Selfsufficientish.com

I HAD TO REPLY - my son is 24 now and I was only 20 and a single mum when I had him, I was scared, lonely, on benefits and every day was a scrape by to cope. I found a charity called Gingerbread and some older parents were able to support and help me and to this day I have never forgotten their gene...

If you have access to stacking pallets, and you can crow bar them apart and can be bothered to pull out all the nails, you can build raised beds from them and they can last for year. We have one so far and will make another in due course as we have the pallets and need some better weather to take th...

What is it with weddings these day? we got married with friends and family, had lunch in a restaurant, the photo was of us signing the register and outside the register's office - lunch was a whip round and it would have been cheeky to ask for presents as we'de lived together for years and didn't ne...

Crowsashes - does your sister live in jannerland too? how about some Brittany ferry vouchers - she can add them to a bit of cash for a night away or just do some shopping in Roscoff. Eden Project voucher? or a day out at the national trust? adopt a tiger at sparkwell? adopt a donkey from the tamar d...

wow - this has made me feel faint reading all this and I am going to go to the dentist! I have fillings I need doing and I feel sick before I go, I shake when I get there and have amigraine after but it's got to be better than gum disease or losing my teeth! Whilst I'm working I think I'll go skint ...

Know the film clip well. Ooo er! I'm a teacher and got to admit; it's not Butlins and I'm not a childrens' entertainer. I got bored at school as I gave up when anything was difficult and became hard work and consequently learnt, and passed exams when I was older and could 'put my mind to it'. School...

Hi Millymollymandy and Elizabeth - you could make a badge "remember the washing" if it's dry where you are hang the clothes out before you go to bed and bring them in the morning - the sun does bleach them if you leave them out for too long. You could just hang out the whites - or put out a clothes ...

See Facebook - I love to hang my washing out to dry - I've signed up a lot of people! Let go viral with this - I part dried clothes today, even though there was snow on the ground, the air was bone dry and a good dry wind. I part dried six bath towels and then finished drying them on the shelia maid.

oh for father's sake

i like what I'm hearing crowsashes! can't be more selfsufficientish than that! common everyone - what do you do? how do you stretch the old pound and live lightly?

I live cheaply because I'm and Old sting pot! ride my bike, burn waste wood, grow veg in old sinks and bukets - how about a topic of 'what I do to save money'? What do you do to make the old wage slip/student loan/whatever last longer?

Oh bikes! I take it all back! I did not like my bike today - I teetered down the road avoiding the ice patches looking like Miss Marple! I felt a proper old fool! then at the station it was so cold that I couldn't work the lock and just got it done as my train was coming in! I was so glad to get on ...

we're going to pay off our debts - we cut up the credit cards last year - have given up holidays - we're moving to a tiny cottage in Feb and will be debt free by 2012! get my masters degree and go to teach teachers instead of nose miners and ankle biters! easy when you just have to say it!

hi helen - hang on in there - it gets worse before it gets better - there are options and not owning a house, renting one for example is an option - we do not have to be tied to bills and we can find other ways - like all teachers - I'm gritting my teeth for the new term - mine starts on Wed!

great name squirrel46 as you must have squirrelled away about 46 burners! my fave is lavender and use it in my washing and bath and burner - my house smells nice - but by far is naag champa - it's expensive and divine - i use it in the bedroom !!!!