Frugaldom Project April 2015 Part 2

Easter weekend and the weather is finer than it's been all week, This morning, the sun shone and work continued at Frugaldom. I was absolutely delighted when the phone rang to say that the fencing of corral #1 had been completed and was eager to pour over the resulting photos, so here goes... the culmination of a lifelong ambition to have a post and rail paddock!

Not much to say about this as the pictures speak louder than words, so I hope you enjoy seeing the progress being made at the Frugaldom project, here in southwest Scotland. I have published a separate post here detailing our unusual fund-raising event, whereby individuals or businesses can 'Tag a post at Frugaldom for £10' by as an additional way of pledging support.

To the left of this line of fencing we are in the process of planting a new willow bed and strip of woodland comprising birch, hazel and rowan, which can all tolerate the boggy ground during wet weather. Beyond that is the second corral, which we hope to fence sometime in the not too distant future.

This is looking towards the yard and what will become the start of our planned willow walk, which was being pegged out last month when planting the willow cuttings.

Now we need to finish painting the barn and getting all of these front posts tagged before the next phase of work can begin. It shouldn't be long before the grass starts growing, so I'm going to try to flatten out the tractor ruts next week.

This is looking straight across at the second corral, which will eventually be separated from this one by a new willow bed that will be coppiced for crafting materials. Beyond corral #2 is bog myrtle or sweet gale and to the right, you can just see the tree protectors from all the new crab apples we planted around the little quarry in November.

I don't think I will ever get tired of the view from here, it is just amazing. I've now seen it at dawn, at dusk, in sunshine and with snow on the Galloway Hills. I've also seen it disappear in torrential rain, but this is Scotland, all of the above could have occurred within the same day.

Final view of corral #1 at Frugaldom, looking towards what we call bracken hill and the future willow walk. Once things begin to grow, you may soon see traces of the willow hide I planted late last year. I hope it takes root and begins to grow soon.

That about wraps it up for this evening. To find out more about what's happening on a day to day basis, register free to join the forum and look for the dedicated 'Frugaldom Project' section.

Aside from this, I am still pursuing my challenge to slash the grocery budget to £5 per person per week and have managed, so far, to get it down to less than £1 per person per day. You can find more about that in the 2015 Challenge section of www.frugalforums.co.uk

See you all there!

NYK Media in Frugaldom.

Frugaldom Project April 2015 Part 2

Frugal Homemade Laundry & Cleaning Products

Frugal Homemade Laundry and Cleaning Products

Frugal living in the country means no mains sewers, sometimes no mains water and certainly no ‘nipping to the shop’ to buy an individual item if you run out of it, so we need ways of combating such problems, should they arise.

Washing Soda is our friend! First and foremost, it is suitable for use in septic tanks, which is where all the flushed or drained waste goes from a rural property. It should certainly make you think about what you flush down the toilet or tip down the plug holes if you aren’t used to dealing with your own waste – there are no sewers in the rural countryside! I am stunned by how many relocation households from town to country aren’t aware of this fact and go willy-nilly with all sorts of cleaning and laundry products, fancy bubble baths and bleach products. It’s quite shocking that they abuse our waterways in this fashion.

Ultimately, we are all responsible for our own waste and, when relying on a septic tank, you are relying on the liquid (water) by product draining into the ground, into the local steams and rivers and then into the sea. Those of us with any sense, decency and respect for the environment will look after our septic tanks and be wary of what goes in there.

Washing soda is septic tank friendly in that it isn’t contaminating your personal sewage treatment plant with toxic chemicals which, ultimately, may end up in the waterways. Washing soda is also cheap, at around £1 per kilo (at time of writing). It’s a giant leap forward in the frugal living stakes knowing what it can do. The back of any pack makes for a great place to begin your own research.

Washing up liquid and laundry cleaner are two uses for soda crystals and by making your own, you can save a small fortune over the year. This is how I make mine…

LAUNDRY 'GLOOP'

1 bar of soap, grated
1 cup of washing soda (or Soda crystals)
1 litre water
A few drops of essential oil (if required)

Boil the water, dissolve the soda crystals and soap in it, add the fragrance and then dilute to at least 5 litres if you don't want your liquid to set. Personally, I prefer to allow it to set then dissolve it one part cleaner to five parts water, then add to machine. For speed, dilute it, but for spacesaving, store in a wide neck container or bucket and dilute as required.

You can store this in whichever plastic bottles or buckets you prefer. 5 litre vinegar containers with wide screwtop lids are ideal, but a lidded bucket is better

I make 2 lots, one has a few drops of blue dye in it to help 'whiten' whites.

