Simplifying Life

mary43

Charis - thanks for the link. Reading through it there are a few things on there I do already but others I just might try.
I already recycle envelopes.......carefully unstick them, keep them in my drawer to re-use with a label on and a bit of pritt stick to gum the flap down.
I re-use any wrapping paper where possible.........flatten it and fold it carefully and by the time I've wrapped something in it no-one would be aware it was 'second hand'. Our washing machine is also a cold fill and I tend to build up a pile of washing up during the day and do the whole lot in one hit instead of wasting both water and liquid several times a day.
There are numerous ways we can all save money if we really think about it..........not sure about using the tea bag twice though.........maybe it would work ok if someone likes weak tea.

Well, today is, so far,a nice quiet day. Both boys are out. Had a nice surprise phone call from ex foster boy I hadnt heard from since before Christmas and it was good to hear that he's doing well.
Upstairs seems to be currently inundated with teles various ! Young lad came back from his mums with ps2 and tele/dvd player. So, OH moves the tele we got him last weekend into our bedroom (it's too big but try telling OH that !)
Then discover the tele he'd brought back didn't work at all ! Other teles upstairs due for the tip have rubbish picture and don't have the necessary scart things for a ps2, and the one OH swapped in our bedroom doesn't either. So, spare room is now full of not only my christmas/birthday pressie hard and hoard of loo rolls...........now its a tele home as well:eek: and young lad still has no tele that will take his ps2. With visions of endless 'I'm bored' followed by deep sighs I phoned ex foster girls sister who does house clearances and lo and behold..........yes ! she had a portable tele with remote control and scart thing:j She was taking it to a village boot fair tomorrow, still is, and we'll collect it from her there along with a load of plants she's got for us. Young lad now quite happy knowing he can 'plug in' tomorrow !
Must be forceful with myself and not bring anything else back from the boot fair................well..........maybe..........:rotfl:

ceridwen

Hi Mary

Never mind plants as a food crop in the garden - reckon your latest "crop" you're growing is tv's.;)

Reminding myself just now of a "compliment for the day" today - the very startled/incredulous look on the face of a woman who asked me my age - followed by her comment a couple of minutes later that she hadnt thought I was that old looking at me!:D - and no she wasnt after something from me (I was the one "after" something - to win some environmental goodies for a friend of mine - duly done, and got them!:D ) - and I'm not even dyeing my hair anymore (leastways till I get my act together to work out a natural DIY hairdye I can make).

Still turning my brain to watersaving - now I've got my waterbutt. Just been watering my tomatoes, etc from the water in it - plenty of it in there for me and no nasty chemicals in it:D I think my plants will be drinking better water than I am. Experiments going on now - eg they say the average loo takes 9 litres of water per flush - so promptly carted my 9 litre watering can full of waterbutt water upstairs to try chucking that down the loo (hmmm...maybe one needs 2 watering cans worth to "do the trick" totally). Thinking I could maybe try washing my dishes in waterbutt water and just rinse them off with standard water from my hot tap.

I gather water can be purified for drinking purposes by boiling for a certain length of time - one account said 5 minutes, another said 1 minute. Hm...anyone idea just how long exactly and would this be okay to do this with water that has come down via upvc guttering (whoops!)

mary43

ceridwen - don't you just love it when someone doesn't believe your age ?? Mind you, I'm not too pleased that there's not a bus driver yet who queries that I'm the same person as shown on the horrendous photo.............lol(or even that I'm a pensioner.............!!)

As for water........well, all I can tell you is that when we were kids and spent a lot of time at my grans house, the only water was from the well in the garden or the pump up the lane. It all had to be boiled before we could drink it as far as I can remember.......least the water from the well was. Had to be so it was warm for washing up and for us having a wash though it was sometimes cold water in the jug and basin upstairs !
Couldn't tell you how long it had to be boiled for though and - well, I'm still here to tell the tale despite the fact that we got so excited when grandad got water out of the well to see how many newts he'd fetch up.............lol
Gran didn't have electricity either for a while then Mum managed to talk her round to having lights followed by a little cooker. There never was any water laid on in the cottage though but after a time the cottage next door had water and an outside tap so gran used that. No boiling needed any more.

PS. Teles...........yes they're growing faster than our veg but not for long...........OH has promised....yes, promised, that tomorrow he'll sort out those that are to go to the tip. Need to keep one for our room and one spare one but the rest can go otherwise I won't be able to sort out stuff for ex foster lads birthday thats lurking somewhere in the spare room.

shaz_mum_of__2

Hi all

Argos sell a pump/syphon set to pump bath water to water butts not sure about the other way round (to toilet) abou 20 quid i think

I think eco houses use grey water (filtered) for toilets washing machines and dishwashers i know Caravan sites re use it for loos too

we aren't metered here so no financial incentive but we have 4 full butts for watering the garden (1 either side garage ,1 house ,1 new gazebo) could fit one to new greenhose too??? are they on offer anywhere ?

