5 Places To Donate Old Toys

Lots of you are loving the recent toy posts, so I thought it was time to share another! So, far I've shared a summary of what to do with old toys, as well as where to sell them.

Next up is 5 Places To Donate Old Toys.

Managing Natural Light In Your Home

(Collaborative Post)

It's been a while since we've had a homey post, so I thought it was time to have one. 

This time we're going to talk about natural light. Good natural light is something lots of us search for in a home. A well lit home can feel airy, open, light and enjoyable, and homely. 

Where a home is positioned in relation to the sun can even add value. People will often say they'd like a south facing garden and the reason is it will be a sun trap most of the day. My mum even tried to talk me out of buying our current home because it wasn't south facing. Even the best home designer in the world can't move then sun!  

5 Places To Sell Old Toys

Many of you loved the last toy related post, 5 Things To Do With Old Toys, and after sharing on my socials I got a couple of DM's asking if I could share some ideas on where to sell them! So here goes! 

Here's 5 Places To Sell Old Toys!

5 Things To Do With Old Toys

Toys. Toys. Toys. And a few more toys. That's what piles into your home when you have a child. Soft toys. Wooden toys. Plastic Toys. Toys bigger than your baby. Toys that are noisy and need batteries. Toys that hurt when the little apple of your eye throws them at your head!!

These things start to pile up. Birthdays and Christmas come and bring more, as do grandparents and anyone else that likes to treat your little ones. 

But what can you do with them when it's time for a clear out? Time to put the baby toys away? Switching Duplo for Lego? Not sure what to do with the old toys?

Here's 5 things to do with old toys...........

How To Live A More Energy Efficient Life

(Collaborative Post)

We all look for ways to be more energy efficient and save money in our daily lives, which can include making changes to how we use and buy things. But, it’s also worth taking a closer look at how we get the energy that we’re using in the first place. Many of us are already aware of the reasons that we should be reducing our energy use in our lives, but what are the steps we can take towards actually getting it done?

5 Crafty Things You Can Do To Upcycle Or Recycle Glass Jars

As part of my Making A Sustainable Change posts, I recently wrote about glass jars and what you can do to help make a difference to the environment and how to correctly recycle them. Glass jars can easily be upcycled and reused, so as part of the last post I thought I'd give you a couple of ideas for if you want to join the upcycling and reusing club!

Making A Sustainable Change - Glass Jars

Last time with Making A Sustainable Change, I spoke about recycling and how getting to grips with it can make a big difference to the environment and is a great way to get started with making a sustainable change.

Now, I'm going to slim down parts of that and talk about individual items, how to recycle, upcycle or dispose of them in a way that's good for the environment and not too problematic for you.

This time we're looking at glass jars.

Your Planet Needs You!!

(Collaborative Post)

When it comes to climate change and sustainable living, lots of people say that one person and their decisions will not make a difference.. The truth though, is that it could actually make a huge difference.

Something as simple as trying meat free Monday’s, ditching plastic bags or making sure you recycle properly, can help save the earth. 

Making A Sustainable Change ~ Recycling

So, you decided to make a sustainable change. Something that will help the environment but is easy to do, not expensive and not massively time consuming.

Well, mastering recycling is a great way to start! 

A Sustainable Change - EcoPanda Bamboo Makeup Remover Pads

Gifted for review

I love trying products and sharing my reviews with you, and as I talk more about sustainability and making simple changes, I'll be looking more at eco-friendly products and alternatives.

I'm starting by making a change from the usual cotton pads to these EcoPanda Bamboo Makeup Remover Pads.

Making A Sustainable Change

Plastics, wet wipes, recycling, rubbish, bee decline, climate change. All of these things are mentioned in the news regularly and the truth is as a country, a nation, a planet, we've got problems. Although politics take up most of the news right now, we have other big issues too and one is the environment.

