Absolutely, we will be giving up the gite and probably moving to a smaller house in the not too distant future.
You are right Stella, we could only afford holidays if we stayed with relatives when the children were young.
I remember a friend of mine saying she could not afford her usual holiday, so I suggested that she employ someone to give her house a real going over.
She was delighted, super clean house and work for another person at far fewer cost than her usual holiday.
When the world gets rid of concrete then I’ll stop flying!
Absolutely, Jane. I mention water/electricity savings as that is a hot-topic in our commune at the moment… that and less chemicals/soaps etc etc
It’s not only the farmers who risk polluting our earth/waterways 
Those who want to grow stuff need to understand their soil and the association of plants etc - (as I am sure you already do Jane). It can be quite a learning-curve for folk starting out. Us oldies may have more experience of what works best 
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I am wondering if the methane problem in India will be tackled know that the BJP have such a huge majority.
It seems such a drop in the ocean where our farmers are breeding and changing diets for their cattle to bring down their methane emissions and they are allowed to wander and breed at will in India.
Interesting article Beth, but we have to beware the argument that ‘We’re not going to stop doing this harmful thing because our neighbours / other countries are doing something worse’.
But not below 55 degrees or you risk bacteria build up I gather
Got to be aware of legionella
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Yes, I think the idea is to turn-down the CHeating part of the appliance, more than the heated-water we will be using in baths and showers.
Certainly, my favourite setting on the washing-machine is 20c. 
I use the rapid wash for any laundry that just needs a freshen up and the sun does the rest.
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Is it time to ditch my private jet?
I could always use the helicopter instead.
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You obviously knew your friend very well to suggest her house needed a thorough clean.
Peter that sounds like a perfect life from the Green partys handbook.
Was that an ironic comment? As surely it was the idea of having a real treat, and a holiday from cleaning that end up also with a home that feels like new. I think it’s a great idea and since we are now busy until October I will suggest to OH in place of our (non-existent) summer holiday.
Not all friendships would survive such a suggestion, unscathed.
MiLaw asked (just the once) if I would like her to ask the window-cleaner to do ours when he came to do her Granny Annexe. Since I knew the price (and could not afford it anyway) I explained that I was leaving the windows to their natural state to help the environment. 
Subsequently, we did actually get wonderful photos of longtailed tits clinging to the leading and pecking at the insects/whatever…
Oh yess! 
Well you’ll obviously never know as I deliberately didn’t put the relevant emoji.
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No, she was my Reiki Master.
I know my house is fairly clean, but that is different from someone coming in and really giving it a good going over.
It was an idea that well down well.
Just thinking outside the box,
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I think that it is a marvellous idea, I would love someone to come and give my house a good going-over.
I would like to try and put this issue of bacteria build up in hot water heaters to bed once and for all. What I think has happened is that certain advice applicable to certain types of domestic water heating systems which are common in the UK has been misapplied to the normal type of French system.
IF, as is common in the UK, the cold water feed to the hot tank comes from a cold water tank in the loft, then there is a risk of bacteria having entered the water system via the cold tank, especially if it has a poorly fitting cover, or indeed no cover at all.
With such a bacteria risk, then the advice about maintaining a minimum hot water cylinder temperature of 55 deg C is valid.
However, the usual system for an electric hot water tank here in France is completely different in that the cold water feed to the tank comes directly from the mains without any risk of bacteria entering the system. Therefore, with such a direct feed of safe potable cold water into the hot water tank, there is no need to maintain a high temperature in order to kill bacteria which simply is not there, and it is perfectly safe to have the thermostat on a lower setting.
With the French direct feed system it is also perfectly safe to drink water that has come from a hot tap which is certainly not the case with a UK type system that has an open cold water tank in the system.
Incidentally, it is also worth noting that any hot water tap that delivers water at a temperature above 50 deg C MUST be marked with a warning notice to alert the user to the risk of scalding.
So basically, if you have a direct feed hot water tank it is perfectly safe to turn down the thermostat to the lowest setting that one finds convenient commensurate with average daily use, and save yourself some money.
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A very clear explanation, thank you.