Frugal Living – Winter Saving Tips

Each year, the cost of heating your home is becoming extortionate. Here I discuss some winter saving tips that I’ve used to cut down my costs of heating my home.

Throughout the winter, the cold can be very unforgiving. Unfortunately for us, so can the cost of heating. With the price of oil rising, we are finding it harder to afford heating. To survive this time of the year – usually when the majority of spending has gone out on gifts, and food, requires one to think smart.

Each winter we spend a small fortune on ourselves. However, we also spend a fortune on heating. Frugal living is all about being wise with your money. Winter savings tips are great, because you can not only reduce what you pay out – but you make your home more thermally efficient.

By loosing less heat out of your house, you are saving on your heating bill. How your heating works can vary. Often there is gas or oil powered central heating. Perhaps you have a boiler plate in your fire, so that the fire can supplement your central heating. Or you use electricity to heat your home.

Regardless, you need to have a green home. An efficient home.

To start saving money throughout the winter, one can follow these simple steps:

Turn your thermostat down
By turning down the thermostat on your central heating, you will not be heating your house much. Sounds counter-intuitive? Of course it does. However, why burn lots of oil, or gas, when you can save a small fortune by turning the nob down a few clicks.
Seal all gaps in doors and windows

Everyone’s house must settle. And traditional wooden frames, even PVC ones, will bend a little as the house settles. The gaps left are great ways to loose heat from your home. So why not save yourself some money by spending money on getting draft excluders!
Close curtains or blinds

Whilst these are all very eye pleasing, their actual purpose is insulation of your home. Enjoy day light whilst it’s around, but once it starts to get dark it’s soon going to be cold. Take this opportunity to stay warm, and close curtains and blinds to retain some heat in your home.
Light candles

Candles are awesome at setting a nice ambience to any room in your home. However, before getting to the tip, I must strenuously remind you not to leave candles unattended, nor lit whilst you sleep. Don’t forget to have your smoke alarm checked too. Safety lesson aside. Candles, big or small, are sources of heat. You’d be surprised at how much heat is given off by 10 small tea-light candles .
Put down rugs/carpets

Like curtains or blinds, rugs and carpets are used to insulate the floor of your home.
Wear a pullover/jumper/jersey

Yes, wearing additional clothes that are not traditionally worn indoors will warm you up. This is great, because you can save so much on your heating bills just by doing this!

frugallivingtips.net

6 Surprising Uses for Your Microwave

In the era of Slow Food and de-cluttered kitchens, the humble microwave oven has been rendered somewhat déclassé and is being phased out in many households. This isn’t to say that microwaves are at risk of going the way of the Walkman anytime soon, but many folks seem to be getting along just fine without them.

If you haven’t prepared a Hungry-Man dinner in more than 15 years, you pop popcorn the “old-fashioned” way and are considering pawning off a seldom-used microwave on a friend, you might want to think twice. There are numerous ways to get the most out of your microwave — which, by the way, are significantly more efficient and cost-effective than traditional full-sized ovens. Here are six of them:

1. Bread, fresh from the microwave: MNN food blogger Robin Shreeves has an idea for those who enjoy fresh bakery bread and rolls with dinner but don’t have the countertop space for a proper breadbox: just stash it in the microwave until you’re ready to eat it. When the door is closed, a microwave is airtight so your baked goods will stay nice and fresh … just don’t forget them in there. This microwave-as-a-breadbox trick can also be applied to foods that need to kept fresh, don’t need refrigeration and that you don’t want cluttering your countertop.

2. The mighty germ-killing sponge-saver: Many of us have a tendency to go through kitchen sponges and scrubbers somewhat frequently — given that after several uses they can start looking/smelling a bit funky as they mutate from useful cleaning tool into filthy germ hotel. Instead of tossing a perfectly good sponge that still has some life in it — doing this can be a burden on both the environment and your pocketbook — simply wet it so it doesn’t become a fire hazard and toss it in the microwave for a minute or two. “Sponge Zapping,” as its known, will sanitize the sponge, killing 99 percent of bacteria living on it. And while we’re on the topic of bacteria and sponges, we recommend looking into the Scoop Sponge from Full Circle, a biodegradable sponge with an arch that helps it to dry faster and prohibits germs from making themselves too comfortable.

3. A home spa accessory … in the kitchen: Long considered a must-have tool for those who enjoy luxurious at-home pampering, a microwave can be used to warm facial masks, wraps, creams, lotions, hot oil conditioning packs and waxes. And if you’re looking for quick relief from what ails you, there’s no better (or faster) way to heat up a gel pack than popping it in the microwave.

4. A citrus squeezer’s best friend: Squeezing a lemon or lime for cooking or cocktail purposes can often provide lackluster results, especially if it’s been sitting in a refrigerator. Warm citrus fruits in a microwave for 20 seconds for more juicy results and a nice little blast of natural, citrus-y air in your kitchen.

