The commonsense thread

faerie~spangles

I agree with the timing used for the laundry, seriously how many of us get our clothes that manky that a 2 hour wash is required?

I have done three loads today, Oh's shirts, his underwear and socks, and towels it took 120 minutes for all three loads.

Patchwork_Quilt

As to local libraries accepting books, ours takes in donations gladly - and then puts them in a back room until they can be catalogued and put out. When I worked at ours on a temporary basis there was literally a whole room full of lovely books and no-one to put them on the shelves. Perhaps they ought to ask for volunteers. It would certainly pep up the shelves a bit and take the pressure off the staff.

taplady

skint again - some good tips:T

I make full use of the quick wash too - its only the very grubby stuff that gets the long wash plus alos I make sure I dont over-load the machine as it won't wash properly.

HariboJunkie

Someone mentioned treats to see us through the hard times. I soooo agree. :beer:

There's only so much scrimping you can do without wanting to sit in the corner rocking so wee treats are essential. If you asked me what I would like to spend any little leftovers of cash on crossbows and a year's supply of instant mashed potato or a bubble bath and a new book, I know what my answer would be.

Another poster mentioned being nice to other people. Hear hear. :j There's far too much of an "I'm all right jack" attitude about these days. We are lucky to have great neighbours. Not one of them would turn us away in an emergency and we would look after them too if the shtf, regardless of whether I thought they hadn't prepared fadequately for it.

Another piece of common sense advice that occured to me today is never, ever, ever listen to medical advice from strangers on the internet. They are not medically qualified and MSE has a "no medical advice" rule for a reason. If in doubt see a proper doctor. Following amateur medical advice could make things very tough for you indeed. :eek:

rachbc

well Hj when the brown stuff is flying about your gonna need some nice bubbles to wash it off aren't you!

Justamum

HariboJunkie wrote: »

Another piece of common sense advice that occured to me today is never, ever, ever listen to medical advice from strangers on the internet. They are not medically qualified and MSE has a "no medical advice" rule for a reason. If in doubt see a proper doctor. Following amateur medical advice could make things very tough for you indeed. :eek:

I think the same should apply to buying medicine cheaply off the internet - you have no idea whether it is actually what they say it is.

trifles

Lost original post:o.Re washing of self and stuff-
-Woollens=Spot clean with Vanish soap or,use grated bar of simple soap or castile soap from pound shop.VERY little needed.Dissolve in some hot water,rinse cleaned area in lukewarm water.Air woollens thoroughly to freshen,and I use old T-shirts or dress shields underneath sweater to avoid too much washing. I use cheap razors to shave bobbles rather than buy expensive 'bobble' removers.
To clean me, it seems common sense to save money if I have not had an active day or not working that day to have a strip wash at the sink using a just-below-boil kettle= and a jug(used only for this purpose!) of lukewarm water run over a bar of simple soap used as a makeshift bidet over the loo:D.Keeps me clean where important,and once habit,not an inconvenience.I grew up without a bath so we were creative:D
I don't use soap on my face,so use cold cream/olive oil and muslin cloth rinsed thoroughly between applications with hot water to remove make-up with good results.
Cheap bath foam in old pump dispensers is good to wash hands or for delicates clothes wash,Hope this helps some but does not patronise:)

Popperwell

faerie~spangles wrote: »

I agree with the timing used for the laundry, seriously how many of us get our clothes that manky that a 2 hour wash is required?

Well I was critised for wearing clothes for a couple of days and doing a wash perhaps every fortnight but the quickest wash I can do is an hour so why not save energy costs and wait until I have a full load? And unless you are doing dirty work or sweating or have a medical problem you can be too fussy...

Patchwork_Quilt wrote: »

As to local libraries accepting books, ours takes in donations gladly - and then puts them in a back room until they can be catalogued and put out. When I worked at ours on a temporary basis there was literally a whole room full of lovely books and no-one to put them on the shelves. Perhaps they ought to ask for volunteers. It would certainly pep up the shelves a bit and take the pressure off the staff.

That's great it could help save some libraries if volunteers could help more and save some the cost of buying the books in the forst place.

HariboJunkie wrote: »

Someone mentioned treats to see us through the hard times. I soooo agree. :beer:

There's only so much scrimping you can do without wanting to sit in the corner rocking so wee treats are essential. If you asked me what I would like to spend any little leftovers of cash on crossbows and a year's supply of instant mashed potato or a bubble bath and a new book, I know what my answer would be.

Another poster mentioned being nice to other people. Hear hear. :j There's far too much of an "I'm all right jack" attitude about these days. We are lucky to have great neighbours. Not one of them would turn us away in an emergency and we would look after them too if the shtf, regardless of whether I thought they hadn't prepared fadequately for it.

Can't disageee with any of that...

That goes from the bottom of scociety to the top but thankfully there are still some good people around but I suspect those that have less usually are the most generous.

betony

Enjoying this thread, but have to admit to liking the SHTF and Toughies threads too. I recognise some names from those ones on here an' all.

Each to their own, eh?

lobbyludd

hi, have been reading the other threads, which are full of great stuff, but much of it doesn't apply to me: I live in the middle of a city, I have 16 tescos alone within a 2 mile radius: there is no need to prep/stock up on anything.

I am able to walk to work even if snowing and we don't get snowed in/electric cuts. I have been unable to continue driving my car due to snow one year so I got it to the side of the road, walked home and picked it up a week later when the road cleared, so no need for emergency car supplies. If we did have a power cut, I have enough camping equipment to get by until something else was sorted out.

I am luckily physically healthy and reasonably able so a lot of the things that apply to some on the other threads don't apply to me.

I am a single parent of 2 young children so my major worry is if I am ill - there is no-one to pick up the slack - so I am cultivating community - after nearly 10 years living here I started a book club (library do free book club collection lending) - I now have a network of really nice neighbours all of whom could probably cook a soup/look after a child/lend a hand if something went pear-shaped - I know I would help any of them, and MOST people are like this when you get to know them: most humans are lovely one-to-one once they know you.

I have however found great ideas on this board: rotating the freezer! why have I never thought of that? I use the slow cooker for soups and stew for me for work (can't abide canned soups!). I boil the kettle once and put it in a flask (also helps the moisture content of the house). Meal planning - when I remember saves loads, a roast on sunday does the next 2 days too and a soup for me for work for the week. Growing herbs, highly aromatic plants work in my garden and save a bit of cash.

things that don't work for us:

drying on an airer in the house in the winter: there is no room where it actually gets dry before it starts to smell musty, unless I put the heating on. Either way it ups the moisture content of the house leading to condensation and mold on the walls, even with open windows, which means I have to clean more: I line dry when I can and use the tumble dryer otherwise.

baking bread - we just eat more bread, it's no cheaper, even without the outlay of a bread-maker.

cheap toilet paper: just use more.

growing own veg: I do a bit - for the kids really so they understand and get that enjoyment, but with a small inner city terraced victorian garden the insane slug infestation makes MOST veg/fruit growing an exercise in futility. Sweetcorn and herbs (not basil) survive, but celeriac, potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries and cauliflower have all yielded less than the cost of the raw components used in growing them. Next door grows lots but is also retired and spends every waking minute from dawn until dusk, all weathers, patrolling the garden for the slimy blighters: I don't have the time!

it's all about ideas and finding out what works for what each of us need.