2022 Frugal Living Challenge

London_1

I too use a bar of soap, but then I also save the end bits and remake them into new bars .As I use the same soap all the time (dove) it suits me and I have zero waste

JackieO xx

Soontobeoap

Going away to the lake district on Friday. Self catering cottage. Looks like the weather might be good for walking. We usually do a shop when we get to destination but I have already started packing food to take. Have made a fruit cake and will make oat biscuits nearer the time to cut down on snack buys. I am going to take my homemade gala pie thingy that I haven't made for 30 years but DH is willing to give it a go again and I have eggs, and some sausages in the freeser. Will take pizza and some pasta and cheese and that will be at least 3 meals covered. It will also be nice to eat out a couple of times as we have only done that once this year.
I knew prices would go up on food but bought 2x750g of pork beef mince for £7.00in Aldi 3 weeks ago and yesterday spent £8.38 for exactly the same thing. It's pretty much the same everywhere. I will just have to bulk it out more.
Also got a very depressing gas and electric bill last week. Have decided to pay the direct debit that they have suggested through the winter and claim some back later if it is too much. 
I have just seen reports of an Indian summer so hopefully we won't need heating on until at least mid October. We are trying to cut down on fuel wherever we can. 
I have a couple of sprouting potatoes in the fridge so feel I have nothing to lose by planting them to see if they give us some potatoes near Christmas. Up by the house they might be protected from frost.
I have gained so many ideas from this forum. Thank you all so much. 

mumtoomany

I only use liquid soap, (watered down washing up liquid), in the kitchen. I find a bar ends up filthy and soggy. At least the liquid soap bottle can be washed down. Normally we are washing hands in the kitchen after coming on from sorting the animals, sure you can imagine the types of "dirt" that would end up on the soap! Hugs, mumtoomany.xxx

fritzie-65

Has anyone tried using watered down shampoo instead of detergent in a washing machine ? I have read various pros and cons ''on the net '' but would be interested if anyone has tried it. I have a few bottles of part used shampoo for greasy hair which need using up and I am loathed to throw.TIA

Primrose

fritzie-65 said:

Has anyone tried using watered down shampoo instead of detergent in a washing machine ? I have read various pros and cons ''on the net '' but would be interested if anyone has tried it. I have a few bottles of part used shampoo for greasy hair which need using up and I am loathed to throw.TIA

Sorry can,t help but an intriguing thought.  Try putting some in a washing up bowl and see how much foam and lather it produces when whisked around for a bit, as would happen in a washing machine.  If it produces too much your rinse cycle may not be able to clear it off the clothes.

you could perhaps have a trial run with items which only need a short washing cycle. I'd err on the side of using minimum quantities first .  After all, some people do use a washing machine with no cleaning fluids at all.

Do report back!

kiloranbay

Hello all, another new week ahead! Sunny here on the south coast. 

I sometimes wash with no detergent, shampoo I've spilled on my clothes has left them slightly greasy feeling so it wasn't an intuitive thought to try it.

This week I've been struggling with a sort of pre-apocalyptic (cost of living) panic where I think everything I'd usually donate or recycle could come in handy (spare sheets, jars, crockery, broken electronics). Working from home in a shared one-bed flat with no storage aside from my furniture means being constantly on the warpath against clutter and unlike my grandparents I don't have space to keep things just in case.  

Also the dreaded "If we're all going into a horrible cost of living crisis I may as well spend now" thoughts. (Although apart from my aforementioned ADHD tax haven't actually been spending!). 

Just read my financial coach friend's blog post about it being easier sometimes, perspective-wise, to try on a new identity rather than change a behaviour. So I'll be going with that mentality this week ahead: 

 I'm not "planning to cut down on my spending" or "trying to declutter" - I'm just a frugal and minimalistic person.  

chanie

kiloranbay said:

This week I've been struggling with a sort of pre-apocalyptic (cost of living) panic where I think everything I'd usually donate or recycle could come in handy (spare sheets, jars, crockery, broken electronics). Working from home in a shared one-bed flat with no storage aside from my furniture means being constantly on the warpath against clutter and unlike my grandparents I don't have space to keep things just in case.  

In my humble opinion, it’s much nicer to live in a cluttered environment than one where huh save stuff ‘just in case’.  We’ve been decluttering due to house renovations and ended up finding a lot of stuff we’d put away, but never used, as we had forgotten about it.    I can only recall 1 occasion when I actually needed something I had gotten rid of (I was annoyed with myself,  it it was quite a random item to keep, so I just had to let it go).

florianatwobob

Having just had a stock up of store cupboard stuff I can sympathise with the post apocalyptic cost of living feelings. Trying to track down the supermarket deals feels exhausting in itself. 

I currently have a stock pile of jars which will be useful for storage but the urge to keep ‘stuff’ is strong (a legacy from my mum who was born in 1939 and grew up with rationing). 

MazzieD

@fritzie-65   I have never come across using shampoo in any diluted form in a washing machine.  Think the nearest I might try   would possibly be making laundry gloop (see earlier years of the frugal challenge) but generally just use a much smaller dose of washing powder.  Good luck if you try it!  

Soontobeoap

My DH loves black shorts. We usually buy them from sainsbury but are thinking of getting better quality ones in future as they seem to lose colour and gain a wierd purply brown hue after several washes.

This week I bought a packet of black machine dye for £8.00and used it for a navy and a black pair of shorts and an old faded black t shirt. They all look like new now. Much cheaper than buying new ones. I really wish that I had taken before and after pics. I am so impressed and better still so is DH. 😂