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What have you done differently since we first went into Lockdown?

PipneyJane
Posts: 4,476 Forumite



It's a year on Tuesday (23rd March), since Britain first went into full Lockdown in the fight against COVID-19. The television is full of it this morning, which got me thinking... What have I done differently, possibly more frugally, since we went into Lockdown? There are a lot of things that I did before, that many people have adopted during this time (cooking from scratch, baking, knitting, etc), but here are a few things that I do now, that I didn't habitually do before Lockdown:-
What about you? What are you doing differently since you went into Lockdown?
- Pip
- Rather than boil the kettle repeatedly through the day when we want a hot cuppa, I now boil a full kettle first thing in the morning, make our breakfast coffee and then decant the rest into a thermos. During the day, additional coffees are made from the thermos. Later on, if we need a kettleful of boiling water for cooking dinner, I'll tip the remaining hot water back into the kettle before topping up.
- Regularly walking to L!dl. Our local branch is 1.5 miles away and it's become our primary grocery shop. We walk there about once a week to buy toiletries, dairy products and fresh veg. (Prior to Lockdown, we bought our fresh veg and eggs from a farm shop 5 miles away and split our supermarket shopping between MrT's and L!dl, driving to both. The first casualty of Lockdown was the farm shop - they are in the middle of a National Trust property and were forced to close when the "big house" closed. They haven't reopened.)
- Buy the Sunday paper from the local branch of the C0-0p. Again, this is a walk, whereas previously we'd drive to MrT's.
- Going for a walk "after work" every evening. We've both been working from home since Lockdown started. This is the only way to get that mental space between work-life and home-life, which we'd normally get from a commute. Another plus side is that, unlike many people, I haven't put on weight.
- As you may have gathered, I'm not doing a lot of driving now. The money that I've saved by not buying a tank of diesel every week is going into the "Car Account" instead, to be spent on services, insurance, road tax and the inevitable replacement car.
- Tracking our daily spend on electricity and gas. Every morning, I check the smart meter and make a note of what we spent yesterday, as well as what we did that would use a lot of energy (using the oven, washing machine, etc). This started because our power company jacked up our direct debits and I wanted ammunition to prove that their assumptions were wrong. (We're on a 2-year fixed tariff, when it expires, I will shop around.) Yes, I've argued those direct debits down.
- Use my "morning commute" time to exercise. Rather than get up later, now that I'm working from home - which might upset my husband's daily routine - I use that time to exercise. I've done the Couch-to-5K and now run 3 times a week. On the other 2 mornings, I do some yoga stretches and I've started doing a bit of weight training.
- Learned French via Duolingo. (It's free.) Today is day 296 of my current streak of lessons. I'm spending less than 10 minutes a day and have learned considerably more words than I did in four years of French at high school. I'm not sure I can string a sentence together and I doubt I'd understand if my French colleague started talking to me in his native tongue, but I know far more than I did.
What about you? What are you doing differently since you went into Lockdown?
- Pip
"Be the type of woman that when you get out of bed in the morning, the devil says 'Oh crap. She's up.' "
It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it - that’s what gets results!
2025 Fashion on the Ration Challenge 66 coupons - 4 spent.
4 - Thermal Socks from L!dl
It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it - that’s what gets results!
2025 Fashion on the Ration Challenge 66 coupons - 4 spent.
4 - Thermal Socks from L!dl
14
Comments
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That's a really interesting point about the kettle - I'd never even thought about it. Anyone know roughly how much a full kettle would be per boil? Probably not trivial if added up through the day.3
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But why boil a full kettle every time you want a cuppa? We just boil 1 or 2 mugs' worth at a time. But I suppose it depends what type of kettle you have.7
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saved a few £s on beer, with the pub shut. in the supermarket, you can get a pack of four, for the the price of a pint in the pub.
3 -
My hub has made some homebrew for the first time. 2 lots now. I've had more time for cooking and started to enjoy it again. I've been spending more time crocheting. Hadn't really done it properly every, but took part in a Crochet-along last autumn. Just finishing a cot blanket for new baby in the family.[SIZE=-1]"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad"[/SIZE]
Trying not to waste food!:j
ETA Philosophy is wondering whether a Bloody Mary counts as a Smoothie4 -
robeva said:That's a really interesting point about the kettle - I'd never even thought about it. Anyone know roughly how much a full kettle would be per boil? Probably not trivial if added up through the day.ivyleaf said:But why boil a full kettle every time you want a cuppa? We just boil 1 or 2 mugs' worth at a time. But I suppose it depends what type of kettle you have.purpleivy said:My hub has made some homebrew for the first time. 2 lots now. I've had more time for cooking and started to enjoy it again. I've been spending more time crocheting. Hadn't really done it properly every, but took part in a Crochet-along last autumn. Just finishing a cot blanket for new baby in the family.
Please show us your cot blanket, @purpleivy. That’s a lovely gift to make for someone.
Did you like your husband’s homebrew? I have a friend who started brewing last year. His biggest problem is that he makes far more than he can drink.
- Pip
"Be the type of woman that when you get out of bed in the morning, the devil says 'Oh crap. She's up.' "
It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it - that’s what gets results!
2025 Fashion on the Ration Challenge 66 coupons - 4 spent.
4 - Thermal Socks from L!dl5 -
Lockdown 1 when the roads were empty was great for building confidence about cycling round London. I cycle a lot now, especially seeking out places I’d never normally go because even in London there are lots of interesting places off the beaten track and that are actually easier to get to by bike than by car.Having food delivered forced me to meal plan even more carefully because I’m a cheapskate and wasn’t prepared to pay for a delivery more than once every 2-3 weeks.
I emptied the cupboards of nearly empty bottles of booze and made cocktails. Unfortunately I liked the cocktails so much that I had to buy replacement booze ...10 -
I’ve started shopping much less frequently - I’m managing to make a big shop last three weeks. Before lockdown I was always popping into the supermarket ‘for a pint of milk’ and spending much more. I’ve always been quite good at using stuff up, but I have become really determined to use everything in the fridge before shopping again.The other change I’ve made is to start running. I began Couchto5k in November and now regularly run for 30 minutes.Life is mainly froth and bubble: two things stand like stone. Kindness in another’s trouble, courage in your own.8
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I am food shopping less frequently, one delivery every fortnight and a veg box each week. Previously I was food shopping about 3 days a week! Although food delivery is not from the usual cheaper supermarkets so working out roughly the same in cost.
I am walking more, since last summer. Can now walk about 7 miles so the future return to the office will hopefully mean walking to and from work and not spending an hour each way on the bus. Walking will take roughly the same time but saves money and keeps me fit.working on clearing the clutterDo I want the stuff or the space?5 -
One thing I found was I could do things as and when I please. rather than work all week long, and then trying to fit washing , vacuuming and shopping, plus all the gardening jobs, into one weekend. much nicer to just spread it through out the week.6
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I'm with PollyWollyDoodle on the running. I did the same in January after many years on the sofa. Thoroughly enjoying it, specially as the weather warms up.5
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