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

GreyQueen

grandma247 wrote: »

I use the boxes for my home canned goods. I have nine all full under the bed.

Wish I had room for 9 boxes. Due to the extreme smallness of my home (to have an idea, the bedroom takes a standard double bed with a piece of furniture in the alcove and no more) my underbed area is critically important for storage. The larder overflow is keeping company with some luggage, some linens and some shoeboxes whith shoes in. If that statement seems a little peculiar, please understand that the shoebox is the GQ favoured unit of storage being an excellent way to corral Misc into easily retrievable units inside other cupboards. Shoeboxes at the Shoebox contain any number of things other than footwear, believe you me. I particularly like those ones from Ecco; shame I can't afford to buy the shoes! Will have to screw my brass neck into place and ask if they have any spares they don't want.:)

Primrose

seraphina wrote: »

ceridwen - check out http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11950843

However much I love the idea of libraries, I feel sad that none of my local libraries have made any effort to cater to people who work. I love the idea of borrowing books but it's impossible for me to get there when they're open.

You're so right, and perhaps the unwillingness of staff to work occasional evenings to carter for working people will be their downfall. Often these days two of the criteria for deciding whether to close libraries is their annual footfall (i.e.number of visitors) and number of items borrowed. It stands to reason that if you don't open on Saturdays or during the evening, you eliminate a large number of people who would otherwise visit, so your visitor numbers and items borrowed falls dramatically.

Also sadly, since the arrival of TV, the popularity of books and reading has fallen dramatically across the nation. Our local library is doing a huge amount to encourage children and their parents to visit after school and on Saturdays with a range of activities apart from reading, so hopefully these children will be the next generation to value libraries and fight for their survival (if there are any left by then :eek:)

Greying_Pilgrim

Ahem....nervous cough... I think I may of inadvertently started a couple of hares running that I didn't intend.

With regard to library closures, the library where I currently type is to be closed shortly. There was no public consultation at the time, and I think there was an element of 'what can we chop?' rather than any cost benefit/socio economic analysis of what could possibly be cut. A consultation HAS now begun, on how we the Council Tax payers wish to see a quart stuffed into a pint pot through a hotch potch amalgamation. I have done the only thing I feel able and contributed thoughful points of view to my survey form and contacted my councillor to express my disgust at the council's high handed approach.

My sig ....... Jacob Bronowski is probably most famous for his involvement in the development of the atom bomb. However, he had a change of heart as he grew older and changed his standpoint. I missed the very good documentary about him recently (only managed to read about in a TV listings mag). I do think the comment is actually about STATE level spending rather than at a personal level, ie does your government buy library books or ballistic missiles. BUT AS I DO NOT WISH to take the thread off topic, I think I must act to change my sig.

Erm, I know it says I'm a newbie, but that's only because I've recently started posting. I've been round for yonks...... Time limits in libraries are not conducive to joining in posting regularly.

To end on an old style note, I would like to recommend a blog - especially to newcomers to moneysaving and old style- I am too 'new' to post a link for the blog, but I'm sure that regulars can help me out. Check out the blog by Rhonda Jean Hetzel called DOWN TO EARTH. It is absolutely crammed with OS tips - every type of recipe for making soap and cleaning gloop, Rhonda Jean knits, sews, gardens, cooks and is a real inspiration for OSers whether you're new to it or not. Rhonda Jean is based near to Brisbane in Australia, you'll be pleased to know that RJ and her husband Hanno missed the flooding and the cyclone that hit that corner of Australia. Rhonda Jean did used to post this MSE site - that's how I got to her blogspot in the first place. I'm sure people who have been around MSE for a while will remeber Rhonda Jean and concur that her blog is well worth a dip into.

Hope that helps someone and I apologise for taxing the boardguide. I'll stick fully on topic in future posts and change my siggy quick smart!!!

Greying

maryb

Our local library is now offering ebooks. I love ebooks for fiction but how to books are better in hard copy. If this helps reduce costs and keep libraries open I am all for it, but when I borrow an ebook their footfall goes down. So I hope they take that into account.

