breaking the mould - new ideas

Thrifty tips, ideas, news & experiences on anything around the home to shopping to re-cycling etc.
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Meanqueen
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Post by Meanqueen »

Mo, I have 2 duvet's and a top cover. I don't wash the duvet covers that often because there's only me, and I wash my body regularly, just had a free shower on the services on the way back up the motorway. I wash the top cover when there are too many cat hairs on it, that could vary depending how many cats have been lying there and for how long. Freddie is on there at the moment waiting for me to come to bed. I don't have set times for doing housework jobs, if I can write my name in the dust I dust it, if I can't see out of the windows I clean them. :-D

Ilona
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Post by smallholderwannabe »

I keep an old sheet on top of the duvet & cover to protect it from the cats. They like to come in from the garden and go upstairs and clean themselves on my bed :shock: It is cheaper to wash the old sheet than to keep changing the duvet cover. And a lot easier too! I keep several old pillowcases (one I inherited from clearing out a relative's house and dates back to wartime...) on each pillow with a respectable top pillowcase on top, to extend the life of our pillows. When one daughter was a teenager and troubled with allergies, she was prone to nosebleeds at night and I had a HUGE number of pillowcases, including towelling ones, on her pillow to help preserve it from harm. The kids used to laugh at me but I find them using lots of my little dodges now they have their own homes and have to stretch the finances for themselves... :-D

I also wear men's socks - usually bought just after Christmas in the sale in Britain's biggest discounter, as their new advertising goes. I haven't managed as low as 20p for a multipack yet but have paid £1 for 5 pairs, which I thought was good - until I read this thread. I also found ladies' undergarments at £1.25 for a multipack last year. I usually buy a man's fleece as I have very broad, square shoulders and they generally fit me better. And several sweatshirts are from the men's section too.

I also visit ebay and a lot of the things I wear to work are bought from there. Now that I work fulltime, I don't manage to trawl the charity shops very often any more. I miss those bargains!

Jo
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Post by smallholderwannabe »

Ilona said:
Something else I am going to confess to, oh I am getting brave now, when I have been out, as soon as I am back in the house I change into my slobbing about clothes. That way you keep your good clothes clean for longer, so they need less washing.


Me too :)
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Meanqueen
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Post by Meanqueen »

Thank goodness I am not alone on this, he he :-D

Something else......I buy childrens toothbrushes, they are cheaper and softer. I don't like the adult ones, they are too big for my little mouth, and the bristles are too hard, make my gums sore. I can get into all the crevices with my dinky little pink fairy brush )t'

Ilona
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Henless
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Post by Henless »

MeanQueen...
Thank you so much for this post and all others.. Made me giggle no end.. My family rib me no end for being as they call me the "Pikkie" of the family.. I most certainly broke the mould..

I also wear clothes untill they are dirty, and I mean for my stable clothes DIRTY.. And I have house clothes too, its really funny as my other half totally shares these habbits too he only buys darker jeans.... Less Washing he says....

It's just refeshing to hear it from others...
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jo68
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Post by jo68 »

hi (f+ (f+ (f+

cheryl my kids say pikkie )j; )j; )j; made me laugh
i must admit at the weekend i do slob around in whatever clothes i wore on friday so i dont have to think about what to wear i only find somthing else if i am going to do the shopping or somthing.

ive been given a new polo shirt to wear at work when im in a group so those days i dont have to think about it either )c( )c( )c(

less to wash at the weekend )t'


jo x
mum of 5,nanny to 2,2 cats,1 jack russell,6 chickens and a hubby.
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Meanqueen
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Post by Meanqueen »

Yes Cheryl, darker jeans are definately best, and black or navy sweatshirts and tee shirts, I have loads of them. My neighbours must think I am a grubby person by the lack of washing on my line, they have washing out nearly every day :shock:

Another reason I don't need to wash clothes very often is because I have 58 pairs of underpants, :oops: yes, I counted them out of curiosity. Most of these are boys, but some of them were given to me by my friend when she and her OH emigrated, yes I am wearing his underpants :razz: :razz: :razz: So I only need to wash them every 57 days when I am about to run out, that's if I haven't had a night out and changed them. :-D

Ilona
Nellie
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Post by Nellie »

Another good thing about wearing clothes of a similar colour - in my case, mainly navy and black - is that they can all go in the same wash.

I do the washing once a week on average, but wait until there is a good drying day.

