2022 Frugal Living Challenge

cw18

YoungBlueEyes said:

Has it moved beyond the idea stage? I didn't realise it was on the go already.

Poor man, these committees don't always consider the full ripple effect do they?

If they have Economy 7 it will be cheaper for them to run things overnight anyway - and the increased prices will make them think about doing it more.

London_1

I do hope there are no power cuts this winter as apart from the gas CH which need electricity to run I'm all electric I am seriously thinking of getting a little camping stove, even if its only to boil a kettle for a cuppa

JackieO xx

Floss

Primrose said:

In national emergencies of all kinds, especially these days you have to have an alternative source of communication when the internet goes down or mobile telephone signals are not available.   

NHS hospitals have a statutory requirement to have a standby copper cable phone system in the event of power failure.

zafiro1984

Deleted_User said:

@zafiro1984 if you don’t mind me asking did you buy your Esse from new? I am considering one but the new price is an awful lot xx

Yes it was new, but I bought it about 12yrs ago. I think it was about 4k but it has a back boiler to run radiators and underneath there is a drawer for plates. I don't think they make my model any more. I did think it was quite a lot of money at the time but I'm glad I got it. It's very well made, robust, and apart from having the door seal (rope) replaced which DH has done over the years it has needed no parts until this year. I cook everything in it even the 20lb Christmas turkey (I used to grow turkeys until the start of the pandemic).

mumtoomany

Hi @Deleted_User. When we first moved here we had a second hand Stanley. Solid fuel, oven and hotplate, and ran the radiators/hot water tank. It was not great at heating the house, but it is a huge house and had no carpets. Might be worth looking at for you. We had a solid fuel Rayburn Royale, many years ago. Great for cooking and hot water, but only ran a few radiators. HTH, hugs, mumtoomany.xxx

[Deleted User]

Thank you @zafiro1984 and @mumtoomany much appreciated. Now our kitchen chimney is sorted - hurrah - I want to replace the open fire that I have with something I can use as both a wood burner and a method of cooking. I’ll look at both of your suggestions.

We get lots of free wood and I am quite the expert at foraging for kindling. 

Pouring with rain here. I hope everyone is safe and well x

cbsexec

We had an old second hand Rayburn - loved it.   I learned to cook most things successfully on/in it.   Did need another source of cooking for the summer though. 

2Scratters

I am continuing to use the water butt for reducing the water used, especially the loo. You really do not realise how much water is used to just flush it. I estimate for now have saved about 500 litres. We'll see how far I can continue this through the winter. I would love to halve the half yearly water bill by about £80. We are on a water meter and there is only the 2 of us at home now. It's also more exercise for me walking up and down the garden
The CH is not on yet and the fire is only lit in the evening DH didn't light it last night till turned 8pm, just before I got home from work.

Have a good week Peeps
2 Scratters xx

Soontobeoap

We still havmt needed any heat. Cant believe how warm it is. Washing line is now fixed so I won’t have anymore wet washing hanging around indoors. I am going to have to do some ironing soon as running out of clothes 😂. However i have saved it for a cold day to warm up the house. Have just nipped to sainsbirys with my shopping list for Tescos. All prices were noted and I have saved £7.00 on a shop for all of my branded shopping. A good start to the week. 

zafiro1984

Good start to the week, Ironheart had its parts replaced, they also had a good look at things I couldn't see, just a screw missing from the hotplate cover otherwise a clean bill of health. Advised not to light it until tomorrow to let the replacement rope around the door settle in. It will be lit tomorrow and then I'll not use the oven, hob or electric kettle until late Spring next year. I suppose I'll have to give the electric oven a good clean - not a job I enjoy. It will be interesting to see how much my electric usage/money reduces per day/week.

Next big job to tackle is my veg/fruit plot. It's been somewhat neglected this year, I'm not sure why, I just think I lost enthusiasm and got a bit lazy but I need to revive it before it gets too jungle like. I've most of the seeds I need for next year, and enough compost/muck, thanks to the animals we have. I've set myself a target of one hour a day - first job is to mow the paths so I don't fall over. I'll try hard not to spend any money on it so it should help with the food budget. - well that's the plan.