Dusty's Frugal Fortnights Return!

Bluegreen143

Can you not just take the whole box into the kitchen one at a time? That’s what I do, then speedily pile it it all onto the table. As @joedenise says, I then put it away at leisure. But if you can’t manage the tray yourself, I think they are now allowed to take them into the kitchen for you again if necessary.

dp1

Dustydigger - if you ask the driver he will carry the trays through to your kitchen so you can unpack onto a table or work tops x

dustydigger

@joedenise. The groceries come in trays ,all items loose. It would take longer putting them one by one in bags than just taking out 2 at a time from his tray and putting them on benches, draining board,!table,top of microwave etc till I look like a shop myself

He turned up just after I posted on here,at 9.40. When I said you are early,he defensively said I was actually marked down for 9.15 delivery. I have a fixed weekly slot,10 am -11 am.

I am always home,but what if someone had to do a quick trip before 10 am,and arrived to find he has been and gone?

Anyway,happy to see it cost £55.38. Anything under £70 is good.

I used to eke out deliveries to 8 or 9 days apart,but always ran out of things,or ordered extra stuff to avoid running out,and then we had to buy locally or Mr D went off to Tesc* and bought the wrong things or extras like pineapples,mangos,avocados with him refusing to,. We had a row yesterday because I said I wasnt buying a pawpaw costly £3.99. Reminded him the last one wasnt even nice.Bad enough buying 3 large bunches of bananas a week. He went off in a sulk. Becoming frugal is going to be a real challenge when he absolutely refuses to compromise on his fresh salmon,lamb,rump steak,prawns,and copious amounts of fruits.,vegetables and of course his beloved potatoes. Of course he wont have some cheap brand of potatoes costing £1 a bag,he only eats Marabel,at £2 bag. And yes,he can tell the difference,cant slyly put anything past him

Good job I have a monthly delivery pass £6, so can make unlimited deliveries for that. Physical shop would cost £5 for a taxi home,never mind shoving wonky trolleys around the store,packing then standing in wind or rain for the taxi  to come .Thankfully spared all that hassle.

EssexHebridean

Tesc0 also have a policy where the driver will walk away for a short while to allow you to unpack so you don't feel as rushed - if that helps. Could be worth checking whether (was is A5da you said you used?) have the same, and the driver is just trying to speed up his round by hovering. 

dustydigger

Each driver seems to have their own quirks. Only one woman,comes rarely,but she puts a box on the doorstep and does all the bending. Picks up an item in each hand,slides them on bench,I pick them up and move them away,by then she has 2 more ready,and whisks away each empty trayand we make a great team,really smooth and slick.

On the other hand,one stacks the boxes about a foot away from the door and walks 8 feet away,I am left with it all to do. Some put one box on the ground,others are willing to put one box at a time on the bench.

The weird one today held a tray at his knee height and it was a scramble to get things out of his box,thinking that it must be uncomfortable for him holding a tray that way,so I asked for him to put it on the bench.

Some are chatty and friendly,one literally doesnt talk at all,no responses,looks bored and impatient.

Hey,when you are housebound,you look for the smallest thing of interest! lol.

dustydigger

Never came to mind before,but isnt it rather odd that Old Style  threads are classed as hobbies and leisure,up there with tapestry making,gardening  and crafts?

Well,they are going to be crucial to life soon if a lot of old people dont die of hyperthermia or malnutrition!.

Bluegreen143

I’ve actually found going more frequent with deliveries is working better for us rather than trying to stretch them out - less waste as fresh stuff is eaten when absolutely fresh and it seems less of a chore to do the order and unpacking as it’s small. We’ve been getting two deliveries a week on a Monday and a Friday. This probably only works for families who are getting bigger orders, as you have to get £40 worth at a time (though it’s not all from the food budget as we also order cleaning stuff/toiletries/random bits like lightbulbs or printer paper etc).

dustydigger

Living_proof said:

I’d like everyone’s suggestions for a meal for 30p a day please. I feel a failure for being unable to budget and obviously don’t know how to cook from scratch!

Has the Member from Ashfield lost the plot?

This 30p thing has been making me feel so cross all day. I have a rather long suggestion...

For a month, maybe in November this year (since the weather will be chilly, damp and dreich, and energy bills will have risen again), every non-pregnant* and non-breastfeeding MP and peer needs to start their day with porridge made from the cheapest oats soaked overnight, not cooked, and not adorned with expensive trimmings.  Then they need to commit to consuming two additional, 'nutritious' 30p (max) meals each day, and maybe one small snack as well (since I'm feeling generous).  This includes freebie biscuits at meetings - no more than three bickies over the whole day (again, I'm feeling generous). These 30p/meal limits apply whether participants bring in a packed lunch, eat out, work from home, are travelling in the UK or abroad, are throwing dinner parties, are celebrating birthdays, are on their days-off, or parliament is in recess. Late night sittings do not confer any additional benefits.  A film crew will cover the Member from Ashfield's personal experience of this month ready for a documentary to be shown over Christmas/New Year on a channel that is free-to-view for those who have cancelled their streaming subscriptions and TV licences.

