Things you make and think, why did I ever buy it?

[Susie]

There are some things that I always kind of subconsciously thought could only be made in a vast industrial process, with gears grinding and people in white coats, or perhaps a machine like on the Coco Pops advert. Then I make them and the result is so much better than the bought kind that I have a lightbulb moment and think, why did I ever buy that? What things did you find where the homemade version was miles better than the bought version? Mine were socks and soap and pretty much anything I've ever cooked (not that I'm a wonderful cook necessarily). Although I won't stop buying socks, at least, because they do take a bit of a while to knit ;-).

On the other hand, I once made breakfast danish pastries and they seemed to take the entire day and I wasn't wild about the results, so those I do continue to buy from the co-op.

What are yours?

[red]

it can be a pain eh? once you make something yourself you can never look back..

lemme see.. cordials, hummous, pizza, oh hell pretty much anything i cook

erm. things like chicken breasts... i never buy them now.. not since i worked out it was cheaper to buy a whole chicken, cut off the breasts and throw the rest away! not that i do throw the rest away, it gets jointed for other cooking and the carcass made into soup. soup.... as a young adult i used to buy tins of soup.. why???

pasta. we make all our own now, its so much nicer.

poultry housing.. when we need something new.. like a duck pen, we look at they easy option of buying one.. go 'how much!' then make one. each and every time...

Ice cream - one of the best things I ever did was get himself an ice cream machine...

agree with you on socks.. i make them and they are my favourite, but i just cant make them fast enough. wine i make but also buy - its just completely different. and i think co-ops hot cross buns are better than mine..

[Mrs H]

For me its gotta be dishcloths!! They last forever and r remarkably strong. I can knit one really quick as well and often give them as presents!! Also totally agree with you on homemade food, u can't beat it.
Having just moved house I have stepped into the art of curtain making and I do wonder why I ever bought them as they r so cheap to make and it is very enjoyable. Xx

[boboff]

* Cough, Pornography * Cough..........

Oh and Jam, mint sauce, Korma, & Strawberry Mouse.

[Keaniebean]

Really? Actually you had better not answer that.

Mine is clothes! I can never find anything that fits me as well as what I make for myself, even if they are just old bedsheets,lol. I just need to figure out how to make shoes now and I'm good to go.

Oh and jams, chutneys, cordials, perfumes exceteraaaaaa.

[chickenchargrill]

Most food stuff, a lot of baby things, my youngest lad costs us very little indeed. Maybe I get seen as neglecting him though, a lot of my friends have houses full of toys, Dexter is currently playing with paper that's about to go in the recycling.

[Odsox]

Bread, sausages, yoghurt, baked beans, biscuits, jam, marmalade ... pasta I make now and again but have a stock of ready made fusilli.
Things I can make but don't are butter and ., well that's about it I think. I have never made cheese apart from cottage cheese which is not really cheese, but I would have liked to make hard cheeses, unfortunately I don't have access to gallons of fresh milk nowadays so probably never will.

[greenorelse]

I don't use any form of milk but SWMBO has long bought 'milks' (quinoa, soya, oat etc) to colour tea. She's never really liked any of them so I took a plunge and bought, from Canada, a 'milk' maker.

She loves it! And I wish I'd bought one for her years ago. It makes 'milk' from lots of things, rice, oats, nuts, grains and I have to admit, they're far superior to any industrially-produced 'milks' - though I personally still have no use for them!

One of the thing that spurred me on to get it was these tetra pak things; I've always hated them and these tea colourants she was buying accounted for 100% of them in the recycling pile. I was struggling to find a use for them but now - why did we ever buy them?

So:

Machine (-1)
From Canada (-1)
Made in China (-1)
Continuation of unnecessary habit (-1)

No tetrapaks (+1)
Happy OH (+1)
High quality (+1)
70% wind generated electricity supplier (+1)
'Milk' just when she wants it, from whatever we have that's suitable (+1)
Less weight to transport generally (+1)
Rather good results (+1)

+3 so far, upon a cursory examination of the situation.

She took some hazelnut milk to work and people raved about it.

[Thomzo]

For me it's bread. I only ever buy reduced price wholemeal loaves now. Then, when I run out of the real stuff, at least I have a slice or two of cardboard in the freezer but it's rubbish compared to homemade.

I bought a pasta machine but rarely use it. I just don't really have time. Maybe when I retire I'll have another go. Lots of things I'd love to make myself if I had the time, clothes being one. I, too, struggle to get clothes to fit. When will the shops realise that there are a lot of women out there that are taller than 5' 6". There's only one shop I can get trousers in. At least they have an outlet store here in Swindon.

Zoe

Zoe

[Helsbells]

Soup is something I never buy now, it is just so easy to make. I also usually make my own bread when I have time, shop bread is just pap.

[chickenchargrill]

There are some things that I always kind of subconsciously thought could only be made in a vast industrial process, with gears grinding and people in white coats, or perhaps a machine like on the Coco Pops advert. Then I make them and the result is so much better than the bought kind that I have a lightbulb moment and think, why did I ever buy that? What things did you find where the homemade version was miles better than the bought version? Mine were socks and soap and pretty much anything I've ever cooked

Susie - you've inspired me to give soap making a go. Realised I'm about out of the home-made one I bought, already make my own hand lotions and such. Too chicken to try the lye, so just ordered some yummy sounding soap base.

[paul123456]

Hello there ,

british passport ,

regards ,

Paul

[Annpan]

You are all making me so jealous.. I'm sitting here salivating...

We are back to buying in everything at the moment... packets of instant soup and other 'just add water' style packets (rice, noodles, etc) are our dinner just about every night these days also buying in loads of bread and cheap biscuity things (doing lots of hard labour all day and need the quick calories)

We have only just moved back home and we only have a single electric socket, No fridge or freezer, No hob or oven, No breadmaker or anything else..... just a single gas burner camping stove and a pot-in-pot cooler in the garden.

When we get it together I'll be back to making all of that and more

[Susie]

Susie - you've inspired me to give soap making a go. Realised I'm about out of the home-made one I bought, already make my own hand lotions and such. Too chicken to try the lye, so just ordered some yummy sounding soap base.

Oh well done! (And if you want to try the lye at some point in the future, I promise it isn't hard. I had a disaster last time I made it (you wouldn't do what I did ;-) ) and got it everywhere, including all over me, and I'm still alive. That isn't official advice, which is, wear gloves and goggles ;-). I use the starter recipe from this book and I honestly think you can't go wrong). Good luck with your soaping!

Also I'm torn between whether I'm more impressed with boboff's pornography or strawberry mice. Recipe pls? .

[wildbee]

Mashed potato (only joking!).

Computers, you can save a ton if you buy the parts and plug them into a nice case yourself.
Fat balls for the birds.
Natural yogurt, you just need milk.
Kindling, now I use fir cones.
Toothpaste (because of the ingredients), 75p tub of Bicarb with 4 drops of (very strong) peppermint essential oil mixed in works just as well and doesn't make your food taste gross afterwards.
Bedding plants that are easy to grow from seed such as pansies. £3 per tray ?! Pfft.
Digestive biscuits, this is the ingredients again rather than cost. There's a really good recipe on the 'Baking for Britain' blog that's what I use.

I also have a list of things I intend to make myself in the very near future (as for the very distant future, well ... ):
Socks, so far I've made one and it took flippin' ages
Butter (raw with unprocessed salt)
Soap
Moisturiser
Bread, or try and stop eating it