A new 'tougher' thread... and so it continues

prepareathome

ragz wrote: »

Forgotten who wanted the light up alarm clock, but is this one on Amazon cheaper at £25.99? Also here in different colour same price, great reviews. Am considering one for DH as he is a pain to get up in winter! If you don't need the ipod and FM radio bit in the lidl one this looks like a better deal and you'll know it's well reviewed. (Not sure I agree with their blurb where it says ideal room temp is 20-23 degrees C, I prefer a much colder bedroom and my heating is never on at more than 17!)

ETA, looking over it maybe the lidl one would be better, has a radio and looks pretty sturdy. Might get DH one...

Thanks for that, prices have gone down in the two months since I looked for one of these clocks, couldn't find one at all below £86.

I think I will see if I can get the Lidl one, and one for son as well as like the remote control feature as well and the one from Amazon with P&P works out the same price. I see they have a few now cheaper.

Thanks though for pointing them out, handy for back up if cannot get it at Lidl:)

Pearla*Merle

Hello folks, just popping out of lurkerdom to add in a snippet about onions (see below). I've only just found you guys and had a great time reading through the thread over the weekend when I was sofa-bound with some sort of virus. So many great hints & tips - all the allotment shenanigans are very inspiring, I really need to up my game next year and get back into growing some odds and ends. It's been a bit hard being stuck in a small flat this year, but I daresay I could come up with some decent contraptions for the balcony if I put my mind to it.

So, this might be a bit of an old topic by now, but thought I'd chip in with this....

gardenia101 wrote: »

Does anyone have any tips for stopping the eyes streaming please?

Gardenia - get one of those mini hand-held fans (I found one at a supermarket for £1 a while back) and stand it beside your chopping board - it sounds mad (I certainly thought it was when the OH told me about it), but it does work. It helps keep the fresh air moving and whip away the onion-related vapours.

I think someone was asking as well which way you were supposed to chop them? The one thing I actually remember from my cookery outings at school was that you're supposed to chop from the top and discard the root as soon as you've chopped all the way down to it. It's the root that's especially pungent and is what causes the most trouble. You can actually repeatedly slice down the onion vertically to almost the root (so you're slicing across it vertically), then cut horizontally to dice it, then discard the root. Hope that makes sense?? But it's definitely one of the least lethal ways of chopping up an onion in my experience

suzybloo

After trying all the fancy face creams I have gone back to good old fashioned Ponds Cream at around £4 a jar and what a difference, along with atrixo for my hands. (and ponds still smells like it used to!)

hornetgirl

If anyone is still looking for the FB pies, I spotted some in Iceland today for £1.

((((Softstuff)))) - though the notion of you not being able to poke things did make me smile.

:beer: Desperate Housewife. Well done you.

Had an email from DH a while ago, that he received at work today, informing employees that the company is going to be sold. No indication of what the implications of this might be as yet.

lalapalooza

Hi Peeps!

Well, I have read up to page 30 this afternoon, all good stuff!

Houses - we are in the process of moving to a bungalow, losing a bedroom, gaining a bigger garden and a big conservatory, which will be nice. Mortgage is going up though, which is a worry, but we have about 10 years left on that.

Big costs currently are petrol as I travel 60 miles each way to work and back - moving will cut some of this off, but not a lot.

My favourite saving tips -

Jelly with frozen fruits/berries for puddings Currys - don't buy sauces - fry your onions until soft and add 2tbsp curry powder, cook for a minute then add your meat. Brown then add the tomatoes - finish with some yoghurt/ creme fraishe if you like it creamy Softener - don't use it - clothes aren't any softer without - if you want a nice fresh smell, add a couple of drops of any aromatherapy drops you like

I have a dairy allergy so have always cooked from fresh as everything processed has skimmed milk powder in it for some reason....

Looking forward to learning how to be more frugal, and not wasting so much money. ( I couldn't tell you the price of one item of food- never budgeted - big steep learning curve ahead).

prepareathome

hornetgirl wrote: »

I

Had an email from DH a while ago, that he received at work today, informing employees that the company is going to be sold. No indication of what the implications of this might be as yet.

Keeping everything crossed for you

lalapalooza

Oh, and the other good saver I do is I get my lamb and any other meat from Makro. The lamb in particular is good, you can get enough for 8 large steaks (bone out) for anything between £11 and £18. It comes in 4 pieces and I halve them... I used to purchase all my meat at farmers markets because I found the supermarket meat had too much water and used to shrink dreadfully - you would end up with less than half of the size you had bought when cooked! Makro's meat doesn't shrink (bonus) but I still try to by local and free range if possible.

If you buy a joint (from anywhere) roast and slice it when it has cooled, you can make it stretch further. I re-freeze it into portion sizes (there is just the two of us) and then leave it out when I am off to work, and pop it into gravy to warm through whilst the veg is cooking.

kitschy

Can I join after a long absence?!

I have pledged that the only things I'll buy new are groceries and underwear if I can help it. Have been doing it for a couple of months and am loving it! :j

It's made me much more resourceful, and cut down on my waste and spending. I'm 31, so still like to be kind of fashionable (although my sense of fashion is retro at the best of times) and have had no problems. For instance, it's very "in" at the mo to wear "boyfriend" cardigans (long and baggy cardigans with front pockets). Retailing even in Primani at about £15. ACTUAL man cardigan, Designers at Debenhams, £1 in CS Plus, you don't look like a clone of everyone else

I've learned to darn, thought of things I can make for birthdays/Christmas, made Freegle my best friend (make sure I offer something each time I collect something) etc. Surprisingly none of my friends have taken the pi$$ so far - think I've successfully culled the ones who do, and converted the ones who don't :rotfl:My Mummy (yes I do still call her that - she says it makes her feel younger) thinks it's brill, and my neighbour has started calling me MaDAM (Make Do and Mend).

And it's mostly down to (a) being inherently tight and not wanting to give away my hard earned pennies, and (b) lurking around you lot too much :rotfl:

tink1981_2

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

And I got nettles by the yard, so would love to know how to make some thing useful out of them rather than just cursing the wretched things as I strim them to death! (but they are good for the wildlife,so I do leave a patch standing proud)

Can recommend Nettle risotto, made it earlier this year with what we had left from picking for nettle beer. It was a bit like a cross between kale and spinach and i think very high in iron as we all had quite a glow after we'd finished!! :cheesy:

redlady_1

I do use expensive pots (L'Occitane) as I also dry skin. But it is supplemented with two pots from Clinique - Moisture surge and Cold Comfort. They really are very good especially the latter for prevention.