From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Greying_Pilgrim

Thanks for the ideas.  I'm not against a draught excluder - particularly as they can be made from allsorts of things - although greenbee - your stuffed toys sewn together, and staring at a sleeping LG is giving me 'Sid Phillips' vibes 😬(Toy Story) 🤣  Not too sure about whether re-hanging the door will make a difference - the door is warped, I wouldn't be surprised if the floor isn't true, nor the door frame for that matter.  I mean, I could be wrong, and maybe air isn't whooshing anywhere and changing the radiator will change everything, but I'm just thinking out loud - given the dynamic has changed in the kitchen.  You have made me realise I need to double check with DH that the loft hatch frame has that adhesive insulation strip on it.  I know there is a lump of insulation over the hatch, but need to double-check if we could put anymore insulation around.  

So, I pootled off to the metropolitan town across the way.  I got my timing spot on, as traffic was minimal.  I got into the retail park I needed, and spent the most time in two of the stores there, queuing to be served.  Can I humble brag that I went inside a 'h0bbiCraft' and only purchased what I went in for...... which was on 3 for 2 offer 😱 Who am I???? 🤣

I came back the same way out of the town, but stopped off in their MrM.  I was clearly too early for any good YS'd bargains on produce, they were all tuppence off here and there ☹️ But I did (eventually) manage to find the mince pies that I got the other day to take to my chums, and yes, I was right they are half price at £1.50 a box - same as the instore bakery offering.  They also had LOADS of their 9 mini mince pies in their the best range - and they are on offer for £1.75 a box.  I have to say, if you're putting on a seasonal coffee morning, or have people who are not mad about mince pies, these look pretty, but are just over a bite a piece.  

I also bought a big jar of garlic puree from the World Foods bit, £2 instead of £3.25.  I also thought of dearest rt whilst in store, as they have a large selection of fruits and vegetables - including eddoes, which were £4 a kg!  My only other purchase was a pack of 4 chocolate orange 'pain au chocolat'.  LG likes pain au chocolat, since they went on a sleepover at club, and they were served them for breakfast 😁 So I do try to have them now as a breakfast treat, sometime in Advent.  I had been looking at MrL ones - but they are an 8 pack.  Anyway, these looked a reasonable size and had been YS'd to 80p from £2, (and could be frozen)  so I figured I'd take a punt.  £5.80 to be added to the grocery budget.

So, fingers crossed that is LG catered for with presents.  Certainly I consider they have their main gifts - they haven't mentioned anything else that they would like.  The gift list is doing/making/reading heavy, but that reflects our kiddo I think.  It's a mix of new and secondhand, but everything has been bought on offer or for less than half price new, so I've got enough 'bang for our buck'.  Naturally, there is the elephant in the room of some sort of computer/game device/tablet, but I'm not sure I'd want the pressure of trying to get one of those at Christmas anyway.  One of the scandinavian podcasters I watch talks about the gifts her kiddos get, and they are very modest - without in anyway, going without.  A couple of mum chums who have indulged their children's gaming/computer wishes (both have older children too), are counselling me to stay away from gaming for as long as possible ☹️ which is OK by me, but not really fair on LG - but I can see their point of view, and both have children that have experienced 'unintended consequences' from having access to mobile phones ☹️

The xmas jumper is virtually dry.  I'm just putting in front of the dehu for a last blast 30 minutes and then I'll fold it away, ready for "mending" and then use 😁

Ta for popping by.  Greying X

themadvix

Just a thought about the draught excluder - not sure I’d fancy one on the inside of a child’s bedroom door - in an emergency it could make getting in/out difficult and make things worse.

 Could you get some sort of rubber strip that’s not necessarily for draught excluding (so no sharp fixings) that could be cut to size to get thinner as the door gets lower. (Sorry that may make no sense - have now been on the go for 14 hours and brain is struggling.)

rtandon27

@Greying_Pilgrim - Do I correctly remember you saying you had a stash of synthetic wool to use up? - What about something like this which is cute for a kidddo's room but also functional?  I remember having a knitted sausage dog as a kid across the pond for the base of my door at night - it was as much toy as it was functional!

lucielle

Could you cannibalise a pool noodle for the bottom of the door? Or if that’s too thick some lagging that plumbers use?
L

Greying_Pilgrim

Hey lucielle  - I think pipe lagging is what greenbee was alluding to.  I had assumed to kind of put the door in the middle - much like a hot dog.  But online, there is a kit you can buy (🙄) that slips the pipe lagging into 2 sides of a 'bag' and the door sits in the middle.  It is possible to make this arrangement, but it does work best on 'smooth' flooring. But these are all good 'thoughts', so thank you to all contributors 😁

Tea has been munched - plant balls, tommie sauce, with mixed peppers added, boiled basmati and steamed broccoli.  It was LG's suggestion, so clean plates all round!

When LG come home from school, we got today's homework cleared off and then we had a hot chocolate and mince pie in celebration of Bodhi Day.  OK, so I'm mixing my belief systems, but who needs an excuse to enjoy a cuppa and a cake?

At the mo, my throat tinglings have held off.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  I don't want any of us to go down with anything.  

I can't think of anything else MSE at the mo.  Thank you for popping by and offering suggestions - appreciated.  Any solution will have to be moveable, with the door, and it will need to be fixed.  We can't have a trip hazard there, due to the proximity of the stairs.  But thinking things through is of great value.  Thank you.

Greying X

greenbee

Maybe LG could make some big pompoms that you could string together (or even glue along the bottom of the door!)

BookWorm

I have seen a product online that I think may have worked wel for your draught problem. Unfortunately when I came to post the link...HERE..it now shows as out of stock ☹️ However thought I would still share in case you thought it may work wanted to keep an eye on it in case comes back in

greenbee

BookWorm said:

I have seen a product online that I think may have worked wel for your draught problem. Unfortunately when I came to post the link...HERE..it now shows as out of stock ☹️ However thought I would still share in case you thought it may work wanted to keep an eye on it in case comes back in

I have some of that. Think it came from Amazon...

ETA https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BLJVMVJ2?

Out of stock, but they show you similar items. 

Greying_Pilgrim

Thank you both.  We have something "similar" on the door to the garage, but it's a 1980's version - and has gone brittle, and has gaps (so needs replacing).  Given that ours doesn't work - because it's brittle/broken, does it work effectively greenbee?  We bought the brush version (stick on) for the bottom of the kitchen door, but there is less drag (although it's not without drag), because it's on a smooth floor, rather than carpet.

Greying X

greenbee

I have it to cover the gap in my patio doors. It works for that, haven't tried it on the bottom of a door.