Well today I have just looked in my pathetic little blue recycling box and have realised just how many cans we use in our house! Surely there must be a way to make some spare cash from all these tins?
I know some people save all their tins and cans and sell them to the scrap metal merchants in their area. Scrap metal prices are quite decent and if you can make a few extra quid from them then that's great! I just wish I could find somewhere up here that would be prepared to do this. I would then be able to recycle all our tins and cans and probably my mums as well and make a few extra pounds to save up for a rainy day.
I will keep searching and will update the blog as soon as I find a merchant that is happy to pay out for scrap metal in the Highlands.
Later!!!
Showing posts with label self-suffiency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self-suffiency. Show all posts
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Sunday, 25 September 2011
How do I do this?
Well in an attempt to reduce the amount of stuff that goes in our wheelie bins ... I am currently looking into ways to reduce this but to also make some cash out of it. So I have emailed a bunch of scrap metal dealers in Inverness (our closest city) to see if there is any way that they would accept domestic scrap metal (like food and drink cans) and if they do, then how much would they pay for this. I know it's a long shot but if people in England and Wales can make money from their scrap metal then so can I! That would certainly reduce the amount of waste going in my wheelie bins! I know our local council provide these little pathetic blue boxes for cans and paper but to be honest they are pants! I can fill one in a week with tins and if I recycle my mum's tins as well I would fill two in a week and these pathetic little things are collected fortnightly!!!!
I am also getting my mum to save all her jars for me so that I can start making some preserves. I will start small with stuff like onion marmalade but will branch out into jams and stuff when I am a bit more confident that I can do it properly. That will prevent jars going into the bin as well!!!!
We already compost but that was a complete disaster last year and have had to start from scratch again this year and it's not really working as well. Last year, my compost bin (affectionately known as george ... I'm going to get another one and call it mildred!) was doing nicely. Then we went on holiday. My lovely next door neighbour was providing us with her kitchen peelings etc which was really helping the composting along nicely but when we went on holiday she chucked whole potatoes in!!! So we came home from holiday to find tatties growing in our compost bin!
The whole lot had to be chucked out. To say I was gutted was an understatement as we had some proper good quality compost at the bottom. But off it all went and this year hubby decided to site the compost bin elsewhere in the garden. Big disaster. It's in a shady area at the side of the house and the stuff just does not seem to be composting down as fast. But I will wait and see how things go. I will continue to supply the bin but we are just not producing enough to keep the bin filled up.
But I did have a total brain wave!!! We have 3 brown garden waste bins. One is ours, one is next door's (her gardens front and back are paved and gravelled) and we found one when out on a walk. So the third one now has drainage holes in it. I filled it with shredded newspaper and hubby then piled all our grass cuttings on it and we have left it. Hopefully it will mulch down and we will be able to add this to the compost bin to speed up the processes. If it works then I will be well chuffed!!!! But I really need to get one of those aerators for compost bins. Having a really bad back means that I just can't use the garden fork to move the stuff in the bin as it's all so far down!!!! But I think I will just leave that for hubby to do ... it can be his job.
On the home front ... the children are really getting into the spirit of money saving and being thrifty. They always give their teachers a gift at Christmas and last year it cost a small fortune as they don't just have one teacher, even though they are still at primary school. There are a number of teachers so this year it is going to be different! I will post about it separately as I am very proud of them for it.
Anyhow ... it's off to do some laundry and dishes ... although the dishwasher will do the latter ... all I have to do is load it lol. I will be back later on ... have a good day y'all x
I am also getting my mum to save all her jars for me so that I can start making some preserves. I will start small with stuff like onion marmalade but will branch out into jams and stuff when I am a bit more confident that I can do it properly. That will prevent jars going into the bin as well!!!!
We already compost but that was a complete disaster last year and have had to start from scratch again this year and it's not really working as well. Last year, my compost bin (affectionately known as george ... I'm going to get another one and call it mildred!) was doing nicely. Then we went on holiday. My lovely next door neighbour was providing us with her kitchen peelings etc which was really helping the composting along nicely but when we went on holiday she chucked whole potatoes in!!! So we came home from holiday to find tatties growing in our compost bin!
The whole lot had to be chucked out. To say I was gutted was an understatement as we had some proper good quality compost at the bottom. But off it all went and this year hubby decided to site the compost bin elsewhere in the garden. Big disaster. It's in a shady area at the side of the house and the stuff just does not seem to be composting down as fast. But I will wait and see how things go. I will continue to supply the bin but we are just not producing enough to keep the bin filled up.
