Dr Aric Sigman’s Top Tips for Christmas

Christmas can be a stressful time. Buying presents, preparing the festive dinner…and now BYSS research has shown that one fifth of women are dreading the Christmas gatherings as they worry about the size, look and comfort of their home when entertaining and accommodating friends and family. To help get through the festive period, Dr Aric Sigman gives us his top tips: • Remind Yourself of what Christmas is actually celebrating. Then ask yourself: what would the original ‘birthday boy’ think of today’s stressed-out version of Christmas? It might be something like: ‘What have you done to my birthday?’ • Set Christmas priorities. Uninterrupted time together can be the very best present for families – especially children. Bonding time, catching up time and casual fun should take precedence over Christmas trappings and present-buying frenzy. Everything we do at Christmas should help […]

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Back to school- Tips for getting organised

Now the kids are back at school, you’ve probably noticed piles of work books stacking up almost as high as your pile of ironing. Let’s not mention the random pieces of stationery you’re finding down the back of the sofa or in the goldfish bowl. School mornings can easily resemble a crime scene from a movie. Wailing children, flying books, barking dogs, clothes being thrown everywhere round the house and finally you running around like a headless chicken trying restore some order. The morning school routine should never be a good cop, bad cop situation. Here at Big Yellow we’ve put together a list of tips to help get you prepared for “school day mania” as we like to call it. Hopefully these tips will help you maintain a smooth, stress-free, successful school year! 1. Get into a routine We […]

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Tips and Tricks: Our top ten fireplaces to keep you warm this winter

Autumn is here and winter is slowly but surely creeping up on us. BBQs in the park have been replaced with less-than-palatable potato and leek soup, Mum’s itchy woolly jumpers have taken over our favourite T-shirt’s space in our wardrobes and we can’t help but long for those long, lazy summer weekends sunbathing in the park, while we’re locked indoors vegetating in front of the TV. But don’t let the winter blues gloom-up your days, we know exactly what you need to add a bit of warmth and cosiness to your house. How about snuggling in front of a beautiful fire place with the loved ones while enjoying a cup of hot chocolate? Winter just got a whole more exciting, right? We have compiled a list of top 10 fire places that will are bound to brighten up your day. […]

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Tracy Martin’s fashion collectibles tips

Did you know that your love of fashion could make you money? Recent research shows we think about our clothes as functional and disposable rather than something that could be worth more than ten times what you paid for it for in just 6 months. I know what you’re thinking as soon as you hear the term ‘investment’ you automatically think about designer items that cost the Earth. Thanks to recent designer collaborations partnerships with brands like H&M & Lanvin and Topshop & Kate Moss, the high street is bursting with reasonably priced items that are sure to become highly collectable in the future. Read on for my tips on spotting those items which you should always keep in your wardrobe. Seek items that are only available for a short length of time H&M collaborations with high end designers such […]

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How to take care of your tools

Getting into the habit of looking after your tools, will only make them last longer. This may seem like common sense, however good tool care won’t just save you some pennies but it’s essential for your own safety too! So next time your chisel goes blunt, don’t just chuck it out and buy a new one. Give it a little bit of TLC (Tool Loving Care, of course), store it properly and make sure it’s ready for your next task. Here at Big Yellow we’ve put together a few tips that will help you take care of those tools, yourself and your bank account! 1. Keep that rust away. Remember, rust is the enemy of any DIY tool. Humidity and water are the primary causes of rust so if your tools get wet you could find that they become permanently […]

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How to prepare for a disaster-free home makeover

Whether it’s improving the kitchen, fixing up the spare room, or simply cutting the grass, disaster in the home can strike when advice is ignored. Insurers Allianz say that DIY disasters cost Britons a staggering £4.4billion every year, so here are our top tips on how to avoid destroying your home or taking an unwanted trip to hospital. Take baby steps and know your limits. Don’t try to tackle all your redecoration projects at once. Jump right in without planning and you’ll end up with a house full of half-finished projects. You need to think about how much each project will cost, whether you have all the right tools and how long it will take to complete. With the baby steps approach why not focus on one room at a time, and choose small projects that are achievable. Maybe start […]

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Top tips to prepare your spare room for guests

We’ve all experienced that feeling of sheer panic that sets in when you have guests staying with you. That moment when you realise that the spare room is currently occupied by your fishing gear, gym equipment that you never used and all the bric-a-brac that you tell yourself you really need but have been condemned to sitting in boxes since you moved into the house 10 years ago. What follows is usually panic and a frenzied tidying spree. To avoid this process and ensure that your guests don’t end up having to climb over all your stuff to get to their bed, Big Yellow have compiled a helpful checklist of things to do before your guests arrive to make their stay as pleasant as possible. 1) Clean! Yes, this might seem incredibly obvious – why wouldn’t you clean a room […]

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How to maintain value of all-weather furniture

Out of all the items in your home, outdoor furniture is the most weather-beaten. Exposed to snowy winters and British ‘summers’, outdoor items need the most tender love and care to make sure they don’t lose their quality and value. Here are a few ways to ensure they’ll last you for many seasons to come. 1) Treat them with a protective varnish. Coating wooden furniture in a protective sealant at the start of the summer season will help reduce the amount of water absorbed into the grain, as well as protecting it from the sun. After a while furniture will start to fade so coloured varnishes can be a great way to bring some much needed life back to your furniture. You can buy them in a range of natural colours here. For metal furniture these protective paints are the […]

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Clear your time to clean your home

We don’t have time for it and (most of us) don’t enjoy it, but cleaning is a job that just won’t go away. Despite our best efforts to ignore them, chores will build until eventually your list of things to do tomorrow will be flowing across three pages. Here at Big Yellow we would much rather spend our days relaxing and enjoying what is left of the summer. Here are a few simple changes to your routine which will leave your house cleaner and your days freer. 1) Plan cleaning into your daily routine. Whether it is a quick wipe down before you head to work, or sorting out the washing while you wait for dinner to cook, completing little jobs every day won’t feel as time consuming as sacrificing whole day at the weekend. There’s no need for a […]

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Going on holiday this year? Make sure your home is secure. We’ve got the run down on the latest home security products…

“We’re all going on a summer holiday, no more working for a week or two, sun and laughter on our summer holiday, no more worries for”… the burglars who’ve just got away with all your prize possessions. Here at Big Yellow we hate to be pessimistic, but if you’d like to see your home the same way as you left it, then leaving the landing light on just isn’t enough to deter those baddies. So don’t assume that prying eyes believe that you’re all huddled on the landing for days on end and get safeguarding your home. For some of us, home is where the heart is and no one likes theirs broken. We’ve got the run down on the latest home security products: 1.There’s nothing worse than burglars getting away with their thievery, so it’s time to play big […]

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