I also buy washing liquid ONLY when it is on a special offer, and then buy sufficient for a year.
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mellonia
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Post by mellonia »

oh crikey

Where am i going wrong i have two kids, they get changed out of there uniform and into other gear and get that dirty as well, i like there uniform to last two days, then there is pj's. i must do about 10 washes a week at least but do try and wait till its a dry day and put about three loads out, it really gets me down, i am not a slave to house work either, but try to keep it tidy and clean.

Wear ladies underwear i am afraid from m&s always bought in the sale, all my pj's are from sale in m&s and la senza gorgeous pj's for a fiver, i buy all my clothes on sale and have already checked out my fav shops for the knitwear i will be buying half price on the 27th December, i buy my coats at the end of winter/spring and got some lovely boots from clarks for 25 quid and they had been 89quid. So don't think i am doing too bad, i still follow fashion i am ashamed to say.

Mellonia
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kate egg
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Post by kate egg »

What is it with kids, they wear a pair of jeans and the next day think they need a clean pair? They aren't even outside in the garden or grubbing out chooks. I'm sure I wear mine a week or 10 days before they get washed, and then they'll last longer too :)

Best way to get 'em to stop it is to make them do their own washing, give them a basket for their room and DON'T ever empty it yourself. When they start to run out of clothes they will wash them, and then it will finally dawn on them that they can wear garments for more than an hour wihtout it having to go in the wash. It's cut my washing down no end - that and getting them to hang towels up so they can be used again instead of going musty laying on their bedroom floors :shock:
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heebiejeebie
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Post by heebiejeebie »

I also have "out" clothes and "house" clothes! I usually get changed as soon as I get home. I have a chicken-jumper that I wear over the top of whatever else I have on when I give Esmerelda her medication. It gets really manky but the chickens don't mind.

Most of my work clothes come from ebay or the local charity shops, but I insist on getting shoes new so that they become molded to the shape of my feet.

I stopped using fabric conditioner after I ran out, did a wash without it and decided it didn't make any difference.
There's no cure for stupidity.
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spudley
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Post by spudley »

as soon as I get through the door at home a pinny goes on, this is only till i can get upstairs to change into my slobby clothes which is generally a bed tee shirt and jimmy bottoms, which i do everything around the house in. I also have a dressing gown for when its a bit chillier that can NEVER be seen by anyone outside the family. It is absolutely minging on the outside filthy dirty. You would not believe it. This goes on when the dogs come in to keep them off my slobby clothes, (the inside stays cleanish) this only ever gets washed when it can go onthe line and it goes on with the dogs towels and when the dort has worked its way through to the inside. All this means that my total laundry for me (not MR S as he cant stay clean no matter waht) is 1 load a week sometimes less. I am not grubby but just carefull, my clothes dont fade and take years to wear out. BUT that dressing gown is shamefull........
5 dogs, 15 chickens (6 ex batts) 1 cockerel, and very limited tech skills
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kate egg
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Post by kate egg »

I was just thinking that you must live on your own and then you mention Mr S :-D

My hubby is a bit of a clean fiend, well that's up to him, he is now 'doing' the bathroom from top to bottom )t' well his choice...
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jo68
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Post by jo68 »

wow kate (f+ (f+ (f+


mine is in bed )de: )de: )de:


jo x
mum of 5,nanny to 2,2 cats,1 jack russell,6 chickens and a hubby.
Badger_Lady
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Post by Badger_Lady »

Unconventional? Hmm... where to start...

I don't sleep in a bed, haven't for 5 years now. I have a very good sofa, a warm sleeping bag and I put a single duvet cover inside it as a washable "sheet". I therefore have more bedrooms to let out to lodgers (to be fair, they do have their own living room as well).

I've never paid for a mattress - in the past I've done a few swaps with landlord friends, even picked one up from a skip, though the ones I have now are from Freecycle. In fact, every piece of furniture in my house is from Freecycle. My kitchen cooker was rescued from a neighbour's front garden - cleaned up, it works a treat.

I only eat every other day. Sounds odd, but you really can get used to it. One day, I'll only drink soya milk until 6pm, then I'll eat what I fancy until the next 6pm. I don't eat much extra on the "eating" days. I also try to visit the co-operative in Cardiff every month, where you can buy dried pulses and grains for trade prices by bringing your own packaging (tupperware, invariably). You can make your own soya milk from the beans there for about 17p per litre.

When I'm paid travel expenses to take a business trip, I buy a flexible train ticket and take the most roundabout route back possible - stopping at various points to meet up with friends and family, or visit shops. Free travel :razz:

I'm currently shopping for a set of "powerboks". They're not extra loud chickens, but these: http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=enGL9ew7k-k

I'll be strapping them on to get to work each day - 4 miles each way, but at up to 35 mph I can be there in 15 minutes 8)
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