Washing soda is suitable for use with septic tanks, which is what I most like about it! Rural living means no mains sewage connections, so all flushed or drained waste has to go into a tank. Abusing your septic tank can have far-reaching consequences, as many a newcomer to the country has found out at their expense and humiliation.

FRUGAL TIP: I've been using this diluted to up to 7 litres and it works really well. I use the 'natural extracts' soap, which is a natural, antibacterial vegetable soap with tea tree & lavender extracts, so no need to add in extra essential oil unless you prefer a stronger scent.

Washing soda is one of the basic 'staples' of a frugal household kitchen cupboard. This, along with lemon juice and vinegar are excellent for so many things. Some people also keep *Borax and Epsom Salts in their store cupboards.

WASHING UP LIQUID

Heaped tbsp grated soap (Natural, not heavily scented)
Heaped tbsp soda crystals
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 litres water
A few drops essential oil (tea tree and lavender)

Make up exactly the same as for laundry gloop.

Please note that this will NOT lather up like ordinary washing up liquid. The mass produced liquid is chemically enhanced in the commercial product to create those soapy bubbles. I used 'Natural soap with lavender and teatree' soap. It's about 35p per bar, but it grates to give 8 heaped tablespoons.

You can use vinegar as a fabric softener.

I use same quantities of above that I would if using the shop-bought equivalents.

Another option is soapnuts instead of washing liquid or laundry detergent. See http://www.inasoapnutshell.com/ for free sample (just pay postage) and for more information.

The following is part of an old blog post from Frugaltips.org (American site)

How to Make Your Own Cleaning Products By Frugal 101

For kitchen and bathroom floors you need a mixture of 1 gallon of hot water with cup of white vinegar. The mixture is safe for hardwood, linoleum, tile, and pretty much every washable surface. You can also use this to clean your entire bathroom, not only floors.

To make your own dishwasher liquid use water with lemon juice. All you need is cup of lemon juice and cup of warm water.

To make a disinfectant spray mix a cup of borax with 1 gallon of hot water.

To clean your windows use a mixture of 1 cup of water, 1 cup of rubbing alcohol, and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.

For cleaning kitchen cabinets use a mixture of cup lemon juice dissolved in 1 gallon of hot water.

Toilet bowl cleaner can be made by mixing cup of baking soda with 1 cup of vinegar. Let it sit for 10 minutes or so, and scrub it with brush.

Making these products doesnt require a degree in Chemistry. You will not only get the unnecessary chemicals and toxins out of your house, but save quite a bit of money.

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Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and washing soda (or crystals) are available in local stores and supermarkets. Borax is available on Amazon if you can't find it anywhere else.

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I have been asked several times about why I don't use Borax. There are a couple of reasons:

1. I have never needed it, even if it was available locally, which it doesn't seem to be.

2. Despite Borax allegedly being as safe as table salt to handle, it is now listed in the Substances of Very High Concern list and has been reclassified as Hazard class Re-protoxic, Category 1B. Any product that contains above a particular % concentration of borax (about 4-8%) should display the warning "May damage fertility and May cause harm to the unborn child."

Frugal Living, the September Challenge and a Country Cottage to Let. Wow!

Almost 50 Challengers Signed up Already!

www.frugalforums.co.uk

What a great start we have had to our September money-saver challenge - Septimus Frugalus is proud to have each and every one of you on board for the trip.

 

This is also our very first free giveaway, so all challengers who participate will be short-listed for entry into the free draw to win their very own Ventus Twister. For anyone who hasn't entered, the company has provided us with a special half price discount code - simply include the word 'laundry' in the code box, recalculate and your washer/spinner will become half price in the Ventus Free Energy* shop.

 

For me, this September challenge is a chance to refresh and rejuvenate my money-saving habits and

give myself a few reminders about how not to slip into old habits. With all the helpful hints shared, we soon realise how easily money, energy and food savings can be increased. Something as simple as bulking out the leftover stew and gravy with sausages and herby dumplings to create not two, but four more meals can save you from wasting even the last of the gravy.

Stir frying any leftover vegetables, including cabbage, makes a highly nutritious addition to any meal, assuming you haven't drowned it all in oil or fat, and by cooking on my hot plate, I'm finding it more economical than using the mains electric cooker.

Reminding myself to run the laptops on battery power until they absolutely must get recharged helps save a few pennies extra in electricity, especially with two of us working  from home fulltime. My Ventus Twister has saved me the expense of buying a new washing machine - giving me time to both save and to look out for the best available deal. Who knows how long I'll rely on the little 'Twister', as it's even coping with jeans!

