Sneaky ways to save the pennies

Savvy_sewing

Here I am, just sitting in the sittingroom, (as you do), and I realised I need to find a lamp, as the lighting is wall lights. That means I have 6 candle bulbs burning, just so I can see!! When I am not doing hobbies, it just struck me as daft.!
I am off to see if there is a side light lurking about in the cupboard that would be better. Or at least save me some electric. ( If i came off the computer I would also save a bit.).

Taadaa

Mooloo wrote: »

I will certainly have to do something about the external doors, you can see daylight between them and the frames. (I am hoping the people from the Warmfront grant will do this for me>) But I will be looking for the fabric to make the curtains, as heavy fabrics are often very expensive. Charity shop searches on the cards. But I need to check my budget first to see how much I have.
I still need to make some extra money some how. Back to Up your income thread.
I used to do some surveys etc, but I never really earned much. Seem to have points for things somewhere but never enough for anything.!

Mooloo - when my son was a baby I lived in a flat that had one electric heater in the living room and that was it. We had heavy curtains but the windows weren't double glazed, so I sewed little weights into the bottom hem to stop them from blowing when the wind did :rotfl:

Savvy_sewing

I think that I will probably have to do that. The curtains that are in the sittingroom, are plain calico Tab Tops, so I will have to change them, which would mean finding the appropriate rings, that the pole takes, and making 2 sets for the front room, not counting the doors.
Kitchen has some small windows that do not shut properly. I will have to chase the landlord to get them fixed.!
At least I am able to sew easily so making them is not a problem, its just finding the suitable fabrics. (At an affordable price of course!)

Taadaa

Mooloo check out Dunelm Mill as they sell those eyelet ring sets quite cheaply, that may save money and I am sure they would be easier to make. Maybe ask on Freecycle for some material or curtains and curtain poles, or look in charity shops? I know what you mean though, you want to do just one simple thing but to get the end result you want to make it worthwhile it ends up snowballing with all the added extras.

To think now I let OH use a pair of heavy curtains left by the previous owners for dust covers when we moved here a couple of years ago, I should have given more thought to it and done someone a good turn knowing what it's like to live in a cold house! I am grateful every day for what I have now.

angela110660

Taadaa wrote: »

Mooloo check out Dunelm Mill as they sell those eyelet ring sets quite cheaply, that may save money and I am sure they would be easier to make. Maybe ask on Freecycle for some material or curtains and curtain poles, or look in charity shops? I know what you mean though, you want to do just one simple thing but to get the end result you want to make it worthwhile it ends up snowballing with all the added extras.

To think now I let OH use a pair of heavy curtains left by the previous owners for dust covers when we moved here a couple of years ago, I should have given more thought to it and done someone a good turn knowing what it's like to live in a cold house! I am grateful every day for what I have now.

Def Freecycle for curtain poles - they always seem to have them offered round here. Same for heavy curtains also charity, carboots and free paper ads I would think. Decent curtains make all the difference - from past experience.

Confuzzled

Mooloo wrote: »

Thankyou confuzzled. Although brilliant ideas, I will definately have to down scale, as I am unable to use my left arm very well, and carrying is a bit of a no no.....

Thanks for so much information. It makes me realise how I must start thinking out of the box to solve my problems.

you're quite welcome mooloo, though by all means don't hurt yourself to try them! i suspect you've learned to do what you can given your disadvantage and you will know best which of these you can and can't do (and hey, you have an excellent excuse to not use the ax! i always got the ex to use the chainsaw myself, i used my pregnancy at the time as a way out of it, wouldn't have lasted that long but ooh that thing scared me )

if you can get pallets and can get someone to break them down for you then don't worry about the nails. you can just pop the pieces into your fire and the nails can be sorted from the ashes in the morning when the fire has cooled down... if you try to remove the nails before the wood goes on the fire you may never use pallets again (i know this from bitter experience :mad::rotfl:) i had a look at the video for the dry paper log maker and if you could get someone to do the part where you pop it out at the end you might be able to make those by holding the tube between your legs whilst sitting in a chair and using your right hand to stuff them.