Libraries are VERY on topic of how to cope OS. Quite apart from the saving in not buying what you can borrow, the access to information is invaluable. And although I do buy a lot of books, very often the stock in bookshops is quite limited. The much greater age range of books in a library means you have a greater chance of finding the answer to something you are looking for. EG you will only find one or two 'basic' cookbooks in Waterstones, the rest are all the latest celeb chef offering. But go to the library and books that are now out of print will all be there

Yategirl

Our local library is open till 7pm at least 4 days a week plus open saturday and sunday. It is a shame they don't have a "late night" opening once a week as I always found it was a rush to get there and choose books by 7pm.

We go at least weekly - I often go now when the children are at school and then ds1 who's reading habit is as bad as mine likes to go at some point as well (we are working on ds2 but he is only just 6 so a bit of time yet ), we also reserve books online for both of us - I find when you read lots and lots, then it can be a struggle to find enough books in the library that appeal! I often reserve non-fiction books as well - good for school projects or for reviewing a book that you are in two minds as to whether to buy

I have friends who would rather buy as and when than use the local library - can't they see.. they can do both! Also, many of ds1's school friends have only ever been to the library on a school visit and his teacher commented to me at parent's evening about how unusual it was now to have a child like ds1 who "gets" books and the enjoyment you get from them. I find that so sad

Yategirl

maryb wrote: »

Our local library is now offering ebooks. I love ebooks for fiction but how to books are better in hard copy. If this helps reduce costs and keep libraries open I am all for it, but when I borrow an ebook their footfall goes down. So I hope they take that into account.

We have online audiobook loans but not ebooks as yet. I hadn't thought of the actual footfall of the library though - good point. That said I do have an ereader which is invaluble with sitting around at activities (waiting for ds's) as I then always have a book to read but I didn't get it in order to stop tree-books but to use bought or library treebooks along side it - more versatile.

Libraries are VERY on topic of how to cope OS. Quite apart from the saving in not buying what you can borrow, the access to information is invaluable. And although I do buy a lot of books, very often the stock in bookshops is quite limited. The much greater age range of books in a library means you have a greater chance of finding the answer to something you are looking for. EG you will only find one or two 'basic' cookbooks in Waterstones, the rest are all the latest celeb chef offering. But go to the library and books that are now out of print will all be there

I used to love visiting a bookshop - I could have spent hours in there mooching and finding fab books. I still like visiting a bookshop but like you say the choice just isn't there now and then I end up looking at Amazon or Book Depository which in the long run, isn't doing bricks and mortar bookshops any good

Pitlanepiglet

I doubt anyone's local library not opening evenings is in any way influenced by the staff themselves. It will be decreed by Library Services at County Hall (or equivalent)

In Dorset there hasn't been any sensible evaluation. DCC state confidently that 78% of issues are in the 14 town libraries that have been decreed "safe" (without consultation, they were shaved off the top without any comparison of stats); they fail to "weight" issues to capita of population so fail to say that actually most of the rural libraries are busier than the town libraries once the relative population size is taken into account.

They clearly have a target to meet but rather than approaching it in an "old style" way of how do I achieve what I need to do whilst making savings they are just slashing facilities in a way that will mean that they will never be reinstated. Around 150 years of library and social history destroyed without proper consideration...

I don't disagree with making cuts, we have to claw back the deficit (don't want to get political either) BUT it's the same as a household budget, there are ways of properly evaluating and making savings and certainly DCC doesn't appear to be doing this.

Frugal_Dreamer

We are going off topic again....:(

Lavandula

Bought some cushions in the charity shop at the weekend...they had good quality inners and were much cheaper than new inners. Will discard the covers and make some patchwork ones (from free fabric samples of course:D)..

Did weekly shop today, not many bargains....looking forward to eating my own toms and peppers in the summer..

Got a freebie in the post today (sun block)..

mardatha

Does anybody think there will be a surge in sales of motorbikes now that petrol is so dear ? In the 50s and 60s everybody had one, because there was less money about and people couldnt afford cars. Maybe those days are coming back ?