The commonsense thread

taplady

fuddle wrote: »

Has anyone used lemon curd in a steamed pudding? Basics jam is 35p but lemon curd is 22p - thought it might work and is cheaper.

I've used lemon curd in one of the puds you do in the microwave and it was lovely so I dint see why it shouldn't be the same in the slow cooker:)

craigywv

great post bupster made a lot of sense. The zombies thread which i myself do partake in is just for fun i enjoy it and so do many others it takes my mind of things...oh being made redundant in next few weeks thank the Lord we dont have a morgage like so many men he works with, our car is an old but reliable banger ,many men have new car, morgage, caravan....we have none but because i enjoy christmas i have most of my presents etc in ,so starting a christmas box tomorrow.Also have a large store cupboard which didnt cost much maybe a couple of quid a week been building to it from january so am well stocked ....THANKS TO ALL YOU ON THIS SITE , i only joined a few months ago and through your good sense and advice have now cleared 80% of our bills so even though redundancy is looming i feel we will weather it out ok,my heart goes out to all those who are freaking out....thats what oh says , its awful in his work everday new tragic stories men feeling hopeless etc... SO TAKE A BOW all u osers as i have finally woke up and smelt the coffee and got my life in order thanks to you all...your an inspiration THANK-YOU!!!

chirpychick

Lavandula wrote: »

I have stopped reading some of the OS threads for precisely the reason that they tend to stray from the point of being OS. For example, the Prepare for Winter thread can turn into one long shopping list of things people should be buying (gas stoves, snow boots, endless show shovels etc). I do not need a folding plastic snow shovel for the car costing £15. If we get snow I shall use my sons large sandpit shovel!

I do like the Winter thread, It has made us save money on gas and electricity in Winter without going OTT.
Re the shovel, I had to laugh - I refused to buy one as like you I didn't want to spend the money (and I didn't have it) but my MIL was gifted one and as they don't drive often and we have a baby due she gifted it on to us and I have to admit it has made me feel better because at least I can tell myself hubby will dig the car out of snow if im in labour :rotfl:
In seriousness though I think it is a helpful thread but you have to take what you need to help yourself and leave the rest
Everyone is very nice and helpful on there too.
Also we all live in different parts of the country so for those in rural parts of Scotland may need to do as much prep as possible and need thermals etc whereas me in the south east, I just need to do a few things.

bupster wrote: »

it is very easy once you start this OS lark to get a bit carried away, for a start. I spent about two months at the beginning of the year going shopping almost every other day on the offchance there'd be some YS bargains - before calming down and working out that if I was trying to save money then NOT GOING SHOPPING might be a start :rotfl:.

This is so true! We were doing the same back at the start of the year and tbh a lot of it ended up going to waste! Which wasn't very OS at all! So now we tend to get YS bread when we time our regular shopping right but we find we save more money by just sticking to our list

JackieO - that was me who is saving for the Kindle and thank you!

I was thinking about the hay box - some people might need to save electricity even more so even if they do have a slow cooker it is still money saving to use a hay box - we have a pallet that nobody seems to want not on freecycle or anything and I am wondering if it can be used to make a haybox - might be worth trying out! You could get one for free instead of paying a ridiculous £50 :eek:

Oh I was also going to say a common sense thing is -
To buy for practicality rather than fashion, I mean I know people do need to buy work clothes which aren't exactly practical but when buying shoes and coats and things buy things that are made to last, not something which you wont wear in 6 months because it is out of fashion.

I really love this thread and the kindness and support on it

I am sure there were more things that I wanted to comment on but it's late so sorry if I forgot

faerie~spangles

Popperwell wrote: »

If I am honest...no one...just me...:):(

Perhaps I might concede and buy some LED Christmas lights and put them around the bedroom window...it is a pity as I did like Christmas...but as a oster said even if you are alone try and enjoy the festive season and do it for yourself and in memory of your loved ones so I shall try not to be miserable and a grump!

Oh please do.

And the 25th of December is just a date in the calendar.

You are in the awesome position of pleasing yourself, breaking into those stores and treating yourself:T

I could be considered quite sad, in that, dark nights and sparkly lights make me smile. Well, there's no point in sparkly lights unless it is dark :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

Well I have no choice in the matter of decorations They go up every year along with the tree on the 1st December.My youngest DD comes to my house and refuses to take no for an answer and its easier to let her just get on with it and make admiring noises afterwards.This started back in 1967 when I first came home from hospital with my eldest DD.My young husband told me that he hadn't done any washing up in the previous ten days I was in hospital and the flat was a bit of a tip and not very warm .I was worried and started to tell him off bearing in mind there was snow on the ground and my new little baby wouldn't appreciate (neither would I ) coming home to a cold house.Well I got upstairs and opened the door to the livving room and there was a roaring fire in the grate and decorations all around the room and it sparkled with polish.He had been winding me up :) on the mirror over the mantlepiece he had written in soap 'Welcome home Mum and baby Michelle'
The rascal every year put the decorations up the night before our daughters birthday.When he sadly died in July 2003 the last thing I wanted to do was celebrate Christmas but the girls wouldn't hear of it and insisted that we carried on as their Dad did putting them up on the first of December.Every year I say not to bother, but they go up, and if it keeps the kids happy then its not such a big deal.I have two big boxes of dekkies and they put up even the ones that look as if thery're past their best,just because their Dad put them up.So yes I will have decorations and a tree and a couple of strings of lights around the tree and all the tree ornaments that my children and grandchildren have made for me over the years.
They do come down on the 1st January though as a month is more than long enough :)

Lavandula

bupster wrote: »

Hello everyone,

I don't post all that often, and have been away from the boards for a bit, but really like this thread and was trying to find a way of expressing why I like it.

