Avoiding Supermarkets....

[Rosendula]

I've just been looking at the Ethical Superstore website - I haven't used them, but was looking for somewhere to buy bulk flour. They have bulk options on most of their food/cleaning products, which offer some savings and also mean that you wouldn't have to place an order too often. My problem would be storage though.

I just had a look, too, as the flour is one of the few things that keeps me going back to the supermarket. Unfortunately, despite the multibuy option, the flour on the Ethical Superstore website is still far more expensive than the supermarket - and the amount I use make this an issue. The prices look comparable, but the bags are only 1kg, compared to 1.5kg that buy currently.

[bigkev]

Took a wee look at the website concerned Cow and other manure but not dogs i have a consultants report here which suggests different so maybye you can help me out off the confusion that surrounds composting and other ideas
off course all materials should be approched with caution and a mask worn at all times around the heap especially when turning or putting in new material to stop injury to health

Bioiwse helpline best pratice guide easily got on net
Any ideas welcolme

[Annpan]

Took a wee look at the website concerned Cow and other manure but not dogs i have a consultants report here which suggests different so maybye you can help me out off the confusion that surrounds composting and other ideas
off course all materials should be approched with caution and a mask worn at all times around the heap especially when turning or putting in new material to stop injury to health

Bioiwse helpline best pratice guide easily got on net
Any ideas welcolme

Slightly off the supermarket topic here but Cat, dog and human poo can harbour a parasite called toxoplasmosis, for healthy adults this give flu like symptoms which lift after a few days (and you can only get it once, after which you are infected with it) But in very young children, babies and pregnant ladies, those with immune deficiency it can cause severe brain damage and even death http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis

I think it is generally accepted that these manures are fine to compost if you have a hot composter, and the resulting compost is not used in contact with the eaten food (ie, it might be good for apple trees, but not for carrots)

Cow, chicken and horse manure are the ones to use (because they don't eat meat)

[Big Al]

>>>> snip

The only cleaning item I get in the supermarket is soda crystals. Everything else comes in bulk sizes either through a wholefood co-op or off the net (shampoo, conditioner, bath gel, washing up liquid, toilet cleaner, distilled vinegar, soda bicarbonate). It means I can buy better standard at no greater cost as well as being environmentally friendly.

https://www.soapkitchenonline.co.uk/aca ... ducts.html

Just done a quick google and the site above came up at £19 ish for 25 kg of soda crystals. Don't know if this is good value as I've yet to get into using soda. Again no affiliation or recomendations made...

Alan

[Flo]

That's a tiny bit expensive in comparison with the local supermarket with delivery thrown in. But it's one to remember as a useful source. I shall remember it. I shall consider it when the supply works down and see if a large measure would do good. I'd say that 25kg would do me for a couple of years! Wonder how much packaging is involved in the transport. Hmm. Swings and roundabouts there.

Distilled vinegar is fine if you know someone who has an account at a local wholesaler such as Costco or is near a Chinese supermarket which are apparently a good source. Supermarkets only do it in small quantities. Typical.

Useful site for cleaning stuff is http://www.summernaturals.co.uk/ - especially the distilled vinegar and there is the good old faithful http://www.faithinnature.co.uk/ which does Clear Spring. You can pick up trials of stuff from Faith in Nature in the Oxfam shops and if you like it, then buy the big measures from the website. That's what I did. Or if you know someone who does a wholefood co-op you can probably pick up smaller samples to try out that is what you want.

[Flo]

>>>> snip

The only cleaning item I get in the supermarket is soda crystals. Everything else comes in bulk sizes either through a wholefood co-op or off the net (shampoo, conditioner, bath gel, washing up liquid, toilet cleaner, distilled vinegar, soda bicarbonate). It means I can buy better standard at no greater cost as well as being environmentally friendly.

https://www.soapkitchenonline.co.uk/aca ... ducts.html

Just done a quick google and the site above came up at £19 ish for 25 kg of soda crystals. Don't know if this is good value as I've yet to get into using soda. Again no affiliation or recomendations made...

Alan

You have to be careful with soda crystals as they come in two sorts - those for cleaning out drains which are cheaper but no use for washing and those for household cleaning purposes which are dearer. I should have said washing (soda) crystals to be quite clear as to what I buy. Having looked at the prices for the same item (DP washing soda crystals) at Asda (52p a kg on the website this morning), 68p a kg in T***o in store when I passed last week and £1.82 per kg for the 25 kg size (£33.80 + delivery charge of £11.59 which took a bit of digging to find), over twice the price is a bit over the top don't you think for avoiding a supermarket?

