FRUGAL LIVING CHALLENGE 2010, part 2, April - June.

NualaBuala

Hi Erme - I've always wanted to have a go at making soap but I never got around to it. I have a load of liquid soap to use up before I have a go anyway.

I think I read that the type of oil used in making it affects how hard the finished product is so that might be why. Good luck with your soapy adventures!

N x

Erme

Am at work :T...yay go me....:D. Erme is getting better ..

Wonder what exactly is in the 13p for 3 bars? Seems to lack glycerine or something? What's more frugal, buying imperial leather soap (about £1 for 4) or the 13p stuff (or whatever it is now) or the 10p (gorgeous) shower gel fae Mr S?

Views/thoughts would be appreciated. How much is glycerine? Would I need a lot for the 13p stuff...

Sorry to be asking all these q's...would just veg oil be okay?

E

Erme

Erme got paranoid @ work

So much for my original euphoria about being @ work this am. Now knee hurts and it's gorgeous out there this pm and I just want to stay in. hide, and lick my wounds

E
On Paranoid Planet this pm and hormonal

redglass_2

Puddleglum, thank you. Will go for it!

Erme, sorry, I was a bit misleading. It doesn't have to be glass, that's just what i usually use - I have lots of pyrex. You don't have to have glycerine either but sometimes it just softens and improves the texture. Even if it comes out a weird texture you can usually find some way of using it up. (And I should know - for weeks i used a recycled soap that looked and felt so weird I hid it whenever friends were staying over. But it did the job!)

As far as i know all soap is basically lye (comes from wood ash) mixed with oil or fat (could be animal fat, olive oil, coconut oil, whatever). It's the kind of fat/oil that make the difference, and then the extras like colour and perfume. It's worth watching for soap on Appr*ved Foods - I got a load of lovely lavender soap on there recently, worked out about 16p a bar. Cheapest I can buy round here is 13p a bar but these bars are bigger and better quality so I reckon that's a good deal.
x

NualaBuala

Just wanted to say


for Erme (and anyone else who wants them)! Sorry you're feeling lousy but it won't last forever. Am sending good thoughts your way and hope you're doing better soon. Not sure what to advise re best value for soap - have a cupboard full of liquid soap so won't need till 2011! xxx

I'm happy cos my radishes look nearly grown - I'll have to get more pots to sow more seeds. The salad leaves are coming along but my spring onions look like chives - not sure if they have enough space.

I'm going to have a go at making banana and walnut muffins once I find an egg-free recipe I have the ingredients for so if anyone knows a nice one, please share! I'm going to try to make all my own treats once the bought stuff has run out. Ok, well maybe I'll buy the occasional bar of choc - I'm not totally perfect!

Frugaldom

snugglebum wrote: »

Hello, I dont know if you all remember me but i was mumzyof2. iam back now after a bit of hard time (hence why i left and lost contact). I have recently moved house and had a baby girl Hope everyone is well xxx

:beer: Congratulations on new baby girl and new house, hope things haven't been too bad for you, mumzy, it's great to see you back online. Is that number 3 baby?

Just trying to catch up with posts in between jobs - chicks hatching, builders rebuilding chimneys, roofers reroofing etc, etc, etc.

Hope everyone is well.

Erme, keep on plodding, quine, and Whitewing, you were my wingman for so long that you'll need to come bouncing backsoon, because I'm lagging behind with the posting whilst trying to frugal by tightening the belt in more ways than one.

Erme

Frugaldom wrote: »

:beer: Congratulations on new baby girl and new house, hope things haven't been too bad for you, mumzy, it's great to see you back online. Is that number 3 baby?

Just trying to catch up with posts in between jobs - chicks hatching, builders rebuilding chimneys, roofers reroofing etc, etc, etc.

Hope everyone is well.

Erme, keep on plodding, quine, and Whitewing, you were my wingman for so long that you'll need to come bouncing backsoon, because I'm lagging behind with the posting whilst trying to frugal by tightening the belt in more ways than one.

Be careful FL - don't want you wasting away! Have summer flu/cold...feel dreadful but more concerned about wonky sleep pattern...My 'new' fixation (it's getting to that time of the week LOL) is being on here. Am more on here than FB :rotfl:...

