ( up to 40 now) - Fingers crossed I will be a busy girl at the Post Office everyday next week. :eek: Not that I REALLY want to go to the Post Office next week, you understand. It's all a PITA and I feel like Rozee, it is a lot of effort for small reward, dealing with all the questions, checking if you have been paid, chasing people who haven't paid or made contact with addresses etc and then expecting the damn things to be delivered the next day, but needs must and every little helps.

Thanks Grandma for the tip about the salt on the carpet. I would be a bit worried about putting salt on it when it was so wet, especially as it is a dark green. I have visions of it staining like salt water does to your shoes? It's at least drying now as I put a fan nearby to create a bit more ventilation and it seems to be doing the trick. Will perhaps try some salt tomorrow when it should be almost dried.

I spent no money today and my reward vouchers turned up in the mail, being $40 towards this week's shopping, so it's all going in the right direction.

Lily_The_Legend

knithappens wrote: »

Biological soap powder is by far the best thing i have found that cleans my oven, i sprinle it on, spray a little water on, and leave a while then when i come back it iis so easy to clean

We use washing powder to clean our white kitchen sink

Thanks for the tip about it cleaning the oven too :T

yummymommy

rictus123 wrote: »

Just cleared my Rbs credit card - £551.75:j:j

Just got a loan for 3 times that amount to fight now....:mad:bring it:mad:

Being able to pay that off is down to everyone on here, thanks guys :T:T Frugal living and budgeting everything is working wonders!:T

Well done you !!:T:T:T Fabulous news:j

knithappens

Lily_The_Legend wrote: »

We use washing powder to clean our white kitchen sink

Thanks for the tip about it cleaning the oven too :T

I also use it to mop the floor ad it smells delish,also if you have a stained bath, fill it with water add soap powder, and leave to soak it brings it up like new.

pink_numbers

I had given up hope on the fruit brushes from aldi, but when I went in today, we found 3 bunches left! Needless to say we bought all three bunches. Looking forward to an afternoon of gardening

grandma247

BMF the bicarb may not have dissolved enough. Never had that problem but have found that any bottles with a metal spring in the mechanism is a no no because it rusts,maybe because of the vinegar. I have had a couple do that. You can see the spring in them so I just avoid them.


Kiwi saver the carpet I did with it was dark multicoloured and there was no stain but there is no harm in letting it dry more first. Sea water has a lot more minerals than salt in it which is probably why it stains.