It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

Slinky

Jackie you've mentioned many times about defrosting your freezer when it's run down. We never really bother to run it down to defrost it.

We take everything out, store it in plastic crates/boxes packed tightly together with towels draped over the top and round the side. Stand the washing up bowl full of boiling water inside the freezer, replacing the water as it cools down, scrape the ice off, even use a hairdryer on the persistant bits round the pipes if you have them, whizz round with some anti-bac and a quick dry down and everything goes back in again. Takes less than 2 hours, and the frozen stuff is still largely frozen to go back in again.

I'd hate to think you are missing out on the opportunity of picking up some cheaper bargains whereever possible because of the need to get to empty.

Effician

Slinky said:

Jackie you've mentioned many times about defrosting your freezer when it's run down. We never really bother to run it down to defrost it.

We take everything out, store it in plastic crates/boxes packed tightly together with towels draped over the top and round the side. Stand the washing up bowl full of boiling water inside the freezer, replacing the water as it cools down, scrape the ice off, even use a hairdryer on the persistant bits round the pipes if you have them, whizz round with some anti-bac and a quick dry down and everything goes back in again. Takes less than 2 hours, and the frozen stuff is still largely frozen to go back in again.

I'd hate to think you are missing out on the opportunity of picking up some cheaper bargains whereever possible because of the need to get to empty.

Same here with the storage crates however we can defrost the smallish chest freezer & be refilling within 15 mins by using a drum type vacuum with the hose on the outlet , it blows lots of warm air , no need to scrape as you just just aim it at the ice & watch it slide down . We do ours every 3 months now as it is no longer a chore even with the freezer full most of the time.

Eldi_Dos

OrkneyStar said:

I think people often misunderstand what privilege means, @EssexHebridean has explained it really well and I try to explain it in a broadly similar way myself. @Tahlullah.H  your post is very powerful too. Often those who have privilege don't even recognise it, but it it was somehow no longer there they'd soon notice!

Solzhenitsyn's, How can you expect a man who is warm to understand a man who is cold , kind of sums up my thoughts on privilege.

Eldi_Dos

Rosa_Damascena said:

otb666 said:

I used £5 a day on electric last quarter 20 units a day.  This is for 3 adults with 6 PC (10 units )on continually, DW (3 units)used twice daily and kettle used ALOT.  I am not cutting back yet as we can afford it and just retired I have fixed fuel prices until feb 24.  I do think an increase was due as it had been cheap for some time The same with Food  However I do worry for the future as if it does increase further we would have to limit my hubbys and sons gaming as it would no longer be cheap entertainment.  I just hope the prices dont go up too much higher.  I am just being honest and not meant to be hurtful at all as if I had younger kids I would be very worried and I do worry about my children who have young families and will help out if needs be If i can afford to

Reading a chazzer-purchased book is the best value entertainment, second only to a library book. And depending on the choice of literature, can be improving.

Now is good time of year for charity shops to have good supply of good reads with students returning home and not always able to take books away with them.We make a day out of it and visit our nearest University town around now for that reason.

London_1

I have not defrosted it for about two years and I think the ice in there could sink Titanic Two I have worked out that with luck I should be able to virtually defrost and use up what I have by about the second week of June, and because I am buying a lot less the left over cash has gone to a different account to restock in with . Not shopping so much and eating from stuff indoors has saved me around £68 odd at the moment and thats tucked away for another few weeks I have some cash due to me coming at the end of this month as well so I definitely be able to restock it properly by then. My kitchen is fairly warm as is my bathroom I don't have a cold house at all, but one of my DDs says once I'm ready she can stick some left over bit in her fezer for the day as it takes a good morning or afternoon to do this 

-taff

I normally just get a duvet, put it in a basket or box so it's hanging over the sides, put all the frozen stuff in, then wrap up the duvet. It stays frozen for hours.

TheAble

Eldi_Dos said:

OrkneyStar said:

I think people often misunderstand what privilege means, @EssexHebridean has explained it really well and I try to explain it in a broadly similar way myself. @Tahlullah.H  your post is very powerful too. Often those who have privilege don't even recognise it, but it it was somehow no longer there they'd soon notice!

Solzhenitsyn's, How can you expect a man who is warm to understand a man who is cold , kind of sums up my thoughts on privilege.

Mmm. Stirring stuff.

I don't know how this subject got onto race either. I've done a fair few interviews in my time and have absolutely no interest in what race you are. Or gender. Or where you got your suit from for that matter Plays no part in the decision-making.

I'd like to think times have moved for the better, and rightly so.

OrkneyStar

TheAble said:

Eldi_Dos said:

OrkneyStar said:

I think people often misunderstand what privilege means, @EssexHebridean has explained it really well and I try to explain it in a broadly similar way myself. @Tahlullah.H  your post is very powerful too. Often those who have privilege don't even recognise it, but it it was somehow no longer there they'd soon notice!

Solzhenitsyn's, How can you expect a man who is warm to understand a man who is cold , kind of sums up my thoughts on privilege.

Mmm. Stirring stuff.

I don't know how this subject got onto race either. I've done a fair few interviews in my time and have absolutely no interest in what race you are. Or gender. Or where you got your suit from for that matter Plays no part in the decision-making.

I'd like to think times have moved for the better, and rightly so.

Unfortunately the reality is that they haven't, the colour of someone's skin, their sex, their gender identity, their disability, their income level, their nationality, their background and so on, are all things which give some people a disadvantage (or others a privilege). Much as many of us wish that wasn't the case, it still is. As said before, those of us who don't experience some or all of these things don't often realise we have that privilege, because we don't even think about it. 

euronorris

Not everyone makes decisions without taking those things into account. 

And we all have our own sub conscious biases that influence how we view and treat others, whether we recognise it or not. 

Anyway, petrol up another 2p/litre this week. Up and up it goes again.

Frugalista

ladyholly said:

Yesterday I made very much soup, from two butternut squashes, a large pile of meh carrots, onion, ginger, peanut butter (no, really) and stock.

There was enough for five meals for two of us., and it probably cost about £4.

Would you post your recipe please.  The addition of ginger and peanut butter sounds interesting!