Household gadget of the week this week is this uber funky and quite handy six part toaster. The toaster design by Matt Gossington rotates and heats the toast in single compartments. You can then remove the compartments from the main appliance and swing open to allow toast to keep warm and crisp on its hot plates.

The toaster would be ideal for large families who have lots of mouths to feed during the weekly early morning rush. It is also toast lovers dream, for those who just cant have enough toast.  Despite the amount you make all in one go, this appliance it does have a contemporary and functional design making an inspiring centre piece in any kitchen.

Cleaning the freezer can be a lengthy and messy job but at the same time it’s a very necessary job. You probably have noticed and are well aware that over time a nice big thick layer of ice can build up on the inside your freezer. Not only does this make it hard to open and close freezer drawers but the ice reduces the efficiency of the appliance adding to your electricity bill.

So how to clean a freezer without too much torture?

1. First off you will need to unload the freezer of any food items you might currently have inside! If you don’t have a second freezer where you can put the food during the cleaning process one hand tip from Videojug is to wrap your frozen foods in newspaper and put them in a cooler bag which should be stored in the coldest part of your house.
2. Turn off your freezer and remove any drawers and ice trays from the freezer. Place newspaper or old towels around the base of the freezer to soak up the water as the ice melts.
3. To help the melting process along, dip a cloth in the hot water and dab it onto the ice covered shelves. Placing a bowl of warm water at the base of the freezer or underneath stubborn chunks of ice will also speed up the job.
4. While waiting for the ice to melt wash all the freezer drawers and ice cube trays with hot water and a small bit of detergent; rinse and leave to dry.
5. Check the freezers defrosting progress. Remove and discard any lose lumps of ice and damp newspaper and lay out a dry layer of newspaper or towels. 
6. Leave the freezer until it has completely defrosted; this could take a few hours. 
7. Once defrosted, wipe the inside of the freezer with warm water. Ensure that you don’t forget to clean the door jam as this where food from the fridge can gather! 
8. Now you are ready to replace your freezer drawers and all frozen food.
9. All done!

First off what is bleeding a radiator and why do you need to do it? Radiator bleeding is a term giving to the 'act' of removing air that has accidentally gotten into the radiator's coils. When air gets in the radiator, it rises to the top and displaces some of the water. Air doesn't conduct heat as efficiently as water; therefore it is both costly and wasteful to run your radiator with air trapped inside. All radiators must be bled on a regular basis, as the heating and cooling of water naturally releases air bubbles.

So how do you bleed a radiator?

1. Before you begin, you should switch off the boiler, so you avoid the chance of getting splashed! To avoid mess, you should have small container and a couple of cloths to catch any water that might come spurting out of the radiator valve. Last but not least, find your radiator bleed key i.e. the bleed key is a specific key used to open the value. If you can’t find it, don’t worry as they are easy enough to buy at any DIY shop.


2. Once you are all prepared, open the bleed valve at the top of the radiator with the radiators bleed key. The bleed valve is identifiable by a square bit in the middle of the round plug. Use the key to turn the valve anticlockwise about a quarter of a turn. It shouldn't be necessary to turn it further. You should now hear a hissing sound i.e. the trapped air escaping through the valve. Keep the key on the valve and when the hissing stops and the first dribble of water appears, close the valve tightly.


3. Job done!

This nifty gadget is for the coffee lovers. The Handpresso, which is said to a revolutionary concept and the talking point of design, is a small size Espresso machine that you can take with you on the go!  “Wherever you go and whenever you move, an espresso is always close to hand!”

How does it work? You pump (it’s kind of like a bicycle pump!) the handpresso machine to "16 bar", add hot water from a kettle or from a flask if out and about, and an E.S.E. (Easy Serving Espresso) pod. Then, serve yourself a quality cup of coffee with the simple push of a button!

What’s the catch? The Handpresso is made by a French company, which means their E.S.E. (Easy Serving Espresso) pods, similar idea to nepresso pods, are not easily found on Irish supermarket shelves.  However you can buy direct from them online.

