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Getting Ready For The Summer Garden with Jive Hippo Club
The seemingly endless winter is finally drawing to a close. The daffodils are blooming, and – every so often – we are getting a glimpse of warm sunshine. I have already been gardening for a few weeks clearing up the dead leaves, sewing new seeds and bulbs and more.
So to help you on your way, here are some tips to get your garden ship shape for the summer, and to save money, we’ve made it more interesting and put in a sample of the discounts and money back that you could get if you used Jive Hippo, a membership club that gets you discount on high street prices.
Reset The Beds
It’s time to grab that shovel and that trowel and get down and dirty pulling up the weeds and roots. The roots …
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Ideas for saving money in the garden
I love gardening, so was excited to hear about a fella called Peter Burkes who’s offering free gardening advice at his “virtual garden cente” www.potterandrest.co.uk. I know I have raved about Garden Compass, but you still have to pay for it, even though it’s great value for money, so this is another option.
Anyway, make over your plot on a budget with some of Peter’s tips below and then you’ll have more money to spend on other plants, products and gadgets on your wish list:
1. Always check out special offers. Garden centres are always offering deals and money off on certain plants so make sure you do your research.
2. Save money on buying canes and collect sticks and twigs now for use later as pea or bean supports.
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Five money saving tips for your home
Swinton Insurance shares its simple but effective tips that’ll help you avoid any emergencies in the home, and minimise your bills:
1.Dispel those draughts
Once you’ve warmed up your house, it’s important to try keep the heat in – after all, the more often you have to turn the heating on, the bigger the bill. Make sure no chilly breezes sneak in by filling any gaps around doors with a draught excluder and windows with draught proofing strips.
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Insulate and insulate again
Not only will insulating your home keep you warm and toasty, it could cut your energy bills too. Consider the following:
- Cavity wall insulation to avoid losing heat through your walls
- Draught proofing so cold air doesn’t creep in through doors or out through windows
- Floor insulation – make sure gaps in
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Have you checked your neighbours’ house price?
With some Brits sitting in a big pile of cash that is their home….it’s the topic of conversation at dinner parties all across the land: how much is your property worth?
We are, it’s fair to say, a nation obsessed with property value, so I decided to share this news with you, as I must admit I do check up! It’s hardly surprising, considering we’re one of the few European countries where being a homeowner – and aspiring to it – is more common than being a renter. And what with property values tending to go up (largely – recessions aside), we Brits see our homes as our nest egg, as well as just our nest.
Estate agents Keatons surveyed 2,000 home owners in the UK to find out how clued-up we are about property …
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Recycling in the bathroom – low cost bin idea from John Lewis – £5
While I religiously recycle in the kitchen, all my good intentions go to pot in the bathroom.
So I decided to get recycling upstairs too. Only issue is who has space for a recycling bin in the bathroom – you know one of those metal two or three bucket bin in the bathroom? And frankly, they look rather unattractive too.
Now in the kitchen I had my three compartment recycling bin and my normal bin, and this was overkill, so I changed to two of the same bin and we recycle in one and rest of the waste goes in the other.
I wanted to replicate this upstairs by buying two of the same bin, this time in white or perspex. Specifically I wanted square bins to leave no gaps like round, oval… -
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Five alternative and money saving uses for curtains
So can’t afford a wall as a room divider, try a curtain. Double glazing out of your reach for a drafty front door, think curtain.
People usually see curtains as a traditional window covering, often used to add warmth and texture to a room. However, curtain fabrics can be used across your home to serve a variety of other decorating needs, adding a special touch to unique spaces.
Casey Ho, decorating expert, at Curtains.com has shared with me her top five fabric tips for alternative decorating, and I liked them so much, I am sharing them with you.
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Bed canopy
“A princess bed is every little girl’s dream. Canopy beds not only create imaginative spaces for children, and private dens for teens but can also transform traditional master bedrooms. Net curtains can serve as elegant …
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Looking to save money in the kitchen – Domu sale might help
The Domu sale is on. With hundreds of stylish and functional kitchen, garden and homeware appliances, the website is worth a look, especially with prices cut on a number of items that can save you money, for example slow cookers for batch cooking!
The sale is on right now across the company’s VonShef and VonHaus brands. If you haven’t heard about Domu, they are a home and lifestyle brand and I think some of their sale products would be of interest to bargain hunters like you and me, such as the VonShef 8-in-1 multi cooker which has 8 different cooking functions including roasting, searing and slow cooking and is perfect for cooking batch meals for the week (or more) – it’s down to £49.99 from £74.99. It really is value for money, as it has …
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Christmas home Special Buys at Aldi
It’s cold outside, so head over to Aldi for some snuggly warm ranges for your home, including faux fur throws, nordic knitted custions and shaggy rugs. Here are the highlights of the range (IMHO), and there are in store now, so hurry as you know that once they are gone, they are gone!
Photo Print Sherpa Fleece (£14.99)
Aldi’s stylish Photo Print Sherpa Fleece (£14.99) comes in four designs including polar bear, rabbit, deer or snow landscape, offering a striking finishing touch to any room, and is great if you have animal loving kids. My boys loved the antler bedding they had earlier this year, so this fleece is a gorgeous addition. Pair with Aldi’s great-value Photo Print Cushions (£3.99 each) for that cosy winter feel.
Luxury Shaggy Rug (£29.99) / Faux Fur Cushion (£8.99) …
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Security light ideas – solar and timers
Recently, we’ve had a spate of attempted burglaries nearby and decided that we wanted to bolster our defences. Lights are always a powerful tool, whether as a deterrent or to light up the dark passage down the side of your house or your front door.
However, wiring in lights is a nuisance and then the energy that they use may be pennies but it soon mounts up. So I decided to look at some solar security lights and a light switch timer to save money while being green, and here is my feedback.
The Curve Solar Motion Light
The Curve Solar Motion Light was by far our favourite light. It was easy to install, looks good and the light is strong (50 Watt equivalent) and diffuses quite far. We put it near to our white… -
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Aldi’s Specialbuys Halloween range now in store
So I went to Aldi at the weekend and picked up my mum’s shopping, and picked up a couple of things for Halloween too. Wicked witches, ghoulish ghosts and scary skeletons really need look no further than Aldi this Halloween.
They‘ve got some creepy costumes, including a Children’s Dressing Up Set (£4.99) available in a witch, bat or scary skeleton design. Adults can also join in the fun, with an Adults’ Halloween Costume, a devilishly good steal at just £7.99 making it easy to transform into a Witch, Vampire or Skeleton. The outfits don’t come for larger peeps, so if you’re an 18 women, you’ll have to wear something else but go big on the Spooky Face Paint Kit (£3.99).
The Children’s Halloween Boppers Spectacles (£1.79) are for I’d say children younger than …