But I did have a total brain wave!!! We have 3 brown garden waste bins. One is ours, one is next door's (her gardens front and back are paved and gravelled) and we found one when out on a walk. So the third one now has drainage holes in it. I filled it with shredded newspaper and hubby then piled all our grass cuttings on it and we have left it. Hopefully it will mulch down and we will be able to add this to the compost bin to speed up the processes. If it works then I will be well chuffed!!!! But I really need to get one of those aerators for compost bins. Having a really bad back means that I just can't use the garden fork to move the stuff in the bin as it's all so far down!!!! But I think I will just leave that for hubby to do ... it can be his job.
On the home front ... the children are really getting into the spirit of money saving and being thrifty. They always give their teachers a gift at Christmas and last year it cost a small fortune as they don't just have one teacher, even though they are still at primary school. There are a number of teachers so this year it is going to be different! I will post about it separately as I am very proud of them for it.
Anyhow ... it's off to do some laundry and dishes ... although the dishwasher will do the latter ... all I have to do is load it lol. I will be back later on ... have a good day y'all x
Sunday, 3 May 2009
Can't Sleep
Well it is 5am in the morning and I can't sleep so I thought that I would come on the laptop and add a little update and another photo to my online diary as I have been rather lax at posting and I am feeling rather guilty!
My youngest daughter planted some tomato seeds the other week and I was concerned that they would not grow as it is a bit late for planting from seed and I have had these particular seeds for over a year! But on checking this morning, there are a couple of seedlings poking their little heads out of the soil! She is over the moon about this. She is only 4 and is such a fussy eater that we are hoping that she will eat the veggies that she has grown herself. If it works just watch me get her to plant all the veggies next year!!
My oldest is now not chuffed as her flowers have not grown at all yet! But try and explain to her that the seeds were free and they may not grow! But she is going to help me in the morning and do some more planting. The kids are off school on Monday for the bank holiday so should get some decent planting done if the weather keeps up!
Have also listed on Freecycle for some fence posts and fence panels so that hubby can get the garden fenced in and hopefully create a bit of a wind break as our garden is rather windy. I would rather get off Freecycle and know that I'm recycling something that someone else doesn't want anymore than pay a fortune at a garden centre when I might not have to. I was also a bit cheeky and advertised for slabs so that hubby can do a patio area and hopefully slab our driveway at the front. Then I topped it all off by asking for pots and stones/bricks for the raised beds. Hubby has also got into the recycling mode as he always stops and checks any skips that he sees now. So far he hasn't seen anything that he could use but you never know what's going to happen.
And I have finally opened and ISA to start saving for my dream ... a house with land!!! I have only so far paid the £1 to open it but will be adding to it as I get some spare cash. I think dream number one is to be debt free but the big dream is definitely a house where hubby needs a sit on mower! It's been a dream of ours since our youngest was born. Somewhere where we can keep chickens and ducks and geese and maybe a couple of piggies and possibly be a self-sufficient as possible but that's a dream for another day!
Right am now starting to get tired! Typical, just when its almost time for me to get up, that's when I get tired! Well I will heed my poor aching fingers and go off to bed and will post more later on! Take care all xxx
My youngest daughter planted some tomato seeds the other week and I was concerned that they would not grow as it is a bit late for planting from seed and I have had these particular seeds for over a year! But on checking this morning, there are a couple of seedlings poking their little heads out of the soil! She is over the moon about this. She is only 4 and is such a fussy eater that we are hoping that she will eat the veggies that she has grown herself. If it works just watch me get her to plant all the veggies next year!!
My oldest is now not chuffed as her flowers have not grown at all yet! But try and explain to her that the seeds were free and they may not grow! But she is going to help me in the morning and do some more planting. The kids are off school on Monday for the bank holiday so should get some decent planting done if the weather keeps up!
Have also listed on Freecycle for some fence posts and fence panels so that hubby can get the garden fenced in and hopefully create a bit of a wind break as our garden is rather windy. I would rather get off Freecycle and know that I'm recycling something that someone else doesn't want anymore than pay a fortune at a garden centre when I might not have to. I was also a bit cheeky and advertised for slabs so that hubby can do a patio area and hopefully slab our driveway at the front. Then I topped it all off by asking for pots and stones/bricks for the raised beds. Hubby has also got into the recycling mode as he always stops and checks any skips that he sees now. So far he hasn't seen anything that he could use but you never know what's going to happen.