• Take a closer look at the Handpresso

While may say that Limescale is not harmful to us, it can be a nuisance. The build up of calcium in your kettle can cause it to take longer to boil, therefore using more energy and adding little extra to your electricity bill. Not only that but if Limescale is left untreated / not removed or not cleaned for a lengthy period of time, the element can burn out therefore you’ll end up have to throw it out and buy a new one!

The descaling process of your kettle is fairly easy. You can buy descaling cleaners in most supermarkets but there is an argument that they can be corrosive and emit chemical odours – which probably wouldn’t make for a nice tasting cuppa tea when the cleaning process is over! But not to worry, there are a few key ingredients found in most household Kitchen cupboards that when used in the right way will help remove limescale from your kettle! What you need is:

• White vinegar
• Lemon Juice & Lemons
• Water

Start by half-filling the kettle with a 50:50 ratio of vinegar and water and leave for an hour. Then, leaving in the acid, top up the kettle with lemon juice and boil it. Once cool pour away the boiled water and half fill the kettle with water. Chop up some fresh lemons and put into the half kettle of water and boil. Once cooled, rinse your kettle with several changes of cold water to remove any traces of vinegar or lemon juice (not a good taste with tea or coffee!).

Vola, you should now have a sparkling and limescale free kettle.

House and Home magazine; Ireland's beloved and best selling interiors magazine with an accessible mix of Irish ideas for Irish interiors, are carrying out a consumer survey this month and would love to hear your opinions and feedback on their mag.

In return for taking a few minutes to complete their questionnaire and to make it worth your while they will give you a FREE copy of the House and Home magazine in return!  How brilliant is that?!

It’ll only take you a few minutes, so why not complete the questionnaire and get your hands on a free copy of their mag (Oh and it'll be delivered straight to your door too!).

Start Questionnaire

February has arrived and so the yearly act of cleaning a house from top to bottom i.e. spring cleaning is soon to get underway. Spring cleaning time is a prime opportunity to get rid of unwanted and used items in the house. We all have items lying around the house, garden shed or workplace that we don’t need, be it a piece of furniture, a fridge, a bicycle, gardening tools or clothes. However, sometimes the task of parting with some items is not easy. The key though is to be ruthless. The following which are really ‘Excuses for keeping things’ should definitely be on the get-rid list.

• Stacks or old letters, magazines or books that you were going to read.
• Things people have given you that no longer fit into your life.
• Things you have been hanging onto in case you need them.
• Things you have kept because it would be a waste to let them go.

However what you should know and remember is that you do not need to throw out all the items you plan to get rid of. Most of the items are probable reusable. As they say “What you may no longer want could be someone else’s treasure”.

There are many companies and organisations that will take and /or swap your unwanted items such as the St. Vincent de Paul, Dublinwaste.ie, Jumbletown.ie.

Reusing your unwanted goods is better than simply throwing things away and helps protect the environment. It’s also a very simple, yet efficient way to relieve clutter and provide valuable items for those in need.

With stubborn gunk, 'burnty' bits and who knows what else, cleaning your oven isn't the most exciting or attractive job. However the job at hand isn't as difficult as it sounds and it is possible to restore your oven back to squeaky clean order pretty quickly.

They are many ways to clean the oven. My preference is the eco friendly and homemade way i.e. a mixture of ingredients from your kitchen. So where to start? What you need is:

• 5 tablespoons of baking soda
• 4 of white vinegar
• And 2 or 3 drops of washing up liquid

Mix all the ingredients together into a thick paste, then use a sponge to apply your new home oven cleaner remedy to the inside of your oven. When you have that done its time for some elbow grease i.e. scrub your oven with a ‘green scrubby’. Once you are happy you have scrubbed enough, make sure to rinse thoroughly and wipe the oven clean.

If you don’t have time or the ingredients you can buy oven cleaner! Check out the video to follow the steps on what to do (it’s not that hard, spray it on, clean it off!)

