January 2011 Grocery Challenge

minnie2

Pernicious wrote: »

Thank you, I usually shop at Mr T's & rarely find cheap washing powder there - W!lko's is usually our best bet & even they're not cheap sometimes, I will be looking tomorrow on my lunchbreak & if it doesn't beat Mr S's basics I will be taking a trip there instead of Mr T's for once, it's not that much further to drive too.


Thanks for this also, unfortunately Asd@ is too far away to make it worthwhile but I shall be checking out the others in Mr S's if W!lko's proves more expensive.

I hadn't even thought of trying to cut them in half to be honest! They're liquid filled so providing I used both halves on the same day would this work? I never use 2 for one load anyway, well I did when I first got some & it "told" me too, but I found we ended up with a lovely jellylike substance on the rubber near the door...what a waste!

soda crystals - 85p a kg co-op or 92p a kg in tesco i use them to wash clothes, they also keep limescale at bay and you can use them for many other things too!!

martafdz

Pernicious, Idk how you could cut the liquid ones lol. Maybe if you put the liquid in the drawer instead of inside the drum and save the other half in a small measuring glass? I had the same problem you mention when I had the liquitabs and I added two. Now I think about it, once the liquitabs broke in the tub and I ended up with the bottom full of liquid and empty satchets floating. I just used the liquid in the drawer and it was ok.
I think all that nosense of number of washes and required number of tabs is all a plain lie to make us spend! Lol Clothing is clean with either 2, 1 or even half of the recommended dosage. At least when the laundry is for adults working in offices/places where you don't get that dirty. I will see what happens when I have kids and they come back home with chocolate and mud stained shirts, but at the moment I am fine with just one.

Jolaaled

happycrafter wrote: »

I used delias for the first time this year with just big plain oranges but I did find it took longer than she said for the setting point but that could be because I used different oranges.

yes..i also found it took longer to reach setting point..about 50 mins of a rolling boil for me...and I did use Seville Oranges.

helen_jelly

Hi everyone

£5 spent today on Milk and Noodles - DH got the wrong Noodles but never mind as they will be eaten

Washing Powder - I got a years supply of Daz Liquid form Lidl recently when they were on offer and I water it down and I do the same with washing conditioner - doesn't affect the quality of the liquid and stops my machine from clogging up

Brodie and NickKW - well done

See you all in a couple of days

Helen x

martafdz

happycrafter wrote: »

Will post my totals tomorrow, also OH really impressed with dinner for friends last night! [...]

wow, your dinner sounds amazing!! How do you make bread? I have never done it, does it taste like the baguettes in the supermarket? I love baguettes How easy is it to make?

minnie2 wrote: »

soda crystals - 85p a kg co-op or 92p a kg in tesco i use them to wash clothes, they also keep limescale at bay and you can use them for many other things too!!

What do you do with the soda crystals? Do you put them in the drawer? How much do you put? Do they leave any smell? What can you use them for beside this?

Sorry, too many questions! Lol

happycrafter_2

martafdz wrote: »

wow, your dinner sounds amazing!! How do you make bread? I have never done it, does it taste like the baguettes in the supermarket? I love baguettes How easy is it to make?



What do you do with the soda crystals? Do you put them in the drawer? How much do you put? Do they leave any smell? What can you use them for beside this?

Sorry, too many questions! Lol

All he did was make a basic bread dough, he used the breadmaker on a dough setting. Then he just rolled it out on to a baking tray and baked it until cooked. we have done it before with one of the bread kits you buy in a supermarket, usually you just add water and you kneed it and leave it to rise before you roll it out. Usually I do this and then add mashed up garlic in olive oil on top and sprinkle with sea salt for an easy garlic bread.

supersally01

Well there is just one week left, and my first 4 weeks is nearly over, and i am still in budget. I thought i'd share with you the difference GC had made to me. As i have saved so much (OH is very impressed), we have been able to take advantage of the 1/2 price sales to buy tiles for my kitchen floor, and get a quote to get them laid, and he is coming a week on monday!!!!.
This is a big step for me, as we have had our own home for 4 years, and never saved anything to spend on the house.
I am so inspired by this, that I managed to buy tiles for my bathroom upstairs, and have a quote to lay them too. I have big plans, and now can see them realised through saving on what I spend.
I cannot believe what I spent before, no wonder the supermarkets do so well, and the best bit is that I think I can go lower, yet we are still eating well - will see how I go.
Big thanks again to all!, just reading this thread keeps me inspired. My goal is to not go to the shops till I am desperate this week, maybe friday, even later if I can!!!!.

PennyGrabber

happycrafter wrote: »

All he did was make a basic bread dough, he used the breadmaker on a dough setting. Then he just rolled it out on to a baking tray and baked it until cooked. we have done it before with one of the bread kits you buy in a supermarket, usually you just add water and you kneed it and leave it to rise before you roll it out. Usually I do this and then add mashed up garlic in olive oil on top and sprinkle with sea salt for an easy garlic bread.

That sounds LUSH! I go through phases of using my breadmaker for a few months, then not for a few months - I get bored of hm, then bored of shop-bought! However, I only make bread the normal way in the bm, never just made the dough before. Your way of making that bread sounds delish, and I will have to try that soon! Plus, I have all the ingredients for it so it won't cost anything new! Nice!

Not an NSD for me today - small spend of £4.82. Not a lot, but all stuff we could've done without, except the yogs for packed lunches. Oh well... creeping nearer to the budget! On the plus side, I've never set a budget this low I don't think, and I've been spending around £300 a month recently, so that's progress! Would just be so nice if I could make it though!!

Night all

PG x

ps - for washing, I buy whatever's on offer at the time, then use 1/4 to 1/2 of what they say to use. At the moment, I'm using surf(?) liquid, and using just under a half of a capful. A big bottle has lasted me ages and is still half full,think I bought it at the beginning of the summer!!!

LittleMissHappy_2

Well, went on my whoopsie mission today and hardly got anything The closest sm to me is a Mr T which is 24 hr so I think they must have different times for putting out the good whoopsies compared to normal sm's. It shuts at 4pm on a Sunday, so thought if I went about 3pm they would have loads, but no such luck. Grrrrrr! Oh, well, I am still way under budget and I got an early b/day present for my daughter reduced from £10 to £2.50, 2 x bread reduced from £1.45 (:eek::eek::eek::eek:do people really pay that much for bread?!?!) to 42p some half price crisps for lunch boxes and some spray for DH so was quite successful really Will update signature now x Hope you folks are having better luck than me with the bargains! Thinking positively though and will keep plodding on and going at different times..........x

PennyGrabber

supersally01 wrote: »

Well there is just one week left, and my first 4 weeks is nearly over, and i am still in budget. I thought i'd share with you the difference GC had made to me. As i have saved so much (OH is very impressed), we have been able to take advantage of the 1/2 price sales to buy tiles for my kitchen floor, and get a quote to get them laid, and he is coming a week on monday!!!!.
This is a big step for me, as we have had our own home for 4 years, and never saved anything to spend on the house.
I am so inspired by this, that I managed to buy tiles for my bathroom upstairs, and have a quote to lay them too. I have big plans, and now can see them realised through saving on what I spend.
I cannot believe what I spent before, no wonder the supermarkets do so well, and the best bit is that I think I can go lower, yet we are still eating well - will see how I go.
Big thanks again to all!, just reading this thread keeps me inspired. My goal is to not go to the shops till I am desperate this week, maybe friday, even later if I can!!!!.

That's amazing! Well done supersally01! Just shows what you can do when you put your mind to something. Also, to see almost straight away the impact, will push you on even further! Keep up the good work!!:T