Clever money-savers
quick & easy,garden inspiration,home inspiration,homecare tips
CL echinacea flowers
Enjoy a cash-savvy summer with these ingenious money-saving ideas from Prima homes expert Suzanne Wilkinson. click through our gallery to discover them. Here\'s the first...
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Harness flower power
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An inexpensive way to give your room a new lease of life is with fresh flowers from your garden. Keep them alive for longer by adding lemonade, aspirin or a coin to the water. This will increase acidity and delay bacterial growth. Lemonade (but not the diet variety) also nourishes blooms.
Get creative to save cash
money saving,money-saving,save money,credit crunch,recession,housekeeping,travel holiday,holidays,money-savers
PP homemade curtains
Revamp curtains rather than splashing out on new ones. Add new panels along curtain bottoms with fabric off-cuts. Try contrasting a silk or satin panel with a patterned fabric. Sew together or simply glue in place with Bostik Sew Simple (£3.99).
Budget cleaning
money matters,home inspiration,home makes,Prima
PP matalan homeware
Looking for cheap household cleaning products? The JML Magic Eraser (£4.99 from Asda or JML) is a brilliantly cheap way to get rid of marks on walls, skirting boards and sports shoes. And Matalan has a fantastic range of budget cleaning tools (pictured); from £2.
Forget tumble drying
money matters,home inspiration,home makes,Prima
PP woman hanging clothes on a line
On a sunny day, dry laundry outside rather than tumble drying. Even the humble peg has been updated with timesaving in mind - Twisty Pegs, £8.50 for 40 from Kitch ‘N\' Sync, hold heavy garments in place without the need to fold them over the top of the line.
Three thrifty holiday tips
money matters,home inspiration,home makes,outdoor pursuits,Prima,travel advice
PP family putting up a tent near a lake
* Get kitted out with sleeping bags, a three-man tent and eating accessories for under £50; at Morrisons
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* Buy holiday essentials in the departure lounge rather than the high street - it\'s tax free.
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* Memories last a lifetime, but batteries don\'t. Rechargeable ones last up to four times longer in digital cameras than standard alkaline batteries.
Techno savings
money matters,home inspiration,home makes,Prima
PP woman watching television
Shop around for combined TV entertainment packages. It makes sense to get one tailored to your needs. BT Vision, BT\'s digital and on-demand service, offers a pay-as-you-go service that includes Freeview channels and access to a massive library of films and hit TV shows. After Freeview, you pay only for the channels you watch, so you aren\'t paying for channels you never view. Visit www.bt.com/vision.
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Get phone calls for less. Swapping your phone to a pay-as-you-go tariff with www.onecompare.com could save you loads of money, as it calculates the best package for you. Why not keep your existing phone and swap to a SIM-only tariff, from £10 a month? By offering SIM-only deals, networks don\'t have the cost of new handsets, so they can offer cheaper deals.
Cheap chic
money matters,brilliant bathrooms,home inspiration,home makes,Prima
PP BHS bath set
* Be lavish with candles to conjure up a stylish living area.
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* Update your china by adding a few keenly priced, colourful pieces to complement your current set.
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* Make over your bathroom with Bhs or Matalan towels. They\'re a thrifty way to make a room look great.
Think your way to a better life
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