Toujours Wipes

I never spend a lot of money on baby wipes. Or toilet paper. I really begrudge it and why not? They're super useful, yes but there's not much to them. I usually buy the one up from basic (as I find the economy lines very thin and not very useful at all). Own-brand wipes normally come in at around 89p for around 60.

I didn't go into Lidl that day to specifically buy wipes, I went in for a mooch, I just happened to need some wipes. They had some packs of Huggies wipes at £1 each or they had their own brand 'Toujour'. I'd used the nappies before as my husband's Nan keeps packs of them in her house (she has that many great-grandchildren) and I've never had a problem with them; they fit and absorb really well and even the design is more attractive than some of the regular supermarkets.

The Toujour wipes were 79p for 80, a big, thick packet. I bought two to try (I'm not very fussy over things like this, a baby wipe is a baby wipe).

The wipes are fantastic quality, really thick and very moist (but not soaking). They're large and go and long, long way...I was certainly grateful to have them when faced with one of Bear's dreaded 'poonamis'. Nothing poos quite like a breast-fed baby, that's for sure! 

They're faintly embossed with cute little teddy bears and the packaging is bright yet simple. Here are my pros and cons:

Pros.

- Moist.

- Thick.

- Great price.

- Large quantity in package.

Cons.

- Lidl don't deliver! As a non-driver, I have to rely on my husband (who hates any kind of shopping, be it food or clothing) or my mother-in-law to hitch a lift so I can't have a continuous supply of these bargain beauties like I would prefer. That really is the only thing I can fault them on.

Seriously, if you live near a Lidl and you go through baby wipes at the speed of knots like we do in this household then get yourself there and snap up some of these, you won't be disappointed!

Clare

P.s. They also have super bargain out panettone. £3 for a massive one, 99p for an individual one. Go! Go now!

Please note that I purchased these wipes with my own money and was not compensated in any way for this review.

Alternative Uses for Household Products

I love a multi-use product. Something that has more than one purpose is both time and money saving which are two big, fat yeses in my book when it comes to life.

Sometimes though you find something that's fantastic at something that it really wasn't designed for; bonus! Here are a few that I've come across over time...

Egg whites.

Aside from making meringue, leftover egg whites make a great face mask! Whip it up and slap it on for super-soft skin!

Hair conditioner.

This is a new one but a big favourite for me as with hair like mine, I always have conditioner in my house. Run out of shave gel (always)? Sooth on some conditioner to your legs and shave away! It's kind on your skin, does the job just as well and creates much less mess!

Cider vinegar.

Kills head lice without the need for chemicals.

Baby wipe.

Or face wipe, allow to dry out on a radiator, they make the best dusters ever!

Silicone ice cube tray.

Great for early weaning! Make lots of veg and fruit purrees, divide into the trays and freeze. They're now ready to be defrosted in the microwave, already pre-portioned! As your baby grows and starts exploring new tastes, you can mix and match different flavour combinations like apple and pear, potato and sweet potato or why not a sweet and savoury combo?

Baby oil.

What can this product not do?! Aside from moisturising skin, it's great at gently removing make-up AND place a drop on wet nail polish for super speedy drying (no joke, it works)! 

Colander.

If you're making anything with a skewer or a lolly stick (cake pops, kebabs, fruit lollies etc) then use a colander to hold them all upright. much cheaper than buying a purpose-build stand.

Brown sugar.

A few granules are fab for relieving constipation in young babies. Also toss some with baby oil (there is is again) or a mashed up banana for a natural but gentle exfoliant.

Let me know if you have any handy tips and tricks for making the most out of your household items!

Clare

Bright Bots Terry Nappies

You can call the way I dress my children many things but 'dull' is not one of them! I have always been a fan of colourful clothing and accessories for children and when Moo was a baby I actively sought out baby vests and sleep suits that weren't pastel. I loathe an over-load of pastel on babies, and I really don't like too much white, either. That doesn't mean I shove them out of the door looking like a clown caught in a horrific paint-factory explosion, I like to think that they at least look co-ordinated and smart to a certain degree (they are children, after all, not show-ponies), but colour is big to me.

