The OS Doorstep - a helpful and supportive thread in these tough times

nursemaggie

Welcome Airthery I use all sorts of bags we well still have hundreds from everywhere else. I have not been getting bags for months from the supermarket because at Mr M I use my shopping trolley and Ald! I take my own but nearly everything you buy they put it in a carrier bag even if it is small. I bought a vest today only quite small but it still came in a huge carrier bag.

I have only had an odd one or two supermarket bags in the last 8 months but I am sure I have more than I had when we moved here nearly 8 months ago.

fuddle

Me too Airthery. I'm still using my stash of cariers but will be oving over to a cheap roll of small liners when they've gone. It will be cheaper than 5p a bag anyway. Welcome

We have enjoyed our few hours in the garden in the dark. I got the candles out too. The toffee apples were incredibly easy and went down a storm. I threw a few hundreds and thousands on too.

What tomorrow has in store I do not know.

kidcat

evening toughies

welcome airthery we have a huge kitchen bin and so I buy bin liners from costc@ when they are on offer. The small bins in the bathrooms and bedrooms I either use old carrier bags or buy small bin liners, once we are paying for carrier bags it will all be small liners

have rotten migraine so am just catching up quickly - sending hugs to all those feeling low and poorly

maryb

People react with horror when I say I still take carrier bags in the supermarket. But I use them all to line my kitchen bin. If they introduce a charge it wont reduce my use of plastic at all, it will just mean I buy bin liners.

Greens often like to point to the fact that Ireland's introduction of a tax reduced the use of supermarket carrier bags by something like 90%. But the country's imports of polyethylene hardly went down at all.

monnagran

Hi.

My lovely boiler man came and restored our hot water so I have been having a field day, -hot showers, washing up, cleaning, mopping floors and all the other ways I have of enjoying myself.
Also the dear man serviced our ancient gas fire and condemned it as quite dangerous to use. YAY! The church are paying for a new one to be put in which will make our bargain fire surround look even better.

Glad your toffee apples were successful Fuddle. I do remember making them with the children at school. We washed the apples, scrubbed the apples and even sandpapered the apples but no way was our toffee going to stick to the apples. Eventually I tore up squares of foil, poured the toffee in the middle of each square, stood the apples in the middle of the toffee and swiftly wrapped the foil round the sticks. The parents were slightly less than thrilled to tip out their children's school bags and find everything coated in a thin layer of stickiness.

Just heard from my DGD who started Uni in September that she has given up the course she was going to do. It turned out to be nothing like what she had thought it would be and sensibly she decided that she was not going to spend all that money on something that she didn't want to do however much she was enjoying the social life. She has gone back home to think out her next step. She is a sensible, hard working girl so I think she will be OK, although she is very disappointed at the moment.

Lots of family birthdays this month but I am sticking to my rule about very modest gifts, easier for the female side than the male. some are having small bunches of flowers, my DIL is having some money to spend on herself, not allowed to buy anything for the children or let it drift into the housekeeping, and a strip of paracetemol in case a night out with the girls is on the cards! Another male friend is having a pot of mustard as it's the only 'bit on the side' he is allowed.

I've heard a few bangers go off tonight and I shudder for animals like our poor Docky. I don't see the point myself. If people want a loud noise why don't they go and slam a door or something. I'm all for the pretty ones. Being on top of a hill, come to think of it, I've always lived at the top of a hill, I can sit in warmth and comfort and enjoy everyone else's fireworks. How thrifty is that?

Welcome Airthery. I too have quite a stash of plastic carriers but for my big bin I buy bags on a roll. They are not terribly expensive - certainly not 5p a bag. If you know anyone who goes to a cash and carry you can get rolls of 50 or 100 very cheaply.

Off to bed now. Still too warm for my HW bottle, but I can get quite cosy with a good book to read.

x

savingqueen

A big warm welcome Airthery.
Hot water monnagran! Makes you appreciate what you have when you don't have it for a while. Enjoy your showers and great to be getting a new gas fire too.
We had another fun family evening out watching some free fireworks. We had planned to park somewhere a walk away to save parking costs but ended up having to park further away than planned. A lot of walking and driving time for a few mins of fireworks but we all enjoyed the exercise and time together.
I put on my warm coat bought cheaply in a sale last year and it was a very snug fit. I know I have to loose weight and have wanted to for ages but trying on that coat has made me realise that I have to take action now and stop saying I'll start next week! I haven't tried on any of my winter clothes - not that I have many to start with - and am concerned now that I won't get into them! I always put weight on over Christmas too. A plan of action is needed, definite planned exercise.
Yawning my head off, can't wait for my bed next

kezlou

Evening all!

