Frugal laundry care

Hi folks, I thought I would get back to basics with a few more frugal tips.
Today I made laundry liquid for the first time. I have been meaning to do this for ages, but it has taken me a while to locate the ingredients.
I basically used the recipe at Sarina's Allsorts and I trust her judgement implicitly, not least, because she works for a dry cleaners and knows her clean clothes!
There are just three ingredients:

A bar of castille soap
1/2 a cup of soda crystals
1/2 a cup of borax.

Now borax was rather difficult for me to get, for the simple reason, that it is not supposed to be on sale in this country. So I made do with Borax substitute, which is supposed to do exactly the same thing.

So here is the method.

Grate the soap into a pan and add a litre of water. Heat gently stirring while the soap is dissolved. When it is fully dissolved add half a cup of soda crystals and half a cup of borax or borax substitute and stir it all up until fully dissolved.

 Pour into a bucket and add 4 litres of water.

Whisk it up thoroughly together (or use a stick blender if you have one) and then decant into suitable containers. Leave a good bit of the space in the top of the containers so you can shake it up before use as it has a tendency to ‘settle’.

This whole process took me no time at all and made 5 litres of laundry liquid. It will last a very long time and has cost me so little money, probably about 60p. I have plenty left of all the ingredients to make more time and time again, so this is one of the most frugal recipes I have come across.

Sarina reckons to use about one American cup load in a full wash so I will experiment a bit with it over the next few washes and let you know how I get on.

As I say, I trust Sarina’s judgement on cleaning clothes and I know that it will be kinder to clothes, kinder to skin and kinder to the environment. Good stuff all around.

I already use white vinegar as a conditioner in the wash and may just add some drops of essential oil for a nice scent too.

Avoiding the hell of December on the high street.

I want all my Christmas shopping done by the 1st December if possible, not that I have a huge amount.
I can't bear the shops in December and I am determined to avoid them all together if possible (who am I kidding, I hate shopping 12 months of the year and generally would rather eat sawdust). The hardest people for me to get things for are the little people, my 5 nieces and nephews. Well I went with the option of books this year. They all seem to accept that they often get something slightly odd from their mad uncle Dan, so this year, I am trying to encourage the joy of reading. For me books are a huge part of my life, I always have a book on the go and it gives me the greatest pleasure. I can't possibly compete with people who buy the kids x-box games, nor would I want to, but I am more than happy to encourage a good reading habit.
I know a great website for very cut price children's books, and they often have whole sets of 5 or 6 books for under a tenner. Also, if you are signed up to them, they regularly have free postage events, so with a bit of patience I have all but one of the children sorted for very little money and with good books that I think they will enjoy.
Everyone else in my life is getting some sort of home made present from me this year, I need to sit down and make a plan of the food/drink/chutneys/jams that I wish to make. I don't believe in leaving myself broke at Christmas like so many people seem to and I am firm believer that a well thought out, well made present goes down very well, I always enjoy something like that if it is given to me.
Christmas is an odd time, after the initial thrill of being a child at Christmas wore off, I went through a stage where it just made me cross. Now I feel like I have found a way to enjoy it, switch my brain off when any of the Christmas adverts come on - especially the sofa adverts (what is it about needing a new sofa in time for Christmas?), keep the idea of a fun and frugal Christmas well in my head, and look forward to sharing nice home cooked food and home made drinks with good friends and family to celebrate this happy season.
My mum is a bit of a difficult one, because she deserves something really nice and I haven't decided what yet. It is also her birthday on New Years Eve and I am sure that she has suffered many times over the years with people forgetting it until the last possible moment and then rushing out to buy a bunch of flowers, although I have always tried to do something special, funds allowing.
I am looking forward to decorating my house for the festive season for the very first time. I have sourced a few holly bushes, although none with berries yet (I don't know if they come later in the season) and I am going to try and make a wreath for the door, something like the one in the picture above would be nice.
So, this weekend I am going to make a final definite list of what, if anything, I still need to get in order to prepare for the festive season and avoid the hellish madness that is the high street in December.
I hope all your plans are going well.

Doing well with my water works.

I am happy today. I got my water bill and it is a good one. 6 months of water has only cost me £94 so that would be £188 a year if I keep up in the same way.

I am on a water meter and am rather careful about my usage because I know people on meters whose water is twice or more this. I have a short shower every morning - 4 or 5 minutes, try to wash up only once a day, in the evening, use a glass of water when I brush my teeth, and attempt to only use the washing machine once or twice a week at most. Washing machines are the biggest users of water I reckon with any wash cycle using between 45 and 55 litres of water. I don't put a jumper or shirt in the wash if I have worn in once, I get as much use out of it as possible before it is washed and then just a bit more. I have no dripping taps in my house - apparently a dripping tap can waste as much as a litre of water an hour!

