Tips
New Ofgem rule quietly changes how energy firms estimate your usage – and what smart‑meter owners should do now
Charlotte Reed
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The envelope lands with a soft thud on the doormat, or the email pings into your inbox on a Tuesday...
Tips
Plant roots circling the pot? Gardeners reveal the knife‑and‑fork rescue that saves them without repotting
Charlotte Reed
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When a plant keeps wilting, even though you are watering on time, most people reach for the fertiliser or blame...
Tips
Cat owners are taping this common item to sofas – vets explain why scratching suddenly stops
Charlotte Reed
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The first time you tape it on, it feels a bit ridiculous. You smooth a strip along the sofa arm...
Tips
Why you should stop storing skincare in the bathroom cabinet – and the two cooler spots experts prefer
Charlotte Reed
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La vapeur embue le miroir, les serviettes sont encore tièdes, un flacon de sérum repose à portée de main derrière...
Tips
Why your morning tea tastes flat – and the kettle limescale myth debunked by baristas
Charlotte Reed
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The kettle clicked in the half‑light, that soft metallic sigh that means “nearly there”. You dropped a bag in a...
Tips
The freezer “first in, first out” rule most people reverse – and how it silently wastes £200 of food a year
Charlotte Reed
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The thud of frozen peas hit the worktop just as the oven timer beeped. I was sure we had chips...
Tips
People are putting chalk in their wardrobes: the damp‑fighting habit that keeps clothes smelling freshly washed
Charlotte Reed
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You open the wardrobe and the air has a memory. Not of your favourite perfume, but of last winter’s rain...
Tips
Pollen‑covered car every spring? The tiny bit of washing‑up liquid detailers swear by for streak‑free paintwork
Charlotte Reed
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The first warm weekend of spring, you promise yourself you’ll finally clean the car. Ten minutes later the driveway looks...
Tips
Meteorologists track a rare stratospheric warming event – what it could mean for UK snow in February
Charlotte Reed
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The group chat pings just as you’re putting the kettle on. Someone’s forwarded a chart streaked in purple and blue...
Tips
After 65: not weights, not resistance bands – the washing‑up posture that secretly strengthens your shoulders
Charlotte Reed
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The strength secret hiding at your kitchen sink For many people, somewhere after 65 the word “exercise” quietly moves from...
Tips
Supermarkets slash “loyalty prices”, but a new study shows who actually saves – and who pays more
Charlotte Reed
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The yellow tags blur after a while. “Club price”, “Member only”, “With card” – tiny qualifiers in the corner of...
Tips
Charging cable always fraying? The old fountain‑pen trick tech repairers use to make them last twice as long
Charlotte Reed
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A frayed charging cable usually looks like bad luck or cheap plastic. In most cases, it’s neither. It’s a design...
Tips
“It added £400 to my bill”: the tiny leak on combi boilers that heating engineers urge you to check this weekend
Charlotte Reed
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On a wet Friday in October, Sam carried the post in with the groceries and dropped the brown envelope on...
Tips
Why your moisturiser suddenly pills under make‑up – dermatologists reveal the two ingredients that clash
Charlotte Reed
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The moment your base turns into crumbs You know the scene. You’ve done the whole routine – cleanser, serum, moisturiser,...
Tips
The under‑desk foot move office physios recommend to prevent swollen ankles on long workdays
Charlotte Reed
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Mid-afternoon, email window open, camera off on yet another call. Under the desk, your socks are carving neat ridges into...
Tips
Dog barking through the night? The simple curtain tweak behaviourists say calms anxious pets
Charlotte Reed
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A fox cuts across the car park at 2.47 a.m. You don’t see it, but your dog does. One flash...
Tips
Not bleach, not ammonia: the forgotten clear liquid that makes grout lines look newly tiled
Charlotte Reed
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Those tiny lines between your tiles have a way of making the whole room look tired. You scrub the bathroom...
Tips
The little-known thermostat setting that quietly adds £120 a year to your heating bill
Charlotte Reed
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On a damp Tuesday in February, a friend sent a screenshot of her gas bill with the kind of message...