if not a simple way to at least make firestarters is to open a newspaper up all the way and tear out sheet by sheet then start at a corner and roll the paper up diagonally so you get a long roll then i would twist these up a bit and eventually wind up with a bit of a knot i'd made of the paper. you can do them in single sheets or a few sheets at a time. these work fairly well and once you get pretty good at making fires using these you can eliminate the need for firestarters 99% of the time.

given the circumstances a mix of coal and wood might be an option for you. do a little research on setting up coal fires (ooh i love google) and then get one prepped up but leave it a bit flat at the top. place a smaller pile of twigs/small logs and firestarters on top. if you build a wood fire big enough to burn for about 30 minutes you can get the coal to then light itself off of that most of the time. you could try tucking a pinecones in the coals too as those will catch fine and hopefully light the coals for you.

coal is a bit of a b*gger to get alight but if you do a combo of wood and coal eventually the coal should light itself off the wood fire and save you the hassle. the coal ash does have some use but i've forgotten what it is off the top of my head so i'll have to report back on that. the wood ash as i mentioned yesterday is excellent for your garden.

i do wish you luck in this endeavour. regardless of how much of the info i shared you can use i'm sure you'll find a method that works for your circumstances and that's the entire point of forums like these! i must say it's such a thrill building a fire that is all from scavenged resources, a sorta thrifty gloating/glowing moment

oh one thing you might consider. should you be able to come across a selection of wood from whatever sources and can't get the family or bf to help, you might like to see if you have any kind of swapping group (my area has swapcycle, a spinoff of freecycle) you could swap their labour for something of their liking, perhaps an object or cooking etc etc this could then in turn possibly become a long standing agreement... i've done a lot of bartering in my days and whilst it can sometimes be hard to find a likeminded soul if you have something they want or need badly enough you'll usually get your swap if you are patient.

best of luck!

Savvy_sewing

I have a lot to learn obviously. Good job I moved in in the spring. Gives me time to sort all the necessary out. BF has been told to keep all the pinecones that fall off of his tree. I know he has also the branches off of an apple tree in a heap at the bottom of his garden. I will ask him to keep them too.
I shall need that Hack Saw or Axe wont I. If I get one of them, or both, then perhaps I can entice twins BF's to help me.

BigMummaF

Hello..just to say there are a couple of excellent threads on being prepared for winter. One of them is "Avoid Using Gas & Electricity" here:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1458207
& the other also makes for interesting reading, called "It is Tough NOW":
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1295539

An awful lot of us found them extremely useful last year, but do make sure you're settled for a long read & have a stash of paper & pens close by

annie123

You forgot one bigmammaf

the 'preparing for winter' thread: all 114 pages of it! maybe its time to start a new one :rolleyes:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=22443495

Confuzzled

Mooloo wrote: »

I shall need that Hack Saw or Axe wont I. If I get one of them, or both, then perhaps I can entice twins BF's to help me.

a hack saw will work on smaller branches (no bigger than 3 inches across i should think) an axe would be needed for bigger pieces though unless you're very strong and patient!

tell your bf you get all excited at the thought of him swinging that axe and you'll love running your hands all over the newly defined pectoral muscles he'll aquire after all that axe work might help!

i think the wet method of fire log making might work for you. if you soak paper for some hours you can then use your right hand to squeeze the water out of clumps of it then stuff it in toilet rolls and food boxes. you'll only need the left hand to hold the boxes/tubes in place whilst stuffing them and this can even be gotten around to a degree by placing them in tubs or between your legs.

mind you these will take a bit longer to dry out but if you have a nice warm window sill and/or a warm place in the back garden (you'll have to bring them in if it's going to rain) or a warm shed etc etc you could leave them drying in those places. i hear it can take a good month for the large brick style logs to dry but smaller ones made in toilet paper rolls should not take too long. and as mentioned if you jsut keep making them once winter comes you can dry a stack by the wood burner (don't do it by the open fire, stray sparks could spell disaster!)

you'll start looking at things differently as you recycle more and more items. right now my compost bin is my 'new toy' and i've gone as far as sticking used tissues in it. might sound gross but if i'm going to have to pick them up anyway why not chuck them in my little compost bin collection thing in the house instead of the bin?!

anyway i'm sure you'll figure something out, you're smart enough to hang out here, i'm sure you can do it