Living the Frugal Life (Semi-lighthearted) ?

Oh yes, we remember IZAL. It was a feature of Scottish council schools and public toilets in my childhood in the 1950s and 60s.

We tooks sheets of our own paper with us to school, carefully wrapped in a hankie case so the other girls didn't see what it was in case we had to "do a job". As small girls we didn't wipe efter weeing.

A toilet roll in a small bag was a feature of summer outings too.

I have to use the thick Aveeno moisturiser on my arms and legs. It comes in a pump bottle and stops pumping long before the bottle is actually empty. I just take the pump out tip it upside down and give it a forceful shake to dispense some of that still left. It reminds me of when I was a kid, shaking the HP sauce bottle to try and get some out.

I have also stopped going shopping on a empty stomach, that coupled with making a meal plan and taking a list has saved me as much as £20 from my weekly shopping budget. The change goes in to the savings book. Every little helps

I put rice in a saucepan, cover with cold water to one inch above rice. Bring to boil, simmer for approx 5 minutes until water level same as rice. Stir. Switch off and cover with a clean tea towel. This keeps the rice warm whilst allowing steam to escape. Works for me.

I stir fry food in a cast iron wok with just a little oil and add sauce. Gas cooker . Rarely use the electric oven.

I do have a bath as helps my joints but fill a large yoghurt pot to shampoo and hair and then tip water back into bath. Rarely fill bath beyond a third full but it does help my muscles in a way showers do not!

Reader's Digest 'Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things' will keep you entertained for hours and save money. £5.99 at World of Books. I like to avoid Amazon.

Loving this thread. I know and use most of these tips as my mum did most of these things. I’d like to recommend using white vinegar instead of fabric conditioner. Keeps your machine clean and clothes retain the smell of the soap powder so smell lovely and fresh.
Also, Aldi and Lidl skincare and hair products are great. So cheap and just as effective as much more expensive brands.

I don't turn the bathroom lights/fan on at night. There is enough light from my bedside lamp to see to do night-time ablutions - cleansing/moisturising face, brushing teeth, using loo.

Don’t run tap when brushing teeth, no baths, only showers over last 25 years. Laundry on 15 minute cycle and extra 10 minutes for spin, no tumble dryer.

LaGoulue

Absolutely correct, my husband was a chef and always said rice should be cooled down quickly if not used right away, and put in the fridge. He said if you looked under a microscope a grain of rice is “crawling” in bacteria….

My husband says the same thing LaGoulue he was a chef too. Any left over rice here gets fed to the animals.

Sago

When we open champagne I have a glass ready to catch the first drops of fizz that explode out of the bottle.
We will lower the temperature on the pool now we are set for a heatwave.
Oysters not in season until next month so that’s a big saving.
From next Friday we can shoot our grouse on the moor so the “Glorious Twelth” will bring some savings too.
It’s all a blessing really Cowes,Henley and Glyndebourne cost us a fortune this year and the Bentley is not a hybrid.

Sago, I have the same trouble with the Rolls - times are hard?

We had a new 18 kW condensing gas boiler installed last week for £2,300. It will save us about £280 a year on gas. A well-recommended installer wanted £23,000 to install an air sourced 16kW heat pump (including an extra tank, internal unit, etc.,) and talked about upsizing our radiators at extra cost. It was obvious our electricity bill would go up to run the pump 24/7. I'm all for being green but not for financial suicide.

Reuse tea bags. Or make a pot of tea rather than dunking for one cup.

I use a dripper cone and filter paper to make my coffee, so now I rinse the coffee grounds out into waste water (adds organic matter to the plants I'm watering) and reuse the filter paper three or four times,after which it's too clogged to be any use.

Now for something I wouldn’t recommend……

Many years ago when I used to buy womens’ magazines, I read a ‘useful tip’ to melt down ‘stubs’ of lipstick to create a pot to use as lipstick or blusher. At the time this seemed a good idea, so I set to with microwave and bowl. When it looked as if the lipsticks had reached a suitable consistency, I took the bowl out of the microwave, knocked against the door, and the whole lot tipped over my arm…. It started to bubble on my arm, so I slathered cold cream all over it, wrapped it in a towel and set off for A & E.

Forward now to cubicle with nurse and Dr in attendance, and Dr with amazed expression saying “You were doing WHAT?”, he was also amazed when the nurse confirmed that she knew several people who had done this, hopefully a little more successfully. The Dr did a lot of tutting and affirmed that he would never understand women. It had blistered in severalplaces, but the concoction of lipstick and cold cream was spread over my arm, and attempts to clean it off uncomfortable to say the least!

For the next few days the colour seeped through the bandage, and I got horrified looks all round.

Don’t do it, unless you have very steady hands!

Nicolenet

Hear the Romans used a sponge on a stick instead of toilet paper? When in Rome ...

Sponges cost money - will rhubarb leaves do instead? The 'stick' is already attached too.

Hear the Romans used a sponge on a stick instead of toilet paper? When in Rome ...

Shinamae

Kate1949

I use a Maybelline foundation in a glass bottle with a pump action dispenser. When it is no longer pumping any out, I prise the top off with a knife and get many more applications!

I do this with my double wear foundation, I use the pump tube to go around the inside and I have had at least 10 more applications..

My base make-up is in a tube. When near the end, I cut off the end (about 20cms) to get inside and obtain another two weeks use, Use the bit you cut off as a push-on cap; it will keep perfectly and you will be surprised by how much is in there.

'I also put the washing machine on to do an extra spin (12 minutes) so that clothes are quicker to dry, outdoors if it’s fine and in the conservatory if it’s wet.'

Surely this is wasting money? Line drying is free, extra spins cost. Also, that extra spin puts more creases in the clothes.

I fish husbands 'empty' roll-on deodorant out of the bin and use it for another two to three weeks!

I live alone so I do the following:
When washing pots, i run the cold water into a bucket until the hot water comes through. The cold is then used for flushing the loo or watering plants.
If I need to cook in the oven, I wait until I have about three or four items to cook so the oven only goes on once a week.
Obviously, as it's still summer and there's no heating needed, so the heating stays off but I have several fleeces for when the colder weather comes.

LaGoulue

I use my library membership to read virtually ANY newspaper worldwide, in all languages, plus magazines (again in different languages). It’s fantastic for the UK monthly magazines, e.g, The Lady, Country Life, Good Housekeeping, you name it, you can read it on-line.

Where are you lagoulue? My library denies access to all but U.K. newspapers.
SO lucky!

Before disposing of a tube of cream eg antiseptic cream, cut it in two. It's surprising the amount of cream that doesn't get squeezed out.

I use a roll on deodorant and turn it upside down towards the end and get at least another week out of it. I am also saving my sink water at the moment and get at least a bucket a day.

Absolutely correct, my husband was a chef and always said rice should be cooled down quickly if not used right away, and put in the fridge. He said if you looked under a microscope a grain of rice is “crawling” in bacteria….

I use my library membership to read virtually ANY newspaper worldwide, in all languages, plus magazines (again in different languages). It’s fantastic for the UK monthly magazines, e.g, The Lady, Country Life, Good Housekeeping, you name it, you can read it on-line.

I am the last to have a shower which is a mixer shower. I put the plug in the bath and then use the water to clean the bathroom and water the plants.