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

mumtoomany

Hi @Deleted_User. I didn't realise you had moved. Glad you've got more room for the animals now. Re feeding pigs. Ours get pig nuts and barley, (barley is cheaper and a bigger bag) Also when i go to our vegetable shop, i often ask for the contents of their bin under the counter. Lots of slightly damaged fruit and veg. They are more than happy to give it to me, even put in in boxes. Also the veg shop sells boxes of slightly passed it's best fruit and veg for £1 a box. A box may have 30 apples, or six punnets of strawberries, or 6 lettuce, 5 cauliflowers, 14-15 peppers, you get the idea. So anything in these that is too bruised for us goes straight to the pigs. Also any weeds and grass that is strimmed from between the raised beds and any home grown stuff that's not fit to eat, usually because it's been rabbited! Quite a varied diet for them, for as little cost as we can.
@sammy_kaye18, do you know anyone with a walking stick you can borrow, the ones with a hooked top? Or straighten out a metal coat hanger. Either is ideal for pulling down high hanging raspberries. As a child, i always wondered why my grandma only had a walking stick in early autumn. We now tend to use the shepherds crook. I still have some of last years blackberries frozen, must use them before we start refilling with this years. The little ones have them with porridge, flavours and cools at the same time.
Heating thermostat. I put it on seventeen, OH then puts it down to 16, son-in-law then puts it to 20, DD1 then drops it to 18, and so it continues all day. Heating is only on for 1 hour in the morning and 2-3 hours in the evening, but not until the middle of October at the earliest, goes off again about end of February.
Hugs to all, mumtoomany.xxx

arnoldy

Our thermostat is set to 16-17C. Occasionally OH will tamper and put it up. But I can normally tell if the heat has been notched up after a few minutes, but that does not happen very often. Feel a lot healthier for lining in a cool-warm house, rather than something like the orchid house at Kew.

 

[Deleted User]

Thank you @mumtoomany. Yes it was quite recently, I’ve mentioned it on flylady but only when it had actually happened. Gearing up for sheep but people on the smallholding group I’m on ramble on about how hard work they are etc… I’m sure they can’t be that bad! 

Appreciate your advice lovely. They get a lot of veg that we either grow or get given for them. Barley is a good idea too, I’ll look that out on my next feed trip xx

mumtoomany

Hi @asparklyblonde, sheep are not too difficult to keep, as long as you remember that they seem to have a wish to die! They will get stuck in fences, in bramble patches, behind bushes, seemingly unable to move, (and i'm sure would stay stuck till they died) until you get near enough to help, then just run off! Lambing is ok, if you've had help with difficult ones for a few years. We have a great neighbour, from whom we bought our first sheep. He has been on hand every year since to help with lambing, either coming over, or talking me through on the phone. This year is the first year we've not needed him. Foxes will try to take the odd lamb. Ewes will roll onto their backs and not be able to move. They will get fly strike this time of year. Other than all that, I think they are quite easy. They don't run away, unlike goats! They are hardy enough to stay out all year. easy and, relatively, cheap to feed. As you are quite high up, i think, maybe get a hardy breed that are easy lambers to start with. 
Hugs, mumtoomany.xxx

mumtoomany

Whoever was asking about plastic free, cheap dishwasher tablets, sorry can't find your post, have you tried Lidl and Aldi? The "plastic" wrappers dissolve in the dishwasher and they come in cardboard boxes. Work out at less than 10p each HTH, mumtoomany.xx

Jellytotts

I just put my chicken directly into the slow cooker, no seasoning or oil/water. Medium heat if it’s going on all day, high heat if I’m popping it going around 1pm to eat that evening.  I use the resulting liquid along with the bones for stock (bones go back in the slow cooker with the cooking liquid and a couple of pints of water and gets cooked in high until I’m ready to sieve it….make a lovely gelatinous stock).

