Handy tips and tricks

L.Jenkins

Home Made Fuel

Just picked up one or two handy tips during the week. Imagine your having problems with finances and can't afford fuel, well fear not. It's not a permanent solution or a quick fix though, but if you have old newspapers or used paper or cardboard of any kind, i.e. envelops, letters, boxes or tissues lying around or filling up your recycling bin, use it as fuel.

Take your used paper or cardboard and shred it up in to small strips and place it in a bin. There should be enough water in the bin also, that the paper soaks it up plus a little extra. You can also take fallen leaves, grind them up and place them in the bin along with saw dust if available. Allow your mixture to soak for a minimum of 5 days.

What to do now with your mixture. You'll need a container with a small hole in the bottom to allow excess water to run off. Take an unused milk container for example and fill it with the mixture. Compact your mixture to remove as much water as possible. Allow your new block to dry out completely.

A large enough block, should give a maximum of 20-30 minutes burning time.

Home Made Firelighters

A cotton ball on it's own will burn out in mere seconds. If you are short on firelighters, a cotton ball can become a useful item in lighting a fire. Smoother it in vasaline. This should give you up to 3 minutes burning time, long enough to get a few extra bits of paper and sticks to burn so you can get a decent fire going.

Anyone else have any useful hints or tips for everyday life and living that you've picked up along the way.

justsomebloke

but do you have your bug out bag ready:D

L.Jenkins

Always :P

Hoof_Hearted

Just thought I'd add another version. Last winter I burned horse manure bricks I'd made the year before. Same procedure as the newspaper ones, pack it into a mould, I used flower pots, turn them out and let them dry. They burned longer than the newspaper ones and weren't too bad heat-wise, and kept the stove going.

L.Jenkins

I know it might turn some peoples stomach, but my grandparents used to dry out menure and burn it.

Hoof_Hearted

S'pose some people would find it hard but I used a spade and my Welles to pack it into bricks, once it's dry there's no smell at all, and certainly none when it burns.

cherryghost

If you have a smelly dirty sponge, put some washing-up liquid on it and stick it in the microwave for about a minute. Magically cleans itself and also leaving it smelling rosy

Pottler

Itzy wrote: »

Home Made Fuel

Just picked up one or two handy tips during the week. Imagine your having problems with finances and can't afford fuel, well fear not. It's not a permanent solution or a quick fix though, but if you have old newspapers or used paper or cardboard of any kind, i.e. envelops, letters, boxes or tissues lying around or filling up your recycling bin, use it as fuel.

Take your used paper or cardboard and shred it up in to small strips and place it in a bin. There should be enough water in the bin also, that the paper soaks it up plus a little extra. You can also take fallen leaves, grind them up and place them in the bin along with saw dust if available. Allow your mixture to soak for a minimum of 5 days.

What to do now with your mixture. You'll need a container with a small hole in the bottom to allow excess water to run off. Take an unused milk container for example and fill it with the mixture. Compact your mixture to remove as much water as possible. Allow your new block to dry out completely.

A large enough block, should give a maximum of 20-30 minutes burning time.

Home Made Firelighters

A cotton ball on it's own will burn out in mere seconds. If you are short on firelighters, a cotton ball can become a useful item in lighting a fire. Smoother it in vasaline. This should give you up to 3 minutes burning time, long enough to get a few extra bits of paper and sticks to burn so you can get a decent fire going.

Anyone else have any useful hints or tips for everyday life and living that you've picked up along the way.

One of the best tips I've ever gotten was don't spend 5 days making somthing that keeps you warm for 20 minutes, or you'll freeze. Collect scrap pallets, burn. Warmth, free. Top tip.

theKillerBite

To clean off oil from your hands mix a spoonful of sugar with some washing up liquid. Comes off like magic.