What's your non OS guilty secret?

floyd

I thought I would look back at my list from March and see how things have changed so here it is with comments in red

1. Only use Elemis skincare Still using this but considering going back to using Simple againafter watching the Dispatches programme about how they are all a rip off

2. Shampoo is Charles Wothington or Ojon Use whatever Home and Bargain have cheap

3. Buy Hovis Wheatgerm all the time, tried breadmaker but it always ended up like a rock so I gave up! Made bread a few times now by hand and getting to quite like it

4. Lenor yellow fabric conditioner, nothing matches that smell Still use it but buy in Home and Bargain instead

5. Love Molton Brown shower stuff but its usually a present Never buy it, particularly as they don't sell it on QVC anymore

6. Ariel tablets, we did buy the huge boxes of powder from Costco but there are only 2 of us so it just got in the way and ended up with potato peelings and fluff in it Still using these, tried a few others but they made me itch like crazy

7. Heinz ketchup and HP sauce, lets face it, there is NO COMPARISON for real HP Will never give these up, but I do buy them in Home and Bargain

8. Ice cubes, freezer is so rammed with HM soup, pasta sauce, lasagne, chilli and curry that there is no room for balancing ice cube trays Don't buy them anymore, we have a bigger freezer!


I must also confess to using Bisto but its usually because we are having Quorn sausages so they don't produce anything to make gravy with! :rotfl:I buy that in Home and Bargain too, I must be their best customer

bertiebots

......birds custard powder:o . I hate the instant stuff! If anyone can recommend a very good cheap alternative then I am open to try it:D

Bargain_Rzl

My updates from March 2007:
I still buy sliced bread when the decent stuff (such as Tesco Finest Multigrain) is yellow stickered - even though I do own a breadmaker Since upgrading to a Panny breadmaker (SD-255, nearly new on Ebay) I don't think I've bought bread from a shop at all!

I have a takeaway breakfast most mornings - the caff near my office does a deal on a bacon roll and a big cup of coffee, £1.80. I still have the bacon sarnie once or twice a week, but without the coffee - the bacon sarnie is £1.20 on its own - then I have a free cuppa when I get into the office.

I do still buy supermarket meat. But only when it is vastly reduced and I know what I'm going to make with it. Still do this!

I do buy some expensive cosmetic products but almost always when they are on special offer. I've actually got MORE high-maintenance with my beauty habits, started using more expensive products, and often even buy them full price (well you can't always get special offers on Liz Earle). But on the plus side, the beauty products I've bought in the last year are things that I actually use, on a daily or almost-daily basis - rather than buying loads of different cheaper products which I end up not using and have to throw out - and I've really improved my skin...

I use black cabs occasionally - once a month on average I suppose, to get home from town late at night. My average used to be couple of times a year, but I now live so close to Central London that I almost never need to use tubes or trains, only buses. An annual all-zones bus pass works out £360 a year cheaper than an annual inclusive Travelcard for zones 1&2 + all-zone bus travel, so even when I add on the occasional top-up tube fare or £10 black cab, it works out probably cheaper and certainly more flexible. And is still a huge amount cheaper than having a car! Haven't taken a black cab in ages, and the last time I did was because I had an upset stomach and needed to get home as soon as possible between bouts of the trots... sorry TMI .

I have most of my mending done by my local dry cleaner as I can't be trusted with a sewing machine Well I don't use the local one any more, not since they hemmed my beige trousers with dark brown thread :mad: The last lot of mending went to my nearest Johnson's and was paid for with Tesco vouchers.

I use my tumble drier a lot as well. I have no outside space to dry washing, and I do have an extremely energy-efficient (and fiendishly expensive ) washer-dryer. I don't use it quite as much as I did. After my upstairs neighbour flooded my bathroom, I bought a dehumidifier to dry it out, and I now use this to help get some loads of washing dry on an airer in the bathroom.

blitz

Oxo granules, I stocked well up when I found out they were discontinuing them:o
Homepride creamy tomato & bacon pasta bake,ive yet to find a recipe that taste as nice.
Puff pastry,but do make my own short pastry.
Daz or Bold washing powder, I did buy soap nuts but dont find them that affective on whites or badly stained clothes, but do use them for dark colour washes.
Microwave rice from lidls
Tinned sliced apples for apple crumble & apple braids.
We do have mini fish & chips now & again, or a chinese takeaway.

Im sure theres many more,but cant think at the moment:rotfl:

ness_w

Gravy granules, occasional ready made quiche (not even nice!), an expensive haircut and colour every two months, ready rolled puff pastry, cake tin liners, lush bath bars (I use Lush solid shampoo too but reckon it's a bargain cos it lasts so long). Occasional expensive face cream which always brings me up in spots and then has to be thrown out - don't know why I bother but putting absolutely nothing on your face at 41 seems like some sort of sin!

Bargain_Rzl

ness_w wrote: »

Gravy granules, occasional ready made quiche (not even nice!), an expensive haircut and colour every two months, ready rolled puff pastry, cake tin liners, lush bath bars (I use Lush solid shampoo too but reckon it's a bargain cos it lasts so long). Occasional expensive face cream which always brings me up in spots and then has to be thrown out - don't know why I bother but putting absolutely nothing on your face at 41 seems like some sort of sin!

When you say expensive, do you mean properly expensive? Like Lancome, Clinique etc, i.e. the sort of brands that have their own stands in department stores/Boots? Because you can get samples from them if you ask nicely, and find out whether or not something makes you spotty before you spend the money...

ness_w

Bargain_Rzl wrote: »

When you say expensive, do you mean properly expensive? Like Lancome, Clinique etc, i.e. the sort of brands that have their own stands in department stores/Boots? Because you can get samples from them if you ask nicely, and find out whether or not something makes you spotty before you spend the money...

Not quite that expensive - more the £10- £15 stuff off the shelf. Maybe I should try the more expensive ones and get samples (thanks for that tip) - it would work out cheaper in the long run! Or maybe I should keep on leaving my skin alone, that would be cheapest of all! It was following a routine given to me by a clinique advisor that sensitised my skin in the first place so I'm afraid I don't really trust the claims made by any skin care companies.

Bargain_Rzl

It definitely would be moneysaving in the long run for you to find a product you get on with and stick with it.

I don't know if you ever visit the Health and Beauty forum on here but there's a thread there which you might be interested in, just to see what products you might consider sampling.

Post your outstanding make-up here

Daisymac_2

I have so many, the more I think about it the worse it makes me feel:

Bisto Gravy
Marmite
Floor Wipes
Surface Wipes
Ironing Water
Andrex Aloe Vera Toilet roll
Toilet Duck
Fabreeze Air Freshener
Listerene Mouth Wash
Fairy Dishwasher Tablets
Fancy Smelly Candles
Palmers Coco Butter
Sure Deoderant
Good Quality Black Bin Bags, just cant stand the value ones that break !

The list could go on, I think I need to take a re-stock here somehow

sharnad

Brabantie bin bags
chinese food though cutting down on these
buying dvds though Ive stopped this now and am lending them from people