Recycling/Savings/Heating and more Within The Home DIY TIPS!

Supernatural

Senior Member
Hello all, here's some DIY tips to replace items that needs updated.

1) Many of us, former Jams/Preserves makers, have great Mason jars in the cupboard under the stairs. 😀. Therefore, my Tea/Coffee/Sugar tubs were beginning to rust and were stained. Checked what was available in stores and online. Nope too pricey. So dug up the jars and filled each up. Clean, sealed for freshness and dryness. Mine are the 500mL just perfect. No extra cost, they weren't being used anymore. I miss making strawberries and peaches but the fruit baskets in stores isn't worth the costs.

2) We're stuck in an Energy crisis currently due to the aftermath of Pandemic. So, here's a tip (unless you're I'll you need heat, then disregard)... Put your thermostat to 19°C (about 71°F) and if your radiators have temperatures gages, turn them all down to 3 for all the rooms except (put up to 4) for the living room (where you spend most of the day) and your bedroom. Turn off rooms that aren't used (but not if you live in open plan house). The savings are amazing. My smart meter showed a high of £7.50 a day for gas and now it's down to £4.40 on the coldest day so far this year. Get your furnace checked and consider changing providers for better rates.

3) Check all your windows for leaks. Some people I know, put plastic sheeting in theirs over the winter months. Open curtains during sunshine periods to bring in natural heat and keep them closed on windy days to cut the cold air coming in through the vents (if yours have those, ours pop open due to very strong winds lol).

4) If you have a dishwasher (never did by choice) try to do dishes by hand. I get two loads in the sink a day. Costs are down (part of gas amounts above). 15 minutes max from gathering, washing, drying and putting away.

Any ideas for other tips and tricks, please let us know, below? Cheers! Every wee bits helps...
 

Mason jars are no longer cheap or inexpensive, even at a secondhand store.
Best value is Pickle (cucumber, pepperoncini, cocktail cherry) jars which come with the product.
Mayo used to be cheap, but at $4+ , the jar is expensive.
Mine are over 30 years old , so they were inexpensive back then. I know that many out there have them from days ago, I should have said it was to use the ones you already had. My bad😀

Wow $4 Mayo ouch! Eggs, oil, lemon juice and your mixer wand, great mayo on the low!

Here you go dear:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/basic-mayonnaise
 

Hello all, new savings tips on retro furniture some of us still enjoy. "They're solid as a rock and still comfy..."

Back in the 80s
New furniture pieces came out on the market. The humble FUTON. They were available in a multitude of materials, either woods or metals, in various colours. Then once you'd bought your frame base, you needed to add a FUTON cover, and get spare covers for laundry days, and the futon itself, of course.

Hubby and I were replacing a secondhand bought sofa set that was on its last legs. After all, twas already 10 years (5 years old when bought sofa and we'd it for 5 years).

Got a three seater base in pine which turned into a king-size bed (had family visiting back then) plus a single bed/lounge chair. Plus the king-sized & single futons and two covers each.

After one moving day, where our belongings had been in storage, we found out our futon mattresses were ruined by mould and mildew. With the insurance payments, we cleaned out the pine wood, repaired one broken slat on single and the broken holding lip on king-size. Went to Ikea and got two of their mattresses. Saved loads, but the 4 covers were ruined.

No amount of washing machine and spins could revive them. Shopping around for new ones, I came up with an idea... DUVET COVERS!

Inexpensive, comes in so many patterns, you have (an expression in French) "L'embarras du choix!" Got a king-size and single... Job done.

An easy-peasy solution to buying overly priced Futon covers (which are now rare to find). They fit the Ikea mattresses perfectly, easy to put on and take off. Entirely machine washable, go well over the waterproof zipped up cover and voila!

Got lucky a while back when it was a store with "Closing Down Sales" and got two white duvets with Red Poppies for 6 warmer months of the year and two black duvets with pink roses for the 6 colder months.

Any of you have savings tips and DIY suggestions, please let us know? Thanks!
 

