-
Six tips to save money in your kitchen
Energy bills, as ever, are a hot topic at the moment, and it seems that everyone is trying to cut back on their gas and electricity consumption. But even though it is one of the busiest rooms in a house and one that guzzles the most energy, the kitchen often gets overlooked, as many people believe they can’t save here. But that just simply isn’t the case, and you don’t need to invest in expensive gadgets or make drastic changes to make savings. So here are our top six tips for saving energy and money in the kitchen.
Insulation
Kitchen appliances produce heat and so a great energy saving tip is to invest in insulation so that none of it is wasted. Cavity wall insulation could save you up to £100 per year on heating …
-
Aldi launches new Specialbuys vintage home range
Do you love all things vintage? Are you looking for good quality vintage home ware that won’t cost a fortune? Then put 30th July in your diary and head to Aldi to get your fix of retro chic this summer. Aldi Specialbuys new Vintage Home range goes into store that day, and I for one will be rushing down there, to see what else I can get hold of. Here are my favourites.
Vintage Bedspread – £24.99 & Vintage Duvet Set – from £14.99
I love, love, love patchwork type bedding, so when I got my mitts onto the Vintage Bedspread that Aldi is bringing out at the end of this month, I was overjoyed. Patchwork anything costs a fortune, so at £24.99 for the bedspread, it’s a snip and it even fits my superking …
-
Workshop and carpentry Specialbuys from ALDI
Builders, carpenters and DIY enthusiasts alike can tackle tasks for less with Aldi thanks to two new Workshop and Carpentry Specialbuys ranges, available in stores on 24th May and 11th June.
About the Workshop range – in store 24th May
Aldi is selling a premium 6 Tread Fibreglass Stepladder (£49.99) is ideal for tackling those hard to reach jobs. With a top tread height of 1.67m and built-in holders for tools, brushes and paint pots, this ladder also features slip-resistant steps and a fiberglass construction which minimises the risk of electric shocks from exposed cables, making it perfect for the safety-conscious user.
Whistle while you work with Aldi’s Rugged DAB Radio (£29.99). Featuring a tough, waterproof outer casing, LCD display and handy carry handle, this powerful device is guaranteed to boost morale on site …
-
Save water save money – free water saving packs
I stumbled across this website today and it offers free water saving packs. As long as you’re with water companies that are members of this initiative, including Severn Trent, South West Water, Scottish Water, South Staffordshire Water and many more, you can get a bunch of things for free to help you reduce water consumption.
It’s really easy, you enter your postcode to check if your water company is part of the initiative and then you arrive on a page with lots of water saving goodies.
Among the things you can order for free are the following:
- Tap Aerator Kit – twin pack of tap aerator inserts to convert two kitchen or bathroom taps
- ShowerSave – regulate your shower flow to just 8 litres a minute
- Shower Timer – Spend one less minute in
-
Home security on a budget
A neighbour was recently burgled and a friend has has their car stolen off his drive, so security has been top of my mind, and I’ve been looking for ways to up my home security.
Firstly invest in decent locks for both windows and doors. Then, I have been thinking lights, camera, action, so plenty of lighting to reveal any would be burglars, some sort of recording device and anything to deter a criminal in the first place. Anyway, here is my list of security ideas on a budget:
1. CCTV
I started off thinking about a CCTV camera and like the look of this D-Link camera at PC World for £169.99. I have a £20 off voucher for a customer complaint, but it’s still pricey, so I have considered fake CCTV cameras. Check out …
-
Summer’s here: new outdoor living Specialbuys at Aldi
Isn’t the weather just glorious at the moment? So now is the time to get your garden in tip-top condition and prepare to enjoy the summer (please may it be long and hot). With two great garden ranges in store at Aldi, you’ll find almost everything you need to spruce up your garden.
The ranges are called Outside Décor, which is in in stores nationwide since last Thursday and the Outdoor Living range from 30th April.
My favourites from the range have to be this huge pop up gazebo. Whether you’re looking to create some shade on a sunny day or need an instant party venue, Aldi’s Pop Up Gazebo (£59.99) and Gazebo Side Panels (£12.99) will be a welcome addition to any garden this summer, whether in white or green. The quality is …
-
Where to buy original article on a budget
I love original art, but the pieces I have didn’t come cheap. For example, I won a laptop and sold it to fund my two favourite pictures and have my own photography framed, and a lot of bare walls.
Bare walls cost a lot to fill, you see. While Ikea does some reasonable pictures, they aren’t originals. It’s nice to tell a story behind a picture and there’s always a story behind a piece of original art.
Somewhere where you can buy original art where every painting is less than £100 is the Original Art Under £100 website. That doesn’t mean that everything is £99. They have price brackets and IMHO, the images became more buyable if they are over £26.
A husband and wife team launched the business which makes money by charging artists …
-
Shiply – the low cost courier service
My first experience with Shiply was just over a month ago. The UK-based firm is behind an internet marketplace where you can get bids for your transport job.
We used Shiply to transport a sofa we bought on eBay. The driver was making deliveries up in Manchester and on the way back to London, he brought us our sofa for £53 (in total). The sofa was originally from London.
To get the quotes in from transport providers, I registered, put in some details about pick up and delivery postcodes and what needed to be shipped. I got some quotes and chose a provider. I PayPaled a deposit which covered a Shiply fee and arranged with the driver delivery times and other logistics. I paid the driver the rest of the money when he delivered my …
-
Refurbishment on a budget
Here are just some of the bargains that I have picked up for the refurb I mentioned a while back.
The front door is tiny, so the only way to get sofas in is through a window or build them in the house. We took the second option so turned to second hand Nabru sofas. Nabru is a cool brand of sofas that can fit into any space. The sofas new would have cost me close to £700 and we even managed to pick the green one up in our car! You can pick up sofas much, much cheaper especially on Facebook, but size and getting into the space is a problem for me. These sofas can be disassembled easily, you can reassemble them super quickly and you can buy new covers for them from …
-
ALDI Bedroom Specialbuys in store now
Popped into Aldi yesterday and they have a lovely new bedroom range in there. Hurry up though as apparently the products have been there since last Thursday. Here are some of my faves from the range.
Air Bed with Built-in Pump (£34.99)
Make sure you’re fully prepared for guests with Aldi Specialbuys air bed with built-in pump. Featuring a Queen-sized mattress and raised 47cm from the floor for comfort, this air bed also has a built-in pump with plug connection to mains electricity, making it super quick to inflate. Lightweight and portable, this bed is perfect for when you have guests to stay at short notice or if you have to travel.
Quilted Bed Throw (£14.99)
Add a splash of colour to your bed with Aldi’s quilted bed throw. Available in fashionable muted colours such …