Water is a wonderful thing, it comes out of the tap, clean with no effort on my part, compared with people having to draw it from wells or pumping it in the past, so I don't mind paying for it, but I am not prepared to waste it. I still know people who leave taps running and waste huge amounts, or put the washing machine on every day for 4 items.

I haven't had to use much water in watering my garden this year thanks to the very rainy summer, but next year I will get a water butt or two so that this won't be a problem even if we have a dry summer.

Now of course I am challenging myself to use even less over the next 6 months. let's see how I do.

I look forward to......

Things are interesting around here, everything has altered within the cottage, spare room is sorted, garage is tidy and loft is a great storage area. Interestingly it changes the whole dynamic of the house - the house gets organised and I want all the other areas of my life organised now. I find it easy to get side-tracked with things like DIY and to stop concentrating on other important areas of life but now that that has all stopped, time to get serious.

When I moved in, I planted a rose up the front of the house. I did my research carefully and got the right rose for the location, a North facing wall. It has exceeded my expectations by firmly establishing itself, proving that a little research goes a very long way, as this tiny little plant, that has never felt the suns rays has flourished and given me that first rose growing up the cottage walls. I have marked my progress along side the progress of this rose and we have both achieved a lot this year!

This little rose (Zepherine Drouhin) has become:

this wonderful climber. No blooms on it right now, although there are still some buds on the top, but it has produced beautifully all year!

I originally started this blog as a diary of how I was changing my life from busy Londoner who was very unhappy with everything about life, to quiet country dweller with an eye for a bargain and a strong back to do any work myself. I think that I can well and truly say that I have achieved that original goal. This time last year I was just at that stressful part of the process where the purchase of this house was about to go through and I was having those niggling little doubts about whether or not I was doing the right thing, I think there is no question at all that I was! A lot has been achieved, sadly a lot of money has been spent, but fortunately, thanks to me doing much of the work myself, not nearly as much was spent as could have been in turning these bricks and morter into a safe, warm, happy place to live. Now that needs to come to an end. No more spending is the order of the day, certainly until I get my working life sorted out. Back to organised budgeting and ruthless organisation. Nothing much needs urgently doing in the house, the garden is put away until Spring, Christmas is pretty much sorted and I won't be spending much anyhow as I want a traditional Christmas on a shoestring, where friends and family are the most important aspects. I have learnt and inspired by many people on blogs to try my own Christmas cake, or to make presents, or Christmas cards etc.

I have learnt many many new skills this year and I want to learn more and more in the future. There is nothing like 'having a go' to make you learn something, even if you make a hash of it, but in the end, I didn't fall through the loft floor into the room below, my bed and my bench didn't fall apart when I sat on them, I didn't cut my fingers off when I used the circular saw (thank goodness) or electrocute myself putting up new light fittings and I didn't poison myself with any new recipes I tried. So that spurs me on and gives me confidence to maybe try some new skills next year.

If there is one disappointment, it is how badly my vegetables all did this year - I don't think that I am alone in this however, just not a great year for growing. I would like to do better next and take inspiration from lots of your blogs, especially green fingered Elaine, who I think is a marvel.

I look forward to what comes next and all it will bring, I look forward to simple pleasures, like seeing my virgin garden flourish, now that the plants will begin to start establishing themselves. I look forward to trying new recipes, sharing home cooked food with friends, I look forward to Christmas with  my very good friend and I look forward to sharing all of this with you all.

Do it yourself - save loads.

I've been at it again! Seem to be on some sort of DIY roll.

You may remember me contemplating how nice it would be to have some sort of bench to sit out on, during the few nice days of the year. I kept my eyes on freecycle but nothing much appeared and I did look at the ones to buy new, but they were either completely out of my price range, or cheaper but made of such crap quality that they would probably only last a season of bad weather.

So I decided to have a go at making something. I had some wood in the garage and it is wood left over from the decking, so would be perfect for something that needs to survive in all weathers. I had a fence post too, which would do good solid legs.

Oh such joy to be able to work in my clear, clean garage!

So first things first, circular saw out (never knew how useful this would be when I bought it over 10 years ago) and measurements made and I cut down all the wood to the sizes I thought would work.

As usual I was sort of making it up as I went along. I cut the fence post into four, 17 inch long pieces to  make the legs. Cut a thick decking plank in half to make the seat and another length for a cross piece to keep it solid.

Fixed together the 4 legs and then attached a piece to join them together, this just keeps the thing rigid and makes it so it won't collapse under me.

