Escape to the country & living off savings

sheilavw

our garden waste is £40 a year. They collect fortnightly apart from Winter months. I am happy for neighbour to use mine for free

badmemory

The recycliing rate here is one of the best in the country & they don't charge extra apart from bulk collections like furniture. I suspect if they start charging the recycling rates will go down. The also collect garden/food waste every fortnight except for one at new year.

Skint_yet_Again

Thanks Tresinia, Sheilavw and badmemory. It’s a postcode lottery for waste. Here we have a free garden waste collection once a fortnight (but not in winter) on the same day as recycling collection & glass collection. Alternate weeks to recycling is household waste collection once a fortnight, but no food waste bin.

Where I lived down south there was weekly household waste collection, a free food waste bin collection but garden waste collection was optional and cost £72 a year 😳 No glass collection, it has to be taken to the bottle bank.

Awake early again this morning and I ache all over. Didn’t think I had overdone it yesterday at aquafit. 🫣 My friend helped me lift 2 x 50L (b n m £4.99 each from diy pot) bags of bark into my car and they are still there until later when I will use the wheelbarrow to get them in the garden. Will probably need lots more but they only had 2 bags left. Today I might just load the car for the tip and go tomorrow. Perhaps just some pottering in the garden today.

SuzeQStan

morning take it easy SYA if you are aching - maybe the friendly neighbour could lift those bags out the car for you?

The garden waste collection here rocketed up to £50 this year (had been £37) we paid it but have built a compost pile so will monitor to see if we need it next year - hoping not.

Our food waste collection just started here weekly collection. Every other week rubbish/recycling like you SYA

Enjoy your day but pls take it easy if you are feeling sore xx

Skint_yet_Again

Thanks Suze but thankfully I felt better once I got up. Had breakfast then out in the garden & moved the 2 bags of bark using the wheelbarrow. They just slid out of the car boot into the barrow 🤣 then were easy to push down the side of the house and tipped onto the border. Few weeds dug out with my trowel then spread bark. Only took about 40 mins. Also hung out a wash.

After lunch I popped to asd@ for milk, butter, ham & coleslaw. When I got there they had 40L bags of bark outside, 3 for £12 so I bought 6 😁 The lady had a card for the till so no need to bring them in and she sent one of the chaps to load them into my boot.

Home again and had a rest, then walked to my friends and shared a lemon beer 🍻 in the garden. Home again and have just barrowed the 6 bags out the boot 2 at a time and round the back. That’s it now. Sat with the fan on and an iced peach squash. Did more than I anticipated today but feel ok.

Maybe tip run in morning or next week. Should be able to manage weeding small sections and spreading 2 bags of bark a day.

Tresinia511

Sya, you have been productive indeed, well done👏

Skint_yet_Again

Thanks Tresinia 😊 I feel like I need to get the garden done before my hospital appointment. I may need an op. I have sprayed the weeds coming up on the gravel that won’t pull out. Tomorrow I am going to do 2 more bags and weed my rockery / herb garden. Once the bark is down it shouldn’t need too much to keep it under control and I know my lovely neighbour would come round and do it if I am incapacitated for a while.

Sadmin almost finished on dad’s house. Just waiting for 2 payments which should be in next week. Hopefully will distribute by the end of the week before I go to DS’s.

SuzeQStan

hoping for all the best for you SYA - glad sadmin is nearing the close. 🫶🏼

Arrietty

My goodness you have been so productive the last week and so lovely to read of you having spent time with various different loved ones and treating yourself to a few new bits as well.

Your meals sound delicious as always and I cannot wait to be able to potter about and do garden things as you do.

Skint_yet_Again

Thanks Suze and Arrietty ☺️

Tried to get to the usual tip yesterday but there must be roadworks or something because there was a long tail back from the next village to the traffic lights on the main road. Lots of people turning round so I did the same and came home. Messaged my niece and she popped through with little lad 🥰 and we had a bit of lunch at mine.

I managed to get 2 more bags of bark on the border after they left and decided to try the tip again about 4pm, but no change so I headed to the next tip and arrived just before closing. Also put some petrol in the car for Wednesday trip to the city. Drove home past asd@ and decided to get 3 more bags of bark for £12 just to make sure it is thick enough. I haven’t put membrane under but hopefully it will be enough to suppress weeds for a while. Paid from diy pot.

Council tax refund arrived this morning so just waiting for one final payment in from last bank. I phoned them yesterday and they assured me that the money will be in the account today so 🤞

Have decided not to go to aquafit today. I will have a lazy morning and then just plan to load the car with stuff from my shed going to relative in the city, put 2 bags bark on the border and barrow 3 new bags round the back and then down to my friends later for a cuppa this afternoon.

Still trying to stay busy 😉