I even extended this thought process to Bear's reusable nappies, opting for something a bit more exciting than your average white when selecting my terry towels. I originally came across Bright Bots on Amazon. An Australian brand, they bring colour to the world of cloth nappies and as far as I'm aware, are the only brand of excitingly-coloured terry nappies out there! 

Bright Bots are available in their standard 'brights' which are blue, green, red, lime, orange and the lushest royal purple I have ever seen or the 'girls' version which are still colourful, but more muted and feminine colours such as a baby pink, lilac etc. bear being a boy, I thought it somewhat unkind to stick him in a pink nappy, even though I really like pink!

Terry nappies take, apparently, an average of ten washes to reach maximum absorbency so the initial set-up is a bit time consuming but worth it if you want maximum results right from the get-go.

I love the colours that come in the brights pack and I am a huge fan of the presentation (pyramid style) and very basic, minimal packaging, after all, reusable nappies are the Eco-friendly option so a tonne of packaging does defeat one of the point.

I found the sizing of the nappies to be good, not too generous for my newborn and I must admit that I like that variance of terry towels, the different folds to suit your needs, and the ability to adjust and shape them to fit around your awkwardly-shaped child. Here are my pros and cons...

Pros.

- Attractive and colourful.

- Eco-friendly.

- Quick drying.

- Good size for most babies.

- Easy to work with.

- Very absorbent.

Cons.

- Colours can run in the wash the first few times, though this is stated on the packaging.

I'm really happy with my Bright Bots, terry nappies aren't as complicated or as time-consuming as a lot of people think, I wish they were waterproof though as the wraps get on my nerves a bit. If you'd like to try terries, I suggest here for folding tips.

You can buy Bright Bots in the UK from Amazon and a variety of online nappy retailers. I got mine from Fill Your Pants as they had the best price.

Clare

Please note that I bought this product with my own money and was not in any way compensated.

Cloth on a Budget - Starter Kit

I decided to create my own starter kit for my cloth nappy adventure, which I did with careful research, relentless shopping and hours of trawling the Internet for the best deals and prices. My goal was to have a variety of choices with enough nappies to not be constantly washing and for a low price. I'm happy with what I have, I hope that if you're considering cloth on a budget, that you find the following helpful.

Flat.

6x Terry Nappies - Bright Bots £18.95 for 6. Fill Your Pants.

Not the cheapest way to buy terries (though terries are the cheapest) , but I love the colours, they're a very good size and have good reviews. By buying a pack of six, also, I reduce waste should I decide that terries aren't for us.

9x Muslins - £3.50 for 3. Morrisons. £6 for 5. Sainsbury's.

Terries can be bulky on little newborns and although I had a lot of Muslins from when Moo was a baby, I decided to pick up a few more for use as nappies or to boost absorbency with some of the others.

  

Bright Bots.

Shaped.

2x TotsBots Bamboozles - £8.99 each. Fill Your Pants.

5x Little Lamb Bamboo - £25 for 5. Fill Your Pants.

5x Lollipop Bamboo - £22.50 for 5. Cloth Nappy Shop.

I bought the most of these because they are sized and I had heard good things about them all. I have bought three different brands, all bamboo, to see what I like for when they are outgrown and what is best for night times.

Left; Lollipop. Top; TotsBots Bamboozles. Bottom; Little Lamb.

Pocket.

Babyland - £2.99. eBay.

2x Baba+Boo - £9.25 each. Baba+Boo. Please note one of mine was gifted for review purposes.

CoolaBaby - £5.50. eBay.

When I first started research pocket nappies, I was convinced these were best and planned to buy 24 in total of varying different brands. After doing more research I decided to keep my options open but I wanted some 'easy to use' nappies for my husband and other relatives.

Top; CoolaBaby. Middle; BabyLand. Bottom Baba+Boo.

All in one.

