Simplifying household stock and introducing routines

suki1964

:hello: To Mila

With me I just don't go the million miles to buy this that and the other

We use one soap powder, one shampoo, one toothpaste etc etc

When the kids were teens,I told them straight, this is what I'm buying, if you don't like it, buy your own out of your own money

It worked

My bathroom is an oasis of calm. No bottles of this that and the other falling out of the basket to kill you in the shower. Look for loo paper, it's there, white - colour co ordinates in all 3 bathrooms. Soap? It's that big bar of stuff, take it to sink, show or bath, I'm not opening 3 Lol

Under my sink I've two bins, I don't have room for piles of clutter. The house gets cleaned with flash, fairy, bleach and star drops. Oh ok I admit to oven pride as well, I'm a messy cook .

I don't have candles, nor plug ins nor sticks in scents. My house is clean ( a tip but clean) I don't need to cover our scents with perfumes. Same as clothes, they come out the machine clean and fresh, why would I need a scent on them?


And going back to loo paper, and indeed the zillion and one feminine hygiene products out there now that are telling me I'm a smelly old moo cos I'm over 50 and might laugh,,,,,,,,l,

Sorry, soap, water and pelvic floor exercises have not failed me yet:rotfl:

[Deleted User]

One of the ladies at my U3A clubs was saying that instead of going for a walk during the winter when its cold she get her exercise by walking around the HUGE Tescos mega store that's about a mile away from where I live .
I asked her doesn't she find it tempting to be walking around up and down the aisles, and she said no she leaves her purse in the boot of her car, and never goes into Tesco's with more than a fiver in her pocket .She says once you get used to just walking up and down the aisles its cheaper than going to the gym and warmer in the winter than walking around the park in the cold :):)

MMF007

JackieO wrote: »

One of the ladies at my U3A clubs was saying that instead of going for a walk during the winter when its cold she get her exercise by walking around the HUGE Tescos mega store that's about a mile away from where I live .
I asked her doesn't she find it tempting to be walking around up and down the aisles, and she said no she leaves her purse in the boot of her car, and never goes into Tesco's with more than a fiver in her pocket .She says once you get used to just walking up and down the aisles its cheaper than going to the gym and warmer in the winter than walking around the park in the cold :):)

That's brilliant! So moneysaving, she should get an MSE award :rotfl::T

I much prefer shopping at a small Morrisons than the massive sainsbobs. I lose the will half way round a big shop and cannot be bothered to back track if i have missed something. I too despair at the ridiculous number of products and having been bewildered by choice i have gone without

Household stock - I have a limited range of cleaning products (stardrops!, bicarb, bleach, rarely-used oven cleaner, zoflora for floors), but I am a home help and my clients like the bathrooms to 'smell clean' by which they mean have some perfume to the products. I therefore use Aldi bathroom cleaner for surfaces such as window sills, top of cistern etc and they think it's great.

I am another one with a sort of store cupboard overflow, used for occasional multibuys or good offers, not a huge inventory but I like to stock up on coffee etc which I only buy when I find a good offer. I also keep a litre of UHT milk for emergencies, a few basics like tinned fish, sweetcorn, tomatoes, beans.

Routines - I prep my clothes the night before for work. Doing that has really made life a whole lot less stressful (mind you i prefer my work now to my old job, so maybe the change of habit was BECAUSE of that).
I meal plan most days and do some batch cooking. that has helped a lot. We are eating better and it has helped enormously with weight loss (no more food anxiety, or getting home late, 'starving' and grabbing something high fat but poor nutrition).
I am now my own boss so i have a day off in the week and i actually look forward to doing household chores on that day, while DH is at work. I never thought I'd say that, believe me! :rotfl:

I know this is not as organised as many people are but for me these are improvements!

ETA -I forgot the most important life change...... I adopted the Kon Marie method of tidying and decluttering! So my routine includes kondo-folding laundry as i put it away so all drawers are neat, tidy, everything is easily seen and picking out appropriate garments is simplicity itself. All other items are located in the most useful places, tidy and accessible, unlike my mum who , when I asked for them, told me that the skewers for HM kebabs were in the bedside cabinet (of course, silly me).

june89

YORKSHIRELASS wrote: »

I know everyone has their own opinion but I don't stockpile. To me it is wasted money having lots of food in the cupboards. We also dont have a lot of storage space, I might feel differently if we did.

I agree that one of the reasons you spend less in Li@l and Al@i is that there is just less choice and no 3 for 2 offers. I mealplan religiously and only buy what I need. I use limited cleaning products (bleach, stardrops, zoflora) and with things like shampoo I buy a new one when the old one is nearly empty. I guess if there was some kind of national emergency I would be stuck!

I was going to post the same. I know people who swear up and down that it's vastly cheaper for everything when really, it's the lack of choice that forces you to buy a cheaper version without marketing swaying you to the more expensive brands available in the big supermarkets. The cheap versions exist there too, if you're prepared to look past the shiny packets!

Although I will admit there are some things that ARE genuinely cheaper there. But usually not enough for me, as the travel costs to get to my nearest stores will outweigh the savings.

