Dishwashing liquid breaks down hard to remove stains

I have found a cheap and effective solution for tough laundry stain removal! Stains such as fats or body odours can be notoriously hard to remove. Normal washing powders may be made for getting out dirt and stains but not for breaking down fats and body fluids. To combat the problem, I simply add a squirt of dishwashing liquid to the wash, along with my normal powder and soaker and it works like a charm. After all, it breaks down grease and fatty food residue when doing dishes, it makes sense for it to work on clothes too!

My uni studies STOPPED me biting my nails!

I've been enjoying long, beautiful nails for 30 years, thanks to a method called behaviour modification! I was required to do it as part of a psychology unit at university. It is a method which rewards good behaviour and punishes bad behaviour. This is the method:

1. You determine what you want to change: I want to stop biting my fingernails.
2. You determine what would be a good reward. I will give myself $1.00 coin.
3. You determine what would be a good punishment. I will give $2.00 to charity. Note: It is best that the punishment is worse than the reward, so you can obviously achieve your positive goal ASAP. The simpler your rewards and punishments are, the better. I used the money to purchase a scarf but you could do it for anything.
4. You work out what you need to motivate yourself to achieve that positive outcome. I used hand cream daily, I used oil to massage the cuticles daily, I painted my nails with nail hardener and once the nails grew past my fingers, I got manicures regularly.
5. Draw up a table as shown below, to keep track of your progress daily to get to your eventual goal:

Day 1 – Outcome: I put my fingers in my mouth So you put a cross in the negative box and take the punishment. Negative Positive Punishment Reward x $2.00 paid to charity

Day 2 – Outcome: I didn’t put my fingers in my mouth So you put a cross in the positive box and take the reward Negative Positive Punishment Reward x $1.00 paid to myself

From memory I stopped biting my nails after the second week and kept going until I grew my nails to the length I wanted them. I found that it took about 10 weeks to achieve the outcome I wanted. I didn’t think I would get long fingernails, but I did and continue to do so!

Exercise has financial rewards

I pay myself to exercise! Now, you may wonder how that actually saves me money. Because my exercise is free, usually walking with a friend or working out to DVDs I've received as gifts, I don’t have to buy expensive exercise clothes or pay for a gym membership. And paying myself to exercise? That gives me motivation. I started with $1.00 for every day I exercised, and increased it to $2.00 a day - still cheaper per week than a single exercise class or gym membership! I wait until I have enough money for a facial or massage, and treat myself.

I find that the end goal of some pampering really works as an incentive to keep exercising. Prior to this, I never let myself splurge on those sort of things. I am now happier, healthier and far more relaxed!

Underbed storage from old bookcase

If you have an old bookcase that you no longer need, or is a little too unsteady to use as a bookcase you can transform it into a super cheap underbed storage container! All you need is to buy some castors from your local hardware store. Just screw the castors onto the back of the bookcase, lay it down on its back and roll it under the bed. We have one of these in our boys' room for all their toys and it really reduces all the visible clutter. It's lovely to walk in and all you see are their beds!