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Simple Toys for Children to Make 1 – Feed the Brute!

By on May 8, 2012 in Home and Family, Household Hints & DIY

On Saturday, Freelance Unbound and I went to the Market Harborough Book Fair and I had the great good luck to find a 1930s book entitled ’Hundreds of Things a Boy Can Make’.  Well, as evolution would have it, seventy years later, girls have developed opposable thumbs and can make them too.

This will now become an occasional series which will be particularly useful at weekends, half terms and holidays.

FEED THE BRUTE!

What you will need:
1 x cardboard tube eg from a loo roll about 5” x 2“ (13cm x 5cm)
Scissors – sharp and pointy
Crayons, paints or marker pens
PVA glue
Bits of coloured card, paper, wool, goggly eyes etc
1 x shoebox lid
A bit of elastic – about 8” long and ¼” wide (20cm x 0.5cm)

How to make it:
Take your cardboard tube and cut a large circular hole in the side as shown in the illustration
Draw a face around the hole, using the hole as a big mouth
Now decorate the tube to look like a person.  The illustration shows a paper moustache and a mortarboard hat, but you could add woolly hair, goggly eyes, a hat, jumper etc
Now get the shoe box lid and cut out 2 1/2 ” (7cm)  square out of the upstanding edge of the shorter side.
Make a little hole on either side of the opening
Thread the piece of elastic through each hole and secure it with a knot
Stand the cardboard figure at the end of the lid and use the elastic like a catapult to fire small marbles or paper pellets into its mouth
Score a point for every marble or pellet you get in but lose a point if you knock him over!

Comments { 10 }

Top Tip for Mowing Wet Grass

By on May 7, 2012 in Household Hints & DIY, The Great Outdoors

This is an old gardening trick which is particularly relevant at the moment when, in Britain at least, every other human has foot root from the constant rain.

If your grass is desperate for a good mowing but is very wet, walk up and down the lawn with a rake and bash the grass with it.  This knocks all the water off the grass onto the soil and allows you to mow with ease.

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Wills’ Cigarette Cards No 14: Frosting a Window

By on April 30, 2012 in Household Hints & DIY

This is a much cheaper method than taking out the glass and replacing it with swanky frosted glass.

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Thought for the day…

By on April 23, 2012 in Household Hints & DIY

Here is your thought for the day, courtesy of the comedian Sarah Millican, whom I saw live over Easter.

Don’t bother looking for the light at the end of the tunnel
Crawl down there and switch the bugger on yourself

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Twenty Top Tips on how to get the most out of Home Help

By on April 13, 2012 in Home and Family, Household Hints & DIY

Think twice before employing cartoon characters

Very few people have live-in staff these days, but many employ cleaners, gardeners, home helps, au pairs etc and I hear a great many complaints from both sides of the mop.

Here are some top tips on managing and keeping the people you pay to help you.

  • Find out what people in your area are paid and keep to roughly that figure; too far under and you’ll get rubbish applicants, too far over and it’s not fair on other people
  • Ask for character references and take them up.  You are letting a stranger into your home and you will probably need to give them a key, you need to know they are genuine and honest
  • If they are looking after your children at any time and are not previously known to you, or checked by an agency, make sure you get a CRB check as well
  • Sit down and think very hard about what you actually want doing and then actually do those jobs (if possible).  This will give you an idea of how much time you will need someone to work
  • Be realistic about what someone can do.  You can’t expect someone to clean your house from top to bottom, or instantly transform your garden in three hours a week
  • Think carefully about what sort of person you want and be realistic.  If you live in a 4-storey house, a 70-year old fat person with  asthma may not be able to manage the stairs.  Likewise if there’s heavy work to do in the garden, a skinny 13-year old may also be unsuitable.  Trust your instincts – this person may be coming to your house frequently and you need to get on together
  • When you interview the person, take them on a tour of the areas for which they will be responsible and make sure they understand the scope of their work

  • However, if Sean Bean should offer to do your garden, I'd let him if I were you. On double time.

    Always make sure your instructions are clear and demonstrate new tasks if necessary.  Cleaning silver or dealing with new plants are good examples of this

  • If you are not going to be there when the person is working, leave a list of tasks, at least until you have both established a routine
  • Remember that if a comprehensive job is being done, it may take around six months before the person is completely au fait with what needs to be done
  • Find out if they have other commitments which might impinge on the time they are giving you
  • Make it clear that you expect punctuality and reliability.  You’re not employing them as a favour, you need a job of work done.  If they are constantly cancelling or failing to turn up with no explanation they are no good to you
  • However, crises occur in everyone’s lives and if they have usually proven themselves to be reliable, you must be flexible and understanding
  • Have a trial period, for both your sakes
  • Make sure that your relationship boundaries are clear – it’s very hard to tell someone off or broach a difficult subject if you have become best mates.  If you are employing a friend or family member, discuss this eventuality before they start
  • Try to create a pleasant atmosphere; if someone is frightened of you or fears ridicule, they are less likely to ask a necessary question.  Keep lines of communication open
  • Make sure the house is tidy before asking someone to clean it.  If they have to tidy up first, the cleaning will not get done (unless that’s what they’ve been asked to do)
  • Let them know if you have any unusual habits or pet hates  before they get it wrong
  • Always pay your help on time and in the manner they are expecting.  A cheque is no good if someone relies on cash on a day to day basis.  Discuss with them how they wish to be paid whether it is daily, weekly etc and stick to it
  • Once you are both happy with each other, consider giving them holiday pay on a pro rata basis.  If they work 6 hours a week, offer them six hour’s paid holiday a year.  This will generate good will and loyalty

This may seem like an awful lot to think about and some of it may not be relevant, but it is important to get it right.  I know people who have had the same Home Help for forty years and other people who have stormed out after a week because their employer is unrealistic and high-handed.  Good luck.