Attached the 2 pieces of decking upside down, because I wanted the smooth side rather than the ridged side, don't want lines along my bottom after sitting on there!

Since this photo was taken, I oiled it in decking oil to keep it a little waterproof and give it some more lasting qualities. Every time I oil the deck, I will oil the bench too.

I am pleased with it, it fits 2 people very comfortably. I will still keep my eyes open for benches on freecycle, because there is room for another on the deck and it would be nice to be able to fit 4 people on there, but for now, this will do me perfectly and cost me nothing. Don't know why I didn't think of it before!

Thank you to all yesterdays comments. Most people seem completely on my wave length!

How I cook part 2 - Shopping and cooking.

So following on from yesterday when I showed you my full store cupboard today I move on to part 2.

I know that a lot of you frugal types swear by menu plans. I am fully behind this idea and know that it makes a lot of sense and makes sure you only ever buy what is needed for that week and nothing goes to waste.

Having said that I don't really do this myself.

First things first, I always write a shopping list. Firstly because I invariably forget what I need and also because it stops aimless browsing in the supermarket, which is when the danger of impulse buys takes over. Also it is a much quicker way of shopping and I like to get in and out in record time, life is too short to spend it in supermarkets.

I have a very bad memory for what is on my list, but a very good memory for what I have in the house, what I have in the freezer and fridge and I know the meals I like and what goes a long way. If it comes to stuff that actually has a sell by date that you need to adhere to, such as fish or chicken, then I will buy these things either knowing when I am going to cook it, or at least knowing that I am putting it in the freezer for a future date.

So the first thing that I do when going shopping is making a list. I start by putting all the things that are on my blackboard at the top and then I think about any specific occasions, ie, if I have a guest for dinner at any point or something like that, if so, what I am going to make.
Next I will think about the meals that I fancy that week and go through anything that I may not have in already. Hopefully I have most of the ingredients and only need a handful here and there. This way, I find that I can often get my weekly shop down to as little as £10 unless I happen to need a lot of things that I have run out of. Rarely will it go over £20 and often I find that I have managed to get two weeks worth of food because I had enough in the stock pile anyway. I am lucky in that I only have myself to feed, so I am flexible, this is one reason why a specific menu plan is not really necessary for me, I think when there is more than one person in the equation menu plans are really important.

I am also very very happy to eat the same thing more than one night running, even 3 nights running is fine by me. Well why not? If I like it enough to cook it, then I certainly like it enough to eat it more than one night on the trot. I don't always eat like a king, sometimes some cheese and biscuits or beans on toast will do me. It is never very difficult to throw some pasta and make a quick tomato sauce and this really does cost penny's.

The final thing to do when I shop is to make my way to the reduced section aisle. Here it is easy to be swayed by something you don't necessarily need and sometimes the savings are not that great, 30p off something that cost £2.50 is not a brilliant saving, £2 off is. It is easy to fall back into impulse buying in the reduced section, so important to keep your head on. On the other hand, if it is something like good reductions on meat, then I am happy to come completely off the shopping list and stock up the freezer for next month. Spending now can mean savings next month.

So this is my shopping routine. This way, shopping is quick, cheap and efficient.

When I cook, I don't really generally cook for one, I cook as though it is for many people and then portion it up. That way I have, in effect, created ready meals for myself. A pasta sauce will be divided into individual portions, one portion may go in the fridge for tomorrow, and the other portions in the freezer, labeled for another time. When I made a batch of shepherds pie the other day, I ate one portion, put two in the fridge which I had on the following two days, and put one in the freezer wrapped in foil and labeled. It is still there now, just like a ready meal. 30 minutes or so in the oven and it is ready to eat. Home made, good ingredients but no effort. My freezer has in it some bolognaise sauces, tomatoe sauces, home made pork burgers, ready to throw in a frying pan, fish portions, stews and a lasagne. Sometimes I will buy a whole cooked chicken and just strip all the meat off, put it in little bags of portions size and pull them out to add to a stirfry or something like that. I usually have spring onions in the fridge, so I will fry them up with some chicken and any veg I have lying around, make a quick sauce from peanut butter (value size) soy, honey, garlic and chilli and have it with noodles or rice. Really this sort of meal costs pence to put together and takes about 10 minutes to make.

I am also a make-do-and-cook sort of bloke, if I haven't got an ingredient that is either expensive, out-of-stock, or impractical, ie, hasn't got many future uses, then I will substitute. Herbs are a good example. I have growing rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley and mint, and will happily substitute one of these herbs for something that recipe asks for, no way am I buying a little pack of herbs that will soon go off for 90p when I have good herbs in the garden. If it is something that comes up again and again, then I will think about growing it instead.