I noticed after a break of a few months that a lot of the other threads had become increasingly hyperbolic in terms of preparation for zombie apocalypses etc. I think there's a number of reasons for that - it is very easy once you start this OS lark to get a bit carried away, for a start. I spent about two months at the beginning of the year going shopping almost every other day on the offchance there'd be some YS bargains - before calming down and working out that if I was trying to save money then NOT GOING SHOPPING might be a start :rotfl:.

It's also easy to let being OS fill gaps in your life, I found. I live on my own, and it was quite easy to fill my evenings batch cooking and looking through Approved Foods, and trying to buy gadgets on the cheap, and building a big stock cupboard.

One of the reasons I was away from the boards is that my life suddenly got really busy and I couldn't spend all that time online. It was only then that I realised just how much time I had been spending on here, instead of doing other things. It's been lovely having the time to come on here again, but now I'm keeping it as an occasional pleasure, an adjunct to my life instead of a big daily part of it. It's easier to do that because of the way some of the threads have gone all zombie apocalypse - but I couldn't work out why that was making me so uncomfortable, when I also have a storecupboard including at least 15 kilos of pasta :rotfl:

Then yesterday I read a book that quoted the gospel of Matthew - "sufficient is the evil unto the day thereof". I'm a militant atheist with the best of them, but this struck a chord.

I think maybe it's enough for me to make sure I'm okay today, and I've got some bits in reserve, and I'm not living hand to mouth. But if you're spending whole chunks of your life preparing for some event that likely will never happen, then you're not making time to live. Lennon said "life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans". I think earlier in the year I fell into this trap - so busy planning it filled the gaps where I should have been living.

I've got enough stuff now, and if I haven't, well, you can't plan for everything. I don't have control over the future - only what I'm doing right now. And sometimes I think it's more valuable - certainly better for the soul - to say sod it and drink a bottle of wine with a friend, or to go and make new friends, than it is to sit in a corner on my pile of tinned tomatoes knowing I'll be alright when the zombies come. Actually, come to think of it, I'd rather be drinking a bottle of wine with friends and throwing the tins at the zombies.

Anyway, that's why I like this thread. This one and the toughies thread seem to be populated with people who would join me throwing tins at zombies. Friends are a lot more valuable than stockpiles

A brilliant post and totally how I feel:T:T

esmf73

Can I join in please? I firmly believe in common sense, living in a house full of men and boys who see no further than the end of the computer keyboard! I inherited half of my MILs cupboards 18 months ago, as well as my own, and have fallen into the trap, in the past, of buying things because they were cheap. Now I buy what we use, trying to take advantage of special offers and the like.

bossymoo

I like the winter thread too. It's given me some brilliant ideas for insulating around the house without overspending on commercially produced stuff. I have had some spends, and kept track of it. But then I would have needed a new winter coat this year regardless. And children grow, OS or not. As it happens, they are well kitted out with charity shop bits and hand-me-downs.
It's also helping me get organised through the house. After sorting blanket box out I know where all our cosy stuff is and have also found some curtains I can use on the landing rather than buying another pair...

Lavandula

bossymoo wrote: »

I like the winter thread too. It's given me some brilliant ideas for insulating around the house without overspending on commercially produced stuff. I have had some spends, and kept track of it. But then I would have needed a new winter coat this year regardless. And children grow, OS or not. As it happens, they are well kitted out with charity shop bits and hand-me-downs.
It's also helping me get organised through the house. After sorting blanket box out I know where all our cosy stuff is and have also found some curtains I can use on the landing rather than buying another pair...

Sure, there are some good ideas on there. But I would also try and re-use stuff in the house before buying new items.

My son is also well kitted out with winter clothes from boot sales. I am amazed at the clothes I have been able to get him. I got jumpers, fleeces, snow boots...all for 20-50p each. All in good condition as well.

fuddle

Preparing my house for winter has been a hard 3 year slog. We're nearly there now but still got some window hangings to do. For us it's been a case of putting off one year in favour of something more important. It's just this year that I have managed to get myself and DH thermal undies. Also the real struggle I find is the girls grow so much between the seasons although my youngest does get hand-me-downs from eldest.

So although to the reader it looks like lists of new, new, new for us it's a case of finally being able to get it in the first place. My dressing gown is 5 years old, a bit wishy washy looking but still cosy and warm.

Christmas decorations. I have my lights up around some twigs already. For decoration and cosy feel I have to stress. When it's Christmas I make a big display of the mantel piece. I put a string of fairy lights along and cover with Ivy, holly and any evergreen bits I can find. Decorate with baubles and fir cones - it needs replacing before Christmas but it's free and so lovely

Also jam jars wrapped with ivy and red ribbon with a tea light in on the hearth. Lovely and free. I was forced into decorating like this but now it's part of Christmas for me and will never go back to buying decorations... other than replacing baubles and fairy lights.

When you're really faced with surviving I believe common sense comes out automatically. You find a way. the trick is doing it and still managing to keep smiling.