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

Margaret54

Hi everyone My it is cold today, although it is to be a nice day later on. I have the washing on and will hang it outside but can put it on the clothes horse later.
Heard the news yesterday about the energy hikes and I agree it is disgusting it starts when the weather turns colder. The costs of heating and cooking are expensive enough.
We have gas heating in our wee bungalow so smaller than our last home to heat. It was a four bedroomed house as we needed it when all the children were growing.
Everything is expensive and the food prices rising and all the other hikes will cause great hardship for so many people.
My dh is asleep after his night shift, and I am sitting at the kitchen table on here with the heating on low just in this one room. No need to heat the living room until I am in later, as I have cleaning to do and need to make soup in the slow cooker, so the moving around will keep me warm:)
Sorry to hear of so many folk going through tough times with their health, finances, worries about family members etc. This place has a lot of caring and great support for us all and I thank God for it.
The little birds are coming into the garden in bigger numbers now to feed off the fatballs and peanuts and I love to watch them from my kitchen window while I wash up etc. A very enjoyable thing to watch and costs nothing except for the food which is very cheap:)
Hope you all have a good weekend and wrap up warmly and keep safe. Margaret xx

kate1974

mardatha wrote: »

Sitting here absolutely fuming (so staying warm lol) at the price hikes. On cue as always, the minute the weather gets colder. The headlines today are all negative and dramatic - but I think it will be the same as last year and the year before, will all die down and people will be left to freeze. Back to Victorian basics eh? the hungry cold poor. And that's us
We're letting them do it.

Price hike?Tell me about it!
I nearly fainted yesterday at Tesco-value mozzarella gone up 25%-from 44p to 55p!
Only decided to shop there as had some vouchers but prices are shockingly high-I don't shop at SM much these days,prefer Aldi,Lidl and Approved Food and after yesterday I don't think they'll see me any time soon spending my money at their checkouts.
Still no heating-determined to keep it off until end of October!

Popperwell

Thank you for the link Possession...I think I could survive reasonaby well without a main oven...managing with microwave/slow cooker in general. I see B&M are selling one of those kettles that boil water in 30 seconds for one cup at a time.

But like Mrs L I either put spare water in a flask or just the ordinary kettle with just enough water to cover the element so its pretty quick anyhow.

Better be off and get ready if I hope to see my concert(I'll be careful)

Margaret54

Hi Pops Wrap up warmly and take care while out at your concert. I hope you enjoy it Margaret

grandma247

I am going to just have the gas fire on in the back room and have the heating on for two hours a day from 8pm to 10pm when dh goes to bed. we have the dehumidifier on upstairs and that makes it a bit warmer than down here. It will also prevent condensation problems. Going to iron my longer curtains for the bedroom and hang them in front of the shorter ones. I will also get my window quilts out for the largest windows.

Slowcookers are also good for warming some things. I have put foil in the bottom after removing the bowl and place cooked pies or sausage rolls in it with the lid open a crack to let out steam. It works very well. If you are warming anything with liquid likely to leak out more than a little you must use the bowl and it will take a bit longer to heat. Still fuel saving though.

Pooky

Morning all

Cor Blimey wasn't it windy yesterday!!! Lots of trees down locally. Very grey here today but not as blowy, got a load out on the line, it won't dry fully but it will smell fresher when it goes on the airer.

We can't afford any price hike in our power prices so will be cutting back even more. Luckily our new boiler installed last March is a super-de-dooperly efficient one (well anything would be compared to the one it replaced that was 32 years old!) so we should be able to use it more for less..IYSWIM. I've got stacks of coal and wood so the fire can burn as much as it needs to so at least the living/dining room will be toasty. I'm going to put up some curtain poles this afternoon over the kitchen doorways, silly as it sounds but the cat flap is always drafty and although I have a curtain over the back door the draft likes to whistle around the house. Some nice thick door curtains will help. The only curtains I have are to short so I need to lengthen them with something contrasting.

I had to pop out for some frozen veg and cat food this morning and noticed Mr S's basic washingpowder was only £2 a box where as Mr As is £2.80 for the same size. I stocked up on a couple as they're a decent powder and I get far more than the stated "30" washes out of each box.

My Sc and halogen will have to earn their keep now too, along with my sandwich toaster to do sponge cakes (honestly they're so quick and tasty! - who knew!)

nuttyp

Morning everyone, its very cold and wet here today. OH nicely put the heating to come on for 1 hr when i was due to get up this morning. We are on pre payment meters, so we don't get into any debt. We did look at having them removed but they charge for this and also ask for a bond because we have been BR.