With all that in mind, now all you have to do is roll up the sleeves and get to it!

A pretty nifty and handy ‘gadget’ to have especially in the current water shortage is a water butt. What is it?  It is a barrel-like tank that can collect rainwater from your roof's drainpipes after rain. This rainwater can then be used for watering plants in your garden, for washing you car and at times, like now when water pressure is low it might be handy for filling up your cistern.

A small sized water butt has a capacity of about 190 litres and is made from 100% recycled plastic. It is designed to fit a standard plastic drainpipe (not recommended for cast iron pipes!) and are designed so that they will not overflow. When the water level reaches a certain level water will flow straight through the down pipe instead of into the water butt.

The price of water butts can vary depending on the size you want, small sized tanks can start at €40 and can be purchased from the many local county councils and some garden centres. 

Dublin City Council.ie provide a list of suppliers in the Dublin area.

As water supplies across the country remain at critically low levels, authorities last night warned that water supplies in some parts of the country may not be back to normal for several months.

It’s no secret that Ireland has one of the highest water availability rates in Europe and according to Met Éireann annual rainfall totals in 2009 were well above normal for the second successive year. However Irish rivers which are the source for much of the Irish water supply are just not able to keep up with the demand. 

The water shortages came as Chambers Ireland said the issue highlighted the need for water meters and charges for all users to be introduced as a matter of urgency. The body’s deputy chief executive Seán Murphy said "Water shortages simply would not happen if people were paying for these scarce resources."

However one TD said "The latest water shortage crisis was entirely predictable given the shambolic state of the country’s water network and the Government’s failure to fix it, especially when 43% of the supply was already leaking into the ground,"

Have your say:

• Would the introduction of water meters and charges prevent future water shortages and rationing?
• Or should there be better monitoring and reserving of our water use by authorities throughout the year and not just when supplies run low?

It is said that the average person uses 148 litres of water a day; this is the equivalent of nearly two full baths of water! Minor adjustments in our daily activities at home and in the garden can help make a difference. It doesn't have to cost money; it just takes a little bit of time and effort.

1. Have a shower instead of a bath. A bath can use over 100 litres of water whereas a regular shower uses about 35 litres of water (in 5 minutes.)
2. Turn off the tap. Don't leave the tap running while brushing your teeth. Turning the tap off can save over 7,000 litres of water per year.
3. Fix Leaks. Mending your dripping tap washer could prevent the waste of up to 5,500 litres of water which is enough to fill a paddling pool every week for the whole summer.
4. Avoid half loads. When using your washing machine and dishwasher is better to only use them when they are full: A full load uses less water than two half loads; so, not only will you save water but you’ll also save money on energy too.
5. Toilets. Older toilets can use up to 9-11 litres in a single flush can! If you have a single flush toilet you can reduce this amount by inserting a water displacement device into your tank. You can purchase these or place a plastic bottle filled with water in the cistern (make sure it doesn’t obstruct the mechanism.) You can also get a plumber adjust the flush volume of your cistern.
6. Outside: Invest in a water butt. A water butt is a barrel-like tank that collects rainwater from your roof's drainpipes. This rainwater can then be used to water your garden, house plants or even wash your car.
7. Use a watering can instead of a hose. A hose can emit as much as 18 litres of water a minute. Using a watering can in your garden you can significantly reduce the amount of water wasted and if you must use a hose fit it with a trigger gun to control the flow.

Why get one? Draught excluders are a quick, easy and a cost effective method to reduce heat loss and help to retain heat in the rooms of your house. They stop the cold air from the outside creeping in and a help prevent those draughts circulating.

Draught excluders can also be considered eco friendly. By using draught excluders at the bottom of your doors they increase energy efficiency in the home by acting as an additional insulator. Excluding draughts will improve heat loss, lower your energy bill and reduce your CO2 footprint.

In the past draught excluders were sometimes drab and 'uncool' but with the cold weather sticking around draught excluders have made a huge comeback and with style. Not only add a touch of funky retro styling to your home, they also work hard at banishing cold draughts and help keep you nice and comfy during the winter months.

