It isn`t tough for us. We are OS and we COPE

Linda32

CrazyNerd wrote: »

I really want to start OSing, the news this morning scared me, and I think even tougher times are coming. I have a huge barrier, my DH.
Any ideas about how to get him convinced its the way to go?

Hope I don't upset anyone, start with dinners, way to a mans heart and all that HM cakes for example, HM of whatever types of evening dinners you both have?

mardatha

I have to admit that I enjoy really OS living and look on it as a war - my war against TPTB. Proving I can run the house and the husband, on less and less as I get better at it. I think this year is going to be an eye-opener, like we haven't seen since the 70s and 80s for strikes and rising prices.
I still have some things I'm not good at. Rubber chicken is one. In this house a large invisible mouse (called Jimmy) seems to get into the fridge and munch the carcass until its only bones.
I love eating my own food. This is the third year of the veggie plot and I hope the best yet. Also getting hens when we get their housing sorted. Every little thing that you can grow or swap, is one step more on the road to OS .

ceridwen

Bitsy_Beans wrote: »

I tried that stuff but just couldn't get it to work I even tried added citric acid (vit c) to it and still couldn't get it to work.
I stick to the sachets now, not cost effective but I was wasting more money in ruined loaves.

Dont know why that would have been.

Thats the one I use when I make bread - and it comes out just fine. I've got a couple of loaves rising downstairs now as we "speak" and they'll be going in the oven in a couple of minutes. I've never had any problems with it.

Perhaps its the particular recipe you use?

charlies-aunt

We live as OS as possible - to me frugality isn't about being mean - its an attitude that means that you get every last drop of value from every penny that you spend.

Its more about buying quality things that you can use/wear/enjoy every day rather than buying cheap throwaway that break after the first few weeks. Personally I find the charity shops are the best bet for buying quality items at a reasonable price - if its already stood up to wear and tear from a previous owner but still looks good - its got to be a good deal!

Thinking creatively is fundamental to an OS lifestyle - the life cycle of any item will involve several changes of uses - eg 100% cotton T-shirt bought "for best" and worn all year round - on its own in summer, under shirts/jumpers in winter -> remodelled/embelllished to jazz it up for another year -> Tshirt to go shopping in -> Tshirt to garden in -> Tshirt to paint in -> cut up for dusters/dolls clothes/rag rugs -> when too stained for dusters -> floor or car cleaning cloths / oil rags . . . . phew!

I try to throw away as little as possible - things like jamjars are far too precious to throw away! . . . . and filled with a myriad of things easily morph into lovely presents . . . .its heartbreaking going to the effort of saving money by picking hedgerow fruit to make HM jam if you then have to spend a fortune buying jamjars

stiltwalker

I use fresh yeast for my bread and find it makes a real difference to the crumb. If your local supermarket has a scratch bakery try asking a member of staff there, they will usually cut you a piece and either charge you a few pence or even better nothing at all.

Bitsy Beans if your bread isn't rising with the ordinary dried yeast check the date, it's one thing where it really matters that it is in date as it does deteriorate. I spent quite a while during my last pregnancy convinced something weird was happening as none of my bread was rising until I checked the date - duh! - and found it was a couple of months past it.

bellaquidsin

Mmmm...,, we were doing well last year with growing veggies in raised bads when in moved the foxes. They love organic fertiliser in fact devoured a whole box of bonemeal in my neighbour's greenhouse, and will dig for England if they get a whiff of chicken pellets.

countingthepennies post has reminded me that we really must make every effort to produce as much food as we can. I have made a grid cover for some of the area with an old fireguard under which I currently have Winter Density Lettuces.

Salad is a big money spinner here as we eat it every day in the warmer months and I can grow quite a lot in tubs, but I would love any ideas on how to keep the foxes off my veggies as I want to grow as much as possible this year.

Meanwhile it's back to the crochet. I have just finished a granny square blanket with the tiniest balls of wool used up from my stash. It's very colourful and cosy. Now I am doing a 'ripple' blanket, not so OS as I bought the wool specially but it will keep me snug and the heating bills down.

Sorry, can't remember who, but someone was asking about using up small amounts of yarn in knitting. I have seen squares made up into not only blankets but hot water bottles covers, cushion covers and even cuddly toys. Might be an idea for pressies, or how about stripey mittens?

Bella.

bellaquidsin

Ah, just had a trawl back and found it was lambanana who has wool to use up.

A few more ideas come to mind:- if it is wool then purses knitted in fair isle then felted would make nice gifts. So would covered coat hangers. Can you crochet? Little crochet flowers in odds and ends of colours would decorate all sorts of things. If you can't crochet, have a look for a tutorial on Youtube, there's nothing so motivating as learning a new skill.

Bella.

[Deleted User]

doh my long post just disappeared:

I am glad you are liking the thread, being os is just like the old days when you had a sense that most of us pulled together

I think also that being os is running with the seasons and using what is in season, when it is at its best and cheapest. Seville oranges are in season just now and their season will finish in just a few short weeks. I am busy making marmalade and have made 12 lb so far with another 40 to go. It costs me just 46p a lb not counting energy or jars

I also bought an owl energy monitor the other week and just to say that making a large loaf in the breadmaker costs<7p and using the oven sends it skywards, my oven is always full when used, although more and more I am using the stove top ie a steamer over a pan or my pressure cooker. I always cook enough for a couple of days at least and a soup will do 3 days

I am os through and through and have always been that way but I would rather it was by choice than through neccessity

MrsGSR

MrsRogers wrote: »

Try this one for a 3Ib

http://www.siliconemoulds.com/extra-large-loaf-bread-mould-p-116.html

This for a 4Ib but a bit pricey :eek:

http://www.headcook.co.uk/silverwood-vpan-4lb-14x5-5x4in.html

Maybe worth a look on Ebay too

HTH

Great, thanks very much will take a look.

bellaquidsin

Yes kittie must get some seville oranges but I'm not too good with the footwork just yet following my op so they'll have to go in the freezer to be made up as and when.

Actually I have quite a bit of space in my freezer at the moment because I made a lot of 'ready meals' to see us through my post op period, so oranges would be a good way of filling the gaps. Failing that I'm freezing boxes of water instead of airspace and to keep my freezeer nice and full in case of power cuts.

Bread makers - a sore point with me, I'm afraid. Some time ago I bought a Panasonic only to read in the instructions that I had to allow 4-5inches of worktop in front of it. The layout of my kitchen doesn't allow for this as I have a long narrow kitchen with full width worktop down one side with cupboards above and very narrow worktops where the bread maker would have to stand. Sadly I had to return the machine to the shop. This week i have taken delivery from Lakeland of a Morphy Richards Daily Loaf bread maker. It is a much smaller machine and fits the space but again the instructions tell me it needs an ambient temperature of 15 - 36 deg. My kitchen is VERY cold most of the time and on Monday (not the coldest of days) it was only just nudging 15deg so that one had to go back for fear of producing under risen bread.

So it's back to oven baked bread for me which I have been doing since the bread strikes of the 1970's. I console myself that when I do bake bread I can do enough for a least a week but I do take your point about the cost of running the oven. Just one OS battle I'm not going to win.

Bella.