2023 Frugal Living Challenge

Cas

Frugaldom said:

We built our hut a year ago and now have plans passed for 2 more, to be built & used by friends & family who help look after the Frugaldom project. Spending time in ours is a real frugal living dream as being off grid makes you so much more aware of what you use at home in a normal day. It also teaches you that cooking with one pan and making meals without an oven oven are both possible. I love the lifestyle and hope to get veggies growing soon.

Sounds amazing @Frugaldom - I wish you well with the project! I think in our current commercialised world we've forgotten how to live with nature. I know someone who built her home in a tiny hamlet near the Solway Firth and she lives almost completely off grid. Although she's connected for water she collects rainwater, has a bank of solar panels, keeps chickens and grows her own fruit and veg.  Inspirational!  Our garden is in desperate need of a makeover so we're clearing some ground with a hope to start growing our own veg. DH even suggested last night we might want to consider planting some fruit trees too. Exciting times!

Frugaldom

@cas If you take a look back to page 1, you will see all the links to old challenges we have done. There's one called Buying a House Without a Mortgage, which has all the details in it. We've been doing this for many years but I've never really been much involved with cities or big commerce. 😊 

Cas

Thanks @Frugaldom!  I will take a look Our home is almost 30 years old and by modern home standards we have a huge garden which is mostly unproductive aside from blackcurrants, strawberries, potatoes, rhubarb and cobnuts.  Given I'm no longer working we don't really have any excuses for not doing more with it.

Topher

Cas said:

Thanks @Frugaldom!  I will take a look Our home is almost 30 years old and by modern home standards we have a huge garden which is mostly unproductive aside from blackcurrants, strawberries, potatoes, rhubarb and cobnuts.  Given I'm no longer working we don't really have any excuses for not doing more with it.

Ooh Cob nuts. (Am I right in thinking those are hazel nuts (ish)? Over the 31 years I’ve live with my small garden, and tried to extract something in the way of Home Grown stuff to supplement our diet, I’ve found that I can grow, with reasonable success, Apples, (although some insects eventually slaughtered our previously prolific cooking apple tree), Blackcurrants, Broad Beans Raspberrie, Rhubarb, and a range of flowers. Potatoes, wherever in our tiny garden I try them, always get wire worm, blight or something unappealing, but it sounds as if you have similar successes so I’d like to try & copy the cob nuts part of your HGing. Did you buy the plants? I’m wanting a hedge at the front, so do you think cob nuts would fit the bill?

Nonnadiluca

We bought a cob nut tree for the garden about 8 or 9 years ago and it's very productive, has been getting more so every year and they're absolutely delicious. I can't remember where DH got it from I'm afraid but definitely worth it.
Last year we had a couple of buckets full.

Cas

Topher said:

Ooh Cob nuts. (Am I right in thinking those are hazel nuts (ish)? Over the 31 years I’ve live with my small garden, and tried to extract something in the way of Home Grown stuff to supplement our diet, I’ve found that I can grow, with reasonable success, Apples, (although some insects eventually slaughtered our previously prolific cooking apple tree), Blackcurrants, Broad Beans Raspberrie, Rhubarb, and a range of flowers. Potatoes, wherever in our tiny garden I try them, always get wire worm, blight or something unappealing, but it sounds as if you have similar successes so I’d like to try & copy the cob nuts part of your HGing. Did you buy the plants? I’m wanting a hedge at the front, so do you think cob nuts would fit the bill?

Yes, cobnuts are very like hazelnuts.  They were already in our garden when we bought the house nearly 20 years ago.  Our biggest challenge is getting to the cobnuts before the grey squirrels do! We've coppiced one of the bushes as it wasn't doing too well so fingers crossed it comes back as it has in the past. I think it would be nice as a hedge! It's fairly quick growing in our garden despite the rubbish clay soil  and although it 's deciduous it has pretty yellowish catkins in the winter.

The rhubarb, blackcurrants and strawberries tend to look after themselves. Raspberries, brambles and tayberries don't do well in our garden and I've pretty much given up on them.  That said they were only in a certain part of the garden so they might do better elsewhere.  Potatoes weren't great last year but will try them again this year.  I want to try salad stuff this year like lettuce and spinach and perhaps kale and I like your idea of broad beans. The previous owner also planted ribes but they've rarely flowered so I've pruned them all back to ground level in the hope that the new stems will flower and produce currants.    

aspella

Gas prices are going down at the beginning of March until December, but there's talk of electricity prices going up - so it's swings and roundabouts. Food continues to go up in price, this week it was cress an extra 5p so it was left on the shelf. I can't wait until I can start shopping from my back garden again but it's too early to start sowing anything here yet; not enough sunlight. Checking my receipts has saved me £1.20 so far this year as I've been overcharged for milk, cereal and cheese i.e. price on the shelf hasn't been the same as the price charged at the till. I don't think any of the retailers on the island have got on board with apps like Olio and Too Good To Go which is a shame.

Trying to decide what challenge to do for Lent - I've got a few ideas so I'll think about it over the weekend before deciding which to do. Top of the list is 44 days list 44 items for sale - this will help me declutter and raise some funds.

Things I've noticed by checking receipts in February. 

• Overcharged 0.50 on cheese - refund requested.
• Overcharged 0.50 on cereal - refund requested.
• Rice has gone up 0.10
• Allinson loaf has gone up another 0.05
• Cress has gone up another 0.05 at T

I've also sent a complaint via email about cream crackers that were burnt - vouchers received.

Frugaldom

Another late night catch-up for me and a little bit of good money news...our £200 payment for off grid households arrived and I've only just discovered what it was for, thanks to good old g00gle! Apparently every household in the country not connected to the mains gas system will receive it. It was a lovely surprise!

Today was a soup making day to use up some onions, carrots, parsnips, celery and leek. All bar the onions were either olio or from friend's allotment so I splashed out and added lentils. Big pan made so that should do lunch for whoever turns up to help this weekend. 

My seed box is sitting at the ready but I've had no spare time to prepare any more of the raised beds. I did salvage some old caravan windows last year so next plan is cold frames but first need to build more fence to keep the goats away from the area I want to put them. It's never ending.  

Soontobeoap

Grandsons were stsying this week so have planted up some tomatoe seeds left in last years pack. They are a little bush variety so we can fit loads into our small garden. We made plastic bag green houses for them and will keep them indoors until the boys come over again at Easter. Also ordered mini cucumber seeds, mixed coloured carrots and beetroot and runner bean seeds. 10yr old Grandson fancied trying peppes too. I know that they are a bit harder to grow so fingers crossed. We will also grow somw potatoes in big flower pots. Hoping they will spend quite a lot of time planting and watering out in the fresh air. Last year they loved picking my beans and tomatoes in the summer holidays. Win win hopefully. Easy entertainment, lots of healthy fresh air and free food for us. 

Madbat60

Afternoon all

Just catching up. Off to collect my first Olio food for ages, it's really caught on around here. I've not spent so much on food this week so I'm happy.  DP is going great guns in the garden rebuilding our veg beds.  As we have hedgehogs we have to be really careful with any treatments we use.  Lovely that my hogs are out and about again.  Our little girl is hibernating but I hope we have babies in the summer.  I feed them Tesco kitten biscuits which they love.  I have a week off work next week.  Time to think about cutting nursing work, I've really had enough.  
Have a good day all, it's beautiful here.