Bambinex - £7.99. Zuilily.

Frugi for TotsBots - £14.44. BabiPur.

Another 'easy option' for other people more than for myself. The TotsBots Fugi is my most expensive individual nappy purchase, however it was too cute to resist and 15% off. I earnt some money through eBay and so purchased it with that.

Left; Bambinex. Right; TotsBots Frugi.

Wraps.

TotsBots Easy Fit Wrap. £8.99. eBay.

2x Smarty Pants wraps. £18 for 2. Fill Your Pants.

Little Lamb wrap. £6.50. Cloth Nappy Shop.

Lollipop wrap. Included with Lollipop shaped nappies.

 Top; Smarty Pants. Left; Little Lamb. Right; TotsBots Easy Fit.

Accessories.

Nappy Bucket - £5.99. eBay.

Nappi Nippas -  £4 aprox. eBay.

Net bags - £3 for 2. Baba+Boo.

Bamboo boosters - 5 Free with code BOOSTED. Fill your pants.

Flushable liners - £4.99 for 200. Boots.

Dry bag - Free with Lollipop shaped nappies.

Top; Nappi Nippas. Bottom; Bamboo boosters. Right; Bucket, net and flushable nappy liners.

Total spend; £182.57

I could've got this a little cheaper, however I opted to go for some more expensive brands ie TotsBots and Bright Bots, partly because they came so highly recommended.

So this is what I have to work with at the moment, twenty-four in all which apparently is enough to wash every-other day. There will be a certain degree of trial and error in regards to all of them but hopefully it won't take long to figure out what works for us and when Bear grows out of the shaped nappies at around nine months, we will sell them on as 'pre-loved' and replace either with the next size up or a different type depending on what suits us best as a family.

I'm not an expert, I don't pretend to know everything about cloth nappies, I'm still learning, but I hope that if you're looking to start cloth on a budget that this has given you an idea of what you can get for your money.

Clare

Cloth on a Budget - Intro

For some reason, with this baby, I became adamant that I wanted to use cloth (reusable) nappies. When I had Moo I was under the illusion that they were all still terry cloth and safety pins...my step-mum has a story of her youngest brother and a safety pin from a nappy that has always made me feel more than a little bit queasy.

It wasn't until I started my journey as a parenting blogger that I discovered that actually, they've come along way since the days when even you or I were children! There are a lot of different types; flat, shaped, and all-in-one and so many brands ranging from budget to higher-end. 

Seriously, my husband even joked that I'm so obsessed and talk about it that much that anyone would think I was on commission.

I'm not.

I am interested in the environment and conservation, however for me, the deciding factor on this decision was primarily financial. As a family, we do not have a high disposable income, and my blog reflects that. Money saving is important to me and the foundations of what makes up Little Pink Teacup. There are a lot of guides out there on different types of nappies, how to pick what's best for you, how to wash/dry and everything else. I'm going to be posting a series of updates about cloth nappies on a budget as I research the best prices and try my hand at a little bit of everything. If you're interested in cloth but are worried about the initial start-up cost, my recommendation to you would be to spread the cost. There are a lot of trial kits available from all the online retailers, some with just one brand, others with a variety of different brands and types for you to explore and find out what it is you like.

I've created my own starter kit which you can view here, which I have tried to do on a low budget and with the idea in mind to try a little bit of everything whilst still having enough nappies to use.

If purchasing is something you really want to do when you have made a definite decision, then try looking up local nappy libraries in your area or finding a nappy agent or 'guru' who represents a shop such as Fill Your Pants and can meet and show you all the different types and brands that their company has to offer, you don't have to buy and at least you've seen them all.

There is one more option, offers such as this that give you the chance to try nappies at home with a deposit. If you're not happy, they simply refund the deposit upon you sending the nappies back. There are a few of these offers dotted about, the one I've linked to, I think, is the best value for money.

The sites I found to have the best offers and prices were...

Fill Your Pants - great all round prices, good trial kits.

Babi Pur - Great prices on TotsBots.

