Money Saving tips

[surfergirl]

You can buy powders etc that won't effect the plants.

I look for products they say earth safe & septic safe.

Or suitable for the garden.

[retroHelen]

You can buy powders etc that won't effect the plants.

I look for products they say earth safe & septic safe.

Or suitable for the garden.

I couldn't do that because my soil is slightly acidic and that suits the fruit I grow and soaps/powders alkalize the soil by their very nature - clothes are washed by the alkali rendering a negative charge through the cloth and making the surface slippery so dirt lifts, conditioner is the opposite and brings the negative charge down to normal PH levels, same with your hair - shampoo - negative to clean and conditioner's positive to bring back the hair to normal quicker. But if you do want slightly alkali soil, or you already have it, then you can grow more vegetables. I grow soft fruit though, so I need it slightly acid.

 

I tried to pour the final rinse of my eco-friendly wash onto the garden, thinking it would be less soapy, but it wilted my honeysuckle, so I didn't do it again. Other purifying systems in septic tanks must do something to correct the PH of the water and remove nasties.

 

Prince Charles, because he has a big enough area of land,  grows big reed soak-beds outside his house at Highgrove and apparently they take all the house sewerage and filter it through the reed-bed and clear good water comes out the other side into his water courses to irrigate his gardens. So reeds are natures water filters in the wild. 

[retroHelen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brHqBcZqNzE

(Can't seem to be able to insert video-clips like I could on the old forum??) We are getting near winter again and the UK has had some strange ones lately. -17 degrees and deep snow one year; 120 mile an hour chimney rocking winds another; wet and flooding but mild on another! However, with fuel for the fire getting so expensive, unless you can beg scraps of wood off building sites, and if not all your rooms are centrally heated, this is an interesting idea.

 

I do agree, however, with the gentleman who posted below the clip that tea-lights get hot when lit, so you would need to put the bread baking tin on something that won't burn or melt. he suggests a brick or 2. I would suggest a kitchen pan trivet if you have one and can't get bricks. I would not leave such a device lit and unattended either.

[Sheila]

Hi Sister Gabe, over here in Australia many of us have underground grey-water tanks which spray the gardens automatically when the water level reaches a certain heigh.  Distinctive purple hoses are used spray the grey water around our yards, but we're always warned NOT to use the greywater on our fruit trees or vege gardens - only lawns, flowers and non-fruiting trees.  Something to do with the washing powder and soap suds not being good for humans.   Washing machines, baths, showers and kitchen sink waters are all used to fill the tanks, personally I wouldnt like to eat veges that have been sprayed with all that dirty water.  

[retroHelen]

I think it would be a bad idea to spray water used with soap on fruit trees or fruiting shrubs as the soap would alkalize or neutralize the soil and these plants like a slightly acid soil. Detergent may be bio and therefore kill useful bacteria that break things down in soil. Grey water from bigger houses like Prince Charles Highgrove, are filtered through reed beds before returning to his garden as the reeds are great filters.

 

We are very wet here in the Lake District, but we still get hosepipe restrictions, so I collect water in butts and open boxes round the garden below shed rooves and use that softer water to spray on my garden, apple trees take gallons of water to make apples, so the ground is rarely saturated under those trees. Sadly the wind blew all my apples of the trees a few days ago before they were fully grown. I have been making batches of apple sauce and sending lots of jars with bags of 'wind falls' to folks in the congregation. 

[LeslieDean]

I think it would be a bad idea to spray water used with soap on fruit trees or fruiting shrubs as the soap would alkalize or neutralize the soil and these plants like a slightly acid soil. Detergent may be bio and therefore kill useful bacteria that break things down in soil. Grey water from bigger houses like Prince Charles Highgrove, are filtered through reed beds before returning to his garden as the reeds are great filters.

 

We are very wet here in the Lake District, but we still get hosepipe restrictions, so I collect water in butts and open boxes round the garden below shed rooves and use that softer water to spray on my garden, apple trees take gallons of water to make apples, so the ground is rarely saturated under those trees. Sadly the wind blew all my apples of the trees a few days ago before they were fully grown. I have been making batches of apple sauce and sending lots of jars with bags of 'wind falls' to folks in the congregation.

Helen please tell me how you collect water in butts.

[retroHelen]

You can see lots of great home or garden furniture made out of old reclaimed and reused pallets on youtube and other websites. This could be in addition to just chopping them up for fire/stove kindling.

 

However, pallets can be a laborious job to dismantle before you use them. We tried with a pick-axe and crowbar/prise-bar, but it took ages. This guy has come up with a home-made tool that seems to work better, so he shows you how to make it:

 

 

 

Not my choice of music I hasten to add, but you get the idea that he is getting across that this seems to make the job easier.

[retroHelen]

Helen please tell me how you collect water in butts.

