Smart Consumer
Getting to grips with the nitty gritty of running a household efficiently, without stretching you to the max but still maintaining a healthy mind, body and environment.
School Uniform Put to the Test
With German discount supermarkets going head to head in school uniform price wars, even before school is out this year, The Sun has put a range of supermarket uniforms to the test!
Read more »Buying School Uniform – The Beginners’ Guide
So your school place is secured and your feelings are mixed – your baby is growing up and starting school… too soon. It will likely be a bitter sweet day when you plonk your child on the door step, satchelled up, for their first day of school photo. But the reality is, they are going to school and there is much to do – first and foremost, buying school uniform! And you have to do it now! No, really, you do! So dry your tears and focus!
Read more »My Journey to Nappy Enlightenment
Back in 2011 when my daughter was born, cloth nappies never once entered my mind. I was far too wrapped up in everything else that was going on to worry about that extra load of washing I would have to do, and as far as I was concerned at the time the effect on the environment was negligible. An extra wash and potential tumble dry a day versus a bin full of dirty nappies.
Read more »Recycle Your Run and Get a £20 Reward!
At the risk of appearing to be slightly obsessed with trainers, we couldn’t help but have an ‘air punching’ moment when we heard about this great initiative by specialist running shop, Runners Need, to ‘recycle your running shoes’. As keen runners, we find ourselves hoarding trainers, sometimes because we have an unhealthy emotional attachment to them, but more often than not, because we haven’t been able to think of a better place for them to go.
Read more »Box Clever for Kids Birthdays
If you have a child of a certain age, ie. primary school age, you will no doubt have experienced the flood of birthday party invitations that often goes with the territory. All very lovely – a fun afternoon for your child, but then there’s the obligatory presents, cards and of course wrapping paper! It all mounts up. Now, I know that re-gifting is a popular habit for many, know people who bulk buy presents and others who have a very stringent ‘present purchasing policy’ but the real killer can be the £2 or £3 on a card which frankly, the child may or may not even look at.
Read more »Happy with Your Nappy? Our Nappy Test Drives
If you are contemplating the cloth nappy road, you can’t have failed to notice that there is an immense amount of choice with very variable prices too. Some nappies cost around £20 each…disposables not looking so bad after all. It is a big investment, so I decided to test drive them
Read more »To Sew or Not to Sew..Uniform Labelling and the Joys Thereof!
So, if you’ve managed to get your head around the uniform buying part of the ‘my little one is starting school in September’ equation, you’ll be ready to face the next conundrum..name labels! Yes, I know. Who knew there was so much excitement involved! For some reason this never caused me any grief at nursery – sure, I popped a few iron on labels in her cardigans, because cardigans are like gold dust and yet such an essential part of any little girl’s wardrobe! But she generally went to nursery in her trashiest clothes and it really didn’t matter if they didn’t come home.
Read more »Energy Myth Busters
Have you heard the one about the phone charger? You know the one – if my phone charger is plugged in, but not attached to the phone, does it still use electricity!? Well we promise to bring you the definitive answer.
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