Out in the garden, when I'm looking about the place as I hang out the washing, I see potential everywhere for improving my money-saving. Since the massacre of the potato beds, we now have enough potatoes to last some weeks but we also have the knowledge that potato growing in this manner, for us, just isn't economically viable. We now have the area cleared and prepared for relocating the mini poly-tunnel. I am sure that the 6m x 2m space will be far more productive as covered growing space and the potatoes, if we decide to do any more, can be done in the tubs.

The greenhouse is producing well - so well, in fact, that I am overrun with cucumbers. I also have plenty of tomatoes, if the sun keeps shining and they all ripen.

Mealtimes are healthy and frugal at the moment.

Porridge for breakfast, eggs for lunch and then dinner cooked from whatever is available. I restocked the freezer last month and I have been using up old flour stocks baking bread. The ends of the loaves are ideal for creating frugal pizzas or else something served with eggs and/or salad.

So what tasty lunchtime snacks have I incorporated into the first three days of this frugal September challenge?

Pan fried bread in egg with chopped tomato, spring onions and cheese

 



 

Cucumber and mint sorbet

 

Open sandwiches with quail eggs and garden salad

 

I also made mini-scotch eggs and served these with salad, but I forgot to photograph them - you can tell I'm not strictly a food blogger! :)

 

Regardless of how frugal we are, there still needs to be spending - we simply cannot live without spending cash on some things, postage being one of them. So, I packaged up some rooted cuttings from my herbs and these got posted off to a couple of fellow frugalers as part of our trading system. I have already received an assortment of plants and flower seeds, including my comfrey that is now looking fantastic in its corner of the garden. I'm simply paying the favours forward, as so many other bloggers do, and loving this fantastic system that really only came to the fore, for me, when I was 'love bombed' last Christmas by Frugal Queen and her readers. Oh, and I also ordered a super bargain DVD box set - pointed out to us all by Aril,thank you for that - with a saving of almost £15 on RRP.

 

Now for the exciting news!

 

To Let - Country Cottage for your Dream Lifestyle

 

Frugal living is good. Rural living is good. The whole waste not, want not, make do and mend, reduce, reuse, recycle ethos in life is good. So, dear frugal friends, it is with the greatest of pleasure that I can offer you this world on a 6 month trial basis, if necessary.

 

 

This cottage belongs to a friend and fellow frugaler who is currently looking for a good, reliable tenant and is hoping to find a like-minded follower of the frugal living ilk. Here's what they have to say about this charming cottage, which sits within a few miles of all amenities despite being in a rural location.

 

This is what said friend had to say:

 

Our cottage is about to come up for rent. I wondered if you would mind promoting it amongst your frugal community as it is on its way to being a self sufficient haven.

It is a two bedroom, farm workers cottage, gorgeous views of the estuary and hills. Solar panels, all appliances electric, shower, electric under-sink hot water systems, efficient storage heaters. Thanks to the log burner downstairs the heaters only have to be on low in other rooms when it's very cold. Really well insulated, recently decorated throughout and re carpeted. Double glazed, 11mm thick carpet underlay to reduce cold rising.

Outside: greenhouse, large cold frames, wood shed, compost bins, patio area and lots of room to grow vegetables, keep chickens etc. We left quinces, rhubarb and raspberries in the garden.

We are looking for £375 a month rent, £375 deposit. We are flexible on length of agreement, minimum 6 months. (Normal tenancy agreement conditions would apply.) We are happy if people want to change garden around etc., and would love it to go to a self sufficient type couple/family.

 

So there you have it, lovely frugal friends and readers, an invite to come and live the good life in rural southwest Scotland is a home that is already on its way to becoming someone's dream. The owners are frugal forum members and they do still live locally, so your landlords (fully registered) would be within easy contact distance, but have now moved on to a slightly bigger project.

 

If anyone is interested in this property, please get in contact. This cottage isn't on a bus route, nor is it an easy walk to shops, so having a car would be an advantage. (Cycling could be an option, we have some fabulous cycle routes in the area, as well as the Galloway Hills, the Forest Park and not forgetting the Dark Sky Park status.)  All amenities are within a few miles and it's only five minutes' drive off the main A75, close to Scotland's national book town of Wigtown. In the nearby town of Newton Stewart, there are supermarkets, cinema, swimming pool, banks etc, plus two coaches each day running between Belfast and London, so access to Carlisle, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and London are all fairly simple.

 

This could be a dream come true for someone. Is that someone YOU?

Still Playing a Waiting Game

I Hate These Waiting Games!

