My Off-grid and need to be frugal diary

AnimalTribe

It's very windy today, and the wind is coming from the right direction to power the wind turbine so plenty of electricity.

It's been an inside day, so DH has sorted out some tax stuff and I sorted out legal power of attorney. The Govt UK site is the cheapest way to do this. DH and I our trying to sort all our financial stuff a bit at a time, so that it's not overwhelming and we can spread the cost over a few years and everything will be in place when we finally retire. We sorted our wills last year through a charity.

The reduced priced burger last night was really rich, so today I'm just having salad sandwiches for dinner. DH is having something with meat (as he isn't a vegetarian).

AnimalTribe

Lots of sun and wind today so lots of electricity generated. DH and I have been out for the day. We wandered around a village, went in it's charity shop and bought 4 DVDs (a bargain at 25p each), and had lunch out. A very nice day overall. Neither of us will be doing much tonight and since we had a big lunch it will just be some kind of sandwich for dinner.

AnimalTribe

It's been windy here all day, but it's kicking up a storm now. The wind's coming from the right direction so plenty of electricity is being generated but I hope the house doesn't suffer any damage.

I've let the washed laundry build up so I've sorted it today. I try to catch any thing that needs to be mended before it's washed, but I always check the seams and pockets of clean laundry before I put it away. It takes a bit of extra time, but at least I know that what is pulled from the wardrobe is instantly wearable. I have found 2 socks to darn - it's always socks that seem to get the worst wear here.

Tomorrow I'm going to do a food audit as I've spent a lot this month. I'm still within budget but I want to bring it down a little for next month which means shopping from the cupboards instead of going to the supermarket.

AnimalTribe

Thankfully nothing was damaged in the storm last night, DH and I am used to high winds here, being in such an exposed location, and we are practised at tying everything down quickly and well.

I have started a stock take of the food cupboards, but I haven’t finished as I am cleaning the cupboards as I go. I still haven’t darned the 2 socks but I’ll get around to them eventually.

I had a long chat with people on my Sunday catch up phone calls and have managed to read some of my book, so a pleasant day. The weather has been sunny here but still a little windy.

AnimalTribe

That's all the food cupboards, cleaned and the food put back. I've written the use by date on the top of the tins so it makes it easier to use the oldest stuff first. It's a tip I read somewhere on MSE. I usually put the newer stuff at the back of the cupboard anyway, but things get moved around. 

I've sorted out the vegetable store and frozen some stuff, and now have an idea of what needs to be used up first. 

DH has painted more fence posts, so that's another big job done.

Tonight DH and I are just going to watch a film and relax.

AnimalTribe

Today has been gardening day as the sun has been shining. 

Whilst clearing out the food cupboards I found a jar of pasta sauce (past its use by date), so I used it tonight – it was fine.

AnimalTribe

It has been a glorious, sunny day today so DH and I had a lovely time wandering around a village. We stopped for lunch, a veggie sausage and mushroom bun for me and a chicken tikka panini for DH. Why is it most of the veggie stuff in cafes these days has either sweet potato in it or has some kind of Thai flavouring? Unfortunately, I like neither of these.

We stopped off to do a bit of shopping, but only bought bread and milk - so very restrained.

foxgloves

Gorgeous day here too. Have cracked on in the garden, though have been hampered by the need to remove further bindweed & hawkweed roots, as well as implement a bit of triffid restraint. Never mind, I will get the rest of my planned planting done tomorrow. Just been bubblewrapping greenhouse veg babies as the nights are pretty cold atm despite the sunny days.
F

AnimalTribe

Foxgloves I'm glad you're getting good weather too. I know that you are a keen gardener. I get frosts here until mid-May, so my growing season starts later than yours.

Yesterday DH and I went to the nearest town and did a big shop. Hopefully, that will last us a while. While we were there, we visited a couple of charity shops. I got 2 pairs of jeans for £6.50. DH encouraged me to look at the craft stuff (so I'm blaming him) and I came away with 2 small cross-stitch kits – I was determined not to buy any more craft stuff as I have so much stuff already. At least they are small and will be done quickly.

DH read an article about rural crime being on the increase, so he is busy putting CCTV cameras around the place. I’ve done some general tidying and sorted out my spice shelf as an extra.

Dinner is the rest of the butternut squash stew that I made last night with some crusty bread.

AnimalTribe

I've been helping DH with DIY projects all day. Lots of cabling laid and a small wooden shed painted. I've also started checking the first aid boxes. We have one in the car, one in the workshop and one in the house. We also have a small dog first aid pack that we take when we walk the dogs away from home.

The weather is looking good all next week, so I'm hoping to spend most of my free time in the garden. There is still so much weeding to be done. I've also spotted a lot of self-seeded plants that I can move to a better location.