Organic Veggies

Harvested some organic veggies from my garden. Growing your own vegetables is both fun and rewarding.

Asian green beans, sweet potato leaves, bittermelon, lemon grass, cucumber and moringa.

How to Reduce Your Energy Bills

With rising food and petrol prices and ever-increasing fuel costs, many of us are searching for ways in which we can reduce our fuel bills. Here are a few easily implemented tips, which may help you to lower your electricity bills:

Lower Your Lighting Costs
In an average home, lighting accounts for approximately 15-20 per cent of the electricity bill. You can reduce this by observing sensible tips such as only turning on lights when you need to and turning them off when leaving a room. Make the most of free daylight by keeping your windows bright and clean and drawing back your curtains or blinds to their fullest extent.

Switching to low-energy light bulbs, although they are initially more expensive to buy, will reduce your lighting costs and save you money.

Simple Household Tips

• Hang washing outside rather than using a tumble dryer is a good way to save electricity, as a load of washing in a tumble-dryer costs about fifty pence a load.
• Turn off the oven 15 minutes before the end of cooking. The heat remaining in the oven will be more than adequate to finish cooking the food.
• The freezer uses more energy than any other household appliance. Make your freezer as energy-efficient as possible by keeping it full, defrosting it regularly and never leaving the door open!

Pay by Direct Debit
The majority of electricity and gas suppliers offer discounts for customers paying by direct debit; with the largest discounts going to those who pay for both gas and electricity by direct debit with the same supplier. Make sure that you are with the cheapest suppliers in your area and, if necessary, switch providers. Doing so could save you several hundred pounds a year. There are several websites where you can easily compare the companies offering the best prices and deals. Give regular meter readings as bills based on actual rather than estimated fuel consumption are almost always lower.

Solar Panels
Help the environmental and reduce your electricity bills by adding solar panels to your roof. Solar panels convert the sun's rays into electricity. The cost of solar panels has never been lower and solar panel installation companies claim that the panels will reduce bills by as much as 50 to 90 per cent; with those living in sunnier areas having an obvious natural advantage. Estate agents generally agree that solar panels add value to your property making them an attractive option for home-owners.

Make sure your home is as well insulated and draught-proof as possible to take full advantage of the panels.

If your panels generate enough electricity, you can even make money by selling the electricity back to the grid.

Smart Meters
Smart meters are the future of energy-saving devices and will take away the need to provide regular meter-readings. The aim of the government is for every home to have a smart meter installed by 2020. Smart meters make it extremely easy to track and account for your electricity usage. The smart meter allows the consumer to be in control of their energy usage as the display informs them of the amount of electricity used and the cost in real-time. They are also easier to understand as the cost is displayed in pounds and pence rather than confusing units and wattage. Smart meters make it easy to change your habits and consumption and will enable customers to make real savings on their fuel bills.


Ted Gafney is a freelance writer who specialises in money saving advice.

How to Make Your Home Scream Luxury

A million-dollar home standing on a far corner would be able to call the attention even of mere passers-by, drawing each of them into the dazzling opulence of the structure. In movies, the lavish lives of filthy rich characters are showcased not without magnificent homes as a backdrop.

But in real life, it’s every homeowner’s dream to have a luxurious kind of home – sans the huge price tag!      

Making your home look luxurious is not just a pipe dream even if you are not a millionaire. If you just have the taste and the creativity, then nothing is impossible. A knack at researching helps, too.

Meanwhile, here are some tips that you can do to achieve that Hollywood-worthy luxury type of home:

1. Keep your home in spic and span condition.

You’ll never – if not rarely – ever see luxury homes that are cluttered. They are more often than not spotlessly clean, with everything stacked and kept in place. If you want a classy-looking home, see to it that you always keep it without a speck of dust or dirt.

2. Go for silver accents instead of gold.

It can be easy to associate gold with wealth; however, too much gold accessories can appear gaudy and over the top. Silver, nickel, and chrome, on the other hand, are classier and have a more sophisticated feel.

3. Place fresh flowers in some parts of home.

Compared to tacky accessories and plastic plant ornaments, fresh flowers make the room look more elegant. Not only that, they can give the room a wonderful scent too.

4. Good old reliable white still works.

White always gives an aura of freshness, purity, and elegance. A white-painted wall, for example, brings out other highlights of the room, like a vividly-colored painting or a china blue jar or vase. White also looks good with almost anything, so you won’t have a hard time sprucing up the rest of the room.

5. Invest on quality indoor lighting.

Good indoor lighting always does wonders. A tasteful pendant piece or a more minimalist yet elegant wall sconce for ambient lighting will really go a long way. If you are interested in purchasing quality, long-lasting luxury lighting – click here.

6.  Choose fabrics that give an elegant effect.

Velvet, linen, and silks have that innate look of class, especially when they are in bold and rich colors, and for silk – pastels. Just mix and match these so that you are able to create depth by creating contrasts and highlights.

7. Set your curtains high.

Curtains hung just right over the upper frame of the window make a squared, cramped look. To create an illusion of bigger windows, hang your curtains just at the border between the ceiling and the wall. This will make your windows seem bigger and create a classier, more sophisticated look.

These are just few of the many, many things you can do to make your home look a million dollars’ worth more. Just choose your inspirations wisely and do a good deal of canvassing, and you won’t even have to hire a professional designer.


Cedric Loiselle is a highly talented writer who enjoys imparting useful information about home improvement to his readers. For lighting options, he highly recommends interior-deluxe.com.