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

Rosa_Damascena

Last night I felt really fed up - 1st April and absolutely freezing. I wrapped myself up in multiple layers and fell asleep on the sofa.

I'm relatively stable but the inflationary rises that have kicked in today are making me wary of doing anything that costs money.

OrkneyStar

greenbee said:

OrkneyStar said:

littlemoney said:

@OrkneyStar I try to wash on days I can put the washing on the line. If the sheets stay a little longer the bed so be it. There's a good strong wind today but frequent snow snowers have made it impossible to think about doing a wash. I didn't want anything damp in the house especially as it was only 12 degrees indoors this morning and damp air feels colder.

If I go based on weather/weather forecast alone then I could probably predict what days to do more washing, and get it at least well aired (if not 100% dry) - the problem is that I live in a farming community and slurry spreading can put a spanner in the works! I know they have to do it, and I appreciate our hard working farmers, it's just that I have a sensitive nose and really cannot wear clothes or use towels, bedding etc with even a whiff of slurry on it! I often hang it out if I will be about to run it with it the minute the slurry smell appears!

Our local farmers now use the village FB group to flag up activity such as late night harvesting and slurry spreading... we have a lot of recent arrivals in the village who have tended to complain in the past about tractors, mud, smells and noise. The advance notice and information on what they're doing and why seems to have worked well. 

I don't see that happening here tbh, farmers have better things to do with their time I think! I have never complained about the farmers doing their job, just the reality that a slurry smell on my clothes, bedding etc turns my stomach. I realise it's one of the down sides of life in a beautiful place!

greenbee

OrkneyStar said:

greenbee said:

OrkneyStar said:

littlemoney said:

@OrkneyStar I try to wash on days I can put the washing on the line. If the sheets stay a little longer the bed so be it. There's a good strong wind today but frequent snow snowers have made it impossible to think about doing a wash. I didn't want anything damp in the house especially as it was only 12 degrees indoors this morning and damp air feels colder.

If I go based on weather/weather forecast alone then I could probably predict what days to do more washing, and get it at least well aired (if not 100% dry) - the problem is that I live in a farming community and slurry spreading can put a spanner in the works! I know they have to do it, and I appreciate our hard working farmers, it's just that I have a sensitive nose and really cannot wear clothes or use towels, bedding etc with even a whiff of slurry on it! I often hang it out if I will be about to run it with it the minute the slurry smell appears!

Our local farmers now use the village FB group to flag up activity such as late night harvesting and slurry spreading... we have a lot of recent arrivals in the village who have tended to complain in the past about tractors, mud, smells and noise. The advance notice and information on what they're doing and why seems to have worked well. 

I don't see that happening here tbh, farmers have better things to do with their time I think! I have never complained about the farmers doing their job, just the reality that a slurry smell on my clothes, bedding etc turns my stomach. I realise it's one of the down sides of life in a beautiful place!

Sadly some people don’t realise that before they move to the country. We’ve had people asking the parish council to put in street lights and pavements, complaints about the lack of mains gas and drainage (which tends to come up in the house purchase process…), sheep being too noisy, tractors driving too fast (limited to 27mph on roads, they’re just big and noisy) or too late at night, mud on the roads, cows and sheep making the village smell of cow and sheep… it’s entertaining 😎

Oh, and complaints about washing on the line making the village look untidy, as well as cars parked in the centre of the village spoiling the look of it…

ladyholly

I do find it really odd that people move to the country and find the level of services a shock and even worse that farming can be smelly. Have they never driven through the countryside and noticed the smells as you pass.

I live on the edge of a smallish town and we get times that the countryside smells impinge on us but that is just how it is and would never dream of complaining. Farmers have a hard enough job without ridiculous complaints.

Vanlady

Otb666, thankyou for your reply, I'll ditch the kettle and use the combi boiler from now, plus the advantage is I still get lots of drained off water  which I also use for the garden....in the hotter months (remember those???).
Our DW broke about a year ago and we thought we'd see how we managed without replacing it, and looking ok so far.

Another thing I've started doing is soaking rice in water for a good few hours before cooking ( rinse and fresh water for cooking), it's amazing how much quicker rice cooks this way! And therefore uses less energy.
Of course, this does require some pre thought as to what you're eating later on......another tick for meal planning

I've tried this with pasta, but yuk, didnt cut it for me. I now just turn off the heat a minute or two before finished instead and that works a treat. Might only be a minute or two of gas saved, but it all adds up.

Anyway, off to dig out my best friends, my 3rd hand thermals, bit nippy here today.
And yes,  I agree with another poster.....I have a drawer full of thermals, but always revert to wearing a pair of mens that were passed on to monsieur Van but were too small for him, they're SO much warmer than ladies I find. 

Rosa_Damascena

Vanlady said:

Otb666, thankyou for your reply, I'll ditch the kettle and use the combi boiler from now, plus the advantage is I still get lots of drained off water  which I also use for the garden....in the hotter months (remember those???).

No. Its all of 1degC outside atm. My dual fuel bill for the last 29 days came in at £46.60 and my home has been very cold for all but ?5days of decent sunshine. I am glad its fixed for the next 6 months but next winter is going to be tough.

I stopped using my DW for a month but restarted after seeing an advert that says running it daily saves water compared to washing up by hand. I run mine every 3-4 days.

[Deleted User]

Rosa_Damascena said:

Last night I felt really fed up - 1st April and absolutely freezing. I wrapped myself up in multiple layers and fell asleep on the sofa.

I'm relatively stable but the inflationary rises that have kicked in today are making me wary of doing anything that costs money.

I second this x

EssexHebridean

Our electricity monitor tells me that we used £4.50’s worth by the time the night rate clicked off this morning. That was heating, hot water, WM, DW and a shower for MrEH first thing plus the kettle boiling, lights and the usual tick-over stuff. Ouch. Nobody show my bank account - it’s already whimpering! 😆 Oh well - I need to remind myself that it WILL improve as the weather warms up. 

At least it’s a bright sunny one here today - the curtains are already thrown open to maximise the warmth flooding in and once I’m dressed I’ll get the washing outside to dry then sort myself out to head to the gym - I’ll shower and hair wash there when I’m done with my gym session. Cycling there and back today as well so no travel costs involved other than the cost of my legs complaining as they propel me back - uphill all the way! 

euronorris

I find it hilarious that anyone would complain about washing on the line looking untidy! 🤣 

One of the very few benefits of our previous energy supplier going bust and being moved to BG as a result, is that they put us on a tarriff that is guaranteed until the end of this month. So we are fortunate that our energy prices won't increase until 1 May. Though we were already on the previous cap anyway, so we're reducing usage as much as possible. That burst of warmer weather the previous 2 weeks was a great help. Gutted that it's so cold again. 

Still, it's sunny and dry here, so I will be catching up on washing today after having been ill for the last 11 days and just doing the bare minimum. Hoping I can get the lawn mown today as well. I just wasn't well enough last weekend.

joedenise

Got back from holiday yesterday so got 3 machine loads of washing done.  Have done another 2 this morning so that's all the holiday washing plus what had been left in the wash bin before our holiday done.  Have managed to get most of it out on the line this morning.

Just have a few bits on the airer indoors as have run out of pegs!  Don't think I've ever done that before.

Just got bedding to do but that can wait another day or two!