2023 Frugal Living Challenge

Frugaldom

I'm still struggling to keep up here but have now drawn a line under some of the other social media that was taking up way too much of my time.

@cw18 Do you ever wish you'd made the move all those years ago when we were discussing various properties? I remember Shaz wanting to view/consider the move, too. Sophiesmum actually did. I feel so lucky to manage on so little without the stress of being employed by a third party.

2024 will be the silver anniversary of my publishing about frugal living. Hard to believe, but it's true. It also marks the year I had planned on retiring, getting my bus pass and hitting the road on public transport but I don't think that will happen now we're a registered animal sanctuary 😅

I don't know who has followed the process and progress for how long but the overall plan was to create a place where fellow frugal living folks could escape the grind and try the good life, totally off grid, cabin-in-the-woods or tiny house style. Well, that has finally been achieved. The little cabins are built and just need log burners installed and some basic interiors fitted but they are already being used by those friends who can afford to get here and help make the dream a reality. Some are scouring free ads, others saving hard to get here and a lovely support group forming to help feed the animals. We are looking at lands share, crop share, trading and bartering. The Trading Post is set up for gate sales and the next big step will be improving disabled access. The belt and purse strings have been tightened to the max and next year's challenge is going to be as hard, if not harder, than ever. To celebrate, I blew a fiver on crisps and an ice lolly for friend and myself after seeing off the last of the rubbish that had accumulated in the annexe of the cottage. £55 on van & driver hire was steep but that job has needed doing for a long time.

This weekend, we are hoping to plant many more fruit bushes that H found online for £1 each. Adding these to all the willow cuttings that got taken to clear around the garden pond, it could take some time. Anyone near DG8 area want to help dig this weekend? 😅

willow_loulou

I love the crop sharing ethos, it’s such a lovely thing to be able to do. 

I’ve been thinking of hiring someone to build me some beds that are at least 3 foot high. I can’t decide between that or getting the garden properly paved/barked and getting more troughs and planters as they’re so available second hand. 

I can’t manage the garden anymore and it would be nice to have a safe surface to walk round. 

Does anyone have an opinion/suggestion? 

I will leave a meadow area and the intention is to add 2 trees in that area.  Edit to say this is the area I’ve got willows growing so it’s quite wild 

willow_loulou

@Frugaldom I was sad to see you stopping g your social media - but I totally get it. I follow you on Facebook and twitter 
How is Vincent doing? 

Frugaldom

willow_loulou said:

@Frugaldom I was sad to see you stopping g your social media - but I totally get it. I follow you on Facebook and twitter 
How is Vincent doing? 

Thank you for following. I'm still posting but not an awful lot of it is public because I just don't have the time to deal with all the questions and queries from people with no genuine interest in the project. Some have been downright nasty, some quite disturbing so I simply decided to draw a line under it. 

Vincent is doing ok, getting spoiled by going his daily foraging trips and having extra visitors. Here he is stopping to watch the ponies and trim some willows. 😆🐐🐴

Frugaldom

@willow_loulou I like the idea of safe walking, meadow area, fruit trees and secondhand planters that are ideal for smaller projects that could be more manageable for you. Perhaps a good solid outdoor table with space enough for some tubs or troughs on it would suffice, then you could sit at the table and potter with plants. 😊 

willow_loulou

Oh look at him! I’m so glad he’s getting lots of attention, he is a gorgeous boy. I’m sorry you were getting grief in the socials, totally not worth putting up with for the little benefit. 

I love the idea of the table and pots. I have utilised old metal shelving and a table or 4  would work perfectly. I know I can get those cheap or free too as they’re always getting rid of tables on marketplace. 

willow_loulou

Found a nice amazing it is f blackberries this afternoon outside a friends place, they taste amazing. Having already been given apples this morning I know what I’m making tomorrow! 

Will look for more blackberry plants on my travels

Frugaldom

Managed to get all the new redcurrant, jostaberry and gooseberry plants into the ground to make our 'pudding hedge'. Hope they all grow. I repotted some peppers and have sown a few more beans to see if they grow before winter. I've a couple of the Frugaldom friends interested in helping make the long awaited mushroom 'farm' but we need to clear and level space for it. Potatoes need earthed up again and there are more blueberries ready for picking. Vincent grabbed a big bunch of those and some raspberries today. 🙄

I put out a few more of the surplus plants at the road end and H bagged up more manure, as it all contributes towards some extra income. Spent this afternoon sorting out some freebie furniture that's now in the hut (small cabin) and made yet another start on decluttering. 

@willow_loulou I think I need to start looking at high raised beds as my back, hips and knees just aren't as supple as they were when I started all this. 

 

Glittering_M

@Frugaldom like the idea of a pudding hedge!

Strangely just the other day I was looking up how easy it is to grow mushrooms. I prefer the log method but the yield seems a lot smaller, one site said they got annually 1kg from 4m squared area which didn't seem worth it to be me but inside where you can control it more yields seemed a lot higher, but obviously more work.

Frugaldom

@Glittering_M It does seem like a lot of work for little return but as a recreational project, done on a very frugal budget by some of our support group members, it could prove to be a very interesting and therapeutic passtime with the opportunity of growing some lovely mushrooms being an added bonus. 😊