At this time of the year, it's all about saving gas and electricity. Power prices will be going up by 25% on average as of today ( 1st July ) and we will be doing our very best to avoid bill shock.
It's been too cold to go outside most days so I've concentrated on decluttering, tidying and cleaning our home. I don't need to use any electricity for these tasks, it keeps me warm and gives me a sense of purpose. To be honest, it's too hot in Summer for these jobs.
Here's my frugal list for the week -
* Emptied the kitchen compost bucket into the outdoor compost bin every couple of days.
* Turned our heater down to 19 degrees Celsius during the day ( when we ARE home ). Since we put in the heat / vent deflectors we've noticed the house is much warmer.
* I've been having trouble finding trackpants in my size at the major department stores. After searching for weeks I thought I'd look in the girls section instead of the ladies section. They had more stock there, it was a little cheaper and I now know I can fit into a girls size 16.
* Used our thermos every day to store boiling water for our morning tea cuppas.
* Saved the washing machine rinse water, shower warm up water and drink bottle water.
* Used the dishwasher every second or third day. When we are eating meals from the freezer, it doesn't create many dishes and it takes a few days for the dishwasher to get full. Another bonus of bulk cooking.
* Used the solar lanterns each night.
* Made sure everything was turn off at the power point after dinner. The only exception is our fridge, freezers and one tv.
* Used blankets when watching tv at night. This eliminates the temptation to turn the heater back on after it turns off at 9pm.
* Darren found petrol for $1.66 and filled up his car. He then used 2 apps to get another 8 cents a litre off.
* Darren used various sales offers, discounts and vouchers to get a $40 scarf for $4 from Myer.
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| Charging our solar lanterns |
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| Blankets ready for cold nights. |
Electricity prices in the UK have started to come down. The huge price rises of the last 18 months or so haven't affected me because I had 2 year fixed rate deal in place before the madness kicked off. That comes to an end later in the summer and I am thinking hard about what to do next. I don't want to change to a different energy company, as I am happy with their service, but do I enter into another fix immediately or wait to see if the rates continue to fall before I do that? I think waiting might be the best idea, but has anyone got a crystal ball they can lend me?! Whatever happens, I will be paying more than I am paying at the moment, which is worrying.
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy, We got a letter from our energy provider signaling that cost will rise and so I think we have to try to use less. The main things we are doing is rugging up in extra clothing and blankets instead of putting heater on, turning off appliances at the powerpoint, running appliances, like dishwasher, wash machine and oven, during day to make most of solar, washing in cold water and line drying our washing.
ReplyDeleteOne way we saved $ this week was to take packed lunch and snacks to a sporting tournament our son played in across the weekend. I made chicken and salad rolls, Weetbix slice, brownies, cut carrot sticks and cheese cubes and packed fruits and nuts. We took lots of water with us. If we'd had to buy food at venue it would've cost a lot more!
Meg
p.s. Hello, Maria. I hope you are well and keeping warm in this Wintery weather. I haven't written my blog for such a long time but I still love to visit and read others' blogs, like Wendy's!
Good morning Wendy, brrrrrr I am feeling the cold but we try to keep the heating on as little as possible, an hour some mornings and about 4 hours when the sun goes down. We use knee rugs and are fortunate in having a large north facing window to sit in the warmth if the sun does shine. I definitely have to cut down our supermarket shop as it's the easiest bill to control. I will instigate your mantra of do we really need this, can I make it etc. How's the de cluttering going? I don't think I'm outing 7 things a week, but am working on a cupboard a week and things are much tidier and organised. Best wishes for a great week
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy, I purchased two pair of men's track pants for myself. Cheaper, better colours and appeared to be better quality than the ladies pants.
ReplyDelete