Sorry haven't been on just been hectic with appointments, life etc

Hope you all had a lovely half term / weekend / Halloween so far.

We literally for the past few days have had a wonderful time. Took nippers to a sensory Halloween day and it was fab. Musical corner, witches new, story telling, dressing up, absorbingly fun and the kids loved it. Met up with people we knew just had lots of fun. Friday spent all day at Halloween parties playing games, lots of treats, just really good. No stress just kids able to play. Came home and OH arrived back from London so had a lovely night watching films and bought a naught take away as a special treat for us all.
Ds1 took ds2 and two little friend's trick or treating, the kids again were bouncing and happily. Ds1 said they were so polite and said please and thank you. Kids patents thanked ds1 and offered him money but he declined saying no I had fun it was good.

So proud of him.

We are very lucky, like you sq, kids go to certain houses to knock if theys decorations knock. No lights don't disturb. They came back with huge carrier bag full of sweets, toys and money.
Love Halloween. All dressed up like a witch. Hair in pigtails, black hair with pointy black hat. Answering saying "welcome my pretties, would you like some sweeties" the little ones were so cute and loved being able to pick sweeties and play witches in the garden. I know I'm daft I just get great enjoyment knowing children are smiling and laughing.

Our lights were off but had candles burning so looked very gothy with purple and red candles burning.

We spent the week watching Halloween films, telling spooky stories. Ds2 can't always handle events but this year he did fantastic.

Then that we went a centenary remembrance event for ww1. Took my dad , boys and OH and again fantastic. Well acted and organised. Pyrotechnic were fab and actors really got the audience involved. It was to do with local people and how the war changed everyone's life. Best of all it free!
But did have to get a wristband for the occasion as it only catered for 3000 people.
It was called remembering our war and think they tour the country. Fully recommend attending.

Have got loads to catch up so how everyone is doing well if not here's lots of hugs and spoons

Rosanna79

Welcome Airthrey Good to read your post


I'm so glad to hear that other people reuse the charity bags that are constantly being put through the door! I was quite shocked when OH started this but as you say no one seems to pick them up. As my late brother lived in Galway, Western Ireland I well remember the charges for carrier bags there back in 2006 when local shopkeepers here in the UK thought me some sort of fruitcake for insisting on using my own shopping bags! However when up in Dublin with my SIL in 2008 when she bought something that was beautifully packaged in a brown paper carrier bag. It was very environmentally friendly. Alas the heavens opened and the paper bag disintegrated leaving SIL in a quandary as with everything else she's bought it was physically impossible to carry the goods unless all in a bag!!! I think the practicalities of shopping bags needs a bit more thought. Those wonderful fold up jobs that go into a pouch and one's pocket or handbag are a real godsend when one's at the checkout and the 'proper' shopping bags are back in the car boot! We used to love those laminated cotton shoppers but as they wore out replacements cost a ridiculous amount. I solved the problem by cutting up old denim jeans and making a machine crazy patchwork bag. The denim handles are so strong they'll see us out I think!

meanmarie

Welcome Airthrey.

I buy refuse bags in Aldi, 42l not sure what they cost, but use cloth bags for shopping since the tax.....remember buying shoes once Rosanna and getting them drenched when it rained while I was at the bus stop, I always have a fold up bag in my hand bag now! I didn't know that the tax did nothing to reduce the plastic imports here, but there has been a huge reduction in the amount of plastic on fences. Now if only we could get less packaging on things we buy.....like biscuits which often have 3 layers of plastic!

Marie

[Deleted User]

I've invested in 3 very heavy duty Jute shopping bags which came from the land of Bay made by a workers co-operative in India. They cost me £18 but are such good quality that they will last me for many years, I always shop using my rucksack which is a small one and I can fold up 2 of these bags small enough to go inside it and that covers all my shopping needs. It's quite an outlay in the beginning and you DO have to remember to pack the bags into the rucksack before you leave the house but I've done this for so many years now it's become habit. Hate carrier bags with a passion and I have to be quite assertive to stop shop assistants from automatically shoving my shopping straight into a plastic carrier as they scan things. Works for me!