Lately #2

Of a decidedly frugally-unrelated nature, I am presently looking for work in the UK.

Reasons are varied, but suffice to say, I will be living super-frugally while there - by necessity, as there will be the regular flights back to Finland. Plus, while I took this office/dungeon on so I could write, it turns out that it's a good exercise in practicing solo frugality.

Fridge accidentally turned down to lowest setting = milk, cheese, leftovers and ham into the bin. :(

Small fridge & no freezer = inability to buy perishables in bulk. I have to admit, I was peripherally aware that singletons have it tougher when it comes to shopping (small portions cost more) and don't necessarily have the time for frugal food prep. But wow. This tiny box fridge (40L) has forced me to confront it head-on, and it's not pretty.

I stay here for 2 or 3 days at a time, and I can't buy a loaf of bread here! Of all the simple things that are now inaccessible, this one hurts the most. People on drastically low incomes - of which there are many - being unable to buy a loaf of bread unless it goes into the freezer. One of the most frugal, versatile foods there is.

Bread rolls - triple the price of two slices of bread
Baguette - six lunches, but goes stale in two days

Fortunately, flour tortillas keep in the fridge, so I now eat wraps for lunch quite religiously. Salad ingredients are fine too (lettuce takes up a lot of room). So does two kilos of carrots (sounds like a stupid purchase until I tell you it was cheaper than buying three single carrots). But every meal now has to include carrot or I'll never use them up.

It's the first time that I've had to assess every item in my basket for its shelf life and how much space it will take up. On the plus side, no freezer, so vegetables are always prepared fresh and I'm eating a lot more salad. That's good, I suppose?

What Lately?

I have an office now, sometimes referred to as My Dungeon, and said dungeon came without a kitchen (just a sink in what had been used as a cleaning room). My duty, should I choose to accept it: convert said cleaning room into a kitchen. Naturally, I strapped my fists to my back and set off in search of adventure.

Side question: how is it that cleaning rooms are so disgustingly dirty?

Fun part 1: dirty. Etc. Cleaning, etc.
Fun part 2: sink only sort of attached to wall. Also, as I was cleaning it, I felt the joy of water seeping into my sock. Look down and there's lovely foul water on the floor where the drain had overflowed. Overflown. Er, filled with water and then kept going.
Fun part 3: it was all cruddy and crusted over and I didn't have a plunger. (Trip to the hardware shop.)
Fun part 4: plunging sink did nothing. That was draining just fine... straight into the floor drain beneath it, which was overflowing onto the floor.

Well an entertaining afternoon was had involving me pulling a sink entirely off the wall and disassembling all the parts. It was not fun cleaning out that foul floor drain or despairing mightily when the plunger at first did not work. Ultimate success though and it's now all reassembled with the sink even on the wall properly.

Was it frugal? Well not really since it cost me a bus ride, a plunger and plumbing tape, and the landlord really should have had to send a plumber. But I gather he's not a very hands-on guy and I'd prefer not to annoy him with expensive things if I can do them myself for a lot less.

Along side the sink shenanigans I bought a sideboard to become the "kitchen". I also bought a small trolley for the microwave to sit on, and a faux-leather computer chair. Delivery hurt a bit but the total was probably a quarter of new price (thanks, Recycle Centre). Also went to Ikea and found a table top which had been on display (three euro, cheers) plus four table legs (two silver, two white... not matching but who cares). Total cost eight euro. Not bad. I even managed to get it back to the dungeon on the free Ikea bus. Frugal.

I had an hour to kill waiting for that bus so I had a plate of Swedish meatballs. Not frugal. I'm an Ikea Family member so my coffee was free. Frugal. Dungeon in general: costs money (not frugal) but is an adapted basement so is inexpensive (frugal). I bought a laptop for it (not frugal) but it was an insanely cheap new laptop (frugal).

One might say I have been a bit hit and miss with the frugality of late!