How's veganism going Nuala...Hope ya enjoying it and it's not costing too much...

Right time to down this paracetamol I said I was going to take an hour ago :eek:

Then who knows take over the world perhaps..... I think that means daydream and if well enough try and catch up on ironing tonight (I've barely ironed for 2 weeks!)..

E

NualaBuala

Get well soon Erme Hope you get lots of rest - don't push yourself too hard with the ironing! And I really hope your sleep pattern gets sorted - any idea what's causing the prob?

I can't make any claims to be vegan yet - had delicious fish for dinner yesterday - I'm using up the contents of the freezer so no harm there. I had decided not to buy anything non-vegan from now on but I feel myself weakening. I don't know what got into me today - I lost all enthusiasm for being frugal and healthy and ordered a takeaway - it was vegetarian and not terribly expensive but still - not what I'm aspiring to. I'll just have to keep trying I guess. Send some will power and frugal vibes my way please!

Yay for the belt-tightening Frugaldom!:j

Erme

NualaBuala wrote: »

Get well soon Erme Hope you get lots of rest - don't push yourself too hard with the ironing! And I really hope your sleep pattern gets sorted - any idea what's causing the prob?

I can't make any claims to be vegan yet - had delicious fish for dinner yesterday - I'm using up the contents of the freezer so no harm there. I had decided not to buy anything non-vegan from now on but I feel myself weakening. I don't know what got into me today - I lost all enthusiasm for being frugal and healthy and ordered a takeaway - it was vegetarian and not terribly expensive but still - not what I'm aspiring to. I'll just have to keep trying I guess. Send some will power and frugal vibes my way please!

Sleep pattern wise it's just me being wreckless. Is ongoing prob. I kind of put my foot in it last w/e by hitting the caffeine like war was about to be declared and rationing returning cos the meds got upped...then I (when high as a kite) thought it would be 'oh such a good idea to come off caffeine and cigs' and I came down to earth with a huge BUMP :eek: (and a self harm and 5 hours in A+E). So resolved to 'fix this myself' I reduce the caffeine Monday and go back on the cigs but then stay up till 11pm on Monday watching Jun A on iplayer . So it just goes from there.

Now I have a strange paranoia which folk say is caused by being so tired so it'll be the usual w/e catching up on zzzz's. Would have happened today but like had bad dreams .

Och yeah Nuala best eat up the contents of the freezer before going vegan and just test the water. I think I'm going to do the daily clicks challenge soon (when I get the email through) to try and earn a few £££.

Today there's free food @ C @ Uni :j (cos the students have just left) so going to raid but self harming on thigh plus flu is so not recommended cos it means I can't bike there and I don't know how I got the grocery shop home before the bike!

My nose was mega blocked last night so I put lavender on pillow and that really helped (any cold/flu virus I first treat with orange juice/squash and lavender and sometimes onion/garlic raw for chest) :T.

Got more ironing done last night ...figure just take it half hour wee bits till caught up . 1/2 hour ironing is not long. Bed making (bottom sheet is off so have to change sheets) and hoovering will have to wait till physically better.

Have next pc test next friday so dv will be tickety boo by then (can't afford to fail = £15 for the resit) so maybe part of tomorrow will be spent revising?

Blessings....lavender now methinks on glands and like nose (you can put it onto skin neat - tis about the only essential oil you can

Hugs

E

lyndasharp

Hugs to Erme and anyone else who needs them!

Have been doing OK budget-wise this month as we're trying to defrost the freezer, which means eating the contents. There's still plenty of pumpkin to go! Our potatoes are getting spots on the leaves which DH says is blight, but we've got something to treat it so hopefully they will be OK. The rest of the garden is doing well, plenty of home grown turnips and lettuce, and some strawberries. With a bit of warm weather we should get some more things ripening up soon.

I've been feeling a bit grotty with hayfever, roll on July as that's when the grass pollen should die down a bit! It does make it less fun doing the gardening....

Have bought a new car for £50, which is a very early ex police Morris Minor traveller. It needs total restoration, which is likely to be fairly expensive, but will be well worth the investment as we'll be doing it ourselves and saving money on garage bills. We just have to finish DH's ex police saloon first, then we can have a police car fleet :-)