I can go direct to the website for Faith in Nature for a lot of cleaning products and they have a much better delivery pricing system - http://www.faithinnature.co.uk/shop_fra ... _pandp.asp - I order once a year and do 5 litres of things like shampoo, conditioner, bath foam, washing up liquid (x2) and laundry liquid (x2) so don't have to pay delivery. I just decant into smaller bottles that I have collected. It sounds a hefty bill but is only about £2.98 a week in cleaning materials plus the washing soda crystals. The washing soda is for general cleaning and heavy duty washing (I do sometimes get a load of whites from family up road and my own allotment stuff can be bad to worse). I know that the 25 kg pack would last me a couple of years but have just backed off ordering due to the cost of the delivery.

[Big Al]

>>>> snip

The only cleaning item I get in the supermarket is soda crystals. Everything else comes in bulk sizes either through a wholefood co-op or off the net (shampoo, conditioner, bath gel, washing up liquid, toilet cleaner, distilled vinegar, soda bicarbonate). It means I can buy better standard at no greater cost as well as being environmentally friendly.

https://www.soapkitchenonline.co.uk/aca ... ducts.html

Just done a quick google and the site above came up at £19 ish for 25 kg of soda crystals. Don't know if this is good value as I've yet to get into using soda. Again no affiliation or recomendations made...

Alan

You have to be careful with soda crystals as they come in two sorts - those for cleaning out drains which are cheaper but no use for washing and those for household cleaning purposes which are dearer. I should have said washing (soda) crystals to be quite clear as to what I buy. Having looked at the prices for the same item (DP washing soda crystals) at Asda (52p a kg on the website this morning), 68p a kg in T***o in store when I passed last week and £1.82 per kg for the 25 kg size (£33.80 + delivery charge of £11.59 which took a bit of digging to find), over twice the price is a bit over the top don't you think for avoiding a supermarket?

I can go direct to the website for Faith in Nature for a lot of cleaning products and they have a much better delivery pricing system - http://www.faithinnature.co.uk/shop_fra ... _pandp.asp - I order once a year and do 5 litres of things like shampoo, conditioner, bath foam, washing up liquid (x2) and laundry liquid (x2) so don't have to pay delivery. I just decant into smaller bottles that I have collected. It sounds a hefty bill but is only about £2.98 a week in cleaning materials plus the washing soda crystals. The washing soda is for general cleaning and heavy duty washing (I do sometimes get a load of whites from family up road and my own allotment stuff can be bad to worse). I know that the 25 kg pack would last me a couple of years but have just backed off ordering due to the cost of the delivery.

It's like the speedy self serve checkouts in Asda. Everyone ques up thinking they are faster and then they go wrong and you have to wait for assistance... Ok if you have one or two items all priced up etc but in general you have to dig for a good price. I've had an example of supermarket v local shop on my blog for yesterday the 6th of january if anyone is interested.

Also thanks for the tip on the different soda's.... didn't know there was any,lol.

Alan

[Flo]

A nice picture there of washing done with heavy duty drain cleaner. Glad to be of help

[Green Aura]

If you buy it by mistake you can always make soap with it

[Carolinamandolina]

I live right next door to T***o (grrr!) and manage to ignore it completely. How do I do that when I'm a skint student?

I get a fruit and veggie box (and I do a deal with them so they give me cheese too) from a local cafe (the Sunlite cafe on Cowane street in Stirling)

And dumpster dive the rest from the Co-op.

Nae bother!

[flyonthewall]

I go to the local A$da for baked beans, dog biscuits, washing powder (I use Ecover for a lot of stuff but for mucky kid's PE kit and also for my mucky football kit the Ecover doesn't do it) canned tuna, loo roll, stuff like tin foil and baking parchment as I make a lot of cakes, and it's cheaper than the specialist cake shop, pasta and flour. I do get the odd treat like ice cream for OH's daughter, but mostly treats are home made cakes. Our local stores are very expensive compared to the supermarkets

Things like lentils and dried beans I buy from the local market on a Saturday, I get big bags of rice from the Chinese supermarket, OH's cousin is a butcher so we get meat from him, and he also sells free range eggs and local butter.

Next month we are going to try and go supermarket free for a month. Not least because I hate the places and they give me panic attacks!