Author: James

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Lucky Bamboo

Lucky Bamboo is probably the coolest little “pot plant” out there. Bright green and twirling, I think that having this on your coffee table is something that will start a conversation.

Of course, nobody’s going to say no to good luck, so Lucky Bamboo will not go wasted. Along with your Money Tree (the famous Pachira Aquatica), this could bring you health, wealth and happiness. If you win the lotto after buying one, I hope you’ll pop by and say thanks…

If you don’t, well, like I said, your Lucky Bamboo will be a really cool addition to your stylish home. It goes really well with dark wood, especially because of the way Lucky Bamboo tends to be bright green.

And, if you order it online, you will probably receive a free vase of sorts. But, look around, and see what the Lucky Bamboo could look like in your home. You don’t even need to buy it for yourself, as Lucky Bamboo would make a GREAT gift.

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Get rid of flies – The Obvious ways first

When it’s summer time, there are a few things that REALLY BUG me:

– Flies
– Moths
– Mosquitoes

I want to try and help other people get rid of them using ways that I’ve read and learnt. We’ll start off with getting rid of flies today.

And, while you’re reading this, if you subscribe to the newsletter by filling out the form below, you will get access to the free eBook on how to easily make your own home made fly trap using stuff you’ve got in the house:

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We hate spam just as much as you, and your email address will NEVER, EVER be given out to anyone else. You probably won’t even receive that much mail from us 😀

Just confirm your subscription and an email will be sent to you with the links to the free eBooks.

Continue reading “Get rid of flies – The Obvious ways first”

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Long Lasting Fabric Softener

Here in South Africa, there is a HUGE market for the cheaper/more affordable way of life. We have people who buy one box of OMO or Skip and then resell it in little packets to the man on the street. They may only make a little profit, but it is a profit. It’s not even a case of buying bulk to get discounts on washing soaps.

Well, from the depths of ThriftyFun.com comes this great tip on how to make your Fabric Softener last a LOOOOONG time…

Take an old towel and soak it in liquid fabric softener. Wring it out good, pour the liquid fabric softener back into the bottle and let the towel dry before using….
…One bottle of liquid fabric softener should last years.

There are some interesting comments there as well. But leave a couple here if you decide to try it… Of course, if you have any OTHER ideas on saving money around the house, let me know as well.

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Baskets to save space

I think baskets, and specifically straw baskets and plastic baskets, are a GREAT way to save space, and keep your cupboards looking neat and tidy. I didn’t realise this until I got married, so if it’s something that all females know, I apologise. My wife organised my cupboards for me using baskets, and I think its engenius.

Here are the ways we use baskets in our house:

– Square Straw Baskets

The best use is, if you have built-in cupboards in your bedroom, and this is where you keep you socks or underwear, it can be a pain to get at them when getting dressed. But, if you keep your underwear and socks in a square basket, and you keep your basket in the cupboard, you can just take the basket out, and choose what you need. Almost like a drawer… Our baskets look very similar to the following:

straw-baskets.jpg

– Round Straw Baskets

My wife tidied the grocery cupboard, putting similar items in round straw baskets. Now, when I need a chocolate fix, I open the cupboard, and take out the chocolate basket. No digging around the soups and spagghettis and spices. Very nice. Looks pretty good too.

– Plastic Baskets

plastic-baskets.jpgWe keep quite a few things in plastic baskets. Our baskets generally have lids to keep out the dust and damp, but this isn’t necessary if you’re keeping things inside a room in the house, like the baskets below could keep toys in the kid’s room. But our baskets keep our photos, and my tools, turpentine, cloths, gardening gear, etc. out of the way in the garage.
OBVIOUSLY not all in the same basket… 😉

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Plasma TV in the bedroom

When travelling recently, I stayed in a hotel room that REALLY impressed me. Forget the fact that it had free hot chocolate in the room, or heated mirrors in the bathroom (something I REALLY want). The bedroom had a Plasma TV mounted on the wall.
Sunset-Plasma.jpg
In my mind, a Plasma Television mounted on the wall in a bedroom saves an ENORMOUS amount of space. ESPECIALLY if it has a built DVD player, like this one had, which slides out from the side.

Of course, Plasma TVs are not exactly the cheapest way to put a TV in your room, but if space is limited, you can very easily mount it on the wall. But, if you have cupboards in front of your bed, and you don’t mind a bit of manual labour, another method to make your bedroom look cool is to build in a TV INTO the cupboard, making the screen flush with the cupboard doors. I also saw this in a hotel room, and had to look closely to realise that we didn’t have a fancy Flat-Screen TV

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Conceal your dishwasher

If you have to have your dishwasher or washing machine in the kitchen due to a lack of space, how about concealing them. This obviously doesn’t JUST apply in the kitchen, but it’s a good enough reason to do it.

dishwasher-wood-panel.jpg

Anyway, the main way of doing this is to put a cupboard door in front of the dishwasher. As long as it keeps the theme of your kitchen, it might just finish the look off. Some looks that I have seen:

– Barn door effect
– Wood panelling on the dishwasher door (see photo above)
– Curtains

Definitely something of a personal choice.

Of course, you just might have a dishwasher or washing machine that fits in with the look of the kitchen already, like a metallic finish dishwasher. Let me know your ideas.