We will get this debt down & the savings up

Makingabobor2

So here we are in September. All ready to make an even bigger effort on saving and debt busting and all things MSE. Its the start of Autumn making me feel like I really need to make a big difference with it all and try extra hard going into the winter. 

So we measured spaces for possible green house. DH says its up to me to sort out what and where I want it, and he will do it. So I am proposing to do a bit of a garden plan to see what other stuff we could fit in as well as the greenhouse.  I have 2 possible spots for the greenhouse. So a question for all you experienced gardeners......I read that it is best to put it somewhere where it will get morning sun, but not so much hot afternoon sun.  It will be a polycarbonate one, not glass, and looking at just a small one 6' x 2.'6". Does it need to be completely clear on both sides, or will it be ok, if it is close to a small wooden planter on one side? (that is the 2'6" side),  I know most of the sun will come from higher up, but want to give stuff a good fighting chance.  Should I not put any pots or plants close to it?: The long side will be up against the fence, but the sun doesn't go that way, so it will be facing the sun until about late afternoon in the summer,  when it moves to the front of the house. 

So next catastrophe is the water butt!  DH said he set it up as per the instructions....but quite clearly something is wrong as now we have had heavy rain and the butt is full, the water is pouring over the top all over the patio, instead of carrying on down the drain.  He says there is a diverter in there, but quite clearly it isn't working properly. I read up on internet about putting in an overflow pipe, and also some info that said your inlet pipe from the drainpipe should be the same height as where it enters the butt. Ours looks to be a bit higher and also is a bit kinky. When I mention it to DH, he just says he's done it the best he can and nothing he can do about it!  I said well in that case we will have flooded patio and damp dining room every time it rains!   Why don't men like to admit when they have done something wrong?  and why can't they just look at how to rectify it? 

So everything else is ticking along ok. Savings pots are starting to look up and debt is slowly going down....still not as fast as I would like, but at least its moving.  Housekeeping pot is looking good for this period with another week and a half to go, and all I need to buy this week is a few fresh bits, so should be plenty in for the last week of the period, next week. The weekend chicken stretched a good way, so they are always a good buy, full of all that extra protein that we need as we age as well. 

Took another bag of stuff to the CS yesterday and also a lot more rubbish been recycled.  My decluttering total is creeping up now, which makes me feel good. Still hoping to get to the 2025 total.  It really is surprising how much stuff we can live without, despite thinking we needed it for years. 
Took a big bag of plant pots back to the GC, had far too many. 

Finished another book and jigsaw puzzle that will be passed on to my friend. 

Went to the gym this morning, almost didn't go after a bad night and feeling really tired, but although I got there later than normal, I really enjoyed it in the end.  Also, not sure if I mentioned it last week, but its only £4, not the £5 I had thought.....discount for being over 65!  Some perks to getting old....lol. 

Looks like P/fc has started to pick up a little bit, had a couple this week which is better than last week. 

So that's about it for now, my To Do list for the next few days, says....
*Tidy and sort garden & do my plan for greenhouse. 
* Write a list for food to take on our SC break at the end of the month, ( got a few bits put by already and already got "spends" saved, and the holiday is paid for except for the petrol. ). Its for our 28th wedding anniversary, so really looking forward to it. 
* Do more decluttering

So off to prep dinner now and then wash my hair before dinner. 
Have a good evening all, 

foxgloves

Hi @Makingabobor2 - I'm not sure what the optimum siting for a greenhouse is considered to be but light is very important in plant growth. My greenhouse does get hot sun, but in the hotter months, most greenhouse owners put up shading. We certainly do. You can either paint it on in the form of a white gunk or fix up panels of stuff which comes on a roll or in big sheets. We did the latter as I remember my Mum having to clean the white gunk off the glass every September & didn't fancy it. We bought our shading in 2003 & we are still using it. Although we bought the proper clips for fixing it up on the inside, we found this just makes it a more complicated process. I have since sewn ours into double-length sheets & I stand on one side of the greenhouse to catch the other end of the piece of shading as Mr F throws it up over the roof. Then it just gets pegged to the frame on both sides. You don't really need this level of detail, I was just saying that light is important & shading is usually fixed up during the summer months to help avoid sun scorch.
Our greenhouse is about 1m away from a big hedge so is more shaded on that side than I would like. I didn't have a lot of choice, as although our garden is about 135' long, it is only 30' wide & there is hedge on both sides. One of the ends is shaded a little by our water butt, but I want that for catching all that lovely rainwater running off the greenhouse roof. From the end of May to early September, the other long side of the greenhouse has 6 tall outdoor tomatoes growing in a narrow strip of bed right up to the glass & this doesn't cause a problem. In fact, they help provide shading from hot summer sun & mean that we only need to apply shading panels to the roof. Everyone's circumstances/situation will be different as gardens come in so many shapes & sizes. Light is very important because plants need it to grow & if you site your greenhouse somewhere very shady, your seedlings will become lanky because they are stretching as they try to grow towards a source of light. Yes, they can fry in hot summer sunshine but applying one of the usual types of greenhouse shading should help to mitigate this. Ventilation is important too, not just for keeping the plants cooler on hot days, but because good air-flow helps prevent plant problems like tomato blight & those exacerbated by damp conditions such as botrytis & other moulds.
I don't know anything about water butt diverters.....apart from Mr F keeps going on about buying one, but hasn't yet got around to it. Oh & gardeners usually say that whatever size of greenhouse you buy, you'll wish you'd bought a bigger one! Already hoping that when we move, we will find a bungalow with gardening room for a small polytunnel!
Hope this maybe helps a bit. have you tried the library for books on greenhouse gardening? It can be useful to have a browse through to get a good general overview.
F x

Makingabobor2

Oh @foxgloves, thank you so much for such a lovely, helpful & detailed reply. 
We have no choice but to put the back of it...6' side, up against the fence, so hoping it will be ok. The end of the garden where it will go, gets sun from early morning until late afternoon in summer, but obviously moves round quicker at this time of year. It has a window in the top to help with ventilation and thanks for the tips on shading. Its all an adventure and a learning curve...lol. x