4 Money-Saving Car Maintenance Tips

Every daily driver knows that keeping your vehicle in good running condition is an important part of ownership. I mean, significant repairs can cost a small fortune depending on the make and model of your vehicle and maintenance and repairs can rise in cost too.

A vehicle’s safety depends on several factors, including its make, model, year and size and then newer cars come equipped with advanced safety features like more airbags, electronic stability and crash avoidance technology. But it's not always the technical stuff that can go awry. So here are my 4 money-saving car maintenance tips...

Three Quick And Easy Tips For A Tidier Bedroom

Whilst a tidy home is something we all strive for, a lack of space and too much clutter can often be blockers to achieving this common goal.

House extensions, room conversions and moving home are often extremely effective ways of maximising and increasing your available space. One thing these solutions aren’t however, is cheap or affordable. Is it really necessary to move house or invest thousands of pounds to renovate or extend your home in order to increase your storage space? Not everyone has the spare capital to simply up sticks and move home, and lot of people simply don’t feel the desire to.

Fair Trade Coffee - From Bean to Cup

Us Brits have always been known as the tea drinkers, the country who loves a brew of extra strong, extra milky, builders tea. But I think that's changing. We all love a mug of coffee nowadays. I go through a lot of cups a day, and even have a favourite mug to have my coffee in - it just tastes better in that one. 

In fact, in recent figures by the British Coffee Association (BSA) our coffee consumption has increased from 70 millions cups a day in 2008 to 95 million cups a day in 2018. And obviously those coffee beans that give us the morning pick-me-up don't grow in the UK, and if you’re a fan of drinking fair trade coffee, that journey is all the more wonderful and varied. 

Using An Interior Designer To Create a Bespoke Room

So, you have stripped your office bare, you have your colourway in mind and know what type of theme you want. Now what do you do?

Sometimes, designing a whole room from scratch on your own can be daunting, and hard to do. Choosing the right decor to match the accessories without making it look too much. Being design led whilst still family friendly. Sometimes, it's best to get the professionals in, and consider hiring an interior designer to make the room perfect. 

How To Use Pillows To Create A Focal Point In Your Bedroom

Every room needs a focal point - that’s a basic design principle to give your eye somewhere to land. A focal point draws you into a room and shows off its style. If you’ve got an empty canvas to start from then it's easier, but how do you create a focal point in your space, especially in the bedroom? Here are my tips...

Use Cushions and Pillows

This is the easiest way to create a focal point without having to change up the whole room. New fabrics, from cushions and bedding to the curtains. I find that if you go plain with your room design, you can then throw in some beautifully designed pillows to give your room that focal point without spending a fortune. 

4 Ways To Create A Focal Point In Your Garden

For many people, a garden is simply an outside space that is purely practical, giving little thought to its flow and the aesthetics. However, the garden can be just as functional as indoor spaces, with added beautiful design features that you can't have inside. The easiest way to make your garden look wonderful is to introduce focal points into the design that can also be practical at the same time.

A focal point is an area that is designed to immediately draw attention to a specific space so doing this in the garden can make your garden really flow. There are many ways of achieving this in an outside space, so I thought I'd write about 4 ways to create a stunning focal point in your garden.

Inexpensive Bathroom Redesign Ideas

With our recent home renovation projects this year, we have ended up with 2 bathrooms to remodel, fit-out and decorate, all on a shoestring budget. Our focus was initially the main family bathroom, which the bulk of our budget will go on, but both will need doing and we've been designing them both similar to keep in sync with the rest of our home decor.

Now we've eventually bought everything for our remodel, here are a few inexpensive ideas for remodelling your bathroom...

Great Ways to Save Money When Gardening

Spending time in the garden is beneficial for both your health and your mind, but it can often be a pastime that becomes expensive and therefore avoided. Gardening does not need to be expensive, especially when you’re perusing a hobby or maintaining your garden in general. There are so many ways in which you can be savvy with your spending when it comes to gardening, just knowing what you can save on and how you can avoid spending too much is always a huge bonus!

