2022 Frugal Living Challenge

joedenise

I haven't cost individual things but since getting our energy use monitor mid June we've been checking daily usage and so far have managed to keep gas and electric costs, including standing charges, to less than £2 a day.  It does help that we use the washing machine when the solar panels are getting the most charge!  I suspect things will be very different once we get to later in the year when the solar panels don't produce as much electric!

We used a total of £58 in the whole of July so definitely building up a buffer for the coming winter.

Van_Girl

YoungBlueEyes said:

Sorry, I don't think I worded my post very well.  When I was wondering about the scorching, I meant from the heat of the pot itself on whatever soft thing is in the hay box.  Like when you lift a hot dish out of the oven and sit it on a teatowel because that's all you have to hand, and you get a brown burn mark.  That make sense...?

I have slightly melted a couple of cheap tea towels when I've lined the Wonderbag with them, so yes, it can happen. I just use old ones

HelenaPinky

And you can heat your bed up with it while you're cooking your dinner 

This has really tickled me, the thought of the dinner in the bed!! 

I’m glad you’ve all explained to much. I’ll definitely try and remember to come back to this part of the thread when it gets to October-time and I feel brave enough to attempt! 

pamsdish

HelenaPinky said: I put a washing up bowl in the shower this morning and used it after my shower to flush the toilet!! I have no idea if we’re on a water meter…no-one comes to check it but when we get the bill every 6 months it says “you used 78p per day’, so I’ve always assumed we’re on a meter, am I wrong? 

Contact your water authority asap, and ask if you are on a meter, I moved home,15 yrs ago now, BUT, they asked for meter readings, didn`t know, eventually found the meter under where cars were parked, we were in debt, £200, best to check

Jolaaled

Van_Girl said:

YoungBlueEyes said:

Sorry, I don't think I worded my post very well.  When I was wondering about the scorching, I meant from the heat of the pot itself on whatever soft thing is in the hay box.  Like when you lift a hot dish out of the oven and sit it on a teatowel because that's all you have to hand, and you get a brown burn mark.  That make sense...?

I have slightly melted a couple of cheap tea towels when I've lined the Wonderbag with them, so yes, it can happen. I just use old ones

I'm wondering if it would be possible to make one (wonderbag)from a bean bag...
....maybe, (first, remove the beans). Then, sew and pad a circular base section, then turn the rest of the fabric back inside itself..if that makes sense, to make a double layer of fabric for the sides!
...then sew up and bean fill about 8 side panels..then finally, add drawstrings, that would be tightened over a cushion lid!
Would this work?

Primrose

jolaaled.  I,m not sure.  It would seem to have the right ingredients but I suspect part of the secret may be keeping the heat from the pan or casserole dish enclosed in a fairly tight space with the insulation thickly wound around the pan to ensure heat loss doesn,t escape through various layers.
The  wooden case packing version we used years ago had the casserole dish tightly  packed in and insulated with thick blankets. I suspect bean bag contents may be polystyrene pellets which may be a looser wrap around the pan and thus not so efficient an insulation method.  But I,m only guessing.

if you wanted  to experiment first without damaging your bean bag in case it doesn t work, you could try putting your heated pan in a thick ,'bag for life' type protection first,  bury it in the centre of your Bean bag and cover with cushions or a thick blanket to keep the cover insulated and stop heat escaping. 

If you try it, do let us know the result of your experiment.  It,s always helpful to learn from others what works and what doesn' t.  The thought occurred to me that the fibreglass material used for roof insulation, if anybody has a small spare amount they could lay their hands on , might make a useful insulation liner for a Hay box, especially if stuffed in old pillow cases to prevent any loose fibres migrating. 

ZsaZsa

@London_1 Can I ask about your Remoska? I know from your previous posts that you really rate yours. I’ve just waded through all 300 posts of the Remoska thread and it seems like over the period of the thread (several years) some people had problems with tripping electrics after time. Have you had any trouble? 

I’ve been wondering for quiet a while about getting one to avoid putting our oven on. (We inherited it when we moved in, it doesn’t cook terribly well, but I don’t want to replace it until we can afford a new kitchen). I know everyone raves about air fryers but I really don’t think it’s right for me. I’m looking for something that I can bake/cook one tray dinners/ pasta bakes etc so think the Remoska will be much more suited

Sweetlittledaydreams

I've got a wonderbag, not used it that much yet but will do when the weather turns and love the idea of putting it in the bed to warm that up! 
Back to work on Monday after a week off, not dreading it but don't really want to go back and I'm going to ask again about going part time, was brushed off last time but going to push it now. I'll still work at my second job anyway so I'll still be doing 40 hours a week really, it will just seem part time compared to 55+ hours!
My friend and me where talking today about how communities have dissolved. It would be lovely if friends lived next door to each other and you could take the fence panels out and just have one big shared garden to grow fruit and veg in and keep chickens, but in reality I barely know my neighbours. I think it would be a great way to save money too if you shared meals and material goods with your friends / neighbours.

Primrose

Sweetlittledaydreams said:

My friend and me where talking today about how communities have dissolved. It would be lovely if friends lived next door to each other and you could take the fence panels out and just have one big shared garden to grow fruit and veg in and keep chickens, but in reality I barely know my neighbours. I think it would be a great way to save money too if you shared meals and material goods with your friends / neighbours.

I've spent many years working in our local community and what you say is sadly true.  I think Covid has stripped the heart out of many of them.  Most of the people who volunteered were retired but two years of pressure have made them sicker, older and they're dropping out to get some mental peace.  Sadly younger people are not stepping up to fill the gaps.
We hardly ever see or speak to our neighbours now.  Times are getting harder and people are just pulling up the drawbridge and looking after themselves, with a few valuable exceptions of course.

tooldle

I’d say in our area the opposite has happened, in that the younger generation has stepped up. We have ‘local area coordinators’. These are posts provided by our council. The coordinators are integrated into the area and work with the community to publicise, run and develop new groups/events/fund raising for the local community. The initiative is and continues to be successful, with community support mobilised as needed. 

We had our first ever community Xmas event last December. Outside, late Sunday afternoon, to be accessible to all. Quite basic with some dance and singing groups performing, and a few stalls for drinks etc. The turnout was huge and hence the plan is to repeat this year.