Simplifying household stock and introducing routines

purpleybat

jintyb wrote: »

I like Ecover laundry stuff, works out on a par with the main big brands and doesnt make DH or me itch like mad as we both have psoriasis. Their fabric conditioner is the best Ive ever used, smells great but as you say, its not really thick so you only use a wee bit.

thankyou for this
I have psoriasis too and haven't been able to use fabric softener for years, it makes for rather rough towels tho to use on delicate/damaged skin.
next time I'm in the supermarket I will look out for it.


I've read about the tinned/dried food hoarding and admit I'm a terrible one for it. the problem I find is I cant get my head out of the 'famine' way of thinking. the job I had before this one I had a 7hr pw contract so didn't know from one week to the next what i'd earn. therefore when I did have some extra money tinned and dried food would jump in the trolley.
towards the end of last year I did an inventory of my hoard, I think the 46 tins of tomatoes was a bit excessive but I do tend to use 4+ tins a week. this year I want to get it down to maybe a months worth at a time, I think that's realistic for me.

Planning_ahead

It has been a month since started buying one type of cereal ............ and guess what no one has even noticed.

I have started buying -:
One type of cordial - vimto, obviously two open at the same time, but I can decant into one so no problem.
One type of oil - sunflower, so no half bottles of olive oil pushed to the back of the cupboard.
The tinned peas I had but never used have been used up wont be buying again.Will get sweetcorn which everyone likes.
Next job is looking at the teas / coffee / hot chocs. I like the different choices of flavored tea but really only drink chamomile or minty ones. The others give me heart burn so will donate them to the tea fund at work. Plus the various sachets I have picked up from hotel rooms and are now out of date, note to self if I have a big jar of it at home I don't need to take them home.

Planning_ahead

This weekend I am looking at toiletries. I have 7 bottles of bath foam, various bath bombs, 6 hand washes. I am going to run down my stock of bubble bath to one bottle at a time. Lets face it if the SHTF and bubble bath can't be bought most probably won't be any hot water for a bath any way. My bathroom cupboard is busting at the seams with radox so plan to use up current stock and buy as required.I will keep a stock of hand /body wash as these are used daily.
I have encouraged my daughters to donate (to me) any foundations they are not using / nearly used up and sitting in their make up bags, not surprising they had multiples open and were not using some at all. I have enough donated foundation for the next two months and it will not go to waste.

[Deleted User]

dandy-candy wrote: »

My eldest has terrible eczema from head to toe, and ecover non bio liquid is the only product I can wash his clothes in that doesn't set him off although I do run the machine again with just water to make sure the clothes are well rinsed.

I use Ecover too. The strong smell of most washing powders set me off sneezing.

[Deleted User]

GreyQueen wrote: »

craigyw, ...There's a load of stuff on the interwebs about voluntary simplicity and how people have had enough of all this and are opting out and deliberately simplifying everything from their wardrobes, to their homes, to their working lives etc etc...

I am a Minimalist, or I try to be.

I don't own anything that is not used on a regular basis. Our house is clutter free and we follow the 'one in one out' principle when buying items. Too much stuff just weighs you down.

Changing the way we live has had some amazing and beneficial knock-on effects.

chirpycheap

This thread made me smile with wry recognition. I sorted out the medicine cabinet last week. Five boxes of paracetamol all with just a couple out of each packet. Ditto two or three half used packets of anti-histamines, indigestion tablets, travel sickness tablets and two half used tubes of Deep Heat. Don't even get me started on the First Aid stuff. I would need to cut myself daily until the day I die to use up the boxes of plasters and Savlon in my cupboard and why do we have three thermometers?
I think I over buy partly because health seems like something that could be an emergency and I can't be caught out and partly because I've got so much in there I haven't a clue what we've got so then I buy some more. So I've taken everyone's advice and decanted extras into another box so we'll have one of everything on the go and replace as necessary. As for the First Aid excess I think I'll have to find a hobby that involves regular minor abrasions!
It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't live in an inner city within walking distance of a 24 hour chemist! Am I the only one who appears to think that their home is a small pharmacy?

LameWolf

Bumblebear wrote: »

I'm another advocate of the smaller Aldi and Lidl - I think Aldi has the best choice:needs ratio. My only grumble is they don't stock vegetable stock cubes!

Our local Aldi does have vegetable stock cubes - they're the Quixo name, and come in a green box. I admit they don't always have them, so when I see them on the shelf I tend to grab a box, but they are there sometimes. They're really nice, too.

I usually go to Aldi as my first choice, but there are some things I've never seen in there - whole coffee beans to grind at home, loose leaf tea, custard powder, drinking chocolate to be made up with milk as opposed to water, vegetarian suet.

Planning_ahead

Spider in the bath - you are right if you use it regularly, even if you stock up the stock gets used.

Chirpy - The fist aid kit is for another day lol, be careful of expiry dates when combining medications.

Has anyone tried hair shampoo and conditioner bars?

GreyQueen

chirpycheap wrote: »

It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't live in an inner city within walking distance of a 24 hour chemist! Am I the only one who appears to think that their home is a small pharmacy?

Ummm, me?

I'm paranoid about always having some painkillers with me as I get the so-called classical migraine. What this means is that I have a window of a few minutes between starting to see the aura and the migraine clamping down. If I can neck some OTC painkillers asap, the migraine doesn't truly start. If it gets going, I will be immobilised in a darkened room hoping for someone to put me out of my misery and feeling fragile for a few days afterwards.

Sooo, always have some painkillers, always have my lifesaving meds, now currently slightly overstocked on throat lozenges after two weeks of incessant coughing.

I keep them all in a drawer in the sitting-room, which I figure is probaby better for them than the temperature fluctuations common in bathrooms.

katkin

Don't know if anyone else does this one but I've found it a helpful routine when we are both out at work (sometimes I work from home) and it's handy to keep on top of the fresh stuff inventory.

I keep baskets in my fridge full of smaller air tight boxes filled with individually prepared salad and veg ingredients so I can change the ingredients and make up mixes I fancy on the day. I keep about 3 days worth at a time. Grated and carrot sticks, chopped celery, spring onions, peppers, tomatoes cabbage etc. It means I just have to lift the whole basket out and get working straight away.

I don't shred or rip off lettuce leaves or other delicate greens, broccoli is usually OK to floret / prep. I appreciate that I may be leaching out nutrients but I'd rather do this than not brother because it's too much work at 6.30am or coming in late from work. It means I can always have veg / salad options every day.

Same with grating cheese, hard boiling eggs, tuna mix, lo cold meats etc, all in little boxes in a "protein' basket that can be lifted out easily.

It's a real time saver, guides me on stock and there's always something nice semi-prepared to have.