Grow Up Green - Best prices for accessories and flat nappies!

Cloth Nappy Shop - Great prices on Little Lambs and Lollipop and fantastic customer service!

Clean Green Nappy Co - Best prices on TotsBots Easyfits.

Lizzie's Real Nappies - Good value trial kits, do a fab pre-fold kit for £23.

Baba+Boo - Lovely British company that do lovely pocket nappies for only £9.25 each and their net bags laundry bags are only £3 for two!

Clare

Bridal Make-up on a Budget

A quick warning, this post contains lots of photos of my red skin, tired eyes and general wonky-appearance. For that, I'm sorry, enjoy!!

Hello! So I couldn't help but notice that a LOT of my Twitter followers (and the people that I follow) are getting married/planning their wedding at the moment. Exciting stuff! I'm a little under a month away from my first wedding anniversary and so I thought that today I'd share with you my 'wedding face'. Being a make-up lover I decided to do my own for multiple reasons; I couldn't really afford to pay someone to do it for me, I know what I like and am very particular, I don't like being touched...the list is quite long, actually...SO I did it myself and here's how I looked on the day...

So today I'd like to share with you a quick how-to on wedding make-up using near-exclusively 'budget' brands, most of which I used on my actual day. The lower end of pricing when it comes to the ol' slap has come along leaps and bounds in recent years and I've got to admit that given the choice between a £3 foundation and a £10 one, I'm going to plump for the £3 one if it's achieving the same results. Remember, it's not about the price of the product, or the name of the brand, it's about how you use it!

Here's a picture of me on the day, apologies for the filter.

Step one.

Once you've moisturised, pop on a primer. Make sure that you're not too quick to start applying over it, give it time to 'settle', I normally use this time to apply some concealer under my eyes because I suffer from really bad dark circles (and have done since I was young).

MUA Professional Primer. Garnier Roll-on Anti-dark Circles in 'light'.

Step two.

Using whichever your preferred method, apply foundation. I've used a 'beauty blender' sponge which you can get really cheap from eBay because I'm not a huge fan of foundation brushes. Often I just use my fingers and buff off the excess with a clean make-up sponge.

MUA Matte Perfect Foundation in 'fair'.

Step three.

I always use pressed powder as I suffer from an awful, shiny nose (much like Rudolf). Using a puff pat it onto your face, paying special attention to any problem areas like my shine. I followed with a bit of Benefit Erase Paste under my eyes again to ensure they really are as hidden as possible and pat on a bit more powder under my eyes to keep it all together. Buff off the excess with a big, fluffy powder brush.

Natural Collection Pressed Powder in 'cool'. Benefit Erase Paste in 'medium' (sample size).

Step four.

Using a two-tone, natural-shade bronzer, add some dimension to your face with a large bronzing brush. I was always told to use a shade or two darker than your colour to achieve a natural look. As I typically use the palest foundation, I opted for the palest bronzer. Use what's best for you, I used to be terrified of bronzing but I'm over that now! Get your lighter of the two shades on your brush, knocking off the excess and starting from the middle of your forehead, draw a number three shape (forehead, cheek, chin) down each side of your face, followed by a quick sweep down the centre, over your nose. Add a light amount more if you think it's not visible enough or buff with a powder brush if too dark. Be sparing, you don't want to look like you're wearing wood stain! Once you're satisfied with that, get your darker shade onto your brush and get ready to contour! Suck in your cheeks to find the hollow and very gently in a circular motion working outwards towards your jawline, apply your darker shade. Buff again if too dark.

Miss Sporty Ooh! Tan So Fine in '001 Sun Kissed'.

Step five.

Apply your highlighter. It's up to you how and where, whichever works best for you, I've applied it to my brow and cheek bones as I do struggle to get a balance where I don't look like an other-worldly being. Apply eye primer on your eyelids so that it has time to settle before you go at it with shadow and fill in your brows. It is really important to get your brows sorted before you start to work on your eyes as they will provide a good guide to the width of your face. I've filled mine in with a brown shadow and then a sharpened eyebrow pencil.

