It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

Gigervamp

ceridwen wrote: »

The dehydrator I got is the Excalibur 5 tray one with a timer - I'm still cautiously "circling round it" at the moment and getting it set up gradually.

Looking forward to the results of your experiments. Any links to good dehydrators?

ceridwen

Gigervamp wrote: »

Looking forward to the results of your experiments. Any links to good dehydrators?

http://www.ukjuicers.com/excalibur-5-tray-dehydrator-with-timer-white

Primrose

charlies-aunt - Regarding the wine making, when we've made it in the past we always tried to get the fermentation going at this time of year, rather than waiting a little longer (ie you say "when the clocks go back). Once temperatures start to drop, the fermentation can really slow down, and even almost stop, so if it's possible, start the fermentation before indoor temperatures start dropping too much. We found that a quick fermentation also helped to clear the wine more quickly.

purpleheather2810

EstherH wrote: »

Think I'm getting a bit mixed up because I read this thread and start stockpiling and I read another and think I should be living out of the storecupboard to save money. Using up what I have so before I buy more. Lol.

I know what you mean! I am certainly trying to keep pace with the stockcupboard - i.e. not running it down at all - and trying to buy little extra every week so that by winter I will have a great stock. However I'm not going to be silly about it and I don't want to go over the weekly budget doing so.

honeybun16

jediteacher wrote: »

For those of your after washing liquid or softener there is currently an excellent offer at Sainsburys. I found the info on the grabbit board and now have spend the grand sum of £20 and I have got 4x Fairy Non-bio liquid gel, 4x Ariel Actilift, 4x Fairy softener. Hopefully will be able to get a few more as I still have loads of coupons.

Here is the deal:

Sainsburys have Ariel and Fairy products on offer, for instance Fairy non bio gel normally £8, now half price. Same for the Ariel...

That in itself is a good deal I think at half price... but... for every £10 spent on the various products you receive a £5 voucher. This voucher actually comes in the form of two £2.50 vouchers.

One is for £2.50 off of any Ariel and the other for any Fairy.... So I went straight back round and picked up another 3 x Fairy Gel and 1 x Ariel Gel, bring the cost to £11 and you guessed it another two vouchers. You could carry this method on until a. you run out money b.they run out of stock!! Alternatively when you've brought enough... your last two purchases will be one of each at the cost of £1.50 each RRP £8 each.... Thats a massive saving

First you have to spend £10:

I got the fairy non biological box (80 washes for £10) this gave me a £2.50 voucher for fairy and a £2.50 for Ariel.

Next time I got:
1x Fairy gel - Reduced to £4 from £8
1x Ariel - Reduced to £4 from £8
1x Fairy conditioner - £2 (large one) Total: £10 but with vouchers £5.

There are other things you can get such as pampers, head and shoulders but I'm stockpiling the laundary stuff.

I hope this makes sense

when you say this covers pampers too, do you know if the vouchers you get are for more pampers?

charlies-aunt

Primrose wrote: »

charlies-aunt - Regarding the wine making, when we've made it in the past we always tried to get the fermentation going at this time of year, rather than waiting a little longer (ie you say "when the clocks go back). Once temperatures start to drop, the fermentation can really slow down, and even almost stop, so if it's possible, start the fermentation before indoor temperatures start dropping too much. We found that a quick fermentation also helped to clear the wine more quickly.

I hadn't thought of that - we have to wait for last of the elderflower to clear and then we'll start with the elderberry as we only have 3 demijohns - which are in constant use throughout the year with various brews

We are lucky that our windows face south and our windowsills are 3ft deep (its an old cottage with v thick walls) so we sit them on the sills to catch any bit of warmth from the winter sun...also (don't laugh) I have made the little 'cosies' from old woolley jumpers for the demijohns to help keep them toasty and our old puss likes to get cuddled up on there with them out of the drafts so maybe her bodyheat helps too!

jediteacher

honeybun16 wrote: »

when you say this covers pampers too, do you know if the vouchers you get are for more pampers?

Yes, the voucher gives you £2.50 off a packet of pampers.

northwest1965

There is something satisfying about having a full storecupboard. I havent gone over my weekly budget (by much), just changed where I shop. Apart from meat/milk I think we could last all Winter.

If I remember rightly Morrisons had a deal on fabric softener.

ceridwen

EstherH wrote: »

You wont believe this but I stood looking at the open shelves in our kitchen before and thought 'I wonder if I got rid of those cookery books that I never use and have had since the 80's, what could I put in their place'.

...and I've been acquiring a coupla new (to me) cookbooks from the early 70s. I'm doing a bit of "historical research" type looking round cookbooks to see what can be adapted for now (one of those books is about English cooking through the centuries). So - I really must "put a rein on" getting cookbooks now - and major in old recipes for sweet things (Victorian at the latest) as a LOT less sugar seems to have been used in times past and of course 1960s/1970s cookbooks to see what portion sizes are supposed to be:o
(currently getting torn between working out recipes for other peoples benefit and the way I myself eat.....)

alec_eiffel

EstherH wrote: »

Think I'm getting a bit mixed up because I read this thread and start stockpiling and I read another and think I should be living out of the storecupboard to save money. Using up what I have so before I buy more. Lol.

I think a lot of the time "use it up" is more about the things that have been lurking in the pantry/freezer/fridge for ages and you never quite get round to using it, rather than not having much in at all, if that makes sense.

When I was first getting into frugality someone suggested that I use everything up and as I did write two lists, a shopping list and a not shopping list. It was really helpful as it stopped me buying stuff that I know I've bought before but then in the confusion of the supermarket forget that I had it for a year before it was used.

In the summer I have a policy of one in use - one in stock then as winter approaches I have one open - two in stock. It means everything gets used up, it's all stuff I know we like and there's still a buffer incase of illness, lack of money, snow or whatever. It seems to be a good balance. I'd probably have more if I lived somewhere more remote though.

I've just done a big stock up shop so feel very comfy about that but for the main part we're just piling up cash pending the spending review next month