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Wills’ Cigarette Card No 13: Fire-lighting made easy

By on March 26, 2012 in Household Hints & DIY

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Wills’ Cigarette Cards No 12: Erecting a Fence

By on February 24, 2012 in Household Hints & DIY

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Shift Work, or the revivial of The Chemise

By on February 11, 2012 in Household Hints & DIY

This is an old fashioned shift, not my actual nightie. Sadly

In the ‘olden days’ the shift was an underwear basic for both men and women. It was straight cut, generally knee length, with elbow length sleeves set straight into the shoulders.  Women wore their shifts under their corsets, and by the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the frills at the neck and elbow were intended to show in the openings of the dress.  These were mostly made of white linen which was easily washable.  The chemise was a similar garment but with short sleeves.

On the mornings when I don’t have activities outside the home, I sometimes slither back into bed after the school run, particularly if I’ve had a late or interrupted night.  As I have said before, I am a grown-up and I can live how I like.

A couple of weeks ago I had overslept on a school morning and the all out warfare of trying to get the boys up, dressed, fed and out of the house with all their requisites had left me with no time to get ready myself.  I pulled my skirt and jumper on over my nightdress, threw my feet into some boots and raced out of the house.

It was a cold morning, and I had to scrape the ice off the windscreen and put all the heaters in the car onto warp speed.  However, I soon realised that throughout it all I had remained toasty warm.  My top half was gently insulated and there was no horrid draught poking icy fingers in between the open knit of my jumper and the waistband of my skirt.

I bought this nightdress (with matching dressing gown) with a Marks & Spencer voucher I was given last Christmas.  It is made of thin white brushed cotton with little black sprigs on it and it falls to mid-calf length.  I favour the longer skirt in winter and summer alike so it is perfectly concealed under my day clothes.   And it has the added advantage of not riding up or leaving gaps or wrinkles like a vest.

During this cold weather, I have decided to abandon its use as a nightdress and wear it instead as a shift or chemise under my day clothes.  I do have some slinky, modern shifty things but they are too thin, not long enough and far too strappy to be practical.  In fact, I gave up wearing them some time ago and use them as nighties in the summer.  Oh ’tis turn and turn about in my drawers…

A while ago I advocated the wearing of warmer clothes and turning down the central heating in order to stimulate the retail industry and reduce energy bills.  Now you can add the wearing of a nighty under your frock to your list of ways to save the world.
 

 

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The Versatility of Bath Mats

By on February 8, 2012 in Household Hints & DIY, Slider

I always have half a dozen bath mats on the go at any one time.  I buy them in bright colours, cheaply from large stores or charity shops, or re-deploy ones from the bathroom that have become a little threadbare.  They move around the house wherever they are needed.

The great things about bath mats are:

that they are easily washable
highly absorbent
designed not to slip easily as they are for use in wet places
they are available in lots of colours to co-ordinate with any room should these things worry you

Naturally I always have several in the bathroom as the boys consider bath time not so much as a hygiene intervention as a bailing excercise.

I always have one by the back door for the absorbing of wet, muddy hooves

I often have one inside the front door and occasionally one or two along the hall if the weather is particularly wet, snowy or muddy

I frequently employ bath mats in the kitchen.  I am a very messy cook and I splosh left, right and centre.
If I’ve spilt something and mopped it up, I always pop a bath mat down to prevent a skiddy floor.
Likewise by the sink as my cold tap could double as a pressure hose and I always splash water on the floor.
If I’ve mopped the floor in the day, I scatter a few around to stop slippage and prevent dirty footprints

Assorted, fluffy, brightly coloured ones look great scattered on a children’s bedroom floor

Inexplicably there is always a dirty mark outside the bathroom door.  So I put a mat there as well

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Top Tips for Timers

By on January 30, 2012 in Household Hints & DIY

I use timer switches extensively in my house.  You can buy a pack of three mechanical timers for £9.99 or three electronic timers for £14.99 in Argos or similar stores.  I like the mechanical ones where you simply flip tiny switches to set your time but electronic ones can be programmes very specifically over a 7-day period.

*  Save money on dishwashers, dryers and washing machines, if you have a cheaper night rate on your electricity, by timing them to start during the night

*  Use on ovens or slow cookers to start the cooking while you’re out

*  Put table lamps and radio on timers so that they come on a different times of the day and night to deter burglars

*  Rooms that need a little heating boost can have an electric radiator on a timer to take the chill off the room only when you want it

*  Use in the greenhouse for  heaters, grow lights or hydroponics

*  Use on your electric blanket if you are inclined to forget to switch it on or off at night

* Plug your Christmas lights into a timer to stop them accidentally being left on at night

*  You could also use them on computers if you want to ruthlessly restrict someone’s use – just let them know that the machine will be available between 6 and 9pm after which it will switch itself off so they’d better save their stuff in time

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