I can see a joke coming on here! Butts over here are like large plastic/wood/metal barrels with removable lids, but can mean derrieres too and we have whole areas of our rural territory with funny names like Cow Butts or Goose Butts we like to assign to visitors so we can give them a laugh and something to talk about when they get back home.  If they don't like that they can go to the wilds of Harras Moor or Weary Hall instead!

[Tazzy]

I came across this show called Extreme Cheapskates... it was kinda weird some of the extremes but it made me think about how we could use our resources more frugally (if that's possible since we don't buy much of anything) especially our heat / electric / water use and how to repurpose things.

 

then came across this thread (I'm very late finding this!)... 

good ideas...

 

There were people in the show Extreme Cheapskates that shared a toothbrush (Yuck!) and showered together (limit of 5 mins), even shared the shampoo of the wife's head to the husband's... another guy recycled his bath water to do his dishes!

 

Ok that was a bit much for me and I don't want to be so obsessed that you can never relax or enjoy life.. on the other hand, there is no point in wasting things you can reuse or extend the life of, reduce costs of.

 

We like to collect bottle caps at our jobs.  They all throw out their coke and sprite bottles with caps that have points on them.  My daughter does the garbage / recycling collections at our jobs and she collects enough caps so that we can earn 2 free movie tickets about once every 3 or 4 months.  Since we never go to the movies (too expensive) this is her little 'extra' bonus for working.

 

She also collects stamps off the McD's coffee cups they throw away and attaches them to the card they give out at McD's (buy 7 get one free) for coffee, tea or hot chocolate.  She gets enough for a free hot drink almost every week, sometimes two!

 

People just can't be bothered collecting or redeeming stuff sometimes and throw it out but it really does add up.  We have no money for treats so these little bonuses give my daughter extra incentive at her work.

 

I also like to do the radio contests we have here.  I don't always listen (I don't like background noise) but here the radio station even has a webpage they allow others to post the songs or bonus codes of the day.  Then, I just pop in and enter the codes.  Points add up and I find rewards or entries to things that I would have to pay for anyway.... like I got a free massage and free internet and home phone for a year already this year so far.

 

I enter grocery store contests also - many people don't enter these - and you can win great promotion deals... I've won bbqs, basketball nets, baby stuff when my kids were young, furniture, vouchers for store merchandise, a pair of jeans, tickets to events, one time I won $1000 in mall vouchers..... 

 

Now if I could just win free groceries and gas for the year, I'd be really happy!  

 

I also check online for contests and subscribe to contest newsletters which notify me of new contests.

Edited November 23, 2013 by Tazzy

[retroHelen]

Below is how the tea-light heater works I mentioned earlier in this thread. It became quite famous and many have tried it since Utility bills went up by 10% for winter in the UK, despite massive profits by the same companies and government complaints in Parliament. So few companies are allowed to sell electricity and gas and they seem to run it like a cartel and when one puts up the price, rather than undercutting them, the others go up to match it so we do not have much choice.

 

The tea-light convection heater idea got into our Daily Mail: : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2492549/Video-reveals-heat-home-using-just-TEALIGHTS-FLOWERPOTS--costs-just-8p-day.html

 

However, as I said before the tin should be on a hearth or 2 bricks for safety and preferably behind a fire-guard and not where kids or animals could knock it over and not to be left unattended or it could start a fire that could spread.

[Elijahsmama]

I make my own body wash, liquid hand soap and laundry shampoo. I didn't really do the math but my sister did. She figured she would save 242.00 a year just in laundry soap. And it's so easy!!

[Rajan]

This Guy saves on internet in hundreds everymonth. 

 

[cricket246]

Lol   I like that shirt it reminds me one I saw here the other day

[Abbyz]

I make my own body wash, liquid hand soap and laundry shampoo. I didn't really do the math but my sister did. She figured she would save 242.00 a year just in laundry soap. And it's so easy!!

Nice , how do you do that?

[palmhat]

I did a thumbs up on my wife's behalf...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk

[Tazzy]

I use baking soda and water to wash my hair (combined in an old shampoo bottle) and rinse with apple cider vinegar.

It takes a few weeks to let your scalp adjust from all the stripping from regular shampoo but then you have the best feeling hair with lots of body. And don't worry once your hair dries, you don't smell like a pickle.

Really a cost saver!

Edited November 26, 2013 by Tazzy

[LeslieDean]

Beth, I want to try this but wondering if it will be hard on my 'natural red' hair?

[Tazzy]

I don't know how it would affect your colour, Leslie. I was using it while colouring my hair (which I finally quit doing - can't be bothered and I want my hair to grow out now beside it is going white not grey - I like the look - although I would love to tint it lavender ( which I won't but I do admire a girl at our pharmacy who has hers that colour) and I didn't have any problems.