I used the main oven today whilst we had some sun on the solar panels.  Cooked a tray of roasties, Yorkshire puds, sausages and a cauli cheese.  Did extras do enough for the same meal tomorrow night and the left overs for lunch on Tuesday.

weenancyinAmerica

When my parents were living we would make a pot of tea, 6 cups and use three tea bags. It worked well for the three of us. If any was left over after we had two cups, I put it in a thermos. for later.

joedenise

We use a pot and use one teabag for 2 mugs.  We then refill the pot and have another cup each later - so we get 4 mugs of tea out of one teabag.

thriftwizard

@asparklyblonde, a quick shout out for Portland sheep - caveat that I don't keep them (no room!) but several friends do - smaller, tougher, & a wee bit brighter than most of the bigger breeds, they're used to scrambling round the cliffs & quarries & are pretty good at looking after themselves, if a little independent-minded sometimes. They're able to lamb at any time of year so that can be spread around, rather than having a month without sleep each spring. Lovely pearly fleeces with a low-ish micron count and good meat too. 

We've always kept our central heating at 17-18℃; I'm hoping we'll see a drop in energy usage (if not bills!) this winter as we've had double-glazing installed. Also the most energy-addicted offspring is moving out & will only be back for the odd visit over Christmas etc. He & OH have both been working from home for the last 18 months, which meant keeping the heating on all day in our original Edwardian drafts last winter; I think I can persuade OH to wear more clothes so that it can drop back to an hour or two morning & evening, as it always was pre-pandemic, with just DD2 & I here during the day. We're perfectly happy to wear layers & we're able to move around to keep warm. Damp would swiftly become an issue in this 120-year-old house if we turned the heating off altogether.

I was happy to turn our elderly power-hungry chest-freezer off at the end of last winter; it's now used as a poultry-feed & grain store. But now the allotment & garden produce is rolling in, and the reports of disastrous harvests & galloping price rises are ramping up, I'm beginning to regret not having the extra freezer space! Though the possibility of power cuts means that even frozen food is vulnerable... I can't even dig clamps to store the veg, we're too low to the water table. Not that root veg want to grow here, anyway!

CKhalvashi

sammy_kaye18 said:

linz said:

 i'll be keeping the lights off and probably either have 1 lamp on instead or some candles o

I will also make sure to bleed all the radiators and probably turn them off in the rooms I hardly use e.g spare bedroom. I want a couple of draught excluders too. I wish I could make my own but i'm not that good at sewing yet.

I was thinking the same this year, although I have two vivariums in my living room which have UV lights and basking spot bulbs and it surprising how much light and heat they give off - not a lot but enough to help keep a chill off in the day. Our TV is also the oppostie wall to the vivs so light wise we rarely need an actual light on in the living room but I have brought a small light from amazon that I use on my craft desk which charges up and then can be unplugged and moved to where its needed and lasts for a good while, plus it has 3 settings for brightness. Think it cost me £5 on offer - I will see if I can find a link as someone might find it useful. Its also touch enabled so once the back switch is on it can be easily turned on and off. 

As for radiators - we do the same. Our kitchen radiator is behind a shelving unit so doesnt actually let any heat out so that one is turned off as well as the main one in our living room as our big sofa is in front of it and we cant reorganise the room to free it up. 
Bathroom one is set to 2 basically to keep the chill out. The hallway one cant be adjusted or switched off as it is the one that triggers our thermostat so this year I plan to make sure there is a curtain in front of the door so that the hallway doesnt get too cold and trigger it. Bedrooms are generally low as kids prefer cold rooms and so do I. Husband feels the cold but hes not here for most of the day etc and at night likes to be comfortable in pyjamas. 

My thermostat is generally set to about 18. It is only me and the dogs at home in the day so I will cuddle under a blanket and the two dogs pile on me, or I light a few candles and have a hot drink. Again its surprising how much heat little tealights can give off. 

My only issue is we have an electric fire in the living room and my husband will turn it on any time hes cold but will happily sit in his underpants all evening or a towel after a bath! So Im going to make sure every evening that there is fresh pyjamas and a hoody/tshirt in the bathroom or with a towel on top of the drier and hopefully he will get the hint! 

Mine in winter is generally at 16. The theromstat is close to the front door so generally the coldest part of the house.

Look at where yours is located as with a computer running the lounge is quite warm. In addition take a look at insulation, especially under floors with outside exposure, as this was one of the biggest heat losers for us before we sorted it.