New bamboo blind shade, no longer see through. Please excuse how the courtyard looks, it's the end of a stormy winter and still too cold to temp me out to tidy it. I needed a new kitchen blind (or shade if you're in the US) and found a dark wood bamboo blind for £5 in a charity shop/thrift store, brand new and still in it's packaging. Hung it in my kitchen window, then realised just how see through a bamboo blind, even a darker shade one is, especially at night when the lights were on. So I tried this and it worked, and cost nothing as I just used things I had around the house. Wh ..read more

Giving the Too Good To Go app a go. I've heard of  the wonky veg boxes some supermarkets are selling, which always sell out immediately. I hadn't heard of Too Good To Go until I saw someone on Instagram picking a surprise bag up and it had 32 full size cheeses in it!  I'd take that any day, love cheese. Though obviously I am aware that couldn't be the norm. It's available in most countries and works by a supermarket or shop gathers up food that should have been sold that day, over stock or maybe damaged packaging and sell a surprise bag on the app for at least 1/3 of the pric ..read more

So I declared the Briiv the most beautiful and sustainable air purifier last year when I got mine,  and this is still the case.  It sits in my lounge like a mini terrarium, working away to remove any car fumes coming its way. I live next to a busy main road, there is constant traffic and if you do any work outside at the front for even a short time, you fully notice the extent of the car fumes.  You can't smell any fumes inside the house but I'm always aware there is a road outside so could some be leaching in? I leave the Briiv on low for a few hours a day.  Does it wor ..read more

 Kaizen the Japanese philosophy of small continuous improvements achieve big results. Our brains are wired to resist change so any change, no matter how much it's wanted, can look daunting and be overwhelming.  It's easy to procrastinate and never actually start anything, well that can be me. Something that needs tackling... best have a quick look at my phone first, this scenario, on repeat.   The Japanese business philosophy of small continuous improvements combined together achieve big results makes everything less daunting.  Doing something small towards your goal ..read more

 If you want to have a TV on a wall where there isn't an electrical outlet socket, there is an easy and cheap solution and it doesn't involve an electrician. Photo by Jens Kreuter And it only costs around £30. For ages I just had a small television stuck in an alcove at the side of the fireplace but I could see the perfect place to house a TV (and a bigger TV) was on a wall opposite the fire place where it could be clearly seen from two sofas. Unfortunately that wall didn't have a single electrical outlet anywhere near it and was miles from where the aerial cable came in (I've s ..read more

  Where to shop for low priced home basics? I haven't shopped in Morrisons for ages, but recently me and a friend were trawling the junk and charity shops (thrift stores) in a nearby town and she asked if we could stop at the Morrisons supermarket as she had seen they had a silicone toilet brush and holder for £3.50, didn't they used to be £30 from Joseph Joseph?  I know, calm your envy at the thrilling lives we lead. They did have the toilet brush, but also lots of other really good home basics at the lowest prices. It might be worth a look if you have a student going off to univ ..read more

Beautiful, quirky Lisbon. The view from our balcony. Where to stay in Lisbon? Seven of us, a group of friends, went to Lisbon for a budget four night break.  We booked dirt cheap flights with Ryanair and wanted nice accommodation, preferably with a bed each, a room each would have been nice but that's not going to happen on a frugal city break.  Lisbon has fantastic accommodation, but this three bedroom, one bathroom apartment is a bit of a gem. Booked through Airbnb. It is in the heart, but on the edge of the Alfama district. The oldest and most traditional area, w ..read more

Hut's new online interiors and lifestyle store Hut Interiors  So I've opened an online interiors shop and I'm so excited about it. New, re-loved and vintage. The hunting out vintage treasures and the opening of boxes from suppliers is a great thrill and taking remarkable restraint not to keep it all for myself. New home decor Such as these knobs and door stops.  It's not all boho, it's an eclectic mix of styles. Vintage homeware Such as this gorgeous white, distressed over mantle mirror. You can't fake vintage, it's got to have age to look right. I saw Charlotte B ..read more

Shopping for David Shrigley art work online? I love all David Shrigleys art work, his off the wall humour, and alternative take on life and the simple style of his drawings, even leaving mistakes in and just scribbling them out, there's something of the f*** it in his style that is very appealing. And now the new Hut interiors shop has started selling framed David Shrigley prints for just £12. Read on as to how they are at this price (no they are not copies). I buy genuine David Shrigley books, carefully cut out the pages and then frame these pages in grey MDF and glass frames. The fra ..read more

 Defrost frozen food in the fridge. Photo by Latrach Med Jamil on Unsplash It cools the fridge down so the fridge uses less energy. It is beyond me why I never thought of this before. How to use less power to cook rice and pasta. Get that pan lid on! Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash Add boiling water to your rice or pasta, put the pan lid on and heat until it starts to boil then turn the hob off. Wrap the pan up in something to keep it warm, such as three thick tea towels, (use your judgement, you don't want anything catching fire from ..read more