How I save money

I only wash my clothes when they are dirty, I do one half load of whites/pastels a week & one full load of blacks a week, this is mainly the Minders work clothes. Bedding & towels are washed fortnightly & these are tumble dried if I can't dry them outside. My work clothes & the Minders work clothes cannot be tumbled so they dry outside or on the maiden in front of a radiator. The washing is always done at 30deg. If something needs a boil wash it goes in my jampan & on the stove top. I use half the recommended dose of washing liquid.

I use this sort of steamer to cook my veg & potatoes, it saves using 2 rings, I have a bigger steamer if I'm cooking for more people or batch cooking. They were both from charity shops, a lot of people bought electric steamers & got rid of the old fashioned sort. I have 3 slow cookers, I use this one the most, it cost £8 new, I use it at least once or twice a week & it's lovely to come home to a meal already cooked & ready to serve. The other's were given to me, one is very small & the other is huge & don't get used as often.

I have a Remoska, it cost £120, I did 2 weeks dog boarding to pay for it. It works out cheaper than putting the oven on to make cottage pie or something similar, I have the big one so I can get a whole meal in there including veg. I have a lot of small casserole dishes, most from charity shops, though some were given to me

This means I can freeze meals for later, I can put whole meals in the Remoska.

We compost veg peelings etc, we produce enough to keep our veg plot in good heart.



 

There are 2 compost bins at the end of the garden though at present they are covered in snow. We also have 2 water butts, but only one is in shot here.

We don't buy lunch out, I take leftovers as there is a microwave at work, the Minder takes sandwiches.

I grate the cheese, it makes it go further.

 

 I don't have a manicure, it wouldn't occur to me to have one, but a lot of work colleagues claim they are an 'essential'!  I dye my own hair, keep it long &; wear it up, I hack bits off if it's getting too long. I cut the Minder's  hair, with these clippers, they cost £19 about 9 years ago.

 I keep a well stocked food cupboard, I make jams &; preserves & I keep a well stocked emergency drawer

I knit, sew & crochet, not well, but enough to get by. I make gifts & I make things to sell, I darn the Minders socks, I alter clothes to fit. I make blankets & quilts to keep us warm.

We have hard floors, they get swept & wiped over so very little use is made of the vacuum cleaner.

 We use wipe clean table mats, so no table cloths to wash, every little helps.

 We grow a lot of our own veg, when I say we, that's the royal we, the Minder does all the heavy work I choose & point. We have a raised bed, a variety of pots pots & the shed in the pic, half the roof is clear & it makes a marvelous greenhouse.