Broomstick

JackieO wrote: »

One of the ladies at my U3A clubs was saying that instead of going for a walk during the winter when its cold she get her exercise by walking around the HUGE Tescos mega store that's about a mile away from where I live .
I asked her doesn't she find it tempting to be walking around up and down the aisles, and she said no she leaves her purse in the boot of her car, and never goes into Tesco's with more than a fiver in her pocket .She says once you get used to just walking up and down the aisles its cheaper than going to the gym and warmer in the winter than walking around the park in the cold :):)

I second that in relation to my DM. Walking around a supermarket is also really good for anyone unsteady on their feet who can push a trolley rather than a walker, in the warm and dry, without worrying about hitting potholes on the pavement and you can stop for a cuppa and a rest at the end before going home if the shop is big enough for a cafe.

I've also used walking round a supermarket much more than is needed and doubling back on myself plenty (but spending not a lot) to increase the steps on my pedometer on a day when I've been looking way too sedentary!

Bx

fuddle

GreyQueen wrote: »

Re cleaning products, the fewer of them about the better. A dear pal of mine, a highly-intelligent and able lady, has permanant lung damage caused by inhaling accidentally combined toilet-cleaning products when cleaning her bathroom. One moment of carelessness when in a hurry and a lifetime of consequences......

This GQ. I have asthma and a hampered lung. I have slowly wandered down the cleaning product for everything route and now find cleaning stench too much. At one time, and I'm talking only a few years back, I used Stardrops everywhere. One bottle saw every corner of the house and lasted ages. I stopped because it got too difficult to get hold of when I gave up my car and that makes me cross. I have scaled back and now use method (at a price but doesn't hurt me to breathe it in) have one bottle and carry it round the house, refusing to have anything other than cream cleanser for stubborn bathroom surfaces and astonish paste for the oven. I do believe, after seeing the effect that cleaners have on me since I acquired my dodgy lung, that they are the root of a lot of health issues and if they aren't causing strife they certainly aren't helping.

Ah the stock cupboard. Mine is regimental and boring. If I have something in mine that I know I won't use much I get stressed out and find ways if using it to get rid. Mine works for me, fills me with joy and is useful. My lot are highly trained... touch it and feel the wrath! I am the one that opens items in my house and if it's not open they know to check. I sound terrible! I should add that I have ishoos with food storing and it's a fine line between contentment and despair

kazwookie

I love this thread.

JackieO I do similar to you, I use washing up liquid, cream cleaner, Star drops, bleach and that it is, I clean regularly and rubbish out on a daily basis.

One of each open, I invested (4 for £1.00) in small plastic funnels, to pour the last drops out of soap, shapmoo, conditioner etc.

jintyb

Thanks so much for all the posts, what brilliant, funny, interesting people you are. I feel inspired!
A few things resonated with me:
My tendancy to decide to, say, ear heathily. I will go and buy tons of " stuff" esp fresh fruit & veg, forgetting that its only me that eats it, then end up feeling guilty and fed up when I cant get through it all.
Stockpiling: bulk buying when there are only two of us and a small house with limited storage.
Chickpeas: I also have loads - why, why, why?

This week I am going to do a proper stock take of my cupboards & freezer. I reckon we have enough to make meals for at least a month with a few tweaks.
I have just cleared a £2000 overdraft ( very proud) but I am determined to save this year and not waste stuff.
Thank you all again xx

MMF007

Go Jinty!
I realised that since I moved to working part-time and setting my own hours i no longer do ' a big shop'. I make a list, shop in a small Morries a couple of times a week, pick up any good offers if i know we will use the items without waste, and it is so much less stress and we eat fresher food.
I don't buy more because i visit more, we buy less because we are not trying to get a week's worth and topping up later with fresh stuff or things we forgot as well!

I used to dread the big shop, traipsing round for an hour after work, *shudder*

Another routine, or being prepared thing - I check my calendar to see what birthdays are coming up in the next 6 to 8 weeks and then make birthday cards, addresss them and pop them in a pretty bag beside calendar so they are ready to post at the right time.

maryb

I use Ecover general purpose cleaner for most things which I mix up in a spray bottle. It's the only thing that doesn't set me coughing and it's plenty beefy enough even for the hob (and I am a VERY messy cook). Also gets rid of bathroom grime (think teen daughters with a penchant for fake tan and long baths:eek:) It quite often goes on offer 3 for 2 and there's a farmers' market near us with a stall that will refill the bottles if I am organised enough, which I try to be to cut down on excess packaging.

After using this for a while I recently tried Ecover washing up liquid. I first tried it over a quarter of a century ago when DD1 was born. There's something about becoming a mother that made me suddenly wake up to the effect of the way we live on the environment. However back in those days I think it was heavily based on plain old washing soda and it made my hands so dry they cracked open and wouldn't heal without steroid cream. So I went back to Fairy. But I tried Ecover again recently and was impressed. It cleans well and seems to last longer than Fairy. I think because it's slightly less thick and gloopy and you can squeeze out a smaller amount