Nudge Eco-Friendly Board Game

Gifted

We love a good board game and once our son has finally stopped the bedtime roulette of 'I'm not sleepy, I'm thirsty, I'm too hot, I'm too cold, I need the loo' etc, we try and take the time to put down our phones and do something a bit different.

Over the years we've collected a selection of board games, puzzles and playing cards and these are our usual go to's when we are looking for something that isn't tech based to do. Recently though I've become very aware that a huge majority of board games are plastic based. From the counters to the packaging there's a lot of plastic involved, but is there an alternative?

Well now there is! Nudge is a strategy based, two player game that is made from fully recyclable materials. The packaging is made up of cardboard and paper and the counters are made from bioplastic.

What To Do With Unwanted Christmas Gifts

Christmas has gone and we've rolled into a brand new year. Maybe you're back at work, maybe you've taken your tree down or maybe your still plodding along in a festive bubble! Either way it's time to start getting things back to normal.

Put away decorations, eat the last of the chocolates and tidy away presents, but what if you've got some unwanted gifts? Items that aren't to your taste, are the wrong size or something you have already?

Making Your Home Eco-Friendly: How To Transform Your Old Appliances

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It’s a great thing that the world is becoming more eco-aware. With the news of just how much plastic is suffocating our oceans and how our carbon emissions are putting the world at risk (with London reaching its whole year’s quota for air toxins in under one month this year!) everyone is starting to take pride in defending our planet. 

No Sew Draught Excluder

Just over a week ago I posted about our return to Ikea and the Live Lagom project. I was excited to meet the new participants and to see Kerry, the Ikea leader, and Juliette, another former participant, again.

The activity was all about cosy homes and as part of that we made draught excluders. Kerry had pre-warned me to take a fabric, needles and thread but I was a bit concerned as my hand sewing is a bit, well, shit to be honest!!!

Luckily Kerry showed us a no sewing option, which worked really well, so both myself and Juliette gave that one a try and now as promised I'm sharing how to do it with you!

You will need

• Tape measure
• Chalk or a pen to mark your fabric
• Scissors or pinking shears
• Fabric
• Toy or pillow stuffing  

LiveLagom - The journey continues!

Sunday morning was spent revisiting the Ikea Live Lagom project as I was invited along to take part in another workshop, along with the new participants and a few familiar faces.

We had a brief visit into the main store and I was excited to see some of the new room displays. Now, I realise this might be a bit sad to some and yes, I possibly need to get out more, but I love to wander round the rooms. It gives me so many ideas to try at home. I also discovered when taking part on the project last year that each room has a story behind it. There is a profile behind each room layout, whether it be a student, a couple, family or a single person. Each scenario is budgeted so the room will feature items within that budget, with wages, mortgages and rent all taken into consideration! There was me think they just did the room set ups to look nice!

After looking at a very Lagom room we headed into the meeting room where there was refreshments on offer. Our amazing leader, Kerry, did a presentation around the theme of making a cosy home. With that in mind we set about the mornings activity. Making draught excluders!

  

World Book Day - Making Joseph's Costume!

Last year for World Book Day I made part of Joseph's outfit. Equipped with my first sewing machine and off cuts of our curtains from the Ikea Live Lagom project, I used Pinterest and YouTube to design and make him a waistcoat.

I teamed it with his usual trousers and a flat cap and granddad neck style tshirt that I'd picked up for a couple of pounds in the Matalan sale. I also made a chimney sweep brush from paper and an empty kitchen role and transformed him into The Sweep from Mary Poppins.

Fancy trying food dehydration?

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January is full of health kicks, fitness and resolutions. There's so many to choose from but which is for you?

Well, how about food dehydration?

Recycle Upcycle Christmas Card - Wreath

Today brings the last of our Christmas card upcycle recycling projects and for this one we are going to make a wreath ready for next year.

Recycle Upcycle Christmas Cards - Window Scene Cards

Today brings our second Christmas card craft and its making a new set of Christmas cards from your existing ones. If you read my previous post you'll remember I suggested splitting the cards into piles and that one should be of cards that make good window scenes.