And I have finally opened and ISA to start saving for my dream ... a house with land!!! I have only so far paid the £1 to open it but will be adding to it as I get some spare cash. I think dream number one is to be debt free but the big dream is definitely a house where hubby needs a sit on mower! It's been a dream of ours since our youngest was born. Somewhere where we can keep chickens and ducks and geese and maybe a couple of piggies and possibly be a self-sufficient as possible but that's a dream for another day!
Right am now starting to get tired! Typical, just when its almost time for me to get up, that's when I get tired! Well I will heed my poor aching fingers and go off to bed and will post more later on! Take care all xxx
Friday, 10 April 2009
Day 1 - The start of the journey!!
Well Hello There to you, my new reader!
Let me start by introducing myself to you. My name is Di and I am a 35 year old housewife and mother of two, with a desire to be more environmentally friendly but at a fraction of the price. Let's face it, in today's current economic climate, who wants to spend loads of money to be more environmentally aware, then find that the same result could have been had at a fraction of the price or even for free!
I'll add to that, the fact that yes I am Scottish, but that does not generally mean tight-fisted! We Scots are a generous race, but very careful with it. I have developed my thrift over the years, and firmly believe that it was instilled in me by my mother and my maternal grandmother, and I also think that I get my hoarding from nan as well!
And so to the goals that we have! We have recently moved house into a lovely little council house not far from school and family members. We have spent a number of years away from home so this is a lovely start to the new year for us. We have a number of goals but the main one being that the garden, which runs from the front, right round the side of the house to the back, gets completely overhauled and the driveway replaced before the summer is out.
I also want to grow my own fruit and vegetables so we are also going to try and become as self-sufficient as possible. I have informed my family that when the weather improves, we will be taking hikes into the forest to see what edible goodies we can find. I have recipes and books showing what foods you can find that are edible, and some of them brewable!! As and when these treks happen and if they are fruitful, will be noted here.
I have tried to get my husband to let me get some chickens, but still no luck in that department yet! That maybe due to the fact that at the moment, the garden is open but then again, it may be because we are not that far from the city centre. I'll keep working on him and let you all know!!!
We are also on a mission to become debt-free and will also update this blog with that journey.
Don't worry I will be posting photographs and letting you all know where I have sourced my cheap (and hopefully free) supplies for my gardening project.
I think my real goal here is to show our journey as a kind of diary to the world to show that it can be done on a tight budget and that you don't have to spend thousands of pounds on materials when you can source them quite cheaply and sometimes free of charge!
Right am off to bed now as I'm going to get up really early in the morning and see what I can get done before the troops waken up and demand feeding! Night Night all, and will post more tomorrow!
Let me start by introducing myself to you. My name is Di and I am a 35 year old housewife and mother of two, with a desire to be more environmentally friendly but at a fraction of the price. Let's face it, in today's current economic climate, who wants to spend loads of money to be more environmentally aware, then find that the same result could have been had at a fraction of the price or even for free!
I'll add to that, the fact that yes I am Scottish, but that does not generally mean tight-fisted! We Scots are a generous race, but very careful with it. I have developed my thrift over the years, and firmly believe that it was instilled in me by my mother and my maternal grandmother, and I also think that I get my hoarding from nan as well!
And so to the goals that we have! We have recently moved house into a lovely little council house not far from school and family members. We have spent a number of years away from home so this is a lovely start to the new year for us. We have a number of goals but the main one being that the garden, which runs from the front, right round the side of the house to the back, gets completely overhauled and the driveway replaced before the summer is out.
I also want to grow my own fruit and vegetables so we are also going to try and become as self-sufficient as possible. I have informed my family that when the weather improves, we will be taking hikes into the forest to see what edible goodies we can find. I have recipes and books showing what foods you can find that are edible, and some of them brewable!! As and when these treks happen and if they are fruitful, will be noted here.
I have tried to get my husband to let me get some chickens, but still no luck in that department yet! That maybe due to the fact that at the moment, the garden is open but then again, it may be because we are not that far from the city centre. I'll keep working on him and let you all know!!!
We are also on a mission to become debt-free and will also update this blog with that journey.
Don't worry I will be posting photographs and letting you all know where I have sourced my cheap (and hopefully free) supplies for my gardening project.
I think my real goal here is to show our journey as a kind of diary to the world to show that it can be done on a tight budget and that you don't have to spend thousands of pounds on materials when you can source them quite cheaply and sometimes free of charge!
Right am off to bed now as I'm going to get up really early in the morning and see what I can get done before the troops waken up and demand feeding! Night Night all, and will post more tomorrow!
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