What should we include in MSE's new Cost of Living survival guide?

MSE_James

Just a quick note to say that we are still collecting ideas for the guide - we'll be picking out some more of the excellent suggestions from this thread and elsewhere on the forum, but do please keep your tips coming. 

Siebrie

Streamline your life as much as possible! Don't waste mental energy on choosing. It worked for Obama, who had a limited number of suits, so he could save his mind for actually important decisions.

MovingForwards

Siebrie said:

Streamline your life as much as possible! Don't waste mental energy on choosing. It worked for Obama, who had a limited number of suits, so he could save his mind for actually important decisions.

That's what I do with work and casual clothes, have several of the same, sometimes in a different colour, just grab and get ready in the morning.

Cherryfudge

Work clothes got easier when they gave us a uniform and all my 'own' clothes are now getting less wear. Remember you can make a claim against your taxes if you have to launder a work uniform (I'm sure that's already in the cost of living guide, as will be the excellent advice to reclaim for working from home even if it's only been for a few hours).

Broomstick

Unless you are deliberately building up stocks for prepping, shop your home before you shop the shops!

If your home is less than tidy, try to have a sort out so that like things are stored together eg.  all stationery in one place, all cleaning products in one place, all toiletries in one place, all craft items in one place etc.  It then becomes obvious when you are about to run out of something or you already have an item but had forgotten about it.  It also means that you can use up the half-used consumables before you open (or buy) new ones.  

2Scratters

@judaken
I live alone now and rarely turn on the hot tap at my kitchen sink. There is a long pipe run between the boiler and the 
kitchen sink and I resent the wasted cold water running down the drain and leaving hot water to go cold in the pipe. Instead I boil a kettle for almost every task - washing up, floor cleaning etc. 
We are on a water meter and have a combi boiler. We have a water filter that sits in the fridge. Until hubby changed the gas flow down (reduced by about 5 degrees) it used to take about 2 litres of cold water before the warm kicked in. It is quicker now also the water coming through is collected and used to fill the water filter. The filtered water gets used a lot, i.e the kettle (to save on calcification build up) cooking with and me drinking lots of water.

kimwp

Hopefully less of an issue now that the weather is warmer, but if you are really struggling to keep warm at night, (and have a tent), then pitching your tent on the bed and putting sheets or blankets over it will help you keep warm (and disguises a money issue as a fun adventure for the kids).

Cherryfudge

kimwp said:

Hopefully less of an issue now that the weather is warmer, but if you are really struggling to keep warm at night, (and have a tent), then pitching your tent on the bed and putting sheets or blankets over it will help you keep warm (and disguises a money issue as a fun adventure for the kids).

Your house sounds fun! Can I come?

I remember lending our room to guests and sleeping on the sofa cushions in front of the embers of the lounge fire - so cosy! Further back, I remember damp newspaper squidged into cracks around the window glass to keep the wind out. Stopping drafts, whether with foam tape, cling film, door curtains, draft-excluding door cushions or simply shutting the door of the room you're in, makes a big difference. Out of doors, a waterproof jacket can help keep you warm because the air doesn't blow through the weave.

I'm sure our ancestors made the most of the heat from the fire, lack of bed space so they had to share, curtains around the bed to keep the drafts away and sleeping in the (medieval) hall with the rising heat of the animals below helping them keep warm. I'm not sure how much of this we can or should try to recreate and I'm not advocating being sewn into our underwear for the winter either, but I know quite a few people on these boards regard their dog or cat as a hot water bottle to help stave off the cold.

kimwp

Cherryfudge said:

kimwp said:

Hopefully less of an issue now that the weather is warmer, but if you are really struggling to keep warm at night, (and have a tent), then pitching your tent on the bed and putting sheets or blankets over it will help you keep warm (and disguises a money issue as a fun adventure for the kids).

Your house sounds fun! Can I come?

I remember lending our room to guests and sleeping on the sofa cushions in front of the embers of the lounge fire - so cosy! Further back, I remember damp newspaper squidged into cracks around the window glass to keep the wind out. Stopping drafts, whether with foam tape, cling film, door curtains, draft-excluding door cushions or simply shutting the door of the room you're in, makes a big difference. Out of doors, a waterproof jacket can help keep you warm because the air doesn't blow through the weave.

I'm sure our ancestors made the most of the heat from the fire, lack of bed space so they had to share, curtains around the bed to keep the drafts away and sleeping in the (medieval) hall with the rising heat of the animals below helping them keep warm. I'm not sure how much of this we can or should try to recreate and I'm not advocating being sewn into our underwear for the winter either, but I know quite a few people on these boards regard their dog or cat as a hot water bottle to help stave off the cold.

Hee hee! Thankfully I've not had to resort this method myself, but saw it on my wanderings through the internet so was able to offer it as a solution to a fellow olio-er who posted asking for help regarding a broken window that her landlord wasn't going to fix for several days (in the middle of winter!). She reported back that it had worked well to keeping her warm during the night and happily managed to speak to someone who got productively cross at the landlord.

To add to the window drafts chat, it's worth looking at getting hinges changed if there are drafts through uPVC windows as they wear and the windows become misaligned with their frames. Cleaning the frames will help slow this wear.

MrsCD

thriftwizard said:

The guide is excellent! But I'd have liked some mention of grow-your-own, even at the level of window-sill gardening like sprouting seeds, which can be done in an old jam-jar with a piece of suitable rag (or j-cloth) & a rubber band. You don't have to buy special seeds, a pack of mung beans from a health food shop or stall will do for many refills. For pennies you can add some serious nutrition to your diet, in a simple sandwich, salad or stir-fry.

You can grow the peas from a box of 'steepy' peas. They will grow happily in a bit compost in some toilet roll middles in a washed out ice cream tub on the windowsill. You can harvest the pea shoots a couple of times, as long as you leave enough to keep growing, but they will grow to full size in a planter outside when the weather warms up.