I especially keep a strict eye on the items in my fridge. I can always tell you what is in there and about how many days it has left. I absolutely will not waste anything, I take it as a personal failure if something goes off. Celery was a good one for this. Often I would need some to make something, but only need 2 sticks or so. I would find that the rest of it would molder away and go nasty. Not any more. I decided that freezing it in portion sized bags was worth a try, and you know what? it works like a dream. I now have portions of celery in the freezer for making a stew or bolognaise, of something like that. Waste is not an option.

Well I hope that you enjoyed this little insight into how I live my culinary life. I enjoy cooking, I enjoy experimenting with flavours and learning what goes together. I eat very well but I really don't spend a fortune, far from it, on average about £40 to £60 a month, sometimes much much less and rarely much more. My stock pile of food has taken since last January to get to where it is now, just by buying extra tins of things here and there etc. I use value products for the most part, unless I think that they are seriously substandard, I bake my own bread for only a very small amount of money per loaf and I don't expect to eat masses of completely different, exciting meals every day. Simple is the key and being organised.

Today I did more DIY, I seem to be on a roll. More on that tomorrow.

How I cook, part 1 - Store cupboard (repost)

I can’t tell you how often I have heard someone say: ‘Oh I can’t be bothered cooking much when it is just for me’.

I have to tell you, if I couldn’t be bothered to cook when it was just for me, then I would either starve or live on ready meals because I eat by myself 80% of the time.

I thought I would do a series on how I cook on a day to day basis.  How I plan and organise.

How I stock my kitchen.

In a way, this is one of the most important bits. It is no good if every time you need to make a meal - whether it be a special one for friends, a family one, or one just for yourself – if you have to go out and buy all the ingredients. Sometimes you may have to add one or two things but often times a lot, if not all the ingredients should be in your store.

This is a quick tour of my stores:

These are my every day bottles. It may look like chaos, but it is organised chaos. Among other things, I have extra virgin olive oil for salads, sesame oil for stir fry, carotina oil for regular cooking and regular sunflower oil for when the occasion needs it. There is red and white wine vinegar and sometimes some balsamic or cider vinegar, depending on what I have in. today there is some pickling vinegar left over from the red cabbage I pickled the other day (future post). There is a half bottle of rum that I have had for about 6 years, which is currently feeding my Christmas cake once a week and a bottle of port and a bottle of vermouth. I use this in place of wine in recipes. I never drink wine, so I never have any in, but I do like cooking with it, but would never bother to buy a bottle just for that. I find that vermouth and port in place of white or red wine, are really useful, because they don't go off however long they have been open and a bottle of vermouth cost me about £4.50 last time I bought it.There are various other bottles all of which get used fairly regularly, but they rarely need replacing, because all are used in such small quantities.

I always have eggs in although they are a little depleted at the moment because of a lot of recent cake baking activity. They are so useful to have, as I can always make an omelette if I can't think of anything else, or egg sandwiches. Means I can always make cakes too.

More bottles, malt vinegar, lemon and lime juice, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, pastas, sugar (white and demarara).

One of my regular tins cupboard. I have jars of pesto in, always, tins of tuna, tins of tomatoes, coconut milk (in case I want to make a thai curry) and tins of sweetcorn (for whenever).

My main baking cupboard. Always have all flours - Strong white, strong wholemeal, corn, self raising, plain, plus all herb and spice jars. Yeast, syrup etc.

This is my overflow baking cupboard for sugars, beans,pulses and things like couscous. In the top right is my Christmas cake, yumm.

And last but by no means least is my storage cupboard out in the garage. I use this for extra tins of things like beans, tomatoes, tuna. Also spare pasta and UHT milk in case I run out of fresh. The jar of cooking sauce at the bottom was rescued from a friend because it is beyond it's use by date! My jars of red cabbage, pickled onions and cherry brandy are maturing nicely in here too.

So this is my stock of food. If I have meat in the freezer, vegetables in the fridge I can whip up anything at any time, without having to go to the shops. In fact, I could go a very long time without going to the shops anyway. My freezer is very well stocked, but I try to go through it so things don't lurk at the bottom for years (I am quite rubbish at this, but I do try).

The last thing to show you is my blackboard. As soon as I am running low on something I write on here and put the stuff on it at the top of my shopping list when I go to the shops. If it is something like tins of tomatoes, I will probably buy 4 or more. That was I never run out of anything in my store cupboard.

So that is how I run my kitchen! A well stocked cupboard means you are less likely to run out of food and turn to ready meals or take out.

Next time is all about how I shop. Hope you enjoyed the tour of my kitchen. X