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Inexpensive Decorating Tips

I love interior decorating and doing it on a tight budget is sometimes challenging.

When we moved in our current home, all our curtains and poles were too small for the panoramic windows.

We managed to find extendable poles adjustable
KITCHEN: (same sizes as daughter's bedroom) so we got two. Only difference, hers is white with hearts stoppers. Both 125cm to 215cm.

kitchen.jpg Then our bedroom window sizes are same as living room and we were lucky to get 2-1 sale both silver with crystal stoppers. Extendable pole from 170cm to 300cm out of DIY store.

Bathroom window was a standard size silver bar, corrosion resistant for wet environment with two attachments included. Bargain again.

Then, you realise that with windows that size, any fancy curtains are quite pricey. You're finding the lowest ones minimum £45+. Many requiring dry cleaning only. Oh no that won't do, just can't afford that times 4, approximately £180 and that's just one window.

On top of that, all our old curtains were second hand and now covered with mould and nearly 20 years old. Sad but these bargain panels covered only one quarter of living room windows. Had to find a better deal.

Hubby suggested, at the time, that with my ideas, we should try to make a feature wall. Four 3D printed shower curtains did the trick. One purchase once a month takes time. However, some of us have no choice. Regardless, within 15 months, all windows were done.

A total of 8 polyester 3D printed shower. Two voile set and 4 panels and 6 poles. All came to less than £200. Saving money's a passion and making it easy to have interior decorating on the high quality material with beautiful patterns for the lowest prices. That's great DIY.

At the end of the day, shop around, go for sales and second hand shops. Your small budget will go much further. Finally, easy maintenance and installation is important as at our senior years are here. The curtains are super easy to wash, in the washing machine, hang outside on the line.

The living room Fireplace Brick Wall Feature pattern. At 71"X71" they're the easiest to maintain. Non allergenic, easy to clean if needed with just your hoover. A doddle.
FireplaceBrick.jpg

Thanks for reading and hopefully, I've given you good ideas on the low.
 
Hello all, here's some DIY tips to replace items that needs updated.

1) Many of us, former Jams/Preserves makers, have great Mason jars in the cupboard under the stairs. 😀. Therefore, my Tea/Coffee/Sugar tubs were beginning to rust and were stained. Checked what was available in stores and online. Nope too pricey. So dug up the jars and filled each up. Clean, sealed for freshness and dryness. Mine are the 500mL just perfect. No extra cost, they weren't being used anymore. I miss making strawberries and peaches but the fruit baskets in stores isn't worth the costs.

2) We're stuck in an Energy crisis currently due to the aftermath of Pandemic. So, here's a tip (unless you're I'll you need heat, then disregard)... Put your thermostat to 19°C (about 71°F) and if your radiators have temperatures gages, turn them all down to 3 for all the rooms except (put up to 4) for the living room (where you spend most of the day) and your bedroom. Turn off rooms that aren't used (but not if you live in open plan house). The savings are amazing. My smart meter showed a high of £7.50 a day for gas and now it's down to £4.40 on the coldest day so far this year. Get your furnace checked and consider changing providers for better rates.

3) Check all your windows for leaks. Some people I know, put plastic sheeting in theirs over the winter months. Open curtains during sunshine periods to bring in natural heat and keep them closed on windy days to cut the cold air coming in through the vents (if yours have those, ours pop open due to very strong winds lol).

4) If you have a dishwasher (never did by choice) try to do dishes by hand. I get two loads in the sink a day. Costs are down (part of gas amounts above). 15 minutes max from gathering, washing, drying and putting away.

