2021 Frugal Living Challenge

willow_loulou

Thank you @Treasurequeen I’ll check that out. 

The trouble with food is we keep eating it! I seem to do nothing but shop and make food 🙄 

[Deleted User]

It is very quiet on here, I hope everyone is well and enjoying the weather. Our chickens are loving it, we are getting around 12 eggs per day which is wonderful. The strawberries have ripened and the courgettes and lettuce and doing beautifully. 

t14cy_t

very lucky yesterday in morrisons, 4 very neglected tall standard ruby red roses were £25 each snapped them up for £1 each!! they had previously been covered in whitefly and then sprayed with bug killer. they have all been washed in soapy water, fed and watered and smartened up. very proud of my bargains!!

ancientmum

Wow t1, a bargain indeed.

Sparkly, the sun is out now but we have just had a downpour and more is forecast for later. 

 I'm planning to spend the day indoors baking and seeing to the last few plants that need to be potted on and hardened off.  I've got peppers that are outgrowing their original pots and something that needs to be thinned  but I've lost the label for.  

Then it's off to DS1 for a roast dinner and a glass of wine.

Happy Sunday everyone!

willow_loulou

Its been a busy but productive few days for me. I’ve had stuff picked up by my lovely local metal collector as I’ve continued to declutter the house. 

I made 2 fly curtains for windows by sewing a channel into cheap and nasty fly net, threading string through and hanging it on hooks. They over lap the windows so they can be opened, the over lap hooks on to another hook so it stays put. 

I’ve finally found a nice bit of scrap material to make a blind from so I just need a few extras for that. 

I was given a bag of stuff (the fly net was in it) in it was a 3rd of a bottle of weed killer so I used it on some bindweed and covered it to keep bees off it. It seemed silly to throw it when in struggling with weeds 😳 I’ve done another section with salt to compare. I’ve pulled up loads so it will be interesting to see what’s most effective. Personally I think it will be pulling it up but hey ho! 

Tightpants24

Not many thrifty ways here unfortunately as have had DS birthday plus DD home from uni.  Luckily she has got herself a full time summer job starting this week so I won't need to subsidise her much.  I had a lull in the V1nt3d selling but I have loads of clothes to get rid of so hopefully I'll make a few quid off these.  I have been lucky with prolific surveys though, and made over £20 in the last couple of weeks.  

Viking_mfw

Have been MIA from the boards since I went back to work after maternity leave and have just been catching up. 

I am gluten free and we've just discovered DS1 also needs gf. I think the best GF bread is Warburtons - esp the sourdough and tiger loaves. But they are too expensive for anything but a treat. Coop own brand is also not bad but also spendy. I tend to wait until I see coop reducing down to silly prices and buy the whole lot and freeze it. 

To be honest, I think it's better to use alternatives like oatcakes and rice cakes. 

If she likes marmite, which is not gluten free, Tesco's own brand version is gf, cheaper and tastes virtually identical. 

willow_loulou

Thanks for the marmite tip! That’s interesting! 

I’ve had a very lazy morning which was much needed. I really like not working Mondays and just being able to chill in peace. 

I’m writing lists today and shopping later with maybe a little sewing and that’s my lot, hoping to catch some tennis on the tele box so I think I’ll add strawberries to my list. 

I’m bidding on some material on eBay, it’s at pennies at the moment as it’s pick up only. Fingers crossed! 

Siebrie

End of May I tripped over my dd1's skateboard and fell on my right knee, hard; I was nauseous and had tears in my eyes. I wore a kneesleeve for a week and it still hadn't gotten any better. I went to the emergency GP post, and was sent for X-rays, which showed no bones were broken. I made an appointment for MRI scan, which took another 3 weeks, and finally had some sort of conclusion: there is something called Hoffa in your knee, and it's inflamed. Recipe: rest. I cannot bend my knee more than 90 degrees, and cannot kneel on it at all. Which is not good for weeding, planting out seedlings, and general maintenance of house and body. I'm doing as much as I can from a stool, I dig for 10 minutes a day and then stop, I focus cleaning the top half of the rooms (it needs it, too ), I sort stuff sitting down.

I was reassured this will (gradually) pass, so I am once again in awe of all of you with physical (and mental) problems who stay on the frugal path!

fionaandphil

@Siebrie I damaged a ligament in my knee about 18 months ago and can confirm that the best thing for it is rest.  I was lucky and got seen by a physio before lockdown so she gave me some good exercises to strengthen my knee so it is much better than it was but I still find I am limited in what I do.  She did say that time and rest are the only things that will fix it.  Get yourself an ice pack too to reduce the swelling and keep it elevated as much as possible.  Not much fun when all you want is to be out in the garden while the sun is shining.  Hope the pain eases soon x