Sneaky ways to save the pennies

BigMummaF

We are waiting for our shower to be fixed, so the other day I got a little [STRIKE]bored[/STRIKE]inquistive & decided to see how far one humble sinkful of lukewarm water would go.

I washed & thoroughly rinsed my shoulder-length thick hair then had a wonderful 'power shower' by using a back brush to have a good, invigorating scrub of a strip wash. I could have probably used a bit less water but wasn't sure about how much I needed for my hair.

If you've a minute, go have a read of posts 518>520 inclusive:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Perfect timing or what:laugh:

Lesley_Gaye

Our nearest shop is about 200yds away. It's a Spar and it's ok for odd things, bit expensive to buy too much there.

It has a PO in it, so I go there more often than I otherwise might.

But one of the thimgs the owner does to encourage people in is he has 3 big boxes outside the shop that are full of books. People take anything they don't want anymore and just leave them there, and other people take whatever they want, whenever they want. It's a really good idea and works really well. I have had all kinds of interesting things there that the library wouldn't have had. One chap left 6 years worth of Gardeners World magazines, tied in 12 issue bundles. I have had many happy hours reading those, then when I have finished with them and copied on the printer anything I want to keep, I'll put them back for someone else to enjoy.

I've read several interesting novels, had a couple of text books and children's books for the grand child. My OH gets thrillers and action adventures, and almost anything else you can name can pop up there.

I have just read, and put back, 2 Amy Tan books, which I really enjoyed. The Kitchen God's Wife and The Joy Luck Club.

My brother takes books to his local recycling place where there is a bank, and if he sees something he likes the look of, he'll take it home, read it and take it back again!

Lesley

MeAllOver

I don't use much soap either. I just rinse my face with water - it's all it needs. I do use soap in the shower - not showergel. Although my family still insist on buying me showergel and bubble bath (I don't bath, just shower) so this keeps the kids and DH going for half the year!

I've changed my diet to almost totally raw fruit and veg. It did sound like an expensive option at first, but it's got me thinking hard about ways to save, so here are some of my tips for saving on fruit and veg:

- cut celery as close to the root as possible. Also, use the leaves in salad.
- any veg that's close to going off can be chopped and frozen for use in pasta/stew etc. This includes bags of salad or herbs, which once frozen can just be scrunched up in your hands. Last night we had rice with chopped watercress mixed in - lovely!
- Don't waste the stalks of brocolli and cauliflower. Chop it finely and add it to whatever you're cooking or freeze to use later.
- If you juice carrots (or any fruit) then save the pulp for making carrot cake or even adding to flapjack mix (DH HATES cooked carrot but he can't even tell that it's in the flapjack)
- Of course keep an eye out for reduced fruit and veg in the supermarket. It's also a good way of trying new things you wouldn't normally buy.

looby-loo_2

Is this too extreme? My neighbour gives me cabbage leaves for the guinea pigs but she is far too generous - the pigs get one leaf and there is enough left for three of us for our tea.

Lesley_Gaye

looby-loo wrote: »

Is this too extreme? My neighbour gives me cabbage leaves for the guinea pigs but she is far too generous - the pigs get one leaf and there is enough left for three of us for our tea.

ha ha - THAT one made me laugh. And no, I don't think it too extreme, as someone said somewhere recently 'every little helps'

queen_of_string

Looby-lou thats fantastic. My No.1 son still doesnt know that the "cabbage" we have with or within days of cauli is actually the outer leaves :-D.

sb44

Tear off a few sheets of kitchen roll and cut them up into quarters.

Pop them into a tub or something similar to keep them together and just use one or two at a time instead of a full sheet.

I had the idea yesterday so have only been doing it for a couple days now but it seems to be ok.

When I make my daughter's Marmite toast I wipe the butter off the knife before putting it into the marmite jar and I was wasting a sheet just for this, a quarter is plenty.

Perhaps tell the other half that you only have a few sheets of roll left and that is why you are doing it until you can buy some more. That may well get them in the habit too before they have chance to grab a few whole sheets (don't forget to hide the roll!).

juliapenguin

Lesley_Gaye wrote: »

Our nearest shop is about 200yds away. It's a Spar and it's ok for odd things, bit expensive to buy too much there.

It has a PO in it, so I go there more often than I otherwise might.

But one of the thimgs the owner does to encourage people in is he has 3 big boxes outside the shop that are full of books. People take anything they don't want anymore and just leave them there, and other people take whatever they want, whenever they want. It's a really good idea and works really well. I have had all kinds of interesting things there that the library wouldn't have had. One chap left 6 years worth of Gardeners World magazines, tied in 12 issue bundles. I have had many happy hours reading those, then when I have finished with them and copied on the printer anything I want to keep, I'll put them back for someone else to enjoy.

I've read several interesting novels, had a couple of text books and children's books for the grand child. My OH gets thrillers and action adventures, and almost anything else you can name can pop up there.

I have just read, and put back, 2 Amy Tan books, which I really enjoyed. The Kitchen God's Wife and The Joy Luck Club.

My brother takes books to his local recycling place where there is a bank, and if he sees something he likes the look of, he'll take it home, read it and take it back again!

Lesley

What a nice idea this is. There's a cafe at the railway station that has a box of free books and I've really enjoyed looking through them while I'm waiting for my train every morning.

I only found out when it was too late that my disabled neighbours who find walking difficult took about 200 nearly new books to the tip (aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah) because there was no charity shop with parking near enough.... I could have wept - what a waste and I could have helped them if only I'd known. They don't like asking for help too often even though we get on really well.

miggy

hunnybeanz wrote: »

my hint is meal planning!
i know it's a real pain in the a*$e, (it's one of the worse parts of my week!), but it really cant be understated how great this is for saving money!
i manage to cut the shopping by a minimum of £60/£70 per week, when i menu plan.... but it's so dreary, and it makes me have to think so i slack sometimes and dont do it.

hi Hunnybeanz,

Menu planning works for me too - but you can save all that tedious thinking business, lol, if you keep a note for about four weeks of what menus you planned, and then recycle them. I put them on the calendar that comes with my email account so they get sent to me weekly.

I also have one day about every two weeks which is called 'finish up the freezer' - we have oven chips and whatever needs finishing up. Maybe I ought to have a day for finishing the fridge and fruit & veg too as I throw away too much stuff from these.

trying-very-trying

Miggy, there's a "don't throw food away challenge" maybe you should try that. It's amazing how much stuff that normally gets thrown out can be rescued. I only very roughly meal plan, but it all gets completely abandoned when I find that I've got unexpected stuff needing used up, i.e something that my neighbour has handed in or some reduced to clears that my dad has kindly brought over for me to use up.