No need for takeaways with home 'auto replen' system

I have finally found a grocery system that works for me! My husband calls it 'auto replen' grocery shopping. First, I buy discounted Woolworths e-gift cards from the Entertainment Book (saving 5%). Then, having downloaded the Woolworths app on to my phone, I purchase a delivery saver, $50 for three months of deliveries. This works out about $2 per delivery for us.

Whenever we run out of something, or it is getting low, I add it to my shopping list on my phone. Once we reach $100, I then purchase the groceries. Woolworths has the same prices in store as online and the same specials. I have found this reduces takeaway significantly, as we order 2-3 times per week (I have three adults and three children in my household, plus frequently two to four young children or teenage guests. If we want something in particular, we need only wait one day for it.

We liken it to the automatic replenishment system that the larger department stores have. It works for them and it works for us too!

End ant invasions pronto with Talon gel

I have found a truly fantastic product which gets rid of ants like no other pest treatment I've ever seen. Upon my recent invasion of ants, the faithful old borax and sugar mix was barely making a dent in their numbers. I couldn't use my own kitchen bench, guests were commenting and while I hate killing anything, it was driving the whole family crazy.  Thank goodness for Talon Ant killer gel! It works immediately (I saw ants leaving food and running to this gel), they swarmed it and as the product promises, they are gone in 48 hours. I can leave food out on the bench now and there are none to be seen. The gel works for 14 days, but at $8 for 5ml, it is totally worth it!

Money tin savings work online too

I have discovered that regularly checking the balance of my everyday bank account and putting just a few cents away into savings each time adds up to some big savings. How it works is this - I check the balance of my everyday account online and then transfer every amount under a dollar showing on that balance, to my savings account. For example, if my everyday balance showed $300.45, I would transfer that 45c to my savings account.

If I transfer 5c every day, then I save $18.25 per year. But if I have as much as 99c to transfer each time, I save $361.35! The more often I log on, the more I save. It works on the same principle as the Money Tin Challenge - except that I had let this spare change slip down the back of the virtual couch for too many years - not any more!

Best ever sandwich wrap

When you are going out for a picnic or taking lunch to work or school, use cloth to wrap the sandwiches. This is much better than cling wrap or foil because it's cheap and reusable. I use tea towels, napkins and chopped up table cloths to wrap my sandwiches. The sandwiches stay fresh and when I've finished, I just shake off the crumbs and take the cloth home to be washed and used again.

There is something pleasantly old-fashioned about this method - and just think of all that plastic not going into landfill.