Somewhere in between realisation dawning that you have a house move ahead of you, the excitement of house hunting, property viewing, finding your ideal 'forever' home, making an offer, having a verbal acceptance and then awaiting the final 'Qualified Acceptance', there seems to be an awful lot of waiting about, mostly while being unable to actually 'do' anything.

This is the stage we are at now - awaiting final 'Qualified Acceptance' to make everything legal. Then we'll be waiting to wave bye-bye to our hard earned, battled-to-protect, savings. It feels good knowing that the cash will be swapped for something tangible, like a house, but the waiting is definitely the sting in the tail.

The process here in Scotland is slightly different to that elsewhere. We have to have indisputable evidence that all the finances are in place, ready to pay up, before being able to make a legal offer on any property. It doesn't matter if you're applying for a mortgage or buying outright, the process involves time and patience with most of the time spent in 'pre-buying' mode.

As soon as the deal is done, however, it's wham, bam, thank you mam, here's your hat, what's your hurry, you're the proud owner of a house, now clear off and go live in it. This is probably why so few property programmes ever feature Scotland as their chosen location. There's none of this making an offer then the house being taken off the market while waiting for all the paperwork, funding confirmations, technicalities and legalities. Oh no, the fun starts here right from day one, because only a lawyer can make a 'real' offer and only once a house is legally 'sold' can it be safely taken off the market. It's flat out right to the finish and the winner isn't always the best horse on the day.

The above is a very sketchy and non-professional description of how the property market works in Scottish law. Don't take my word for it, research it thoroughly before even considering buying in Scotland. By all means, have the estate agent note your interest in your chosen property, but swat up on the legalities well before proceeding any further than drooling over your copy of 'MacProperty Porn'.

I may have time, but patience is sometimes in rather short supply here! I guess we should be grateful for the fact that, as soon as we have the appropriate signatures on the appropriately dotted lines, we are pretty much sure that we have a house, without fear of being 'gazzumped', if that's the correct spelling, but it's still a waiting game - no getting away from that.

The Scottish buying process may seem quick to some - house sales can complete in under a month here - but being 'in limbo' between one's lease expiring on a rented property and getting one's hands on the keys of a newly purchased abode requires some fine tuning.

I'm not very finely tuned - so we are running out of time. With only four more days remaining of our official rental agreement, the possibility of having bought our 'forever' home in time to make the move has all but evaporated. Mind you, this situation is probably more to do with the fact that, only 8 weeks ago, we had absolutely no intentions of moving house, far less pouring all our savings into buying one.

We've sought an extension to the lease - left in the hands of the estate agent - we've done everything possible to make the property purchase straightforward, all our paperwork has been completed,  surveys inspected, local searches done, funds in place ready for the transfer... and still we await those final, crucial signatures that will enable us to own a house. Trouble is, the house we would love to own isn't quite err... habitable, shall we say? If I'm 100% honest, we have only seen inside it on one, brief occasion on a rainy, dull, March day. Some may find this shocking, others might understand the concept of, 'just knowing'.

So, what's a girl to do when the landlord wants them out ASAP, there are hens, ducks, all their housing, a greenhouse, a patio and a garden shed to be moved and a whole house to be packed up and transported 15 miles along the road, most of that being single track?

Yes, I thought so too... it's just another day in Frugaldom. The bread is baking, the washing is on the line and I'm making a trifle!

The garden here is quickly being completely 'un-gardened' and there's absolutely no point in worrying about it. The rent's paid for another month and the 2 months notice period will soon have disappeared into the annals of time. What are they going to do? Take me out in the lane and shoot me? I think not.

Fate lends a helping hand at every turn. To write down everything that has happened here since start of 2011 would be more like writing a novel, so I won't. Suffice to say, it isn't the actual buying of a house or moving house that's the cause of undue stress, it's all the other crap that life throws at you in between times. Logistics aside, no amount of money can pave the way for a smooth journey through life, so why worry?

Frugal living does not limit the number of occurances of events beyond our control. It might help prevent some of those that might, otherwise, have been beyond our financial control, but it does't fend off fate.

Money cannot make the world go round, nor can it stop it turning. We simply need to make the most of what we have without impacting, too much, on others.

Life is life, in all its forms, and I guess we should count our blessings and make ourselves more aware of our immediate surroundings, be it friends, family or location. Only then can we prepare ourselves to grasp any opportunity and appreciate everythig that each of our individual lives has to offer.

Frustration aside, life is simply a waiting game that we all need to play. But life is also about being on the lookout for opportunities. By some strange twist of fate, events have a way of shaping our futures, leading us blindly along unfamiliar routes, but it is only by experiencing such, that are we truly able to see the otherwise hidden opportunities that lie all around us, sitting quietly, playing the same waiting game we do.

