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Making money and saving it too

20th February 2017 by shoestringjane@outlook.com 19 Comments

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Making money

I spent the whole evening listing clothes for eBay last night. Quite a boring task but hopefully my efforts will prove fruitful. I currently have 40 odd items for sale 😀. I am interested in making some money from my efforts.

A thrifty dinner

Dinner was chicken wings marinated in a bottle of Nando’s sauce that appeared from nowhere – I think my darling daughter must have bought it and it was forgotten about in the back of the cupboard. In my opinion chicken wings are very under-rated. There may not be lots of meat on them but what’s there is very flavoursome. Great value too. We had them with a baked sweet potato and some salad for a thrifty dinner. The marinade was nice but it would obviously be cheaper to make it yourself.

Saving money on laundry drying

It was a gorgeous day here in Essex yesterday. I wish I had known it would be then I would have got the laundry outside before I left for work. I love to see it hanging out there, and it’s so much better than having airers all over the house. Today doesn’t look promising so it is indoors. Roll on spring!

I refuse to waste money buying and running a dryer. People  are forever asking me why I don’t get one. Firstly, there is no space in the kitchen, secondly even the AAA rated ones cost a lot to run and thirdly not having one is better for the environment. I managed to raise three kids without a dryer so I think I can carry on without one now they are grown up. I swear I am considered rather eccentric to take this stance! 

What about you? Are you a line dryer or do you rely on the tumble dryer?

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Filed Under: FRUGAL LIFESTYLE Tagged With: Money making, Money saving

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Comments

  1. Mrs LH says

    21st February 2017 at 08:39

    I’ve got a dryer but always try and line dry outside weather permitting. I was without a dryer for a couple of years and managed well, however I got another when 2 of the 3 kids moved back home after Uni – honestly one wear and it was straight in the wash bin!
    They’ve all flown the nest now so it’s easier.
    I think listing on eBay is the worst part – so time consuming. I usually list on Tuesday and it ends on a Sunday evening. I’m looking forward to that task later today.

    Reply
  2. Sue Hatherell says

    21st February 2017 at 09:01

    Hi there, I love reading your blog and have taken on board a lot of your money saving tips. I am mostly a line sort of person and love to see laundry blowing on the line and marvel at how fresh it smells when taken off the line to iron. However I do have a dryer, one of the AAA rated ones and I use it mostly for partly getting thick things dry such as towels and jeans when it is raining, then I put them on an airer in the conservatory to finish drying. I hate to have washing draped all over the house, hence the dryer but I must admit I don’t like using it, I just see it as a needs must sort of thing. Regards Sue H.

    Reply
  3. Julia says

    21st February 2017 at 11:55

    I’m afraid I rely on a tumble dryer, though I line dry when the weather cooperates. We just got paid £91 from the solar panels for the winter months, so I feel that offsets the costs a bit.

    I was amazed that when we lived in America, with hot sunny days guaranteed virtually every day from May-October, I was the only one who ever hung washing outside to dry! But then we were well known as being the eccentric British family because we also walked everywhere! 😀

    Reply
  4. Margaret Powling says

    21st February 2017 at 13:52

    I have never heard of Nando sauce! I must be getting old, because not only have I not heard of that, but I’ve never tasted wasabi (is that the spelling?) I’ve heard it’s like horseradish (or as hot) and seeing as I don’t like horseradish, that rules wasabi out!
    As for the tumble dryer. Guilty, m’Lud, as charged! We have one and I know it’s not environmentally friendly, nor is it cheap to run, but I refuse to have washing draped over radiators, steaming up the house, removing wallpaper from the walls, and smelling like a Dickensian wash-house (not that I’ve smelt one of those, but I can imagine it!) Sorry, but I use one when the weather is bad and we need to dry clothes (yes, but do we need to wash them when the weather is bad? Well, sometimes it’s bad for days on end and the laundry would begin to whiff …) but I like-dry when it’s find and there’s a nice breeze. I do it both ways, then; tumble dryer (but I do spin things twice to get every drop of water out that I can) when we need to, and line-dry when the weather obliges. I could have a clothes rack over the upstairs bath (we only have a shower downstairs) but it would take days to dry inside and, as I say, I’m not prepared to have rooms like saunas. Some things, tights, socks and panties and bras, I do sling in the airing cupboard and they dry overnight. But nothing else.
    Margaret P

    Reply
  5. VickiEY says

    21st February 2017 at 14:05

    40 items listed in one evening? Goodness – full marks for perseverance -I’ve had enough after 4! Hope it’s a good week and you get plenty of sales.

    I’ve never had a tumble dryer except once in a washer/dryer combo which was expensive and inefficient. Like you , I would find it a waste of space, money and energy. Lovely day today but neighbours have decided to have a bonfire so it’s fortunate I don’t have much to dry!

    Enjoy the rest of your week, Vicki.

    Reply
    • shoestringjane@outlook.com says

      21st February 2017 at 14:53

      Lord, no! I added ten. 40 in one night would be the death of me

      Reply
  6. AuntLeesie says

    21st February 2017 at 14:47

    In the U.S. most have dryers. Ours for the last 15 years is a gas dryer, so much less expensive to run. What’s nice about machine drying is little or no ironing is needed. I remember my mother hanging laundry out to dry in the summer months and then spending hours ironing clothes every week. Crossing fingers & toes all your listings on ebay sell! How is your lodger working out? Your meal sounds delicious.