Mr Anderson's Ashfield constituency food bank should be funded to run compulsory courses in Westminster on budgeting and cooking skills in the early autumn to ensure that all MPs and peers are able to benefit properly from the November 30p/meal challenge.  This might be especially relevant for those who have so far relied on boarding schools, college kitchens, restaurants and domestic staff to provide their meals for them.  They will be expected to give any private staff the month of November off on full-pay so that the MP/peer can self-cater at home when needed.   (Exceptions will be made for MPs and peers with any disability or illness that necessitates extra care from others.)   

MPs and peers whose estates include the means to grow, kill and butcher food, must declare all associated energy costs, value the food they consume from the estate at supermarket prices and include it in their 30p/meal calculations.  They need to be aware that they have limited energy use to cook or store perishable items (pheasant or venison for 5-10 mins in the microwave or on the hob may not be enough - I don't know - it's over 40 years since I've eaten or cooked any sort of meat from scratch).  MPs and peers are not allowed to spend the month drinking their way through their cellars in order to dull any difficulties they may encounter during the experiment.  It's probably best that no alcohol is consumed at all... after a quick think, I've decided that November has to be tee-total for MPs and peers (good practice anyway for Dry January, 2023).

Thermos flasks for hot, non-alcoholic drinks and home-made soup will be allowed (this is a generous concession).  If participants don't own a flask, however, and want one, they must source it from a charity shop.

The Houses of Parliament's restaurants, cafes, bars and other eateries must provide 'nutritious' meals at a maximum cost of 30p/meal to everyone through November (with maybe the surplus money that MPs and peers will be saving donated to suitable charities).  The catering departments can eek out their budgets with supermarket own-brand products, yellow-stickered ingredients, items with expired best-before dates, and foraged dandelions, chestnuts and mushrooms etc. from the central London parks. Fish from the Thames are probably best avoided because of the uncertainty about sewage discharge into the river at the moment.  Management have to allow the catering staff's queuing, shopping and foraging time within their work hours.  No member of catering staff is to be expected to do more than their normal hours given the anticipated stress that everyone will be under, although offers of properly remunerated overtime might be welcome.  If this isn't taken up, any extra workload must be managed by employing additional workers on proper contracts.  (Staff are not expected to follow any 30p/meal or other food-related restrictions themselves.)

All kitchen facilities (whether MP's offices or homes, or parliament's kitchens) should be limited to kettles, minimal use of microwaves, and minimal use of hobs. Other labour saving devices such as food processors or slow cookers are not allowed for the duration of the experiment. Many of Lee Anderson's poorest constituents won't own these and ovens are forbidden because small households can't afford these.

All the utilities' meters in Westminster's eateries, including for cooking costs, dishwashers, fridges and washing machines (for tablecloths and napkins) should be read daily and the information made public so that these hidden costs, over and above the 30p/meal per person, are made visible. Leftovers can be offered as part of the next days' menus because there will be no long-term chilled storage available (again, many of Lee Anderson's poorest constituents won't own a freezer) and food waste is highly discouraged. 

Anyone cheating should be fined a percentage of their salary - seems fair? - or maybe, in the case of some MPs have their entertainment expenses claims cancelled .  The whole scheme should be monitored by a team of impartial nutritionists and energy experts who are not politically aligned or linked to the major food producers, energy companies or sellers.  They will be asked to contribute to the documentary.

To be safe, and probably to avoid being sued for any medical disasters, MPs and peers should be checked over by their GPs before November (if they can get appointments to see them) to ensure that they are healthy enough to participate, and again afterwards (if they can get appointments) to ensure that their health, including their mental health, hasn't suffered.

End of rant. Sigh.

Just had to bring a copy of Broomstick''s brilliant post on Feeling the Pinch here for a permanent copy for myself.

Absolutely wonderful,sarcastic and sharp ly critical,but in a calm sly way.

Love it

dustydigger

Yep,30p is doable,if you have a whole team of chefs,£50,an industrial oven - and somewhere to freeze 170 portions.in your tiny B&B room,and are willing to have 170 p0rtions of the same meal in a row.Good luck with that.

annieb64

Dustydigger-I pay for Kindle unlimited too. I read very fast so get through a lot of books . It was brilliant during the lockdowns so have kept it on. Most of our local charity shops seem to charge £1.99 a book and the library doesn't seem to have had any new stock for ages.

Still prefer a "real" book if it's nonfiction.