Making the most of the sun.

I like to make the most of the free resources around me before I even think about doing anything that costs money. At the moment I am making the most of the sun as that is a great free resource. Here are some of the extremely frugal ways that I take advantage of the sunshine.

1. Cook using the sun, and the heat. As a kid in the Girl Guides I remember frying eggs on a hot stone in the sun. Now I bring something like a vegetable stew or ratatouille to the boil, and let it continue to cook in a room in direct sunlight. It is dangerous to cook anything with meat this way. I do often cook potatoes, pasta, or other side dishes. The other day I cooked meringues in my conservatory that was 40⁰C. The sugar stabilises the egg so that it is safe. Eggs and dairy are not usually recommended to cook in this way. They took about 4 hours to become crisp.

2. The sun and warmth are brilliant for drying food. I never use a dehydrator or oven. I dry apple slices, fruit leathers, herbs, nettle seeds, various plants for teas, make sundried tomatoes, and dry citrus peel to use to make cleaning products.

3. I put my bread outside in the sunshine to prove before cooking it in my pizza oven.

4. We get free electricity through the sun charging my solar panels.

5. I heat up a camping shower to use after a day in the garden.

6. We warm glass bottles of water up to use for hand washing, or for getting a bird bath, later.

7. Chocolate or butter are melted naturally in a bowl when baking.

8. Yoghurt is easier to make in the warmth. I don’t need to use a slow cooker or a flask.

9. I dry clothes on a line outside, or in a window on a sunny day.

10. My crops are ripened, naturally, for instance, tomatoes or peppers.

11. Topping myself up with vitamin D naturally, without using supplements is essential.

12. Sterilise bedding (duvets), or water in glass bottles. The sun doesn’t completely sterilise anything but it reduces the microbes, bacteria, and odours.

13. Lighting my garden and making it look beautiful with solar lights.

14. The sun helps me save energy and fuel. It keeps me warm by heating up rooms through the windows in spring and autumn so that I don’t need to put my heating on during the day.

15. The sun naturally improves my mood, and I am more likely to go for a walk, or work in the garden, and so it helps my physical health and mental health.

Being frugal isn’t about deprivation. It is about respect for the resources that we already have, and making the most of them, just as our ancestors did. Do you have other ways to use the sun?