Sweetdaisy's aim to be mortgage-free

slowlyfading

Fingers crossed the washing machine continues to be fine

sweetdaisy

slowlyfading wrote: »

Fingers crossed the washing machine continues to be fine

I do hope so SF. I put it on a hot cycle after we fixed it and put a bit of bleach in the drum to give it a good clean. Looks and smells nice now. We have only had it just over 2 years, but did a lot of heavy washing last weekend as DH was mountain bike racing and I think all the mud and dirt must have blocked it. I don't really want to spend money on replacing it, so it had better last :rotfl:.

southerndave

Just a tip. Once a quarter (mark it on the calendar) clean the bottom filter trap out, you'll be amazed what you find. Once a month, wash the washing machine! Run it on a hot wash with your normal detergent in (no softener) and soon as its finished, open the door and air it and give the seals a wipe dry. Will save a lot of hassle and possible breakdowns.

Personally I wouldn't recommend adding bleach, although it wont do any harm you need to be sure residues are rinsed before putting clothes back in and start of with a white wash. Also bleach kills bacteria but doesn't clean anything else. Best additive to your monthly machine wash is a cup of soda crystals which dissolve grease in the pipes as they get washed down. Dirt cheap too.

When we clean ours on the quarterly filter clean, my wife like to use the Dr Beckman washing machine cleaning sachets which seems to be very effective.

I know the above system works - we have had our machine for 8 years used almost every day, only thing replaced has been worn bushes on the drum. The machine before lasted 8 years as well used daily and was a cheap and cheerful model. Was still running when we upgraded to this one! Hope this helps.

sweetdaisy

Thanks for the tips Southerndave .

Our old machine lasted 10 years and now that we have two little ones plus DH's dirty biking clothes, the washing machine gets a hammering. I am ashamed to say that we had never checked the filter before but will definitely clean it out every quarter and I will buy some soda crystals to put in the wash to help keep it going.

The machine is washing our clothes lovely now, but I am only going to use a quarter of the recommended dose of softener, as I think that it has affected the way the clothes are being washed, as they sometimes feel like they have residue on them, even though I only use half the amount recommended.

sweetdaisy

Sorted out all the kitchen cupboards today and moved things around on the worktops. Took an hour to do, but have that sense of accomplishment now that things are in their right place and the cupboards have had a good clean. I plan to start sorting out the children's toys tomorrow as DS2 doesn't play with his baby toys any more as he is more interested in DS1's toys.

Cooked a Sausage Casserole and Chicken Curry today and have placed into containers for freezing. I am loving this menu planning malarkey, as it has made me realise that we have plenty of meal options and stops me stocking up on unnecessary items.

My 'Healthier Me' regime is going well. I am snacking less and did a 50 minute walk today. I have vowed that I am not going to have any treats tonight so am drinking Tea instead to prevent me from going to the biscuit tin .

sweetdaisy

Total mortgage overpayments made for September, on top of increased mortgage payment: £440.

Moved money in the 'Spending' account for next week. This week we had an underspend of £47 - thanks to DH who has enough Diesel to last until next week and having spent less on the food shop, so paid £23 towards the mortgage and £24 put into Savings.

Not had the chance to sort out the playroom, but will probably have to do it when the children are out, as it will be easier then.

sweetdaisy

I decided that I couldn't put it off any longer and sorted out the playroom . We all did it together, with DS1 picking toys and stuffed teddies to go into a charity bag. We have one bag to go to charity and one bag of rubbish (missing/broken parts of toys).

It was a good MSE exercise as I went through the pens/crayons box and threw out a load of pens that have dried up and has we have so many I won't need to buy any for the Christmas Stockings.

The boys are happy as we found all the parts to Mr.Potato Head and all the food/cutlery items are in their little kitchen. How long all the parts will be all together I don't know. Found a load of school/nursery pictures and artwork and the ones worth keeping were put in their keep safe boxes.

southerndave

Its infectious this de-cluttering!

sweetdaisy

southerndave wrote: »

Its infectious this de-cluttering!

It's very addictive :rotfl:. I love sorting things out as I am trying to get into the mindset that if something is locked away in a cupboard or not being used, then I don't really need it (apart from the important irreplaceable stuff that is).

Since I have started this MFW I am only buying things that are essential as I am trying to reduce clutter. I find it's a good way to de-stress and even though the children are too young to understand, I would love for them as they get older to appreciate the simpler things in life rather than be bombarded with material possessions .

sweetdaisy

It's the 1st of the month and an £18 overpayment made . I had completely forgotten about it as I didn't get a letter, but the TV Licence came out by Direct Debit today, £145.50. Transferred money from my 'Annual Spends' saving pot into the Direct Debit account to cover this cost.

I've not had the heating on yet :j and didn't find it too cold today. Had the day off work and did two loads of washing which dried on the line in no time, thanks to the blowing gale.

Contacted Natwest regarding the mortgage and was informed than my mortgage term has reduced by a further 3 months. It is 2 months longer than my spreadsheet calculations but as this includes what's in the offset and Natwest don't take this into consideration I am pleased by the way that it's reducing. I was also informed that my minimum monthly payment has been reduced, so I am now automatically overpaying by a further £21 a month.