Proper old-fashioned saving the pennies

16011996

Thank you, Crana9 (but I shall not tell my husband otherwise I would never hear the end of it hehehehe)!

Frugal tip:

If you have a fireplace where woond can be safely burnt, scavenge in the skips, there is always plenty of good wood to be found to chop and burn -  I just finished sawing some really nice pieces that I found in a skip in front of my house.

Caterina

i got my kids desk out of a skip. and various other stuff over the years. isn't usually a problem, people love it when you take stuff, cos there is less weight in it when it goes (or they can fit more in).

we also got front grass from a skip, someone had dug one up further up the road, and we took the pieces. looked like crazy paving first couple of years, but the settled down.

;D

Caterina

Isn't it amazing how people waste things? I have seen a lot of times in skips rolls of unused lawn, as well as so many other useful things (furniture, vases, pots, baskets, toys, books etc...) that I would not have use for so I did not pick it up.

In reality it is a terrible way of this wasteful society - sometimes people throw things away because nobody seems to want second hand these days.

Even charity shops and furniture recyclers get snooty about what they get nowadays.

You might recall my notice for a set of bunk beds - perfectly good but second hand and no mattresses (as they have been over-used - and over-messed - by my kids over the years!). I could not get rid of them at all, even the charity furniture people would not take them unless they had new mattresses, isn't it ridiculous?

Now we use them bit by bit as firewood. What a waste!

There goes, end of rant hehehee

Caterina

ps. I'm up for the movie about you and me doing the frugal thing, but want to play my own part myself, crow's feet, wrinkles, lardy tummy an'all! Who cares! We need to LOVE the way we look, warts an'all!
Ciao take care

16011996

ok, i'm game if you are, lol ;D

Queenie

I'm all for using old towels/clothes for dusters ... but there's a limit to how many dusters you need!

Old sheets/clothes can turned into patchwork throws; I was taught how to make rag rugs by my mother, which is another great way to use up fabrics. All buttons are removed and put in the button box and the same with zips.

I bought two skirts from the market for £1 simply because they didn't have zips in them! ::)

If you have sheets which are getting worn in the middle, cut them lengthways up the middle, turn the outside edges into the middle and stitch up. The old "middle" has now become the new "edges", hem and voila!

I have bought sheets in the Sales to use as curtains for the patio door, suspended from the clip rings. Using old clothes, I appliqued a design along the bottoms to give them a touch of uniqueness

I have a 3 tier steamer so I only use one ring on the hob.
I plan cooker usage in advance:- a casserole, rice pudding and fruit cake uses the same temperature and of similar duration. When cooking a roast, I will also make shepards pie. etc etc.

For those with youngsters, it's a fools errand to buy character duvet sets! Buy plain - they'll last longer than the craze ... posters of their favourite-this-week on the walls are far cheaper and easy to change.

HTH

16011996

some brilliant ideas there queenie. will be trying that with the sheets. ;D

Caterina

For those with youngsters, it's a fools errand to buy character duvet sets!   Buy plain - they'll last longer than the craze ... posters of their favourite-this-week on the walls are far cheaper and easy to change.

HTH

Then again, if you scour the jumble sales and charity shops, you can find some very very nice almost new character duvet sets, which are being given away because the characters are out of fashion!

I think the trick is to teach our children not to become fashion slaves - I managed it all the way to teenage time, but when they turned 15 I sort of lost the battle, but in no way as excessively as with their friends, one of whom will wear NOTHING that is not marked Nike - and it must be new!

Caterina

Caterina

[move]THANK YOU!!![/move]

...for the lovely bottle of champagne! I have received it today and I am very very happy!

Thank you to all the people who tried my pizza recipe and posted positive comments here!

Love

Caterina

Glad

instead of expensive perfumed roo fresheners
spray a little perfume on a cold light bulb
when you switch it on the smell will gently scent the air

crana9

is it just me or would a great big seam in the middle of your sheet be uncomfortable to lie on?

16011996

is it just me or would a great big seam in the middle of your sheet be uncomfortable to lie on?

would work for top sheets though. not so sure about bottom ones, but am halfway through doing some, will let you know when i've used them.