The Other Way, or the MSE Way: My Personal Challenge

nu1isit?

Thanks millionaire in training :beer:. I tried, but I'm never quick enough to get the 'good' things I need. I think theres a little man, or lady who sits at their desk all day, trying to snap up the good stuff on freecycle :rotfl:. Fingers ready, poised to type, and eyes fixed to the screen like a hawk .
I might start to keep an eye out on it though millionaire,as it's nearly gardening time in a few months time.:T

nu1isit?

Well I'll update you all on how I've been getting on...


Clothes: My two pairs of army/utility trousers finally curled up and died on me the other day :eek:. I normally use these for ‘knocking about in’, and doing the jobs – this saves the ‘good stuff’:D. I had some choices. I could: go to Blacks etc. , and get a pricey pair, go to A**a, T***o and get a couple of pairs for £10 upwards, or go to a charity shop and see what I could get that was similar.
As luck would have it, we passed a second hand stall; they’d just thrown their clothes on; so you had to have a bit of a scavenge...I found one pair of B****ns army style trousers, hardly worn (usually worth approx.rrp £20), one pair of E**y army style trousers, hardly worn again (£15 approx. rrp), and one lovely jumper; you’re lucky if it’s seen someone’s back five times (£8 approx. rrp). I hear you ask, how much for this bounty of brilliance (approx. £43 rrp)? I’ll tell you, £1.50 :T:D:D:D:T. You couldn't even buy a posing pouch for that now, or could you? :rotfl:.
Computer/DVD: Linux installed, seems to run fine had a dvd playing in it, opens mp3 & mp4 files okay, had a play with my jpegs (photo files). I have to do a bit of a search at some point this weekend for drivers for the audio card (added bonus - it was preinstalled ). No sound currently, but I'm sure I can get it working with the above tweaking :T.
Anyone else use Linux and how do they find it?:)


Hope you've all had a good MSE day :beer:.

wookiebob

Hi Nu1,
Loving your work, great ideas too! Decided to subscribe to keep up with your progress and borrow your handy hints! Thanks! xx

millionaire_in_training

I use linux on my mini laptop so only really use for browsing. TRy freecycle for external speakers for PC. Well done on the clothes. Doncha just love a bargain :-)

nu1isit?

Right I’ll update you on our progress so far:


Laundry: The soapnuts are still doing the laundry fine....I’m resisting the urge to use the dryer as much as possible (and the temptation is strong):rotfl:. I think I’m managing well over half and half – not a bad start, but I’m sure we can do better!
Car: Still managing to keep to 60mph on the main roads, it’s really hard when smug boy racers fly past you - grinning:mad:. At least now, I smile back:D; I might even start to wave, much like the queen does:rotfl:. What do you think? The car’s averaging 51mpg now for slightly longer journeys (***smiles to himself***).
Sealed Pot Challenge 4: Going really well, we’ve vowed to put something in everyday, no matter what it is. Still thinking about what paper mache creation to do, but it’ll have to be done in an MSE way :idea:.
Computer/DVD Player: Linux machine (DVD player etc.), managed to get a driver for the graphics card, just got to sort out the sound later, or tomorrow. Thanks millionaire, it seems to be easy to use, and it feels just as quick as the family laptop (it has Windows, 3gb ram etc.). Don’t worry MSE’rs, the wife haggled like a good un’ for the family laptop (nearly a year ago), she got it reduced and free stuff thrown in:T. She needed one for training and course work; she couldn’t get on the library ones for love, nor money at the times she could do coursework (we have children:D).
Electric: Still running around switching off plugs and lights that not needed;). Found info on an earlier thread to do with electricity, so thanks to cardew, natlie and wig.



Hope you all have a good MSE day :beer:

nu1isit?

The Sealed Pot Challenge: Eeek :eek: forgot to post my amount yesterday. Is it possible to smack your own wrists and mean it?:rotfl: Naughty boy :rotfl:...tut..tut...
Anyway, the stunning amount for yesterday was (cue the music), dah dah dah da duh , 5 pence :laugh:. It's all money, onwards and upwards....:D
We'll be going out later to hunt for coins, with our eyes peeled and hands ready :laugh:...It's going to be tougher than normal, as it's been snowing :snow_laug.
:idea:Can you train dogs to sniff out coins I wonder?:idea:

Tea bags: Eh, I hear some of you say...the wife has been keeping the teabags, as she said, "I'm sure they can be used for something...composting etc". In true time honoured fashion, she's right . Look at the following:

http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20060508/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-%E2%80%A6-used-tea-bags

and,

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/7865706/Tear-your-tea-bags-before-composting-watchdog-says.html

It's going to be Spring soon, so better get stock piling :rotfl:.

Have a good MSE day everyone :beer:.

katsu

nu1isit? wrote: »

Shoe Gal: I'm glad you get your washing machine fixed...Google - it's like the gift that keeps on giving .

I totally love this statement and it is so true.

In MSE style DH has printed off some diagrams and gone to fix a problem at a friend's house (if he can) to save the friend calling out an engineer. I :lovethouggoogle and MSE

OP - congrats to you and your wife for the changes you are making - check out the daily small steps thread for loads more tips.

nu1isit?

katsu wrote: »

In MSE style DH has printed off some diagrams and gone to fix a problem at a friend's house (if he can) to save the friend calling out an engineer. I :lovethouggoogle and MSE

OP - congrats to you and your wife for the changes you are making - check out the daily small steps thread for loads more tips.

Hope your DH was successful in helping your friend.
We're trying, and by posting on here it's helping... We have to make a conscious effort in the choices we make now. We had a slight relapse last year, as we had just concentrated on figures (and the figures obviously didn't pop into our heads often enough _pale_). I should have been thinking/concentrating on the 'choices' we made instead . Or at least thought about both sides of the coin (no pun intended :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:).
Hopefully this time, we can cement some permanent good habits .
We'll see how this year pans out, hopefully this challenge (and the others), is the start of something good:T. It's been helpful, and motivitional - reading, writing and participating in the challenges on MSE so far.
The Daily Small Steps thread you mentioned katsu, where exactly is it?

cha97michelle

I mentioned your thread to my DH. We were discussing the fact that our cat needs a tooth extracting and wondered if there was an MSE way to do that, but we decided that it would have to be the other way as neither of us are cruel enough to try extracting it ourselves. We will give most other things a go though.

Good luck on your challenge. And thanks for solving a mystery for me as i always wondered why the teabags didn't compost. Should have tried google really.

nu1isit?

cha97michelle wrote: »

I mentioned your thread to my DH. We were discussing the fact that our cat needs a tooth extracting and wondered if there was an MSE way to do that, but we decided that it would have to be the other way as neither of us are cruel enough to try extracting it ourselves. We will give most other things a go though.

Good luck on your challenge. And thanks for solving a mystery for me as i always wondered why the teabags didn't compost. Should have tried google really.

Thanks for the good luck . There was a man in America who let his boss pull out his tooth, to save him going to the dentist :eek::eek::eek:...I THINK A LOUD, S*D THAT IS IN ORDER. I'd be screaming before the pliers even got in there :laugh:. Though I bet there's a few bosses who would love the chance to do that to their employess (and possibly visa versa) :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:.