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

fuddle

Brilliant kidcat thank you. I hadn't thought of cleaning stuff etc. I have so much that needs doing in this house mixed with DIY jobs that need doing and DIY I want to do (the exciting creative kind ) and I cant be bothered so we'll see what gets done!

DH said that it's a good idea the clean out the cupboard (he would!) and said the junk can go in the loft. Great he's onside but I don't think he actually realises the cupboard is about to be turned into a pantry of sorts. I'm going to take it slowly though and work with the top shelf first. It's very deep so will hold a lot.

GreyQueen

kidcat wrote: »

Fuddle I am still using flour with a sept 2010 date:o its seems ok, I add a little extra baking powder to the SR version.

I would suggest cleaning fluids, washing powder, washing up liquid, toilet rolls, toothpaste, soap, shampoo and shower gel as good staples. They never go off and increase so significantly in price that if you can buy them on offer its real value for money, I am using washing powder at the moment that I paid £8 per box for back in January, I bought 6 boxes and then used a voucher for £10 off too, so effectively paid a little over £6 per box. The same size boxes are now selling for £20 so I have really saved a bundle. (I still have three boxes in the loft too!! - havent told OH, just got DS14 to slip them up there quietly:D)

Cereals are another good one too and maybe powdered milk.

Morning all.

Kidkat, glad to see you posting again. Was wondering where you were and hoping nothing horrendous had happened with your children. That blimming teacher............!!!!!!!!!! I love the image of SuperKidkat riding in to rescue her DS. I really hope that your son can get a supportive and nurturing school environment soon, to match the one he obviously has at home.

I, too, am afflicted with envy of Memory Girl's Armageddon Cupboard (love that phrase) and will be having a read of her blog any minute now. I would exercise a word of caution about hoarding washing powder for too long (as in for years) as it loses its potency over time. Mum (not a prepper, just organisationally-challenged), has just recovered a bottle of Fairy Liquid from the bowels of her Cupboard of Doom. We don't know how long it's been there but the liquid has started to separate. Still works, but she'll follow my advice to restock with Aldi's stuff as it has dethroned Fairy in the performance steaks.

I'm such a nerd, I read the Which? guide in the reference library sometimes, and they performance-rate cleaning products as well as appliances. Fairy's formula was recently changed and they've lost their 30-odd year crown as top-performer. Funny how the price hasn't gone down, isn't it?!

I'm well-stocked up with bicarb, washing-up liquid, cream cleanser and soda crystals but only go thru one big box of washing powder per year, so wait for a sweet deal and then buy my annual one. I've got enough shampoo for about 18 months and enough bar soap for an embarrassing amount of years. Thus, however tough it gets, I shall be clean.

At the moment, I'm hunting for long-date tinned goods, particularly tinned fish. Lidl has tall tins of Nixe pink salmon for £1.87 which are BB 2016, if anyone needs this. Betcha anything you like that by 2016 you'll weep at the thought that you could have bought it so cheaply back in 2012............

I'm using flour bought late last year which should have been used by January (it's wholemeal and that has a shorter shelf life than white) and it's fine. I intend to carry on trucking thru it until it's all gone. I've used dried yeast in sachets which is more than 2 years past date and it's fine. Lots of things will last longer than their dates in perfect condition, as long as you can store them away from pests and other critters.

One of the best tips I ever heard about pesties was No Place No Face essentially meaning that they need to be rendered homeless. Critters also dislike being disturbed, esp spiders, so regular housecleaning and decluttering all the way into the corners will discourage them mightily.

My wee flat has pod spiders which I clean around and have a live-and-let-live arrangement with, although I'm a lifelong arachnophobe, for some reason the pods don't register as spiders and I can even fish them out of the bath tub barehanded. Occasionally, other things wander in, like the earwig I found on the washbasin one morning this week. Dunno where that had come from but it made a fast exit out the window.:rotfl:

All rightly, time for a another pint of tea, as I ease into the day. It's raining, but as I'm dropping in on a pal midmorning, I won't be free to head lottie-wards until afternoon anyway. If it's still raining, I shall go anyway. I have rotables to deposit and a dozen broad beans to complete a too-short row which have been soaking for about 4 days and have germinated, and the runners in the cold frame need to be watered.

Decluttering is going well, although the flat is in a torn-apart condition as I quest for objects which are taking up some of my precious space. D'you know, my largest room by far is 12 x 9 ft 4)? I didn't nickname this block of flats Shoebox Towers for nothing.

Have a good one, ladies.

mardatha

Sunny spells here but it's to cloud over later. I have lost my ooomph again. It's great fun sitting reading posts and thinking
"Right!! clear out big bedroom cupboard-Fill with bogrolls-Empty junk out of spare kitchen cupboard-Fill with soap powder"..
..but then there's the snag that you have to actually get up and do it..
SDG am scared to attempt turkish delight - an army of soldier ants has nothing on me when it comes to sugary treats, believe me I could clear a whole sweetie shop in a day
RV moaning his face off about how cold it is. I think I'll just have one more pot of tea before I move - wouldnt want to get a chill in the kidneys !:D

GreyQueen

Gotta watch those kidneys, Mar, mustn't do anything too precipitate before being tea'd up. I call it "caffeine critical" by which I mean having enough in my system to function. Not QUITE there yet.

