2022 Frugal Living Challenge

cw18

I knew this was the right place to ask

I'll check the local charity shops, and I'm hoping to take a wander to a shopping complex today whiich includes a large charity shop, BnM, £Land and £Strech.

I'll try and remember to keep an eye on the local buy&sell group on FB - I'm a member, but only read the ads that pop into my (very busy) feed.   I'll have a look around and see if there's a different board for freebies, but I know I've seen some giveaways on the B&S.    I'll also have random checks of 0lio - I noticed on a recent glance at the app that there's a non-food section, but I hadn't thought of it until the mention of FB.

The closest H0bbycraft is way out of the way - it's a fair stretch even if I go up to the town it's closest to.

Useful tip about checking bands for yardage

joedenise mentioned making reusable facecloths.  What projects is everyone else working on?   Do you do various projects during the year, or do you do something like making blankets year round for relaxation?

Debsnewbudget

There is a wanted section on Olio, so maybe you can request on there

London_1

I am also at the moment re-purposing some cloth tea towels that are past their best .I cut them into four ,fold length ways so a bit like an oven glove shape and sew up two sides.I then have a duster/cleaning cloth I can pop on and use I have one with a small tab on, that hangs in the shower for cleaning the inside glass doors, and one by the wash haand basin for cleaning in the bath room, and several in a box just kept for dusting I seemed to have a large amount of tea towels that aren't really good enough for drying, but once recycled into 'over the hand type cleaning cloths are pretty good, and save the expence of lots of paper towels. I suppose I have about a dozen or so and they are easy to hand sew, and really useful.
I can chuck them into a boil wash when ever I do one and they are fine.

Last year I used part of an old cotton tea towel to repair the nylon carrycase bottom of one of our beach chairs.The carry cases are all seem to be made of nylon material which frays out after a time so a reinforced cotton bottom to them is ideal and makes carrying the chairs to the beach a doddle . Things really do need to be completly worn out before they go to landfill in my house 

JackieO  xx

mandy47

cw18 said

But I'm going to need some wool before I can start playing.   From the patterns I've downloaded I see mention of lots of different yarns, the names of which haven't made a lot of sense to me (I recall from knitting that there was 2-ply, 3-ply, 4-ply, double and chunky, plus specials within those that had metallic threads in or were textured or multi-coloured).   Is there somewhere good on-line to find wools without breaking the bank or spending as much on postage as on the wool?    Or actual stores that I may be able to get to (even if only when I'm heading into a city centre).   The local wool shop closed down years ago, and one I knew of in the next town up disappeared a few months ago.   I know of one store near work that sells fabric, buttons and sewing threads, but I don't recall seeing any wool the couple of times I've been in (will have to go and check, but am rarely nearby when it's open).

Wilko is reasonable. Not a huge choice though.
Charity shops, Olio and freecycle are worth a look.

Greenqueen_2

There is a company online called CutPrice Barry which deals with short dated foods etc.  It has no minimum order restrictions but does charge £3.99 P&P for all orders. I noticed recently that they have a big section of craft supplies such as knitting wool, buttons, embroidery threads etc. Perhaps it would be worth a look.

annieb64

At the moment I'm knitting blanket squares to make up into lap blankets for  our local Age Concern  and an aran cardigan for DGD. DGS is 11 now and wouldn't wear a hand made jumper so I've given up knitting for him.

bear14

@YoungBlueEyes Ideally all of those. At the moment we tend to do 1 big holiday and 2 small breaks within UK. I should add I prioritize holidays. Everything else we are exceptionally frugal with so we can afford to be more generous with holidays. I should add my husband has agreed to try woofers next year which I am very excited about! Xx

YoungBlueEyes

Ooh exciting!  I used to be like you, real life was frugal and careful so I could go on hol on a whim. I think it’s more difficult now than when we used to do it. Obvious things like eat where the locals do, take public transport etc are still true. But pack your passport, a few clothes and some toiletries, rock up to the airport and say “I’ll take whichever spare seat you’ve got that’s going somewhere warm” and get it for £20ish is just not possible any more. Sadly. 

Jellytotts

Home bargains wool is lovely quality for crochet and washes up a treat. 

The online “wool warehouse” is fab too and they do a brand called “style craft special DK” in the most amazing colours.  I’ve used that for years and again, washes up well.

I’d recommend following Attic24s blog/instagram etc for her wonderful patterns, tips and helpfulness. I find her photos of each step of the crochet pattern easier to follow than watching videos.

newlywed

Dunelm do some wool and my local Aldi has some left in the middle aisle complete with Pom Pom for a hat.

age uk and dogs trust are good here for wool and buttons and craft bits, and there’s a couple of independent messy type charity shops that have some too.