They are waiting for us to make our next move!

The Search for Frugaldom Continues

It's now day 17 of the search, after receiving notice to quit this house on Wednesday 2nd February 2011.

On first looking, it seems there is a huge number of available properties, but the vast majority of them are for sale at prices way beyond anything we could ever consider - this includes most of the short assured tenancies being on the market at the same time! I really don't think they should be allowed to put tenants in without telling them up front that the house is also for sale!

It's hard to believe that so many people must be living such precarious lifestyles, trying to establish some sort of normality, building a home for themselves and their families, yet having no real form of security regarding the roof over their heads.

Countless, fruitless phone calls have been made from here, many home reports studied and a few properties visited, but we're still at the start of our search. I reckon that the best thing to have come out of this situation, so far, is discovering the true value of Google Maps. What a God-send!

Having lost the car the same week we found out we were losing the house, this has left us pretty much stranded in our rural rental, relying almost entirely on the kind help of our neighbours. Google's online mapping system, however, has saved us a small fortune by way of travel expenses. Being able to sit in the comfort of the livingroom in front of a roaring log fire, while gliding virtually around the local towns, streets and villages to view locations and amenities is fantastic! Better still, 'visiting' postcodes corresponding to the estate agency property details allows for all sorts of exploration.

I'm not sure about anywhere else but rental properties seem to move really quickly here, especially those priced under £500. That's a huge amount of money for some of us but I guess it will seem a drop in the ocean to big city dwellers with good salaries and everything available on their doorsteps. That lifestyle all sounds very tempting, but 'the biz' is not for us - we appreciate the peace and quiet and love our frugal, rural way of life, pursuing a semblance of self-sufficiency while earning everything else we need from home.

I called about another house this morning, one we saw yesterday. (We've been up and down that street a dozen times on Google over the past 24 hours!) We need to wait for the property agent to contact the owners, first, then get back to us. I'm guessing that won't be today, as it's now just gone 5pm and I've been on tenderhooks all day!

Of course, this is Friday... another weekend of not knowing. We'll be waiting and watching, wondering if there'll be any updates to websites or any new ads appear anywhere. We'll be wondering if the owners will meet up with friends over the weekend and strike an agreement elsewhere. I've blogged, forum posted, phoned, tweeted and contacted everyone I know in the area to alert them to our quest for a new home, so don't be scared to contact me with anything you hear of if it's in southwest Scotland.

Our turn will come, I know it will. In the meantime, we need to sit out another weekend waiting for Monday and the relevant offices to re-open.

It's a horrible situation to be in, knowing you have to pack your entire life back into boxes without knowing you have some place to move them. Like I said, this is only day 17 of 66, so we have another 49 days left to complete this next big 'challenge'. It's rather weird thinking that seven weeks from now we'll need to have found a house, emptied a garden and moved our entire lives elsewhere, yet we have no way of knowing where that might be. I do know one thing for sure - it won't be too far from all the great friends and family we have around here.

Much number crunching will be going on this weekend to see how best to cope with not being able to find a rented property in time. Who knows what tomorrow might bring? I wonder if the weather will improve? I wonder if anyone will catch a glimpse of the aurora borealis if the sky clears tonight? That would be a once in a lifetime experience and might just help to turn the tide of bad luck that seems to be flowing over many of us. At least we know the tide WILL turn.

Hoping to keep you up to date with the progress and also hoping none of you reading this is in a similar situation. Catch up again soon - keep on frugaling!

Our Search for a New Frugaldom

Following on from previous post, we have a few very basic requirements for our next home.

1. Security of tenure or outright purchase if it's affordable
2. Minimum 2 bedrooms, sitting room, kitchen and bath or shower room
3. Some storage - outbuildings or indoor cupboards
4. Large garden with fruit & veg growing space - even just a veggie plot
5. Space for some hens & ducks
6. Space for small greenhouse & garden shed

We need to be able to live there, even if it means roughing it while carrying out renovation work and/or essential repairs. Condition of decor and state of the garden isn't a major concern, neither are basic remedial works, as we're used to starting from scratch and, as you all know, we enjoy a challenge. We'll need power, water, toilet facilities and a basically sound roof over our heads. I guess the priorities after that can be juggled accordingly, so long as it's within about 10 miles radius of the booktown and we can have a telephone line to ensure we can access work from home. As followers of the frugaldom lifestyle, we aren't all that difficult to please.

I don't think this is too tall an order and would love to hear from anyone who knows of any suitable properties either to rent or to buy.

If you need to get in contact, just log in to the free Frugaldom forums and message or email username 'Frugaldom'. Confidentiality both assured and expected.