FYI, the Provincial City police chopper is hovering over the Towers atm. No idea what's happening. Heard an ugly incident last night with someone shouting at someone and using the n-word and suggesting that they go back where they came from. It was over quickly and I couldn't see the shouter to describe the !!!!!! or I'd've called the Polis. Got no patience for racism whatsoever. Nasty thing to hear just before bedtime, but so much more unpleasant for the poor soul on the receiving end.:(

We've had a fun-packed week with a small fire in one flat and 2 neighbours brawling in the street (a long-running issue) so it's a case of waiting for the other shoe to drop. I never miss the soaps because I'm as good as living in one. Probably the illigitimate offspring of EastEnders and The Bill.:p:D:p

Memory_Girl

mardatha wrote: »

Oh god if I could make sweeties I'd be the size of a house!! I have got a recipe for Turkish Delight somewhere but I daren't make it ....

OOOOOOOOoo noooooooooooooooo - I have a bottle of rose essence, I feel a sweetie make coming on.

MG

PS Thanks for all your nice comments about my ramblings elsewhere BTW (kind of got "Ahem" encouraged into it by the ladies on the Matrix thread but really enjoying it now)

fuddle

You're on my feeder now MG looking forward to a spare chunk of time later to read all about ya

GQ how horrible. Also the chopper noise, especially at night freaks me out. We have fields all around us so they regularly look for naughty people trying to hide out there. I think I freak out (although anything scares me!) because I remember looking out my bedroom window as a kid to find the helicopter search light poised in my garden. I was only diddy. Funny how fears stay with you.

Anyone know of any cook books that would help me learn how to cook good, wholesome basic meals like mince cobbler, shepherds pie etc? I'm actually not very good at meal making (baking yes, but not cheffy style meals) so rely on BBC Good Food website for my meal making. There's 2 problems here... 1) the site tends to crash at around 5pm when it's busy and I often find myself alone and clueless making the rest of the meal and 2) they do fancy variations with added ingredients which add to the expense.

I want to emulate my Grandma. I want to be a hard working (divvint be scoffing now lol) mum, provider and homemaker. I want to feel worthwhile and not like I'm a yummy mummy, galavanting here and there because that doesn't bring me anything. Seriously, when I had the car and was free to roam and do whatever/buy whatever if money allowed I got no good feelings from it. Working hard as a mum, making the effort etc really rewards me and makes me feel really good about myself. You probably all think I'm tuned to the moon!

So, I'm keen but feel pretty clueless re: meal preps. Basic, good food is what I'd like to learn.

meme30

Hi all, I read recently that multi-tasking made you more tired and things were not done properly. Journalist went on to say having spent more time with her children their homework was wonderfull! However the house was a tip and there was no food to be had either!:rotfl:

What she did not say, was that women in particular, are often unable to one thing at a time. Please see all those who have to drink tea as we read :rotfl: Not to mention SDG's mammoth baking and Kitcats unbelievable drive around the country having repelled all [STRIKE]boarders[/STRIKE] teachers and probably saved her sanity at the same time. Wonder Women! :T
Personally today I am making HM Potato Salad and Rice Salad for our jubilee shindig, working the remotes to record the things I will miss on the box, ironing clothes and packing to go to the caraven. Cooking a shepherd pie for tea, also there is very important internet to catch up on! To top it all DH will come home from work and sit on his backside cos he has been at work.:wall:

Tonight will be a dressing gown on, good book, and a glass of Whiskey! I will develop 'Cant Use My Legs Syndrome' and he can play waiter! Now that sounds like a fair division of labour! :rotfl:

Fuddle:- I gave both my DD's 'Delias Complete Cookery Course' -very easy basic recipes without too many complicated ingredients. Save recipes on your computer when you find them, then when internet crashes they will still be there for you to look at.

Memory_Girl

Fuddle love - give yourself a break! Gently does it - little baby steps and slowly changing habits is what it takes. No crashing and burning allowed.

But I did buy 6 packs of mince at L**ls yesterday - so if you can wait until I get back from dropping kids off at their Grans I am planning a monster cook-a-long-a-thon.

Mince base (for sheps pies and stuff)
Bolognaise base - for pasta sauce and pasta bakes
Meatballs - to be served with tomato, cream and dill or curry sauce.
Hamburgers -cos kids love them and you can get loads from one pack of mince
Meatloaf - fave american recipe (make once, slice and serve again and again with mustard sauce, tomato sauce and onion gravy ........... not all at the same time you understand!!)
- normally I would also make chilli too, see how I feel.

Also got a hankering for mince and onion rounds - so might whip up a batch of those too.

Anything catch your eye???

MG

fuddle

thank you meme30 i'll have a look

I am terrible for going at things with all guns blazing MG. The good people on the thread will tell you I was missing in action from the thread for a while as frugal living was getting too much. I do think I expect too much sometimes. I'm a trier, I'm proactive but also can get very frustrated and heavy on myself if things don't work out.

Oh, the mince base has my eye! If I could master that I can do anything at the drop of a hat.

Did you say you had a thread elsewhere MG?

silvasava

I remember a work colleague saying she had a book called '100 ways with Mince' & someone piped up 'Yeah & a 101 if you eat it' I thought it was funny at the time.......!