Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2016

Lindlou · 28 October 2016 at 8:26PM

Make Do
I have discovered a recipe for Chinese Chicken and Mushroom which my OH rates as better than the local takeaway

Pauline....
Recipe please?:)

iamsalt · 28 October 2016 at 8:46PM

Evening
Gosh everyone has been busy.
117pauline - it definitely counts - OH and I have homemade takeaway each month, choosing from a takeaway menu and then we make the dinner together, having looked up recipes online. We choose different takeaways each time, we have had Thai, Chinese, Indian, fish and chips and pizza. Not sure what it will be next time!
Prinzesslein - that sounds like a relaxing way to move. I dread the idea of moving again, and well done for sorting through things before you go, it's not worth the effort to move things

Haras nednats - do join in from Austria, it's not that far, and MMM has no borders!

I have a fairly free weekend, tomorrow will be spending money on my first pair of reading glasses....I have reached the age where my eyesight is going to slowly worsen. A tip run with a fridge which has died in use, and then a good day working in the garden I hope.

Any ideas - the bottom sheet (fitted) of the bed never seems to stay on does anyone have suggestions of things I can do (I have always been a wriggler in my sleep) as I have never had a bottom sheet stay on overnight. Would long elastic bits work? I would struggle to lift the mattress. I am sure I am not the first to wonder how to deal with the issue!

Thanks
S x

[Deleted User] · 29 October 2016 at 11:17AM

Good Morning chums an grey looking day at the moment outside.
I returned to Hastings yesterday, as I had seen an item in a junk shop that I wanted for my DGS Danny.Its a Universal Studios clapper board.

He is 26 next month, so I wanted something he can take with him when he moves to New York in the New Year.

He and his girlfriend Hayley are getting married on Christmas Eve and I wanted something he could take with him and pack easily.I spotted it on Wednesday but the shop was closed.So with a bit of detective work and the internet I found the owners phone no. and rang and asked when it would be open as I really wanted to buy it.She was so nice and said although she was in Devon someone would be at the shop on Friday and put it aside for me .So I drove down and snaffled it

and I am really pleased with what I got.
I know he will like it as he worked in TV for 6 years before moving into making adverts for a large company His wife-to-be works as a producer on MTV so they are both keen on movie memorabilia .
Well worth the extra journey even though it was a 100 mile round trip

No food shopping to do and have managed to get through this month fairly well with only two trips to the shops, as I am running down my freezer so I can defrost ,hopefully before Christmas.
Bit of baking to do this morning for my DD and DGS as I have promised them some more melting moments biscuits.
No mending to do at the moment and minimising some more wool for my charity blankets
Hope you all have a good weekend

Cheers chums

JackieO xx

flubberyzing · 29 October 2016 at 11:54AM

Nice to read about books being passed along!
I earn a fair few book tokens through a survey site I do, so I buy them, then pass them onto Mum (we have similar tastes in books), and she stores them up to sell on the annual book store at her village fete.
As they are always in good condition and usually fairly new, they always sell, and go on to further happy homes!

Laura_Elsewhere · 29 October 2016 at 1:52PM

iamsalt: "Any ideas - the bottom sheet (fitted) of the bed never seems to stay on does anyone have suggestions of things I can do (I have always been a wriggler in my sleep) as I have never had a bottom sheet stay on overnight. Would long elastic bits work? I would struggle to lift the mattress. I am sure I am not the first to wonder how to deal with the issue!"

One of the things we've found is that different makes of sheet assume a different thickness of mattress! Ours is, I think, only 10cm (standard Ikea double), so our lovely posh fitted sheet is saggy because it assumes a Princess-like 30cm thickness, so the elastic bits don't have enough to 'grab' onto and slither off; meanwhile we have three cheap ones from Wilko - bought because the first one was such a good fit we bought two more - but they're a tiny bit too short for the bed, so we have to wrestle them onto the bed and then the mattress corners are pulled up like a banana... !

In other words - whatever the packaging says, they really don't make fitted sheets to actually *fit* anything... oh and of course two unrelated sizes named "double"...

I have tried long bits of elastic under the mattress, and it wasn't worth the effort!

