make do and mend for tougher times

bossymoo

All the mention of fruit has reminded me about my apple tree. Usually we get a bumper crop every autumn, and by now you can see bundles of little baby apples everywhere. This year I can see on solitary apple. Yes one. It's pitiful, and I can only assume that either the weather got to them or the squirrels are unusually hungry and eating whole fruit, rather than just having a nibble out of each as usual...

elona

fuddle

I used to do make dumplings in slow cooker - add in the last hour of cooking.

I admire the thought of hand washing rather than using machine but found it tiring even just to do a few things and wring them out. Might be easier to put hot soapy water in bath, add washing and paddle them with your feet - like treading grapes. Then rinse- don't wring them out, just put in basin and take to machine to spin.

Possession

I just put the dumplings in for the last half hour in the SC - but I don't use suet but marge/butter so possibly they cook quicker. Went a bit mad a couple of days ago and went back to the SC after 30 mins and there was an explosion of dumplings up to the lid! (*Ahem.* We rather like dumplings.)

Elona I'm currently trying to resist AF as I don't actually need anything but the dehumidifers, and even those, well I might as well just give in and buy a proper dehumidifier.

fuddle

Brilliant. I'll add them in SC tonight

Elona, I think if I had to wash by hand it would soon become tedious. I have some soda crystals from many moons ago (tried the laundry gloop but as I was on 30C it wasn't hot enough to melt the gloop and clogged the washing machine. I have been banned from using the stuff lol) So going to go give it a try now. I have 4 loads to do so at least it will save some electricity today and a lecture on the cards for everyone to stop wearing clothes and throwing them on the pile when only been worn for a bit. It's my pet hate at the moment.

Possession

Yay the children's new ebay-ed duvet covers have arrived! I possibly have very strange children but old bedding is in the washing machine, new duvet covers and pillowcases are on and they are snuggled up in the living room, all their own work. Who'd have thought new bedding would be so exciting? So the old bedding is added to my ever-growing list of stuff which must be ebayed, which accounts for my sinking heart.
PS. Fuddle she went for Bratz after all that! DS is ecstatic with Club Penguin and I'm rather pleased to have got both for a rather OS £8.

quintwins

oh pops def get some new matresses, look at it this way if you can spend as much as you can now when your money comes in you'll have less to run down, we got a cheap matress when we got married as we had next to no money, but our new ones fantastic really form but with a built in memory foam topper, it's soooo comfty.

Just remeber people on benfits aren't expected to live off nothing and hmrc will think nothing of you spend £2 oon a sofa or the same on a car, just not all within the same week then claiming benefits the next week, as thats what normal* people do.

*i must not be normal as i'd never spend £2k on a sofa.

jamanda

Fuddle

re sewing machine needle - try putting the needle in the other way round. Does it have a screw at the side to secure it?

Mine has the flat side to the back, but on older machines the flat side goes to the right hand side.

Hope this makes sense.

Popperwell

I used to manage fine without a washer but was forced to get one by the DN and SW...

I used the kitchen sink or bath. Now I save clothes up and do one wash every two or three weeks. I think I could handwash again...might not worry until my budget gets tight again but I like your idea Fuddle, handwash but perhaps give them a spin afterwards to get rid of excess water...

And just like the washing debate, perhaps as we are clean, we change clothes too readily, I mean just thinking of men, we change shirts etc...but how often do we change trousers? How many pairs does a man own? I suspect trousers get dirtier more quickly than tops...but if you are clean and you change underwear, do we need to change clothes as often as we are told to?

if you are not sweating or doing something dirty is it un-necessary to change as much?

meme30

I am an advocate of changing and washing clothes frequently. An old relative, very active in the 20's/30' Labour movement was always well turned out in a suit. As he got older his shirts were always washed and pressed but his suits never got cleaned. In time he began to smell, not because he was not clean in himself but because of his clothes. Eventually it began to be a 'wee' smell. It was a really hard subject to broach with this very respected and very proud man. He lived alone so had no one to say, "perhaps it's time to get your suit washed/cleaned." It's has always stuck in my memory so I am determined not to become one of the Great Unwashed! :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

I've just picked another pound and a half of blackberries from the garden, and there's kilos still to come - not that I'm boasting or anything like it!!!!!!!! Cheers Lyn x.