People in Merseyside are having to go to new lengths to ensure they can survive the cost of living crisis.
One family in Bootle told the ECHO how rising inflation and energy bills is leading them to predominantly use their washing machine overnight in a bid to keep electricity use down. In other cases people are having to be more restrictive with how many showers they have in order to use less gas.
At the Indy Pantry in Bootle, organisers told the ECHO how cleaning products and soap powder have become some of its most in demand items in recent months. With energy bills predicted to hit £4,200 in January, families are not only set to face the tough decision between ‘heat or eat’, but also having to rely on support to ensure they have the necessary hygiene products.
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Laura Harlock, pantry lead at the Independence Initiative, which runs the Indy Pantry every Thursday morning from Balliol Road, noted how cleaning products “fly off the shelves” and that the organisation “can't keep up with the demand for soap powder.”
Ms Harlock said the expense of cleaning products, including large boxes of soap powder, is putting great strain on household incomes as the price of food and energy continues to rise. She told the ECHO: “If you've got a tenner in your purse and you have to feed the kids for a week, but soap powder is £2.50 for the cheapest box, it's a big chunk of your money. Then you have shampoos which can be as much as £4.”
The organisation is currently “taking a hit” on how much is it paying out to secure it has enough soap powder to meet demand, but Ms Harlock said it is a “necessity” the pantry will do everything it can to provide.
She continued: “It's a necessity for children to be in a clean home with clean clothes. People are proud. If you haven't washed properly or your house is dirty, it isolates you. It's a whole other social aspect. Kids then don't want to invite their friends after school.”
Lisa Robinson, 49, is a member of the Indy Pantry in Bootle. This means she’s able to purchase 10 items totalling around £20 for £3.50, or £5 for 15 items.
She told the ECHO how her husband has trialled using the washing machine overnight in a bid to use less electricity. Both Lisa and her husband are in full time work, but she said she still relies on the pantry to supplement her food shop due to spiralling costs.
Asked how she feels about the prospect of bills reaching £4,200 in January, she said: “[I’m] terrified and panicked. We don't know what's going to happen. The heating will have to go off and we'll have to use blankets. It's absolutely awful. It wasn't like this when I was a kid.”
Another pantry member, Ashley Young, 47, said appliances in her home are switched off most days in the hope she can save on energy bills. She told the ECHO: “I just watch the tele in my room with all of the lights off.”
She added she occasionally resorts to going to bed early and will be looking to use a spare quilt over the central heating this winter. Amanda also explained how she is having to be restrictive with shower use to make sure the boiler isn’t used too much - in turn driving up energy prices.
Amanda told the ECHO: “[When limiting washing machine use] you have to re-wear as much as you can. I can try and do one full wash a week, so I can get away with it.
“But I've never known it like this. I've never known it to be more desperate for people. I grew up in the 1980s - we're supposed to be more advanced now. It's all well and good saying use the summer to top your metre up. But you don't always have that £5 to top up. People are already struggling as it is.”
Ashley, another member of the pantry, said she too is having to keep an eye on her energy use in order to make her money stretch. The mum told the ECHO how she’s had to “minimise how much electricity I put in, how much gas I put in,” adding: “There's only a set amount of times you can get help [from energy companies]. “You have to work out when the best priority time is.”
She continued: “A lot of people are asking for help. It is hitting people you wouldn't even think need help. But everyone is sticking together. Especially around here in Bootle. Everyone helps one another.”
For Paulene Connell, deputy chief executive at the Independence Initiative, the months ahead isn’t just a case of tackling food and fuel poverty. She told the ECHO: “What about family poverty and experience poverty, taking children to the cinema and on holidays? Some children don't even know what an aquarium is as they can't access them.
“These issues are prevalent in Bootle; it'll cause a knock-on effect for the next generation.”
The Indy Pantry takes place at the Independence Initiative in Bootle every Thursday morning from 9.30am. Membership costs £1 which offers £3.50 for 10 items, £5 for 15 items.
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