I am still figuring it out - I think I am actually going to spend some time cutting and re-stitching the corners on the too-large ones to fit our mattress. The too-small ones... well one is doable but one is really beyond a joke - so maybe I'll find some brightly-coloured cotton and add a stripe on the bottom to lengthen it? Our bedding is all brightly-coloured and deliberately mismatched anyway, so it would work! We do surveys online and get vouchers we can use in Argos who often have very cheap brightly-coloured single-size sheets which would do for a lengthening patch!

charlies-aunt · 29 October 2016 at 2:50PM

I make do and mend with sheets - when first married I inherited several stashes of old fashioned cotton sheets from relatives - any double sheets that are wearing thin are cut in half long-ways and stitched as a flat seam onto a standard double, selvedge to selvedge, so the worn part becomes the outer edge. It makes a extra long, extra wide sheet with ample tuck in so the sheets stay put. Have also attached a single onto a double to do the same thing. The seam lies at the lower part of the bed and we never 'feel' it

The only downside is that they take up a lot of washing line!

Have also made some very bright, 1960's floral flannelette sheets into a duvet cover ... I kept the extra length on to create a flap at the bottom of the duvet that tucks under the mattress at the bottom of the bed for extra winter cosiness

Not house beautiful but cheap, cheerful and super snuggly

iris · 29 October 2016 at 4:30PM

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

iamsalt: "Any ideas - the bottom sheet (fitted) of the bed never seems to stay on does anyone have suggestions of things I can do (I have always been a wriggler in my sleep) as I have never had a bottom sheet stay on overnight. Would long elastic bits work? I would struggle to lift the mattress. I am sure I am not the first to wonder how to deal with the issue!"

One of the things we've found is that different makes of sheet assume a different thickness of mattress! Ours is, I think, only 10cm (standard Ikea double), so our lovely posh fitted sheet is saggy because it assumes a Princess-like 30cm thickness, so the elastic bits don't have enough to 'grab' onto and slither off; meanwhile we have three cheap ones from Wilko - bought because the first one was such a good fit we bought two more - but they're a tiny bit too short for the bed, so we have to wrestle them onto the bed and then the mattress corners are pulled up like a banana... !

In other words - whatever the packaging says, they really don't make fitted sheets to actually *fit* anything... oh and of course two unrelated sizes named "double"...

I have tried long bits of elastic under the mattress, and it wasn't worth the effort!

I am still figuring it out - I think I am actually going to spend some time cutting and re-stitching the corners on the too-large ones to fit our mattress. The too-small ones... well one is doable but one is really beyond a joke - so maybe I'll find some brightly-coloured cotton and add a stripe on the bottom to lengthen it? Our bedding is all brightly-coloured and deliberately mismatched anyway, so it would work! We do surveys online and get vouchers we can use in Argos who often have very cheap brightly-coloured single-size sheets which would do for a lengthening patch!

What about the following

http://www.ageukincontinence.co.uk/bed-band-sheet-gripper-straps-black.html?utm_campaign=ShoppingFeed&utm_source=google&utm_medium=merchantcenter&utm_content=Health%20%3E%20Bedding%20%3E%20Care%20Home%20Bedding&gclid=CNnU-fepgNACFQmeGwodxNoAdA

Sweetpea69 · 29 October 2016 at 5:28PM

Hi iamsalt. I bought sheet suspenders years ago, I think they were from the Betterware catalogue. They worked really well and kept the bottom sheet taut. Hopefully you can still get them.

Love SP69 x

homerdog · 29 October 2016 at 7:29PM

Made do with crackers and cheese with a cup a soup for tea tonight as hubby working til 1230 and son recovering from tummy bug so no one to please but myself.
Have been cracking on with a cross stitch picture I've been doing for about 10 years, so that will minimise the junk spilling out from the corner all over the floor, also minimised the ironing pile by 10 shirts and several t shirts.
Haven't mended anything today but I'm going to spend the rest of the evening knitting in an effort to finish cardigan for granddaughter, it has set in sleeves instead of raglan, I didn't realise at first and now just want it out of the way.
Weather here had been dull and damp all day with intermittent drizzle, not a good drying day so have spread clothes over the maiden.
I've actually got the fire on low tonight, first time since late spring and have fleecy gilet over my jumper, son upstairs so he's not bothered and OH at work.
Hope everyone is keeping warm, think winter is round the corner now, clocks going back tonight and that always starts it off for me.

Laura_Elsewhere · 30 October 2016 at 9:51AM

I did try "sheet suspenders" but the clamps lost their grip quite quickly and just slid off the sheets

I tried making my own with bits of strong elastic with buttons sewn on the ends and making button holes in the sheets but that still wasn't great...

I reckon what works best for us is finding or altering sheets so they fit our particular mattress!

I used to have the old heavy cotton sheets mentioned upthread, and loved the feel of them, but they did take a *lot* of laundering! Now we're in a little flat everything must be tumble-dried, no clothes-line, so I'm glad we only have the modern light stuff now!

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Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2016

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