Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

enjoyfinancialchallenges

NuBu Nell Gwynne/Gwyn/Gwyne can be spelt many different ways sold oranges outside the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane ,London and was Charles II long term mistress. So the connection is the oranges, get it?

I'm pleased your freecycler turned up, I got an easy chair off freecycle the other day and a couple of guys carried by hand down the road for me in the dark. Trouble was when I looked at it in the light of day it was not as good as I thought and far to large for my room so I'm afraid its going to go on its travels again as soon as I get around to putting it back on freecycle again.

Sounds like you had a busy day so dont overdo it, take care. XX E

apple_mint

Good morning everyone :wave:

Well, I filled the car and had a lie down afterwards to recover from the shock. Almost £73 :eek: I bought OH and I a chocolate bar each as a treat so another £1.14 added. What happened to get a couple of treats from a £1 and there'd be some change back too. Gosh, prices are going up so fast. Though to be honest, we so rarely buy chocolate when out the accumulated price increases of the last couple of months have only just hit us.

I've updated my spreadsheets and I'm keeping in budget at the moment.

CanDskylove

I like this forum. I’m lucky to have found so much great information here. Many thanks to you all guys!

Lesley_Gaye

twiglet98 wrote: »

Copied this to try in the week, thanks Lesley, it sounds fab.

Daft question but do the red lentils have to be soaked first?

no, red lentils don't need to be soaked first. They take about 20 minutes to be cooked soft enough for soup, if you want them with texture to them, 10mins should do it

hope you like it

NualaBuala

Aha, thanks EFC, I like learning new things!

Today I am taking it very easy after yesterday. Nothing more strenuous than pottering around the house, and maybe making soup.

Hope everyone has a good day!

redglass_2

Glad your FreeCycler turned up, NualaBuala. I wondered if I would draw disapproval for saying she might be a carbooter - it didn't come out the way I intended. What I meant was, if she was after stuff in general, anything for selling purposes, rather than really wanting a particular item, the motivation to turn up isn't quite the same. I have nothing against car boots - have bought and sold at them myself -and in fact I don't disapprove of people selling stuff they have obtained from FreeCycle, provided they are open about it (I would disapprove of someone pleading false poverty in order to get items) since the point is to keep things out of landfill.

I read a book recently by Annie Leonard. It's called The Story of Stuff and it's about how consumerism and waste are wrecking so much of the planet. Very hard hitting and I wouldn't read it if you're feeling low because so much is bad news (I also skimmed/skipped bits 'cos there's so much hard info in there) but there are also hopeful aspects. One part that cheered me up: she says that at a personal level the most important thing you can do is MAKE THINGS LAST, KEEP USING THEM until there is absolutely no use left. Recycling is good but re-using and wearing out and then using it for something else is better than recycling. And we are really good at all that on this thread. So three cheers for us. :T

NualaBuala

redglass wrote: »

Glad your FreeCycler turned up, NualaBuala. I wondered if I would draw disapproval for saying she might be a carbooter - it didn't come out the way I intended. What I meant was, if she was after stuff in general, anything for selling purposes, rather than really wanting a particular item, the motivation to turn up isn't quite the same. I have nothing against car boots - have bought and sold at them myself -and in fact I don't disapprove of people selling stuff they have obtained from FreeCycle, provided they are open about it (I would disapprove of someone pleading false poverty in order to get items) since the point is to keep things out of landfill.

I read a book recently by Annie Leonard. It's called The Story of Stuff and it's about how consumerism and waste are wrecking so much of the planet. Very hard hitting and I wouldn't read it if you're feeling low because so much is bad news (I also skimmed/skipped bits 'cos there's so much hard info in there) but there are also hopeful aspects. One part that cheered me up: she says that at a personal level the most important thing you can do is MAKE THINGS LAST, KEEP USING THEM until there is absolutely no use left. Recycling is good but re-using and wearing out and then using it for something else is better than recycling. And we are really good at all that on this thread. So three cheers for us. :T

No disapproval from me Redglass!
Our freecycle doesn't seem to have rules but I don't get the same Feelgood Factor if I give to someone who's making a profit as just giving to someone in need of the item. I'm not sure either way with this lady but actually I don't really mind, am so pleased to be rid of the stuff! I agree with you 100% that they should be up front about it though.

I saw a little animation of The Story of Stuff and thought it was fab, also the story of cosmetics and a few other things. It's scary isn't it how much waste there is and all the problems it causes. I've decided the 1st thing I must do is stop acquiring stuff I don't need. I'm putting a lot of effort into disposing of my unwanted stuff responsibly and that makes me very reluctant to add to my belongings - my first thought is, how would I get rid of it?! :rotfl:

redglass_2

NualaBuala wrote: »

I saw a little animation of The Story of Stuff and thought it was fab, also the story of cosmetics and a few other things.

That's a GREAT link, NB and I hadn't seen it before. Thank you! :T I also think, 'How would I get rid of it' and also, sometimes, 'How much would I have to do to maintain it.' My mum, bless her, still can't understand why I won't let her buy me an electric doorbell, with all the fuss about wiring and batteries, when I have a loud door knocker (been there since about 1970 by the look of it) and a small house...I saw blocks of flats in Portugal that have no electric doorbells. Instead they have a single hand-shaped knocker (with a BIG knock!) that means a particular system is used. There are usually 6 flats. Downstairs left is 1, downstairs right is 2 and so on. You knock in a kind of morse code, 1 knock (pause) then 1 knock (pause) for flat number 1. For flat 2 you give two knocks then pause, and so on. I was so impressed by the simple genius of this....it runs on nothing but a little patience, it never breaks and the knocker looks far more beautiful than a row of scruffy doorbells.

NualaBuala

Well thank YOU Redglass, cos you were the one who reminded me!

minnie2

not much to say except we have been spending loads!!!!! argh!! going to try and find things to ebay either tonight or tomorrow!!