Highlighter in 'Shimmer Kiss' from Artiste Collection. Professional Eye Primer. Shadow in 'Shade 2' from Undressed Pallete. Eyebrow pencil in 'brown'. All MUA/MUA Professional.

Step six.

Unless your wedding has a strong theme, it's important to remember that everyone is there to see you. Your husband or wife is in love with you, not someone covered in make-up so you're better off opting for natural shades for your eyes. Natural doesn't have to be boring. I've used three natural shades in three tones to create a subtle smokiness. Starting with the mid-shade, apply to the middle of your lid working outward so that it softens at the edges. Apply your darker shade carefully to the outer lid working in and blend so that they merge nicely into the socket line and one another. Finally, with the lighter shade, sweep it carefully in from the inner lid to widen your eyes and be sure to blend so that the whole eye flows nicely. Using a white eyeliner pencil, carefully draw along your bottom water line, this will open your eyes up more and make you look more awake (perfect if you've had wedding-day nerves).

Shadows from Accessorize 'Lovely Day' Pallete. Avon ColourTrend Pencil Play eyeliner in 'white'.

Step Seven.

I wear eyeliner pretty much everyday, I'm a big fan and I couldn't imagine my wedding day without that eye definition that I use all the time though my usual liquid liner was going to be too much. Instead use a soft black pencil along your upper lash line and halfway along your lower lash line. Then smudge using a small brush. I set the liner by going over it with a fine brush (you could use the tip of an applicator) with the middle shade, this softens the liner and stops it from looking too dramatic. Then apply a couple of coats of your favourite mascara.

MUA Professional 3-in-1 Extreme Contour Liner in 'black' . Collection Killer Curves Mascara in 'Ultra Black'.

Step eight.

Now that you know how your eyes are looking, you can apply your blusher accordingly (if you apply your blusher before your eye make-up, you have nothing to compare it to and run the risk of looking over flushed). For day-to-day I tend to only apply blusher to the apples of my cheeks, however here I've spread a little further for a more mature look.

Collection Blush in '02 Bashful'.

Step nine.

For the final touch, line your lips in a nude/natural shade using lots of little strokes to 'feather' the line as opposed to one continuous srtoke. Soften with a cotton bud if you think it needs it. Fill in your lips with a subtle, natural shade.

17 Lip Liner in 'Rose Blush'. Collection lipstick in '13 Satin Bow'.

And you're done! Here's the before (wearing only moisturiser and lip balm) and after.

I hope you like this little tutorial, I uhmed and ahed over whether or not to make it a video or not. Still unsure if it would benefit. What do you think?

Clare

Budgeting; managing the month

In our house, money never sticks around for long. We are fortunate enough to be in a situation that we have enough to cover all the outgoings including a few luxuries like Sky and Spotify and a bit spare for birthday presents, outings to soft play etc but things are tight and it is a juggling act.

Today I'd like to talk to you about how we keep our beady, little eyes on our finances, especially now I'm on maternity leave and our income is getting smaller and smaller in the run-up to baby Bear making his grand entrance.

This is our calendar. For ages we both had all of our ins and outs and direct debit dates on our phones and iPads. But it then meant so much shuffling back and forth between the calendar, the calculator and the notes and we were both getting into a bit of a muddle. So we popped out one day and found this!

It's adhesive and so sticks directly to our fridge which is nice as I'm not forever picking it up and re-pinning it to a cork board or misplacing it. Apparently it doesn't leave residue when you peel it off (I don't plan on doing that for awhile but I hate re-adhesive things...it always goes wrong).

Using white board markers we write in the month and it's dates in the correct boxes. We then use colour-co-ordinated markers to write in our ins, our outs and any family-impacting events so that they cannot be forgotten such as midwife appointments, parties, weddings etc.

Black; dates.

Green; ins.

Red; outs.

Blue; events.

