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!

From nail biter to nail care teacher - tips that work

I was a nail biter from a very young age. Now, I teach others how they can have beautiful nails, without spending a fortune. All you need is a little basic nail care. Soak your nails in oil for 10 minutes each day for one month. Whatever oil is in the kitchen pantry will do. Massage each nail in a circular motion (not back and forth) with the ball of the thumb. After the first month, this treatment is only needed once a month .

The next step is to treat nails weekly for the next six weeks . Cleanse them with a nail polish remover, again starting at the end of the nail bed and working down the nail to the tip. From here on, apply a simple protective barrier nail polish every day. In the beginning, the nail polish builds up as you are learning - do not worry or be concerned about that - just only do the nails once a week. Every week also file and buff the nails. Only do this once per week, as one can over process the nails (just as you can do with skin and so on).

I have ended up teaching nails care for 20 years and all of my clients who have followed handling correctly as well as the process are the proud owners of beautiful nails and hands!

Free on-line classes for computer skills

Save hundreds of dollars on learning computer skills with Hewlett Packard. Their website (www.hp.com) offers free online classes. Become proficient in Microsoft Word or Excel, take better photos and learn heaps of craft ideas to use them with. There are assignments at the end of each part of the course and a short quiz. There is also a message board to leave messages for the instructor and see how others are finding the course or even share ideas. There are two lessons available per week and you receive an email to let you know when each lesson is ready. You even get to print a certificate at the end, stating you have completed the course.

There are various courses available - some for small businesses and others for hobbies such as scrapbooking. Another bonus is you can print each page of the lessons as you go and keep them for future reference. Similar privately run courses or through WEA can cost a minimum of $100!

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.