    Reply
    • shoestringjane@outlook.com says

      21st February 2017 at 16:30

      The lodger is great! She couldn’t be easier

      Reply
      • Eloise says

        21st February 2017 at 18:14

        That is great news. It is a very big decision to make and it is good to hear that it is working out.

        Reply
  7. Sandy Brunton-Shiels says

    21st February 2017 at 15:51

    I am definitely a lover of line drying – I just love the clean fresh smell you get when washing is dried outside. I live in the Scottish Borders but every opportunity I get the washing goes out. I too don’t have a drier – too expensive but I do have a south facing conservatory which does a grand job and for Free!

    Reply
  8. Quest says

    21st February 2017 at 16:08

    I rely on the tumble dryer 50% of the time. All clothes are washed and hung up on a built in rail in my laundry room, then when they are dry I fluff them up in the dryer and never iron anything. All towels and sheets go into the dryer.

    I used to line dry, I did it for years in my last house but I found that the sun bleached my clothing quite badly. I had to hang out dark colors inside out. I live in the High Desert of Southern California so I’m guessing our sun is fairly strong here in the summer months!! I had to be careful what time of day I hung out the clothes, the earlier the better.

    I lived in the UK for 24 years and drying laundry was always a major struggle. Our clothes used to look like heck by the time my mum brought in the stuff from the line. We never had a dryer. My mum used to wash clothes in the bath tub when I was little ….. given the weather, I have no idea how she managed. Today, my parents still do not have a dryer. On the occasions when I have visited, I have always ended up at the laundromat because I don’t want my underwear on display in their hallway!! My elderly father dries their clothing etc out in a dirty garden shed or on a rotary washing line that needs a good clean. He plugs in the washing machine via an extension cord that runs right across the kitchen sink – very dangerous. Given the constant wet weather, I would imagine that a dryer is a necessity. My sister doesn’t have a dryer either and she has a family living at home in a tiny house. I can’t understand it LOL

    Reply
  9. Cathy says

    21st February 2017 at 16:14

    I always line dry if it’s fine weather and then give clothes 10 mins in the dryer to help air them and reduce creases. If it’s raining then it goes on the radiators and then in the dryer for 10 mins Only urgent things get fully tumble dred eg work uniform The drying cuts down on ironing so reduces energy that way

    Reply
  10. Eloise says

    21st February 2017 at 18:12

    I hang washing outside when possible. I love the smell of freshly aired washing, and the fact that it is cost free. When it’s not, the right weather, I do use my tumble dryer. Since I am prone to chest infections and have scarring on my lung due to pneumonia, the prospect of damp washing hanging around my house is not a welcome one. I removed the shelves from my airing cupboard and put in a hanging rail which is useful but it wouldn’t be advisable to use it too often as the moisture can damage plaster. . I have a friend who always uses the radiators and air ers and I do not like the slightly musty smell that is sometimes evident. Following on from your comments yesterday regarding the things that people with ‘no money’ can cut down on, getting rid of my tumble dryer would have to be my biggest potential cost cutter. However, for me, whilst I cut down on many, many things, the tumble dryer is the luxury I choose to keep.

    Reply
  11. The Runcible Pen says

    21st February 2017 at 19:08

    I’m an expat living in the US, so I’m one of those ‘crazy’ British people who line dry or use a clothes horse when possible, although I do like having the dryer as a back up. By the way, one of the benefits of a wood burning stove, when you finally get it put in, is that you can dry clothes in front of it very quickly, although it doesn’t add much to the ambiance of the room 🙂

    Reply
  12. chris says

    21st February 2017 at 19:17

    I don’t use a dryer either, it’s line dry for me when possible or on a clothes horse in the hall!!

    Reply
  13. Momsav says

    21st February 2017 at 22:41

    I’m in America and have a dryer. I’ve always line dried when the weather cooperates, though. You’re all right, there aren’t too many of us here. I want to dry on inside racks, but my husband won’t let me. We run a dehumidifier all Winter; too much moisture already, sadly. I hate sending a big check in for electric.

    Reply
  14. ldcapouya says

    21st February 2017 at 22:59

    I live in the US, in the South. I line dry every time it isn’t raining! Which in the past year wasn’t too often! (Floods) Cheers, Laura

    Reply
  15. Susan Wilkie says

    22nd February 2017 at 11:03

    Sorry I’m a day late in replying.I’ve never owned a dryer wouldn’t want one. I bought up four sons and managed,just used two clothes horses each in a warm place in the house. In recent times I looked after bed bound MinL for just short of ten years lots of washing but still would not have wanted a dryer

    Reply
  16. Mrs. Frugalista says

    24th February 2017 at 22:52

    I was raised in an island in the Caribbean and a dryer was unheard of. I live in the U.S. now and we have an electric dryer but we use clothes racks to dry our clothes. Saves us tons of money and the environment.

    Reply

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About Me

Would you like to take control of your finances, pay off your debts and save for the future? At Shoestring Cottage we aim to show you that you can live a good and happy life on less than you think, you can get off the consumer treadmill and you can live more simply and healthily and not feel deprived.
We are also moving toward a less wasteful, more sustainable lifestyle and believe frugality and sustainability go hand in hand. Read More…

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