Made a new batch of soap yesterday lemon scented looks and smells like ice cream...................yum

Gonna make ice cream tomorrow and do some baking i think i feel a be at home day coming on


Hope you are all well

Shaz

ceridwen

Hi Shaz

Just noticed your signature "stockpiler extraordinaire" - well - I think you can say that again:D

Could be a point re that water pump thingie - but not sure whether it would work in reverse - I am sure, however, that that waterbutt lid wont be coming off very often. Its got a childproof lid - darn it - as childproof things are usually me-proof as well!

Waterbutts on offer - well I have an idea that maybe some water authorities provide free waterbutts (not sure on that). Mine doesnt even subsidise them:mad: . So - I guess its a case of ask your water authority first in case you get lucky. Failing that - the Argos one is probably as good a bet as any and better than some.

mary43

ceridwen - whoever thought of the idea of 'childproof' got it wrong somewhere.........my tablets are in childproof bottles......or rather 'me proof'.........as a child (or rather a young person) and they can do it !! Same goes for the endless sauce bottles,jar lids etc. Gggggrrrrrrrrrrr:mad:

shaz - like the idea of homemade soap..........is it easy ? Can you tell me how, in idiot proof directions ????

Aril

Hello virtual friends:j
I too am very aware of saving water and keeping our usage down [although that does not extend to allowing the small person to become a grubby small person..boys and soap....the link between the two definitely got broken somewhere:D] OH in a flash of genius rushed out into the garden with the small person's plastic sled last week when we had all that rain. By the end of the day it had filled nicely. Although we have a water butt already we will use this for the iron rather than distilled water [can't use ordinary tap water] so have saved a fair amount there:jWhen we had the water meter fitted out bill halved and like others, I keep a bucket in the bathroom to collect the run off from the shower to use in the loo. Have also recently taken a plastic jug up there to catch the water from the hot tap in the basin [when waiting for hot water to come through] and also have a jug in the kitchen for the same purpose.
We had our friends over last night for a takeway...I really do enjoy sitting round the table catching up. As you may have have gathered from earlier postings I am a bit of a home bird really- even more so since I went back to work full time. Today's quote is on a similar theme:
"The ornament of a house are the friends who frequent it"
Ralph Waldo Emerson 1851.
Arilx

ceridwen

Hi Aril

Another good quote there.

Thanks for confirming my thoughts on a couple of "water butt savings". I have just put a large bucket type thingie in the shower - experimenting coming up with keeping the water from it for other things (like flushing the loo - and, on non-workdays if I'm feeling supremely virtuous;) then wondering whether I might wash the dishes in it - it will still be hot - and with "cleaner" in already - ie my soap - well it could work:cool: ).

I'm also debating using said bucket-type thingie for rinsing out things I have just handwashed out by the waterbutt (nicer days only - I'm no masochist!) - any minute now we'll be back to thrashing our washing over rocks in nearby streams:rotfl: (hmm.....maybe I shouldnt read the "news" so much....America's 2 biggest mortgage lenders having severe problems on the one hand and America doing yet more "sabre rattling" threatening to start up yet another war - Iran this time. There seems to be a common denominator here - America.....hmmmm:cool: ) (wanders off reminding herself of recent words from an American friend of mine....."There are a lot of people like me as well and we're protesting about all this - the country that is turning out such bad people is also turning out a lot of good ones too" (just wish there was a higher proportion of people like her - and, of course, our virtual friend Jennie O).

(EDIT: got a mental note to self made - when I spotted Ecover washing-up liquid is available in 5 litre containers to get my next bit I need of that in the form of 2 of those large containers - they will be very suitable for repurposing into 5 litre water containers for carting small quantities of waterbutt water around the house).

Greenshieldstamp_2

Hello there everyone, hope you are having a good weekend,

Best wishes to Shaz - hope the trapped nerve is getting better.

I have just found a couple of links to a website which may be of interest to Ceridwen. (I am not advertising the site, and don't have any connection to it by the way - just it may offer some ideas?).


Bath and shower water saver
http://www.ecoutlet.co.uk/shop/product_details/?product_id=217
- Ceridwen this might not be of any use, -it seems to attach to the overflow outside and then a water butt, but might be worth a look?

They also have another "gadget" which attaches to the toilet flush and allows you to switch off the water when the toilet has been flushed enough?

Best wishes
Greenshield

ceridwen

Well thanks for that Greenshield Stamp - slight logistical considerations here: ie no shortage of water in my waterbutt anyway - to date: I'm getting all I require from it no problem. My (old style) loo needs all the water it can get to flush properly anyways - think I have a bit of a water pressure problem here. Know I got told some time back I couldnt physically have a power shower in a house in this location anyway - just as well, as it turned out, as its saving me water having to use a "standard" type one.