Our favourites:

• Snake Draught Excluders made from vintage fabric from Eco Outlet
• Sir Lily Pad the frog draught excluder from Ideal Moments

Well, whether you like outdoor Christmas lights or not, you can’t not like the display given by the former Disney “Imagineer” and special effects expert Ric Turner. He has come up with a pretty creative way to display his outdoor Christmas lights by hooking up and syncing his 21,268-bulb-strong lights with the Wii’s Guitar Hero.

What am I talking about? In short Ric Turner has programmed his Christmas lights set-up to play Eric Johnson's "Cliffs of Dover." The whole thing is played with a wireless guitar controller for the Wii. Pretty cool.

Turner does over the top displays every Christmas and even puts on displays at Halloween. Why not check out his You Tube page.

With the Christmas festive season well underway, the decoration process both inside and outside of the house is in full swing. With a massive range of lights on the market, from modest icicle sequences to 12ft illuminated sets of Santa and his reindeers, it’s fair to say that Christmas has gone all bling bling. Only a hand full of years ago it was hard to find outdoor lights without going to a specialist but now that they are available in every garden centre, hardware store and shop corner more and more people are catching the outdoor decorating bug.

Some go for a minimised reserved look of a few clear or coloured fairly lights that border part of the house or highlight a tree in the front garden while on the total extreme opposite some people go to extraordinary lengths to make sure their houses are the brightest lit, adorning their house with thousands of lights which nearly offer an alternative sun source.

Every year the debate arises as to whether outside Christmas lights are first-rate or just plain naff. Some houses could be compared to Clark Griswold’s in the National Lampoons Christmas Vacation while many believe they promote a great sense of Christmas spirit and celebration.

Outdoor Christmas Lights: Have your say

• Do you love them? Are they attractive, magical and an essential part of the festive season?
• Or are they cheap, tacky, distasteful and vulgar?

We have scoured the internet, magazines and newspapers to find the perfect gifts this Christmas for you and your home… here’s our favourite top five.

At number 5 is the considerate radio alarm clock. If you or someone you know finds rolling out of bed a little bit of a struggle especially on the cold dark winter mornings then the Sunrise Nature Sounds Alarm Clock is a great gift solution. This little gem starts to light up gradually, 30 minutes before alarm time, to simulate sunrise in your room. Then instead of a deafening alarm, you can choose from a range of nature sounds to calmly wake you from your deep sleep. How nice.

At number 4, which would defiantly be a conversation starter at the Christmas table, is the Rain Main Decanter. If you are entertaining this year and looking to impress your guests then look no further than this funky decanter which pours wine from eight small holes on the side of the vessel, producing a showerhead-like effect. Wacky, but it gets our vote!

At number 3 are rugs with a difference. Rugs to Love turn pictures / drawings into a real rug! So if you are thinking of buying a new rug and have a budding young artist in the house, why not turn one of their pieces into a new mat or rug for the hall or sitting room? Pretty nifty, check out Rugs to Love:

Number two is the Glass Pool table! If you are looking for the ultimate boys toy for the house then this glass top pool table would only be ideal!

And a number one is the brilliant HiCan bed! If you need a new bed this Christmas then you look no further than the HiCan bed which combines luxury with technology to the extreme i.e. a fancy wide screen flat TV integrated into the bed frame. I want one of these.

Since we gave you a few tips and pointers on how to unblock a drain indoors we decided to move outdoors and help you out with how to tackle and clean your house gutters. This again isn’t the nicest job but since it is summer it would be a great time and chance to give them a clean. What you’ll need;

• Ladder, Gloves - preferably heavy duty gloves, Stiff brush, Garden trowel, A bucket  / bin /  bin liners, A hose, Wire Coat hanger

So where so start?

