Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2020

Laura_Elsewhere

missychrissy said:

I would try running it through a cycle with some citric acid in the water. I use citric acid in wine making but have recently discovered it can descale my kettle and get all the hard limescale off my toilets. I put a dessert spoonful in kettle with about a pint of water orbit same amount in the toilet over night. If it can shift limescale it should shift green stuff.

I think citric acid is just the acid found in lemon juice so if @carolinerunner doesn't have or can't easily get citric acid in the current shopping-confusion, then she could always put lemon juice diluted with the same amount of tapwater and leave it a couple of days and dispense it through the pipes, and see if that helps. Rinse well as the residue could go mouldy and start the problem all over again! 

It's what we do to our kettle - once or twice a year I fill it with lemon-juice-and-water and leave it overnight and boil it up a couple of times next day and then tip it all out and rinse well and it takes out all the limescale - we have the hardest water I've ever had to live with... 

missychrissy

I’m living with the hardest water I’ve ever had too. I used to use white vinegar to descale my kettle and the toilets. It was such a faff having to empty out the toilet bowl n fill it with a whole bottle of white vinegar n topped up with Diet Coke overnight. The scale would then peel off like egg shell but I now just put a dessert spoonful of citric acid in the toilet overnight. Lemon might work for a small appliance, I’ll have to try it in my kettle. However, citric acid is available at wine making outlets. At present I am using Biggerjugs and buy citric acid in 500g bags. I would think either is worth a try.

Betharooni

You can also get boxes of citric acid from Wilkinson’s.

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

Make Do & Minimise: Food from fridge & cupboards
Mend: DH mended the lid of the Cracker Barrel 

[Deleted User]

Made do - cut the bottom off a cotton bag because it had a hole in. Stitched along the new bottom to make a squat but usuable cotton bag.

CraftyLittleLisa

I have been rather impressed with myself of late as frugal living seems to have been ingrained into me now as a habit.  Its been a long time to get there but I feel I'm there now.  I have been buying things online but I have really been thinking hard about it before I buy and making sure that it is really appropriate for my requirements.

Anyway my MMM updates this time are as follows:

Make Do:

I had loads of onions so made an onion flan with them and it was delicious.  It kept me going for days for my lunches with salad.  I had enough pastry left over to make some jam tarts as well.

Minimise:

Minimised some more magazines, knitting and sewing patterns and papers and I am pleased to say that I have finished going through all those now.

Minimised a houseplant, that really wasn't doing anything, into the compost bin.

Minimised more wool into a premature baby blanket.

Minimised two pots of moisturisers into one.

Mend:

Repaired one pair of socks.

Repaired one pair of tights.

Turned a piece of fabric into a handkerchief.

Repaired a hole in a pair of rubber gloves with a puncture repair kit.

Repaired back of office chair.

Repaired door of craft cupboard so it would stay shut.

Repaired a seam in a pair of shorts.

Cleaned the outside of my windows (which is no mean feat in a first floor flat) for the first time in ever and they look so much better so that is a mend in my view.

Not a bad list time.

[Deleted User]

OH has sanded our bread board back and re oiled it. It had started to splinter but now has years left in it.

[Deleted User]

DH is painting the carport roof where a gutter had overflowed and it had gone mouldy.  Gutter cleared and second coat of paint going on now. 
Just down to the last portion of chapatti flour that had got lost in the larder and was 3 years out of date but fine when I opened it so I've used it.
Have just minimised the last couple of sourdough crumpets I made a few days ago and they are just lovely toasted.

[Deleted User]

The Other Half has mended the our woodstore. It also has a better top to try to get it limping through another season.

CraftyLittleLisa

I have done some more minimising today.  I cleared out some more books and some bras that are just too uncomfortable to wear now for me as my body is changing.  Another trip to the charity shops when they open.