5. Crafty Crayola creations: Households with artistically inclined children tend to go through a fair number of crayons. When crayons are broken, mostly used up or neglected, they usually meet an untimely end in the garbage can. However, after a quick reheating in the microwave (be sure to strip crayons of paper and place them in a microwave-safe container) melted crayon wax can live on in the form of recycled crayon creations. After melting, pour the wax into candy molds or ice cube trays and pop in the freezer. “Chunky” homemade crayon-making is a great way to get kids hooked on DIY, but just make sure you’re around to supervise and operate “the melter” as the wax can get very hot.

6. Non-reheated culinary delights: In many households, microwaves are primarily dedicated to reheating leftovers and making nachos. However, there are myriad ways to put a microwave to good use and create delicious, healthy meals. Some of these creations might surprise even the most jaded foodies: Steamed vegetables, toasted nuts and breadcrumbs, cooked bacon, roasted garlic, poached fish and baked potatoes can all be enjoyed in dramatically less time than it would take to prepare them by firing up the oven or boiling water.

womansday.com

How do you organise your paper work/ mail ?

whether you sit down at a desk or just sort through your mail as it arrives, how do you keep it organised into things to do, things to pay, appointments to make or keep ect ?

I have a set of three plastic bins or duckets underneath one of my kitchen counters, the purpose was for each of my family members to have a place to keep or store their mail ect, however it never caught on and they have been there a year.

Now its just a dumping ground for bank statements and important bits and pieces that dont have a home as such, i just want them off my bench tops.

Can you make any suggestions please ?

fashion accessories you should not live without

What a fabulous idea,
3 items i dont have in my bag but would love to get my hands on, i think a trip to super drugs is on the cards.

These items are ...

Hollywood Fashion Tape

They’re transparent, stretchy, super sticky strips of tape designed to adhere to textiles and skin without leaving a residue.

Miss Oops Lint Roller with refill

use it to remove cat hair, dandruff and random bits of lint on clothing.

Shout Portable Wipes

They’re stain-removing towelettes that comes 12 to a box in individually wrapped packets.

Just tear open one of the packets, and rub the moistened sheet (soaked with an effective stain remover) on the stain.

this little bit of genious was shared by

makeupandbeautyblog

what do you keep in your bag for emergancies ?

Linen Closet Clear out and Tidy

I saw a perfect tip a short while ago on how to store your bedding that was both simple and genious, well i think so anyway :)

i was just flicking through some pictures on pinterest when i came across this little revelation, so simple and yet i dont know of anyone that uses the idea, do you ?
check it out


Storing sheets inside the pillowcase. How come I never thought of that?

So i went ahead and purged some old bedding, re folded all my table clothes and rolled up my towels and then applied this method to all of my bedding.
Wow guys, you wouldnt believe the difference in space saving, how neat it is but above all how practical it is, im in love with this idea x

Kath's Birthday Basket

I created this basket as a favour for my friend to give to her mam as a birthday gift
to check it out and see how i did it hit the title link of this post,
let me know if you like it x

What is Frugal Living?

Does frugal living mean dooming yourself to a life of deprivation, just so you can save a few cents here and there?

Not at all. Frugal living isn’t about sacrifice and deprivation; it’s about living smarter, so that you can afford to live the life that you want to live – the life that you dream of living.

Frugal living means smarter money management.

When you know how much money you have in the bank and how much money you need to cover your monthly bills, you can begin to make better decisions about how your money is spent. Can you afford to splurge on a new pair of shoes? Is this the right time to buy a new car? Put a frugal budget in place, and you’ll know just what you can afford, and more importantly, what you can’t afford.

You’ll also know where you stand with your debt repayment, savings goals, and investments—a key step to taking charge of your money and making it work for you.
Frugal living means smarter spending.

It's taking the money that you have and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g it as far as it will go.

Hit the title link to read more .

How to get your kids to eat healthy

A dear friend of mine shared a post on my new website about a book she was given as a gift after she showed concern over getting children to eat the right types of foods that were good to them.
you can see the book and a link to where it can be purchased by hitting the title link of this post.
I hope you enjoy it, its a great lil weapon for us concerned parents.

Veronica's Weightloss Journey Diary

You can follow my dear friend vivi's weightloss journey by clicking on the title link of this post.

Vivi has been a real inspiration to us all, sharing her knowledge and video journal of her everyday meals and snacks.
She also exercises everday and works out how many calories for the day then how many she burned off during her exercise, its all good therapy .

I will be starting my own journey very soon so be sure to keep checking out this space :) x

Adding Fruits and Vegetables to Your Kids’ Diet

Fruits and vegetables are full of vitamins, minerals and fiber, which are essential to keeping your child healthy. Most kids need about 2 to 4 cups fruits and vegetables every day. The older they are, the more they need!


