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!

Lower price promise saved on a new cistern

I saved an easy $40 recently on a new cistern by price shopping between competitors! I first checked the prices at both Bunnings and Mitre 10 and found the latter to be the dearer option. Seeing as they promise to better the lower price on the same item, I showed them the proof of the cheaper Bunnings price. They did indeed hold true to their promise and charged me another 15% less than the lower Bunnings price!

Home mixed household cleaner

My mother is chronically ill and disabled. She suffers from a rare type of auto-immune disease, called lupus, and is therefore allergic to most chemicals. This made cleaning difficult because she was allergic to most cleaning products, or those she wasn't allergic to were too expensive to buy on my carer's pension. Because Mum's disease is an auto-immune disease, I have to keep our house hospital-grade clean.

So I have come up with a fantastic recipe, and my house is spotless, smells great and is fresh and clean. The solution cleans and polishes everything, including windows. I have never seen glass and stainless steel taps look so clean.

This solution also lasts forever. Household cleaner used to cost me $80 per month, but now I buy detergent every three months, vinegar once a year at $1.50, washing soda every 18 months at $0.98c and eucalyptus oil once every eight months at $3.50 - a saving of $880 a year minus $20 for the few items I do buy. In total I've saved around $2640 over three years.

Household Cleaner

1 litre water
200ml vinegar
40ml detergent
40ml eucalyptus oil
2 dessertspoons of washing soda

Mix all ingredients together, and it's ready to use. Use 60ml of solution in warm water to wash your floors. Fill a spray bottle and use it to clean your table, benches and bathroom.

A wonderful way to say goodbye

My husband was dying of lung cancer. He wanted his ashes scattered at sea and, being a practical man, discussed other details. He did not think much of church services and a eulogy delivered by a person he did not know.

He died in my arms at home and the next morning he was picked up by Sommerville Funerals. (Most people are unaware that they may have some time with their loved one before the body is collected.) A private cremation was arranged and I collected my husband's ashes for his 'celebration of life' at our home. All our friends arrived, charged their glasses, sat or stood on our front lawn and listened to his story that I had written a few days before. We played his favourite music and people stayed all day. My husband loved a great party and this was no exception. Everyone said this was the best service they had ever attended and they were going to do the same.

Incidentally, the only cost was the private cremation fee. Nothing like some of the very high fees I was quoted.