Re-use butcher's paper to save on paper towel

Instead of buying expensive paper towel, which doesn't seem to last in our household, we use the butcher's paper that is wrapped around purchases such as deli products to clean out oily pots and pans. This saves us money, as well as a heap of paper towel, landfill space and our precious trees!

Make-up removal wipes make tough cleaning a breeze

I stumbled across a fantastic household cleaning product quite by accident! While cleaning and decluttering the makeup drawer, I accidentally found myself smearing broken-off eyeliner and other cosmetic dust around. The standard multi-purpose cleaners were not helping and the mess was getting bigger. In desperation, I grabbed out a make-up remover wipe and attacked the mess. Just like that, it removed all the old eyeliner, plus power foundation and everything else from the bottom of the drawer! I'm adding make-up wipes to my regular bathroom cleaning routine from now on!

Butterflies flutter by with this pest-control solution!

We have been growing our own vegies, with quite some success, however we had a problem with white butterflies laying their eggs and producing green caterpillars which would attack our precious crop! I had heard that these butterflies were territorial so I came up with a brilliant solution to our problem. I made replica white butterflies,(out of waterproof ice-cream container lids) that were the same size as the real ones I then skewered them onto bamboo sticks and placed them in amongst my vegetables. Result: No more butterflies! It really works- I've watched them whilst having my tea break. As they fly over our garden they see there are already several there in our veggie patch, so they fly on over to the neighbours gardens! It sure is a cheaper and more environmentally-friendly solution than any other pest control I've heard of!

Give a bag full of happiness

For a super, low-cost, personal and heartfelt gift, why not give someone a Happy Bag? All you need is a plastic 'loot bag' such as those given away at children's birthday parties, and fill with the following:

*An eraser - so that you can make your mistakes disappear.

*Five cents - so you can never say that you're broke.

*A marble - in case someone says you've lost yours.

*A rubber band - to stretch yourself beyond your limits.

*A piece of string - to tie yourself together when things fall apart.

*A bear hug (cut out teddy bear picture or motif) - to remind you that someone cares.