Getting kids to eat their veggies and fruits can be challenging. Below are some easy ways to get your kids to increase their fruit and vegetable intake.

1. Keep it colorful Challenge your younger children to try fruits and vegetables of different colors. Make it a red/green/orange day (apple, lettuce, carrot). You and your kids can also pick one color and see how many fruits and veggies of that color you can find.
READ MORE BY HITTING THE TITLE LINK

Christmas Decorating Ideas 6

My Staircase Swag.
This swag is as old as the hills, at least ten years old but rather than throw it away and spend money on a new one i decided to strip back what it had on originally and add some fresh new bits to it.
I didnt go over board, just a few baubles and two different coloured ponsietta flowers were scattered along its length, and although its not on this picture, i added coloured lights to it also which really brought it to life.

On a cost scale to revamp, nada, zilch, i had everything in already, but this would be a really cheap method of reviving your swags even if you had to buy a few bits and pieces, as it would only need re- doing every few years depending on how you store it.

Christmas Decorating Ideas 5

My Guilty Pleasure 2

Again i indulged with this taste or red richness, i simply couldnt resist.
The tree was ten pounds, the plate was one pound, however i never got back to the same shop to get the 3 ornaments for five pounds deal, so i improvised and added my own baubles as a tempory measure at first but its grown on me the way it is so thats how it will stay.
I hope you like it x

Christmas Decoration Ideas 4

My Guilty Pleasures 1

This beautiful golden treasure is my pride and joy, i did however spare no cost in creating both this one and the red one that you will see later.
I bought everything new, the gold tree was 10 pounds, the large gold ornaments were 3 for 5 pounds and then i added a couple of baubles and gold parcels and a sprinkling of snow and then the plate was one pound to buy.
So my gold guilty pleasure cost me around 16 pounds to create whilst the red one only cost me 11 as i added my own baubles .

Christmas decorations 3

Ribbon Card Holders

These were created simply by purchasing two rolls of wired xmas ribbbon, measuring the length of the doors, applying the strip and then using what was left to create a bow on the top for show.

I could have chose to leave it there, just ready to attatch my xmas cards too, but i decided to add sml wreaths to make it appear more showy.

The ribbon was 1 pound per roll and the wreath were 3 pounds each and pretty basic so i added a few more bits and pieces myself.
I quite like how they turned out :) x

Christmas Decorating Ideas 2

This is just a simple clear vase filled with xmas baubles, this is last years look, i think i may have over stuffed this one but i loved it at the time, a few simple candy canes just finnished it off.

I had originally paid 2 pounds for the vase and 3 pounds for 3 boxes of large baubles which i can and will use time and again.

Ialso used some of the baubles that were left to dress up other things like swags and wreaths ect x

Christmas decorating 1

I bought everything on my mantle brand new this year, however the snow men, raindeers, and snow was only a pound each at our local pound shop.
The candle xmas trees and the candle snowballs were 2 pounds each, a lil splurge made all the difference.
Not bad at 14 pounds for the lot and everything can be used time and again if stored properly after each use , i thought money well spent for something simple yet creative and definately sparkley and pretty :)

Christmas Decorating Inspiration

We have spent this whole week puting up my decorations,we got the final lights on today so hopefully im done now.

This year i have made a special effort to make or create new things, mainly out of stuff i already had and just revamped, but i bought a few new bits and pieces too just to make things look different.

Il share some pictures with you and explain what is what, so dont be shy let me know what you think :) .

A thankyou gift- in xmas colours

This was made as a small token of thanks for a friend, it was simple enough to do, i simply took an oval shaped basket with a handle on and filled it with green tissue paper shred, then added a bottle of bubbly, two wine glasses, some after eight mints in red tissue parcels and then i added ferrero roche inside the two glasses to add a splash of gold.
I added two candy canes to the neck of the bottle just to spruce it up, then covered the whole basket in cellophane and finished it with a big bow.

let me know what you think .

Dress up your sweets

Its always nice to get sweets and chocolates as gifts, but they are so much more appealing if it looks like something you have never recieved before.
You can achieve this very simply and in many ways, here are a few examples ...

Use pretty sweety bags or organza bags and finnish off with a bow, or you could remove the sweets/chocolates from the packaging and wrap them in tissue parcels ect.
Another favourite is to use glass jars and dress them up with a pretty label and a cloth lid.

If you have any ideas to share on this topic, feel free to share .

A childs stationary box- for my young nephew

For this gift i purchased a blue plastic storage container and filled it with lots of colouring books, dot to dot, word search and paint by numbers, plus scratch art ect.
I decorated it with tinsel to match his brothers gifts and covered it in cellophane and topped it off with a big shiney bow.
check it out and let me know what you think .