Any ideas for other tips and tricks, please let us know, below? Cheers! Every wee bits helps...
I use mason jars for everything. I like the wide mouth but I inherited many of the small mouth. I put those away for if I ever do can. I have nuts, choc chips, soups, baking soda, you name it and I have it in a mason jar. I inherited a few half gallon size and unfortunately broke two of them. I also inherited some blue ball jars, I keep those out on the shelf filled dried peppers and dried beans. They have old type lids. I bought some of the white plastic lids at Walmart. I like those for everyday storage but still have plenty canning lids and seals.
Oh, was this thread about mason jars? Sorry. 😮

I reuse lots of things. I save the good recloseable bags that tortillas, bulk nuts and things like that come in to put garbage like bones and table scraps. They go in the freezer until trash time so I don't have to change a stinky kitchen trash bag until it's full. All other food goes in the compost for the garden which gives us veggies most of the year.
We reuse, repurpose, and make lots of things from scratch.
We don't waste very much at all and stay on top of energy wasters.

Every little bit helps.
 
I use mason jars for everything. I like the wide mouth but I inherited many of the small mouth. I put those away for if I ever do can. I have nuts, choc chips, soups, baking soda, you name it and I have it in a mason jar. I inherited a few half gallon size and unfortunately broke two of them. I also inherited some blue ball jars, I keep those out on the shelf filled dried peppers and dried beans. They have old type lids. I bought some of the white plastic lids at Walmart. I like those for everyday storage but still have plenty canning lids and seals.
Oh, was this thread about mason jars? Sorry. 😮

I reuse lots of things. I save the good recloseable bags that tortillas, bulk nuts and things like that come in to put garbage like bones and table scraps. They go in the freezer until trash time so I don't have to change a stinky kitchen trash bag until it's full. All other food goes in the compost for the garden which gives us veggies most of the year.
We reuse, repurpose, and make lots of things from scratch.
We don't waste very much at all and stay on top of energy wasters.

Every little bit helps.
No worries, I give tips and tricks for anything and everything. Just read each one and reply as much as you want. Cheers!

I've got a full box of 500grams jars which I used in my preserve making days. After do many metal storage ones for coffee, tea and sugar rusting away, I got fed up buying new ones and the best aren't cheap.

So now, I've three in my shelf with tea coffee and sugar. Got a bargain at a local store. Called incidentally HomeBargainsUK. I got a large glass jar, Mason style, for my Coffee grounds and a smaller one for my milk powder.

I've two large IKEA cabinets full of Tupperware style plastic containers in there. Pasta, cereals, rice, oatmeal (for my cholesterol busting cookies and muffins with maple syrup icing/maple butter), flour, extra sugar and cocoa baking powder.

Also, keep your eggs and breads in the fridge. Since hubby died our breads last much longer in the fridge. The two leftover crusts are broken into smaller pieces and fed to the local birds.

Potatoes are a huge favourite staple in our home. However, I keep some just for homemade chips. Otherwise, I buy chips frozen bags on special like 2 for 5. Baked potatoes for the microwave as well as small individual portions for that appliance too and finally find the best tasting frozen mash, called PerfectMash.

No more wasted spuds lol! Canned or tinned vegetables, add the costs of those wee ones and it mounts up pretty quickly. I buy mutipack frozen. 15 minutes in my Weight watchers steamer and voilà balanced meals with your 5 a day lol!

Sorry dear, see that's what I do here. Anything goes 🤣🤣🤣🐈😺
 
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DIY SUMMER PROJECTS

Quite a few of us are thinking of Holidays abroad, balcony city or around our own country. The rest of us will be doing easy day trips but most will be looking into DIY.

Myself and daughter, we're getting ready to do some fence, windows and external doors makeover.

I've found a bargain at a local store for a 5L of paint for just under a tenner. Katching! I've learned how to paint at 4 years old. Kept bugging Papa that I wanted to help out.

Therefore, he gave me a small pot of gloss paint and a brush. With a smile he said: "This is called decoupage. Make certain that you paint only on the door and windows surround..."

I guess I did a good job back then, as I was asked again and again. Later on, it was Mother's turn, I finally learned roller painting on extended pole. Emulsion! That was fun...

Later on did a whole interior paint job of a house in oil based. My last job was the back garden fences. It was on 3 sides. Thankfully, the items were on special.