I took DD to collage, it was pouring and I hate to think that she has to sit in lessons soaking wet. Nipped into the council to collect recycle bags, and informed them that the house nextdoor is empty. They did a flit late Monday night.

I popped by work, had a cup of tea and a chat. It seams said collegue was in yesterday and yes they thought she had a drink before going in. Everything is being documented, so tomorrow we will see how things go as its my first day back.

Our local SM has a collection bin for the foodbank in town. They have a list, but I wish they wouldn't put brand names on some items. I know that I cant afford branded goods, so surely if you are needy any items would be acceptable. I topped up the freezer today, we have an Iceland nearby so I ventured in. It was ok, but I don't buy many prepared meals - surprisingly people were buying ready meals of sausage and mash!! I know its only a pound, but they were buying 2 or 3 and saying that's tea sorted!!

I suppose I should start the cleaning, OH has rang to find out whats for tea - I have no idea what to do...

Take care and keep warm everyone x

Possession

Poor DS, just collected him from school and he hasn't stopped coughing. I always worry when he's like this as he has asthma, but he seems OK at the moment.
It's in the supermarket's interests to put a food bank collection point, as you're buying extra items in their store. And branded goods, well they cost more so you're spending more in their store! But yes I wish food bank organisers didn't specify branded goods. I'd be very surprised if they actually rejected value items.

shegar

mardatha wrote: »

Sitting here absolutely fuming (so staying warm lol) at the price hikes. On cue as always, the minute the weather gets colder. The headlines today are all negative and dramatic - but I think it will be the same as last year and the year before, will all die down and people will be left to freeze. Back to Victorian basics eh? the hungry cold poor. And that's us
We're letting them do it.

Quite agree mar about this dam price increases every time the weather goes downhill........You probaly wonder what im doing on here this time of day, well its cos its raining outside, in fact its coming down pretty quick, so im in catching up on some housework.........and here;)

I havent lit my open fire yet this side of the year, but ive had the heating on every morning for hubbies shower , but will probaly have the heating on this arvo and evening, its certaintly getting colder, cant really grumble cos its been warm July to first week of october, also its nice to have some rain here cos its dry , plus I need my water butts filling up, I use the rain water for watering the hens buckets daily...................

Yes im also sick of all the price hikes with allsorts of fuel for homes, ive been filling my coal shed all summer and got 3 trailer loads of wood , but still need the GCH , so ive also gone without lots of things in the summer months to have fuel on the metres for the cold winter months ..........

I always look a season a head , cant bear thought of going cold , and hubby cant either, he sits in his chair with a good thick blanket fleece on him , said he is warm enough like that , but a couple a degrees cooler and he would need the heating on.............

I cant get my head a round the way the government makes decisions on fuel payments to people, OAP s I agree they do need some help, but they do get a good allowance each year plus CWP when its cold, plus lots of OAP s only use one room, the disabled dont get the heating allowance , plus a lot of disabled cant move so they cant keep warm and need extra heating ...........A lot of young families also need help................................If you dont look after yourself these days , no other bu**ger will......:eek:... signs off fuming and going to make a sandwich...............Sheila

PRINCESSX87

I don’t often swear. But the energy price hike did reduce me into using some blue words. What gets me so angry about it all is the fat cats who decide these hikes are not effected. We’re on ppm for our electric here (No gas connections) and we put on £100 a month just to live in a 1 bedroom home. Its partly down to the fact the emersion heater is older than us and cost a lot to run every night. I know PPM are slightly more expensive but if we was to get a replacement heater or move to a newer build our bills would drop to £75pm Further more we keep hearing from our government “we’re in this together” & we’re really not!

If anyone is on Facebook at all. There is a women on there that has started a “s/c page” and Sunday made her entire family a roast in the s/c. if anyone would like the link just let me know.

Food banks round here are few & far between. Our local stores haven’t got one at all. People are snobs! Its easy for them to just turn a blind eye at the fact that a tin of soup could go so far for someone. But alas, I suppose they will only know when they fall on hard times themselves.

Slightly off topic,

Does anyone have a tip to get a hot chocolate stain out of white jeans? Stain removers haven’t worked neither has washing up liquid. I done this the other day and OH just put them in the wash. Therefore its more a stubborn stain iykwim.

POPS: You should really get yourself checked out. It might have just been an off day but its better than leaving it - for it to get worse!!