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

maryb

Bigjenny wrote: »

Mar spin dryers are still available, try a local search on ebay, you might be able to get one near you, or even Freecycle.

I got one from my local Currys when my washing machine packed up and I had a drumfull of wet washing. It had a 2000 spin speed compared to my washing machine's 1200 but it isn't actually any better - it seems that the much bigger drum of a washing machine means that when the stuff gets flung to the edges by centrifugal force it's going round much quicker than in the small drum of the spinner. I thought it would be useful to give the clothes an extra spin when they come out of the (thankfully mended) washing machine but I find I don't get so much as a drop of extra water

monnagran

Hi all.

Beautiful day here too. It was a real pleasure to be outside this morning and people had time to stop and have a chat instead of rushing past you waving an umbrella.

We are off to stay with my DB and SIL on Monday so I'm frantically washing and ironing some clothes to pack, making puddings for the Drop-in meal tomorrow and trying to sort the house out enough to leave for a few days. In about half an hour I'm off to a concert next door in the church hall. It is for disabled children and I'm hoping that we will make enough money to give them some treats.
The Rev is doing some magic. One of the kids is learning magic and is proposing to chop the Rev's head off in some fearsome looking machine.
Now that I can't wait to see.

Fuddle; At least if you empty your fridge you don't get some gruesome looking alien growths lurking in the back like I did when I cleared mine out this week. Yuk!

Pink: That sounds truly difficult for you. How dare I moan about having to give up my favourite food occasionally when you are coping with such an awful thing. You make great efforts to make it all sound matter-of-fact and normal but it only takes a bit of imagination to see just what your life must be like day-to-day. You have all my admiration.

Must go and whip up evaporated milk to stir into jelly. Blackcurrant mousse and shortbread biscuits are one of the puddings tomorrow.

x

shegar

Ive cut back on using electric too, just small things like , turning lights off when I leave a room, leaving oven door open after cooking , dont use the tumble dryer only when I finish off the towels to keep them soft..........Dont leave chargers turned on when not in use, turn the microwave off at the wall, dont leave tv on standby , I do a lot of washing on a 30 degree wash , thats a ok temp if the washing isnt too dirty, etc etc........

But there is only a certain amount that you can cut back on, I find that my electricity usage is about £7 per week ,its been like for ages and ages.......One godsend is we dont have storage heaters or heat our water by electric...........My gas usage is also good , after all having some one disabled in the house you cant have a cold house ...........It does help have free firewood fire for the past 3 years , long may that continue.......

PINK...So sorry that you are having to deal with serious health problems........

SAVING QUEEN.........Your family sound so nice and considerate, I hope you get what you want......

I also agree with what your all saying about meat prices, seem to have gone through the roof.....

I looked in the co op this morning to try to start getting a few boxes of tea in storage .....I use to buy co op tea , small 80 teabags box is £1.10 , but im now buying de caf co op teabags and they are £2.20 for 80...:eek:....So why is it dearer to have tea bags that contain a ingredient less.??.....£1 difference , thats alot............................We all try to cut back , yet some things that are essential to us ust keep going up...................

Ive totally lost all my withdrawal symptoms , which im well happy with , in fact I feel very very good ........Catch you all later....Sheila

mardatha

I don't think with me it's totally about saving elect, it's also about living OS and not being dependent on elect. I like to hand wash, and just now I have to put them into the WM for a spin. It's an eco-conscious new one (aka PITA!) and takes ages to do anything - if I had a wee spin drier it would be far quicker. Have decided to get one at end of month when I have the money.
We currently use about £4 a week in elect and I think that's too much for a house with a calor gas cooker and coal central heating.

System

shegar re the decaff teabags - don't know if you can get to a Waitrose, but they have 160 PG on offer at £3 at the moment... I've not tried them so can't comment on the taste though, sorry !

shegar

mardatha wrote: »

I don't think with me it's totally about saving elect, it's also about living OS and not being dependent on elect. I like to hand wash, and just now I have to put them into the WM for a spin. It's an eco-conscious new one (aka PITA!) and takes ages to do anything - if I had a wee spin drier it would be far quicker. Have decided to get one at end of month when I have the money.
We currently use about £4 a week in elect and I think that's too much for a house with a calor gas cooker and coal central heating.

Much the same as me Mar, im GCH with an open fire , £4 per week is dam good , I expect you have the usual like me , fridge, freezer, tv , laptop, lights , kettle, , 3 bed house/bungalow....

I hope you are able to get your spinner at the end of the month, but to be honest I dont think id like to give my washing me up and wash by hand , I remember having to wash by hand when I had the boys young...........

lucielle

shegar wrote: »

Ive cut back on using electric too, just small things like , turning lights off when I leave a room, leaving oven door open after cooking , dont use the tumble dryer only when I finish off the towels to keep them soft..........Dont leave chargers turned on when not in use, turn the microwave off at the wall, dont leave tv on standby , I do a lot of washing on a 30 degree wash , thats a ok temp if the washing isnt too dirty, etc etc........

But there is only a certain amount that you can cut back on, I find that my electricity usage is about £7 per week ,its been like for ages and ages.......One godsend is we dont have storage heaters or heat our water by electric...........My gas usage is also good , after all having some one disabled in the house you cant have a cold house ...........It does help have free firewood fire for the past 3 years , long may that continue.......

PINK...So sorry that you are having to deal with serious health problems........

SAVING QUEEN.........Your family sound so nice and considerate, I hope you get what you want......

I also agree with what your all saying about meat prices, seem to have gone through the roof.....

I looked in the co op this morning to try to start getting a few boxes of tea in storage .....I use to buy co op tea , small 80 teabags box is £1.10 , but im now buying de caf co op teabags and they are £2.20 for 80...:eek:....So why is it dearer to have tea bags that contain a ingredient less.??.....£1 difference , thats alot............................We all try to cut back , yet some things that are essential to us ust keep going up...................

Ive totally lost all my withdrawal symptoms , which im well happy with , in fact I feel very very good ........Catch you all later....Sheila

Lidl have decaff tea bags and coffee
L

ginnyknit

Nuttyp just had a look and Oleg is going for £58 with 31 bids and not finished yet :eek:

mardatha

I hated hand washing when I had kids but for some reason I really like it now. probly because I don't have to do it!

Pinkdebster

Morning everyone

Very cold this morning out with Dexter - wrapped up warm with the old hat, scarf and gloves but my hands are still freezing now I'm home. But, again, at least it isn't raining!!!

Again, thank you for all the good wishes - I honestly don't think of myself as stoic or anything like that - I've spent a lot of time in hospital in the last four years and I've seen little children with feeding tubes and I just thank my lucky stars............at least I had forty plus years tube free! I had a really, really stressful job that used to keep me awake at nights - I ended up with stomach ulcers through stress and worry which refused to heal which is why I ended up in this mess. Nowadays, I appreciate the little things in life. Sure, I can throw a hissy fit as good as the next one but it doesn't change anything!! The first couple of years were hard as I was very much "woe is me" but I had a course of CBT counselling that was especially designed for people with long-term health conditions which helped me accept the situation and move onwards. But I remain very grateful for everyone's kind words and support.

The quilting course yesterday was fantastic - I so love learning new crafts. I went with few expectations as patchwork and quilting are very new to me but I came away very inspired. It's being run in the back of a local shop so the lessons are very cheap plus the lovely lady running it said she's happy for it to go on as long as we all want. That's nice too, knowing there is no deadline looming.

Today will be a very quiet day - OH has worked ten days straight so needs a rest before our trek tomorrow. I hope you all have a lovely Sunday!

Debbie xxx