Finally, I'll be doing windows surround, door frames, full doors for storage and the half fence, maybe all of it. Here's a link to common paint problems you might encounter before you get down to your summer painting. I'm hoping it'll help. Cheers!

https://www.idealhome.co.uk/diy-and-decorating/how-to-fix-paint-problems-277881
 
Air dry laundry on the patio.

Ac at 82 degrees.

Really watch electric use during the new peak hours of 4-9pm. Pacific Gas and Electric JERKS! I don't sit in the dark or not watch TV but I do really watch the use.

Thrift shopper.

Check out Grocery Outlet and more recently discovered the 99 cent store for food items.

I think mason jars are really good for storage and comparatively, they are not that expensive new. PAWS Thrift usually sells them for a dollar or less.
 
I reuse lots of things. I save the good recloseable bags that tortillas, bulk nuts and things like that come in to put garbage like bones and table scraps. They go in the freezer until trash time so I don't have to change a stinky kitchen trash bag until it's full. All other food goes in the compost for the garden which gives us veggies most of the year.
We reuse, repurpose, and make lots of things from scratch.
We don't waste very much at all and stay on top of energy wasters.

Every little bit helps.
I thought I was the only one who keeps scraps in the fridge. I too use used food bags for scraps and I put them in the crisper. I don't use my crispers. I keep the other for the empty bags I use. I re-use bread bags, cereal and cracker, chip bags and produce bags (I try to re-use those for produce also) for garbage and litter box cleaning. I frequently see still folded produce bags at WINCO Foods in empty carts. I'll grab those since I know they will just go in the garbage. I have small purchased garbage bags for back up.
 
If you run your DW when it's even reasonably full, it takes LESS WATER than hand-washing, unless you have an infrared sensor for on/off, or a foot pedal that does the same, for your kitchen faucet. If you need to sanitize dishes, hand washing will waste even more water.

Energy Star DWs use much less energy than old DWs, and if you air-dry the energy usage drops even further. Plus we have solar roof panels, so we generally break even or close to even on electricity costs.
 
Something that is a recent trend... keeping bread fresh for longer...

Previously, we were keeping our breads in the breadbox. However, green spots would show up expediently. I was getting tired of this expensive situation. I had to find an alternative based in the fact that I've a very strict budget.

In June of 22, after several lost loaves, I decided to put them in the fridge. Ever since haven't lost one and been able to enjoy each and every one perfectly fresh till we're left with only the two ends. Amazing!

Just a wee add up, I've grown up in a home where our eggs were always in the fridge. That hasn't changed. The top shelf is where they sit in the box they were purchased in. Great eggs BTW!
 
Something that is a recent trend... keeping bread fresh for longer...

Previously, we were keeping our breads in the breadbox. However, green spots would show up expediently. I was getting tired of this expensive situation. I had to find an alternative based in the fact that I've a very strict budget.

In June of 22, after several lost loaves, I decided to put them in the fridge. Ever since haven't lost one and been able to enjoy each and every one perfectly fresh till we're left with only the two ends. Amazing!

Just a wee add up, I've grown up in a home where our eggs were always in the fridge. That hasn't changed. The top shelf is where they sit in the box they were purchased in. Great eggs BTW!
easier to keep bread in the freezer, and just take out one or 2 slices as you need them Bread can be toasted straight from frozen.. and or it thaws out for use for sandwiches in about 20 minutes..

I think most of us keep our eggs in the fridge altho' in this country there's no need to refrigerate eggs..
 
Something that is a recent trend... keeping bread fresh for longer...

Previously, we were keeping our breads in the breadbox. However, green spots would show up expediently. I was getting tired of this expensive situation. I had to find an alternative based in the fact that I've a very strict budget.

In June of 22, after several lost loaves, I decided to put them in the fridge. Ever since haven't lost one and been able to enjoy each and every one perfectly fresh till we're left with only the two ends. Amazing!
I always keep my bread in the fridge. Cold cereal too because I like it cold. In the summer, I'll put it in a bowl and in the freezer to get it colder before I add plant based milk.
 


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