2026 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

PollyWollyDoodle

Hard to do when you have put so much work and love into them, though; I totally understand that. But they are not making you feel good every time you look in the wardrobe and see them. I'm sure you've already considered whether there's any option to remake them. Treat it as a learning experience, and move on.

My friend's daughter is head of a primary school in a not-very prosperous area, and I am just filling a black bin bag with yarn, ribbons, felt, buttons and fabric that I can't/won't use. She said her daughter will be thrilled with this as they are always looking for stuff for craft-making. If anyone else like me has an overstock of craft supplies, this might be a good way to find a new home for them!

I have got to clear my largest bedroom to have new flooring laid, and it doesn't half focus the mind when you have to move everything.

Nelliegrace

I do think the plans for a National Health Service after the war is won, sound such a good idea. Think of the progress which could be made, one day they might be able to mend damaged hearts.

I am convalescing slowly, after nearly a month in hospital, with the most excellent care, and now relying on DH to heat up dainty morsels of fresh soup from M&S. I appreciated the vintage linens for towels as my skin has become very sensitive to adhesives. Stitches out at the doctor’s surgery today.

I shall be delving into the back of the wardrobe for my oldest smart clothes which I never thought would fit again, and passing on a lot of larger sizes.

PipneyJane

@Nelliegrace I'm so glad you are on the mend. I take it that you had open heart surgery? One of the miracles of our time….

Big hug

-Pip

Nelliegrace

Most definitely, @PipneyJane, I woke up in a place like the bridge of the latest Starship Enterprise, all white and silver, and thought to hear a voice saying, “Make it so,” as they performed Sci Fi miracles. The impossible just took a bit of planning.

Cherryfudge

Good to hear you are home, @Nelliegrace - if you saw Jean-Luc Picard, I hope you got his autograph?

I hope you're soon fully back on your feet and enjoying the benefits of your makeover x

Baileys_Babe

@PipneyJane said:

< rant >

I am not a tidy person. Heaven knows I try, but i can put a pen down on an empty desk, turn around and it’ll look like a bomb has hit it. Annoyingly, I’m married to someone who is even worse. My DH files things on the floor. It may be in a bag - say a collection of board games - or neatly stacked, but it doesn’t have a real home and is getting in the way. Even more amazingly, since he’s an engineer who has worked in manufacturing, he’ll use something, put it down for a moment, and never put it back where it belongs, e.g. the knife sharpener or the kitchen scissors. Nor will he remember what he’s done with it. (This is the man who, a week ago, let himself into the house while I was working late, came upstairs to say “hello”, then put his car keys down somewhere, has no recollection where, and later demanded that I tell him where he’d put them. I have no clue; I was on a call when he got home.)

Ideally, everything needs to have a home. I know that if something isn’t dealt with or put away immediately, it will never get done. I also know that if you have to move stuff in order to get to other stuff or to put stuff away, you’re less likely to do it.

< / rant >

This is so my life. I frustrate myself, I would love to live in an organised, tidy home but it is not to be.

Laura_Elsewhere

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82168287#Comment_82168287

goodness!!

Congratulations- and thank heavens you life in one of those, er, trial areas for a future National Health Scheme of some kind… ;) the technology all sounds very advanced!

(Without getting into overt comparisons between different systems, when Mr E's son was in ITU, we found out the cost of one nurse for one shift, and calculated over the weeks he'd been there, much of it with two nurses stationed beside him at all times monitoring so many bite of equipment… we worked out that he had had over three hundred thousand quid of nursing alone, never mind the multiple operations lasting hours and hours each, and the equipment and so on. We are so lucky, bless that nice Mr Attlee and Mr Bevin! )

Laura_Elsewhere

A full week after the neighbours said they'd have moved out, they are still moving stuff and we still don't have access… so our three weeks is now two weeks, maybe a day or two less depending on exact date they need to hand the keys back.
On the plus side, the fear of not being able to clear the sitting room is making me feel much much more ruthless…

Mr E and I are both vague and untidy, but (crucially!!) we both genuinely want to live in a home where the only thing on the floor is furniture, and where we can easily find a thing because it is where it should be. I think we're both determined to get on top of things…

Mr E is just talking to neighbour now so we hope that we may get access soon!

Edit to add: we're getting keys later today!! Yikes!!! Thankyou for advice, esp @PollyWollyDoodle xx

thriftmonster

Wishing you a speedy recovery @Nelliegrace

PipneyJane

Good luck @Laura_Elsewhere. I will keep my fingers crossed for you, that you find the process quicker and easier than expected.

Talking of the cost of hospital care, your calculation reminded me of the experience of my ex-Project-Boss's son, a Brit living in Texas in 2008/9. He was injured in a car accident and was in hospital for a few weeks. He was in a good job, working in a professional firm, and had (so-called) "excellent" health insurance through work. Even so, he was expected to pay $100,000 towards his hospital costs!

It's no wonder that the most frequent cause of bankruptcy in the United States is medical debt.

-Pip