3 Hacks For Keeping Your Home Clean

Your home is your sanctuary, and as such, you deserve to enjoy a clean and tidy space, where you can relax and unwind after a long day. However, how do you ensure your home is kept spotlessly clean, especially if you have children? There are a variety of hacks which can help you on your quest to a clean and tidy home, and below are three to make a note of today.

4 Cheap And Effective Ways To Keep Your Home Safe

The best ways to keep your home protected from intruders would of course to fit high quality locks on windows and doors, and a state of the art alarm system and cameras to stop anyone from being able to get access. Not all of us can afford all this though and it comes with a hefty price tag. 

But you don't need to invest in an expensive deterrents to keep out burglars. Sometimes a couple easy steps are all you need to secure your home and stop burglars from thinking you're an easy target in the first place.

How to Create a Traditional Themed Home

Have you heard your friends talking about having a traditionally styled home and thought you like the sound of it? Do you know what traditional truly means, however?

It means any number of different things, depending on who you’re talking to about it. Traditional is a recognised style in the interior design world, and there is an agreed number of features. Before you start looking for ways to redecorate your home or make any home improvements, here are some tips to help you decide whether traditional is the style for you, or you’d rather stay with something more modern.

What To Do When Chickenpox Hits Your Home

Every household with children gets it eventually - the dreaded chickenpox. Chickenpox is one of those illnesses that people don't seem to worry about so much, some even going as far as purposely exposing their children to others who have it, to get it out of the way. For me, I personally wouldn't intentionally infect my child with chicken pox and cause that discomfort. 

Okay, it is most common in young children and is usually mild, but can be very uncomfortable for your child, even more so when adolescents and adults get it as it can make them very sick. So, I do get why some parents would prefer to get it out of the way when children are young. 

Extreme Adventure Sports In The UK For Fearless Families

Sometimes it's easy to get tired of the same old family routine. Doing every sports, and visiting the same places can get a little mundane. We've been looking for something different to do with our family - something that will get us all active and enjoying quality time together.

We've considered getting our family involved with an extreme sport for a while but most of these hobbies are done abroad, places with different climates and have an expense to get to them. But these days it's easier to find extreme sports here in the UK, and so we've been looking into which are best for us and have found a few options as well as a few fun things to do in Manchester, which is great as it isn't far away from us.

3 Ways We're Fixing Up Our House To Add Value

When planning updates to your home, it is always worth considering how that work will add value to the property in the long run. Okay, we're not planning on selling our home anytime soon, but this is essential if you are planning to work your way up the property ladder, as it will ensure the best return when you come to sell and move on to pastures new.

It’s not just cosmetic enhancements that can add value, basic structural repairs can make a big difference too. This year we're focusing on 3 parts of our home, fixing and redoing aspects to not only give us a better home to live in, but will add value if we ever did come to sell in the future. 

Ways To Help Make Moving Home Stress-Free

Moving home is stressful, there's no doubt about that. Getting everything packed, and then unpacked, all whilst looking after the family and making sure not to disrupt the kids as much as possible. There are a few ways you can reduce the amount of stress caused by moving home though, so I thought I'd write about ways to help make moving home stress-free. 

Get Rid Of Things You Don't Need

Your old house is full of stuff and no doubt some of this hasn't been used in a good while. Instead of upping and taking all of this with you, it's best to get rid before the move. Pull everything out and separate it into where it can go. Some things can be sold to help pay for the move and decorating the new home, whereas others can go to the charity shop so they're not wasted, or in the bin for things that are no longer in use. 

Why Do We Get Wildfires In The UK?

Starting on 24 June this year, and continuing throughout summer, a record-breaking series of wildfires burned across the United Kingdom. The two fire which were the largest, which were both declared major incidents, burned over 7 square miles each and broke out on Saddleworth Moor in Greater Manchester and Winter Hill in Lancashire.

Most of the wildfires occurred during the first official heatwave in the UK, with temperatures reaching over 30°C for several days, making the hottest June in the country since 1995. Weather is becoming a lot more inconsistent, and due to global warming, this means that hotter weather is to be expected as the years pass.

