Sneaky ways to save the pennies

Boodle

Some great tips everyone! Thanks!

Some of the things we do at home are:

• Use the the plum tomatoes from a value can, then save the juice for pasta sauce, etc. Can freeze too.
• Pour leftover orange juice into ice lolly moulds.
• Use dry milk for cooking - I don't water down milk as I have a toddler and am cautious about watering down the vitamins etc.
• Try to keep portion control so always weigh the rice and pasta, and stick to about 200g meat per meal for all of us. If serving with pasta or rice, this is plenty.
• Although it might sometimes seems cheaper serving chilli or stews etc with bread, I find we feel we need more of it. So if I serve it with rice instead, we only use half of the actual chilli or stew and freeze the rest.
• Smaller plates really helped - used to have huge ones and the substantial amount of food on it seemed meagre. Smaller plates and we see the amount for what it is
• We don't use salt much apart from when I make the bread. We save the salt sachets from Salt n Shake crisps and use these in the bread.

lauren_1

I have stopped using washing powder and use stardrops instead, 15mls is enough to get your washing done (25 if its very dirty) put directly in the drum.

Any value fabric conditioner with half the amount of water added and 3-5 drops of my favorite essential oil.

Intsantly cut my laundry costs and they wash really well on a standard 30 wash, i thought a quick wash would be cheaper but i was wrong!

Its best to try it on 'easy things' like towels and proper denim jeans or start with a lower amount until you are confident to use it on your every day stuff.

Another bonus is it doesn't leave a 'goo' in the door seal like liquitabs did.

strumpet

lovelyjubbly wrote: »

ooooooooh! fried bread and eggs, just got to go and do some now!

STOP STOP STOP!!!!! I can feel my will weakening!:rotfl:

Strumpet
xxx

strumpet

lauren_1 wrote: »

I have stopped using washing powder and use stardrops instead, 15mls is enough to get your washing done (25 if its very dirty) put directly in the drum.

Funny you should say that - I was considering doing the same thing.

I had a party for my whole family (17 of us) a couple of weeks ago and served chilli, lasagne and eton mess with strawberry coulis. Needless to say, the tablecloth took a massive battering - it looked like one of garments you get on those Daz adverts!:rotfl:
Washed it with persil at 60 degs - still came out stained. Washed it with Stardrops:A at 40 degs - whiter than white!

Unfortunately, I just bought a massive box of Persil for £14 from Bookers in April and it lasts me ages - still half full! Perhaps I might do Stardrops on whites only. At 67p for a bottle, it's a no-brainer!:T

Strumpet
xxx

"When the dirt says hot, but the label says not......":D

garden-lover

lauren_1 wrote: »

I have stopped using washing powder and use stardrops instead, 15mls is enough to get your washing done (25 if its very dirty) put directly in the drum.

Any value fabric conditioner with half the amount of water added and 3-5 drops of my favorite essential oil.

Intsantly cut my laundry costs and they wash really well on a standard 30 wash, i thought a quick wash would be cheaper but i was wrong!

Its best to try it on 'easy things' like towels and proper denim jeans or start with a lower amount until you are confident to use it on your every day stuff.

Another bonus is it doesn't leave a 'goo' in the door seal like liquitabs did.

What are star drops and where do you buy them?

Uniscots97

I was cooking for 5 at the weekend and wanted to make chinese chicken curry. Rather than buying chicken breasts I bought a whole chicken and roasted it (cooked a Victoria Sponge at the same time) and then stripped the carcass. Plenty of meat for 5 of us, and then I boiled the carcass for stock and stripped off all the little bits of chicken left and used this and the stock to make chicken noodle soup.

Starter: Chicken Noodle Soup
Main Course: Chinese Chicken curry with rice and prawn crackers
Dessert: Victoria sponge.
Plus white wine (freebie).

We worked out the cost of the ingredients was just over 6 pounds and there was lots left over for the next day too.

gunsandbanjos

garden-lover wrote: »

What are star drops and where do you buy them?

Stardrops is a concentrated multi purpose cleaner, you can get it from most supermarkets. Is about 67p for the bottle and last ages as you only need a little. I use it to clean my kitchen/bathroom/floors etc

lauren_1

Stardrops is one of those great things that seemed to have stood the test of time ( been around for 70 years plus) but not exactly advertised anymore (thanks god as its only 63p a bottle and i would like to see it that way for many more years) more a word of mouth or advice from your nan.

http://www.thorntonross.com/household/stardrops.html

You can use it for pretty much anything, its not exactly eco but still better on your pocket than other non eco stuff!

strumpet

garden-lover wrote: »

What are star drops and where do you buy them?

Stardrops is an all round cleaner - you can use it on almost anything. I used it ti wash down the walls when I had some plastering done recently and you can use it to wash up, for laundry and for general cleaning.

Last time I looked, it was 67p in Morrisons and 67p in Wilkinsons although I think it only appears in the larger stores.

Armed with Stardrops, bicarb and white vinegar, you can take on the world!!!

Strumpet
xxx

lauren_1

and a dash of water.