Our Experience of the Thames Water Smarter Homes Visit

The Thames Water Smarter Homes Visit Offer

I wasn’t looking forward to the Thames Water Smarter Homes Visit. When they called to offer us one I felt forced into accepting. I should point out that the caller was perfectly polite and friendly so the pressure was more how I felt, rather than due to his behaviour. He said we are using far more water than the average family of 4, but I pointed out that we were a family of 5 and he didn’t have the data for average use for larger households. I accepted the visit because they said part of what they would do is check for leaks and having been made to feel we were using a large amount of water I felt we should check if there was a problem.

Countdown to Christmas: Make Your Own Advent Calendar Ideas

What started off as a simple way to countdown the days to Christmas, making chalk marks on doors in Germany, has turned into a tradition many people, young and old, now take part in in increasingly elaborate ways. You can get pretty much anything hidden behind the cardboard doors or drawers of an advent calendar now, from jewellery to high end cosmetics. The 2024 advent calendar line up even includes a 5ft Lindt offering, featuring 24 full size products for a mere £180 when it is reported the contents are worth closer to £90! One way to get exactly what the person would like without the huge mark-up is to make your own advent calendar.

Make Your Own Advent Calendar Ideas For Children And Adults

Making your own advent calendars makes them more special

How To Spend Less Money On Matching Family Christmas Pyjamas

It seems to happen earlier each year, the trick or treaters haven't even been around yet, but the matching family Christmas pyjamas are already selling out in the shops.  They make a fun Christmas tradition and super cute photographs, but the price can quickly add up. Love them or loathe them entirely, they seem to be here to stay so here are my top tips for cutting the cost.

When To Give Children Christmas Pyjamas

The thing about Christmas pyjamas is they tend to be, well Christmas themed. While my children will happily wear them in January through to Spring, the best time to wear them is in the run up to Christmas. It is popular to put them in Christmas Eve boxes, but for some families this means they will only get worn once, or just a few times at best. A more recent tradition is giving them to children at the beginning of December with advent calendars or maybe even the arrival of those cheeky elves. This way children can wear them throughout December. Just make sure you plan the washing so they are clean and ready to wear on Christmas Eve.

You can enjoy the matching Christmas Pyjama trend, but spend less

How To Remove Dog and Cat Fur From Your Sofa

We love our pets in the UK. As a nation, we definitely consider dogs to be “man’s best friend” and a cat is wonderful company. Despite this unconditional love, however, there are a few annoyances that can come from having a furry pet, and one of those is finding dog or cat hair all over your sofa and clothing. If this sounds like something you experience, don’t worry, here are some great solutions that will help you to remove fur from your sofa, your clothes, as well as other soft furnishings around your home. 

Love your pets, but not everything being covered in hair? These tips will help

Have You Heard of CleanTok?

I am a big fan of TikTok. The combination of the huge amount of content and the great algorithm means you get to see videos you didn’t even know would interest you and there is a good chance your content will get see too, even if you have no followers. Whatever your interests you should check it out, but if you have an interest in cleaning and tidying you will love CleanTok.

CleanTok is full of great tips and cleaning motivation

Review of Purdy & Figg Counter Clean Multi-Surface Cleaner

*Gifted product* I was sent the Multi Surface Cleaner (Counter Clean) Starter Kit to try out from Purdy & Figg which is an Eco-Concentrate product.  You get little bottles of concentrated cleaner in glass bottles that you mix up with water in the large glass bottle. It costs a bit more than I would normally spend on cleaning products, but there are a lot of things I like about this kit and the company.

Review of the Purdy & Figg Counter Clean Starter Set 

Are Washer Dryers Any Good?

They might not be the most energy efficient way to dry clothes, but when you have a family a tumble dryer is a huge help for keeping on top of the clothes washing. If you don't have a big kitchen or utility room you might be considering a combined washer dryer to save on space, but are they any good?

Washer dryers are a good space saver but are they any good?

Amazingly Useful Cooking Gadgets Under £20

I love a good kitchen gadget which makes cooking easier and more fun. I could happily have twice as many cupboards and fill them with a gadget for every possible cooking need, but in reality space is limited so it's only the really useful ones that I have. I have versions of the items below in my house or plan to soon thanks to trying them out. If you don't remark to yourself "oh that's clever" at least once while reading through I will be disappointed.

Clever kitchen gadgets make cooking more fun

4 Easy Ways to Put Up Art At Home

Most of the walls in our house are an unexciting white. For 6 years I have been looking at some of them, trying to decide how to make them more exciting, but I couldn't make up my mind. Wallpaper and bold colours are too much of a commitment when I can't find anything I love. The easier option is to fill my walls with art, but in the past I was put off because I thought it would be too hard. Every time I've had to drill something into our walls I have made a bit of a mess, but luckily I have discovered there are lots of easy ways to fill your walls with art without using a drill. If you rent your house there are even some great options for putting up art which won't permanently mark the walls. 

There are lots of really easy ways to get art on your walls at home

The Most Recommended Cleaning Products, Gadgets and Appliances

Head to any shop or website and the huge choice of cleaning products is overwhelming. How do you choose? How do you know what works? It’s understandable to be a bit dubious about marketing which will focus on the positives and you don’t want to waste money on things that don’t work. I have asked a group of bloggers what their favourite cleaning products are that they have spent their own money on. Having been in a position to review lots of products and just generally working to keep their homes clean they have tested a lot of products out and so saving you the hard work these are their recommendations of the cleaning products, utensils and appliances they wouldn’t be without. 

What are the best products for cleaning?

How to Dry Clothes Quickly Inside

With 5 of us living here we wear a lot of clothes each week. In the summer I can keep my washing basket under control thanks to the fast drying power of hanging my clothes outside, but in winter it is much harder to dry clothes quickly. I don’t want my house to look like a laundrette with airers in every room, but what is the best way to dry clothes inside?

If you have lots of washing what is the best way to get it dry quickly?

Tackling Humidity and Damp and The Karcher Window Vac Review

We have a problem with damp in our house and from October to April we have an endless battle to remove as much moisture from the air as possible to reduce mould. There are two main tools in our fight to prevent mould: a dehumidifier and our Karcher Window Vac. 

How we tackle condensation and damp

Full Disclosure - About This Blog

Full disclosure: I do not live in a clean, tidy house. It is not one of those homes you see on Instagram and think “wow, that’s beautiful”. It is a family home where we all own far too many things and those things are regularly left on every available surface. I have 3 children, a partner and a cat. We live in a 3 bed terrace house on the border of Essex and London. Some days I think my families ambition is to undo every bit of cleaning I do, or maybe they are just having fun, who knows. It’s ok if you home isn’t spotless and hopefully through this blog you will find ways to have a cleaner home and be more organised.

If you are a long time fan of a Mrs Hinch and have a house so clean you could eat your dinner off the floor then you are welcome here too. Don’t let the chaos I live in take away from the value of the tips and reviews. Hopefully I can make all your hard work a little easier too.

Living with 3 children there are constant challenges to keeping our home tidy and clean