I SAVED £125 on our last leccy bill

[Deleted User]

If people need to cut to the bone then they should try the milk in a bucket of water method. Just place a wet towel over the top. It works very well

Ken68

kittie wrote: »

If people need to cut to the bone then they should try the milk in a bucket of water method. Just place a wet towel over the top. It works very well

Yes Kittie, there is an article somewhere about home made fridge using large earthenware pot with a smaller one inside and wet sand in between.
Don't know the physics not sure how difficult it would be to run. FREE tho.

katieowl_2

Does anyone know WHAT is the recommended temperature for a freezer to run at?

I replaced our fridge and freezers last year for new more efficient models but that and my other electricity saving measures appear not to have had the SLIGHTEST difference.

"E on" are now known as "F off" in this house after they told me they wanted to put my already steep IMHO £110 monthly direct debit payment up to £200 a month - which I refused to do - Long boring story - which will probably end in (my) tears.

I turn everything off at the wall too, have low energy bulbs all over the place, etc, etc, makes not the slightest bit of difference agains the price rises we have had.

Regards

Kate

Jake'sGran

Ken68 wrote: »

Hi Sam....
Biggest saving is not using an oven/hob , most cooking is steamer or slow cooker.
Keep this thread going, what we need.

Now that we are over 70 and worked hard to have comford in retirement I really couldn't be soaking things in the bath and wringing them afterwards. Life is harder for a lot of wrinklies you know, e.g. arthritic hands so wringing large things would be a problem. And the use of a dehumidifier would cancel out some of the electricity saved. All our washing is done on 40deg and only separated into light and dark.

What I really balk at is the idea of not using the oven and hob. I am a baker who regularly makes bread and cakes which everyone must know is much nicer than shop bought and we always have "proper cooked food" i.e. no convenience food. Steak can be braised on a very low setting and the potatoes are bought in those very big bags Morrisons do for less than half the normal price. If you combine clever food buying with some savings on gas and electric the result might be an even greater saving.

There was an item on TV the other night about people who have to manage on a low income. One man suffered from brittle bone disease as did his three sons but he showed the food he bought and we were shocked that it was all in boxes from a cheap supermarket - all pizzas. I make my own pizzas too; the base is easy- just bread dough, big pans of tomato sauce which can be frozen. Cheese that supermarkets sell off for grating. Bought a large bag for £1 this week. Bacon pieces with the fat cut off.

Sorry to ramble on, just got carried away with the thought of no freshly cooked food.

katieowl_2

I can honestly recommend a slow cooker....I've just turned my Aga off for the summer to save gas (and I can see I'll not be able to afford to put it back on this winter!) and I'm another all home cooked person. I've been using a slow cooker that a friend gave me, and I'm using a couple of Camping Gaz rings and the gas barbeque in the garden to save money! Still trying to work out a cheaper way of making home cooked bread....I guess maybe a marathon baking session, and freezing the bread might work out cheaper?

Regards

Kate

Jake'sGran

Hello Katie Owl, I never use the slow cooker because I discovered that the food had to be heated before it went in. On another thread someone said this was not so but when I first got it - ages and ages ago - it said to do this in the instructions but before I read them I did leave something to cook in it before going to work one day and when I got home it was not really edible. Re the bread - Once you get used to making dough you'll find it is a quicker process than you think. I don't measure anything especially for white bread or teacakes. It's just strong flour, salt, yeast and a couple of ounces of lard or butter (or oil) to one pound of the flour and kneading does not take long. I used to use fresh yeast but I have now discovered Allinson's dried yeast in a tin with a long shelf life.

[Deleted User]

I cook fresh food every single day and usually for the two main meals. We always get though at least 6 servings of different veg a day and I have also baked bread from scratch for 37 years but there is no point burying my head in the sand. Energy prices will go up and up. I have just had an analyst e mail saying oil price is expected $180-$200 a barrel and we all know that to provide windmills and nuclear power stations will cost a massive amount, so energy hikes are here to stay

The oven uses up to 4 kw/hour and much of the time is on at least half that setting ie 26p per hour.The full 4kw costs 51pence an hour :eek: . That compares with me cooking a lovely fresh casserole in the pressure cooker or remoska at a total energy cost of 6 pence. I used the oven daily up to a month ago and it was on for about 2 hours, heating up and batch baking etc. I never ever used it solely for one casserole as it would have to be on for two hours. Ok the result was lovely but I am also getting wonderful results now

12p a day over a month is 3.60 ( a baked item plus a casserole every day)
oven use over month is £7.80 minimum

I know these are approximate but I have done my sums
re the washing machine: washing at 30-40 is what I do (usually using soap nuts)

re the wrinklies. I am 60 but I am getting prepared for my old age by saving now. I want to be able to choose my care home etc and also have nice holidays and I am blowed if the energy companies are going to get my hard-earned money

ps: bread cooks very well in the remoska, as rolls.
and the OP has got it right. We have to change our mindset to go with the flow. Bendy branches don`t break

Jake'sGran

Kittie, two questions:

What is a remoska and what are soap nuts?

I too loved nice holidays but am now told that I should not fly. My husband has gone off driving any long distance so we'll have to find good hotels in Llandudno! I saved too much for retirement and now, won't be able to spend it. Today I washed some white bedding on the wool wash with some Wilko soap powder(excellent) and it came up lovely.

martinlewisfanclub

Was just wondering about a Remoska...strange I've never come across it before. Here's an interesting link
http://www.hoorayforhomecooking.co.uk/
This thread has made me think. I'm always leaving the radio on and popping upstairs and putting another one on and I leave the pc on most of the day too.
I think I might reinstate my old pressure cooker for cold weather food. Does anyone know if there are substantial savings to be made in cooking veg in microwave? I never got into that and usually steam them. I did turn my boiler temp down tho' and now wash at 30, drying in the fresh air or upstairs where the heat certainly rises in this house. I'm going to go and reset my HW timer as we really don't need so much this time of year. I doubt I'll be soaking washing in the bath tho' too many cons and not enough pros!

[Deleted User]

Hello Jakesgran. A remoska is a cooker from lakeland limited. It does everything from casseroles to baking. The last thing I made was scones and the time before was a chicken curry and baked potatoes. I have the standard one as the mini one is too small to be of much use. It uses about 500w in one hour so scones cost 2p, ciabatta bread (made by hand and left to rise in the pan and then baked in the same pan) cost 4p, a 1 hour casserole cost 6p. I did a roast chicken last week and it cost about 7p to cook. All the food turns our moist and lovely

soap nuts are these and I got mine from a 100% seller on ebay and paid a total of £16 (that included p+p for 1.5 kg) That amount will last me for a few years . A wash costs about 3-4p in soapnuts compared to 20-30p in detergent. I put the nuts in 2 little mesh bags that I had for detergent tablets and re-use 4 times, keeping the nuts then to make soap solution in the future. Even my dh`s sweaty cycling kit comes up clean and fresh. Just add a little borax if something is very dirty ie soiled

http://www.inasoapnutshell.com/

MLFC re microwave, I am sure that there are good savings to be had. I don`t use it for food, only heating plates. I don`t like microwaves near my food. It was tongue in cheek re washing clothes in the bath as no need these days but that is what we did and as the eldest child with 6 younger siblings, I had to do. I`ll never forget freezing hands in cold water at a young age as I helped my mum (it was the done thing at 11 but I learnt a lot)

someone on another thread went on at me re her leaving a radio on and I mentioned counting the pennies. She said it would only cost £2 for a long time. In my book that is the cost of cooking 33 meals. I use a wind up radio during the day and it is excellent