How To Spot The Signs Of Different Health Conditions

There are a variety of conditions and illnesses which can prove very detrimental to our health. However, many have telltale signs that can be detected early to either stop the process before it damages our health too much or at the very least slow its effects. In this guide, straight stairlifts provider, Acorn Stairlifts, advises how to spot the signs of a number of different conditions:

Top Things To Do In Tenerife With Kids

The Canary Islands are an easy-going, child-friendly destination with not much advance planning necessary. If you're going for the first time, then it's important to note that July and August can be very busy with the school holidays, so if you're wanting to experience it at its best, it's better to go at a quieter time of year. 

Early spring is a good time to travel with young children as the weather is still warm enough for beach days, without being too hot, and the theme parks and attractions are not too crowded – unless you go at the Easter holidays, that is.

What Does Your Charm Bracelet Mean To You #YourCharmStory

Charm bracelets are beautiful and can be a delightful gift that can last a lifetime. You can start out small with one charm, then expanding with new pieces of jewellery to mark special occasions - like a collection of all your best life memories which can be collect and worn on your wrist.

For centuries custom silver charm bracelets have been popular with women from a wide range of cultures, age groups and social classes – with treasured pieces of jewellery frequently being passed from mother to daughter to granddaughter, down the family. They can be of great sentimental value, and there are even fashionable brands these days that are perfect to start out with too.

Car Maintenance - Keeping Your Car In Tip Top Condition #TyreKnowledge

The summer holidays have just finished which means we've finally got some time to ourselves to get the everyday things done, without those pesky kids round our ankles! With this in mind, it's important to make sure that your car is road worthy now you've got a chance to spare some time. 

It's so important to check your car to make sure your car is safe from breaking down, and to prevent any accidents. When it comes to car maintenance, checking regularly is key - by fixing any niggles, you will be preventing any potential problems in the future which could end up being a costly business.

4 Essential Tips for Choosing the Perfect Bathroom

This month is looking to be a busy one for us. After saving for what feels like forever, we finally have everything we need to renovate our bathroom. It's taken a long time, as designing a whole new bathroom comes with its own issues, and it's going to take even longer as we need to pull out all the old suite, tiles and furniture, ready for a brand new room being fitted.

I was thinking about how hard it has been to sort through the design of our bathroom, and thought I'd write about my 4 tips for choosing the perfect bathroom. 

3 Things You Need To Do Before Holidaying Abroad

Travelling abroad can be amazing, exhilarating and can give you some of the best memories and sights you'll ever see and do. From walking holidays in Switzerland to a city break in New York, no two places are the same and you will be left with amazing experiences. It can be stressful though, especially when you've not prepared well in advance, so here are a few tips to make sure your holidays get off to the best start...

Book The Right Holiday For You

I get it - booking abroad can be very daunting. There are so many places to visit, so many sights to see, and then you've got to think about the other people in your holiday party. Research is key here. There are many travel sights, such as Trip Advisor, that give you first hand reviews of locations, places and hotels all around the globe. 

How To Do A DIY Holiday To Disney World

Over the years,I have always dreamt of taking the kids to Walt Disney World Resort one day. The cost of doing so has always put me off though. Looking at package holidays to America can bring up prices up to tens of thousands, just for a basic holiday because we are classes as a large family. 

We have decided that if we ever do go to Disney, we will DIY it ourselves. In the long run, this will work out better for us as travel agents can't cater for what we want and their packages include things we don't need. 

Here's how we'll do a DIY Disney World holiday...

Having Fun In A Splash About Poncho

It's no secret that my children are water babies. I mean, if there's water around, it's safe to say one, if not all, of my children will be paddling. We have the pool out most of the school holidays and they love the rain. We also go swimming once a week to help them build confidence around water. 

Have you ever tried keep a wet child warm, and drying them off, after a play session in the water though... hard isn't it? Towels just don't hang around well and children either end up all wrapped up and unable to move or freezing when the towel keeps falling off.