Keep the straws from unwanted drink bottles

If you have a drink bottle with an internal straw, when the bottle cracks, leaks or dies, don't throw the straw out! Remove it from the bottle and keep it in your cutlery drawer for whenever you need a straw, or keep a couple in your bag for use when you're out. I keep three in a little cotton bag in my handbag for when we order a drink that would normally come with a disposable straw (milkshakes, iced coffees, spiders, soft drinks). After use, I just give the straw a quick rinse in the restroom sink, or wrap in a serviette, and give a good wash when I get home. A simple way to reduce waste and help the planet!

Put your nail biting habit to sleep for good

For most unconscious habits such as nail biting, hypnosis is often the best, cheapest and environmentally friendly cure for nail biting. No drugs, no chemicals and usable by any member of the family providing they are receptive to hypnosis. Some people cannot be hypnotised but they are very few and far between. A single personal session might be all that is needed, but there are some very good programs available in various formats for home use. Worth a go!

A Challenge for life

After reading The $21 Challenge, I thought I would see which other areas of my life I could apply the Challenge to.

First, I opened a separate bank account and now deposit $21 every week before I do anything else with my money. I see this as a type of retirement fund – it will be nice to see the funds in 30 years time!

My next $21 Challenge is to only put $21 worth of petrol in my car each week. I will park my car further away from where I need to go; this will save money and improve my fitness and wellbeing.

When my phone contract ends soon, I am going to challenge myself to spend no more than $21 on pre-paid phone credit each month - now that will be a challenge!

There are so many ways we can implement the $21 Challenge in our lives, thanks to Fiona and Jackie's inspirational book.

Home-made floor mop

My home-made Enjo-style floor mop is a joy to use and cost me just $6.00 compared to the brand name alternative! I had been hearing about the wonders of the Enjo cleaning cloths and mops for some time, but the price tag always stopped me from buying one!

Using a hint from the Vault, I purchased half a metre of quality polar fleece for $6.00 and cut it into eight decent sized cleaning cloths, they worked great. Then I looked at my sad sponge mop. It was in a terrible state and the sponge needed replacing - so I decided to try and make my own Enjo-style mop head!

I took one of the cloths I had cut and stitched some elastic around the edges. I now had a removable mop head, and with a little vinegar and eucalyptus I had a sparkling floor. Now every time I mop the floor, I just rinsed out the cloth, dry and replace!