Make every cake of soap last twice as long

To make a cake of soap last twice as long, simply paint the top or bottom with some PVA wood glue and let dry. Doing this means only one side of the soap dissolves, enabling the cake to last double the time. I paint the top side of the cakes of soap when we bring them home. Sometimes my granddaughter even glues a pretty picture to the side!

Find the reason behind nail biting online

If you are spending money on solutions to put an end to nail biting, it could pay to instead get to the bottom of WHY you are doing it! Nail biting is associated with anxiety, because the act of chewing on nails reportedly relieves stress, tension, or boredom. People who habitually bite their nails often report that they do so when they feel nervous, bored, lonely, or even hungry. For more information, visit this link:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/onychophagia-nail-biting

Green thumbs saved me $1000

This Christmas, I have saved myself over $1000 on buying gifts AND was able to afford a holiday for two to Queensland, just by using my green thumbs!

Instead of spending $50 on each Christmas present this year, I decided to use up some of my left over garden pots. I wrote a list of all who would receive presents this year and allocated a pot for each person (I also set aside five extra pots for those last minute gifts).

I thought about each person and what might compliment them, then I set to work! My garden is full of herbs, so I took cuttings from each herb and began growing them in their new pot for their new owner. I gave them plenty of time to settle in by Christmas.

When it comes time to give these lovely potted herbs as gifts, I also attach a recipe, so the recipient knows how they can incorporate their new plant into their cooking, or make up a lovely hand cream or bath bomb.

If you have herbs of your own and pots sitting around it's a great way to put them to good use. These lovely gifts didn't cost me a cent! I already had the herbs in my garden, the pots in my shed and instead of buying extra potting mix, I used soil from the garden that the plant was already used to growing in!

Add personal touch for successful renting

Going out of my way to present well to prospective landlords has really paid off for me. I recently had to find a new rental property and found that the open inspections where attracting many families at a time. Being a single mum of four, I knew I had my work cut out for me trying to get something over the two-parent families.

I decided I would write a covering letter as an introduction to the land agent/owners. I wrote about who we were and even what schools the kids went to, to show we were already established in the area, where I worked for the same reason. I got friends, my employer and my pastor to all write character references for me, which I copied and added with the letter. I also have a dog, which can be a problem so I got my then-current agent to write a reference for my dog too, which I also copied and added with the letter. I then attached these to the application, along with copies of my last four weeks' payslips and a payment summary from Centrelink.

The first house I applied for had more than 20 families and most of them were two-parent families. I added all the above mentioned stuff to my application and I was happy to receive a call the next day to say I was successful. I asked the agent if my letters and other details had helped and he told me that they had been the deciding factor. They liked that I had taken the extra step and cut out some of the work for them. They also appreciated that I had been so open with them. I would recommend this to anyone trying to rent a place. It takes only a little time and effort but could be just what you need to secure a house!