Our bills are spread out across the month because in my job, I get paid weekly. I cannot express how handy it is to have it all written out in front of me, when I know I've got a bill coming up, I can see easily what day it's going to come out and what I have coming in before hand to cover it. We find that this works really well for us but it might not suit everyone. A regular calendar would work just as well however when we went on a hunt we couldn't find a calendar with big enough boxes that wasn't £11 (yes, really). My little duck helps me keep track of what day we're on, I move him over in the mornings when getting breakfast. Am I the only person that never knows what the day of the week is?

Stick-on calendar £6 Martha Stewart and white board markers 4 pack £5.50 Sharpie, both from Staples.

How do you manage your monthly budget? Is it as much a logistical nightmare as mine?

Clare

Changing Your Energy Meters

We recently moved house. It is my dream house. A two-story Victorian terrace on a quiet road of other families close to town. It has three generously-sized bedrooms, two reception rooms and a ginormous kitchen. It had recently had a total refurb including a brand new kitchen!

It was perfect...save for one small thing (well, minus the odd bailiff that shows up looking for the previous occupant)....

...the utilities were all metered. Gas, electric and water all on a meter. Now, the water isn't such a big deal, it's probably better for us, however pre-pay gas and electricity is notoriously more expensive than credit meters. My first flat was on an electric key and although I managed my time and money wisely, I still found it a very stressful method of using electricity.

Electricity is powered by a key and gas a card. Pre-pay energy can require a massive amount of faff trudging about looking for somewhere that does it...not everywhere tops them up...it's usually corner shops and I think maybe the post office. Supermarkets do not offer this service so it is far from convenient. Some providers are now offering devices for their prepay customers so that they can top up through the Internet. How they work is you receive a reader for your payment method (key or card) which then plugs into our computer via USB, allowing you to top up using a credit or debit card online. While this is easier, it makes it no cheaper.

As parents of a toddler and with a baby on the way, we were concerned about having to monitor our utility usage so closely and so decided to change our meters o the credit method that we were accustomed to. Our meters were changed free of charge by British Gas who were very efficient,

Below is a quick and basic step-by-step guide to changing your meters from pre-pay to credit.

- If you are in rented accommodation, you will need to ask the permission of the landlord to change the meters. If you think that they're likely to oppose your request, write a list of pros to put to them in your initial 'pitch' so that you can effectively sell it to them. Things like it being more reliable and cheaper are good to start with but also mention that it will be more attractive for any future prospective tenants. If you have quite a grumpy landlord, maybe consider a list of cons that they might put to you so that you can prepare a defence,
- Once you have permission, find out who our suppliers are (if you don't already know). It's usually written on your key/card but if not, here is a list of the appropriate numbers you can call that I found in a simple Google search. Alternatively you can call the supplier you would like to be with and ask them to find out for you. You will need your meter serial numbers for this.
- Once you've established who your supplier is/is going to be, you need to tell them that you would like your meters to be changed from prepay to credit. Some suppliers charge for this service but not all so if your supplier is one of this kind then tell them you will take your business to another supplier. This may sway them to do it for you for free, it may not, either way, there are better deals out there to be had.
- They will most likely run a credit check on you. HOWEVER if you have previously held a credit account with them at a former address, they will still have your details on file and this will work in your favour (a great peace of mind for those with any concerns in regards to credit), so long as your paid your bills on time/had a good relationship with your provider.
- Your supplier will arrange a time and date to come and change your meters over for you (usually a couple of weeks in advance). You will need to be present. Your engineer will also test the safety and the efficiency of your supply once he has installed your new meters.
- Once your meters are installed and registered on your suppliers system you can then choose your payment method (we prefer monthly direct debit...we end up paying more than we need through the summer but it provides a comfortable buffer in the winter when we use more).
- Once you're up and running, it's worth checking your tariff on a price-comparison website to ensure that you're getting the best deal that's out there so that you are not over-paying for your supply. Try to get a deal that locks you in at a certain price for a fixed term, that way you will be unaffected by any sudden rises in rates from your supplier.

Clare