Low cost fake nails stop me biting real ones

I have found fake nails are the best solution to stop me from biting my real ones. You don't have to spend a fortune on salon acrylics every four weeks either. There are DIY kits on AliExpress such as Belle Fille which look easy and are affordable. Making sure to use a cuticle oil or cream regularly during the day also helps to stop picking of said cuticles too!

An apple a day keeps green potatoes away!

I have solved the problem of green potatoes in our household! I was constantly throwing out potatoes as we never seemed to go through a whole bag of potatoes in time before they turned green. We are only a small family but I didn't want to buy smaller bags, as the larger bags were so much cheaper. Fortunately I discovered a way to extend the life of them and it's so easy! All you need to do is to keep them in an aerated spot in a gunny bag or bowl (basically out of plastic) with a whole apple . The gases from the apple stops the potatoes from going green, doubling the shelf life of the potatoes. Needless to say, make sure you also check the apple each time you use the potatoes to make sure it's not going bad!

Home sweet home for $63

As a new singleton, I have learned not to let my pride stand in the way of making a new home for myself on a budget. I recently separated from my husband of 14 years and moved out of the family home. We share our four children week-about but I wanted to leave the family home as complete as I could for some sort of stability for the kids. With so little to now call my own I had no choice but to swallow my pride and 'put it out to the universe' that I needed quite a bit to furnish my new home.

At the op shop I purchased three Jason recliners, a telephone table, two tallboys, a desk, four bedside drawers, a single mattress and linen for the beds for $63, including delivery!

By word of mouth through friends I was given: a washing machine, microwave, crockery, glasses, towels, THREE TVs and a TV/stereo unit, a digital set top box, two stereos, a BBQ, a brand new gas bottle for the BBQ, a gorgeous white cast iron bed for my daughter, a queen size bed and three single beds, a computer, a bookshelf, a two seater couch, a bike and doonas for us all, as well as pillows. I gave away a few of the TVs and one of the stereos to people who needed it.

I also found that if you ask your friends if they have excess tea towels, coffee cups and so on, you'll find that they can often spare a few of these items.

Most importantly of all, I have learned that I don't need matching crockery or linen to make a home, just the basics and a lot of love!

'Amazing Race' party impresses older kids

I held a very successful and inexpensive party for my daughter and her 12-year-old friends by doing my own version of the 'Amazing Race'! When sending out invitations, each person was allocated a team colour and asked to wear clothing in that colour. On arrival they were given a back pack containing water bottles, maps of the town (we live in a small town and had all activities within a few blocks of home) dry biscuits to snack on, a list and bag for a scavenger hunt to find things on their travels, a dictionary, sunscreen and their first clue.

I had friends in the area lined up with different tasks to be completed (these included windows to be washed, shooting a set amount of goals at a basketball court, sorting books into alphabetical order, separating peas and corn with chopsticks and many other easy to prepare tasks). Each team had a passport to be stamped when each task was completed and the next clue was handed over at each destination. For the final clue, they had to use the dictionary to work out the coded directions to their final destination - our local swimming pool where they spent a couple of hours playing around before heading back to our place for the party food!

This party really didn't take much to organise once I got into it; just a few friends willing to give up a little time for each task and some imagination. I used items from home to make up the challenges, such as books, jigsaws, basketballs and frozen vegies. It was talked about for weeks afterwards and I used photos from the day to make a photo slide show, which I burnt onto discs for everyone who came!