1. First off you will have to remove all debris and dirt from the gutter. Use the garden trowel to scoop out silt, grit, dirt etc then use a the stiff brush to loosen and gather debris. To minimize cleanup later scoop the debris into a bucket of even a rubbish bag / bin liner. Tip: It is best to work away from the drain outlet / downpipes i.e. do not sweep dirt down the drain pipe as this might / possible would cause
2. When all the dirt has been removed from the gutter you then wash out the length of the gutter using a hose. At this stage if there is any remaining dirt stuck to the gutter now is the time to try and scrub it off with the help of the water, your brush & some elbow grease. Tip: This part can be messy i.e. dirt and water = possible splashing! Be conscious that you don’t madly splash and ruin the paint work of your house!
3. Last but not least – the downpipe! From time to time the downpipe can block up.   You can use a wire coat hanger to to pull any dirt out, but if it is unreachable try using a high pressure hose to flush out the dirt!

Explaining and detailing the steps on how to unblock a drain is not a pretty subject! But when you have parents, boyfriends, partners etc complaining that the shower is slowly turning into a bath because of (possibly your) hair is blocking the pipe then you know something has got to be done.

There are a few methods to unblock a pipe;

1. You could use an off the shelf product e.g. Drain Clear. With a product like this you usually pour a certain quantity of the liquid down the drain and leave for anything from 15 minutes to 24 hours (this will depend on the product you buy) before you can use the shower / bath again.
2. You could make you own home mixture. The good old reliable vinegar and baking soda will do the trick. What you need to do is remove the drain cover, pour approx a cup of baking soda down the drain followed by two cups of plain, white vinegar.  When combined the mixture will really foam and bubble and will help loosen materials that are stuck in your drain and cause them to move freely down your pipes. After the mixture has stopped foaming run cold water down the drain to help remove the remains of any material in your pipe!
3. Last but not least if you have a very blocked drain you could use a hanger i.e. remove the drain cover and proceed to use a hanger to pull any unwanted contents out of the drain – this would be a last resort for me! Ugh.

Whether you are moving to a new place or redecorating or renovating your current home it sometimes can be hard to imagine how it will all look together when it’s finished. Not only that but when buying furniture it can be hard to decide where something will go in a room or whether it would look nice at all. Well thanks to the uber cool tool Sweet Home 3D your worries and doubts might just be over.

Sweet Home 3D is a free interior design application that helps you place your furniture on a house 2D plan, with a 3D preview. The software helps you to layout and design you’re interior at the click of a mouse. Not only can you draw the plan of your rooms, apartment, house etc by typing in your property measurements but better still if you have blueprint you can simply scan it in and trace over it! The best part is while you add any changes to your 2D plan all the information is updated in the 3D view, to show you a realistic rendering of your layout!

Sweet Home 3D is an open source piece of software… which means it’s FREE!! It is available on the Sweet Home 3D website and if you get stuck there are guides available to help you out.

I heard about it on the radio and I read about it in the paper this morning so I decided to look it up i.e the Ektorp couch. Probably the best type of couch for a whole load of reasons; not only is it comfortable, relatively inexpensive and comes with a 10 year warranty but also because it’s ridiculously easy to clean and easy to change the appearance if you get bored with it! The couch comes with its own slogan - ‘Removable, Washable, change-your-mind-able covers’ and it really does all that!

Take a look at the Ektorp Couch range

If you want one all you have to do is head to the IKEA store on St. Margaret's Road Ballymun which has opened its doors today!!

If you are a little strapped for cash but really want to give your home the once over, then fear not. Are you selling up and want to make your place a little more attractive to potential buyers? Or are you sick and tired of your lack lustre interior design?  Either way, it’s time to love your home. Here are a few tips for budget decorating.

• De-clutter and make any nice pieces you have a feature of your home.
• It’s easy to end up with a different theme in each room but this can be confusing. Stick to one theme to create a sense of calm that flows naturally from room to room.
• Give each room a focal point. A piece of furniture, a painting, a lamp or a rug. One simple feature goes a long way.
• A simple lick of paint can go a long way.

Great deals to be had in Lidl next week! We give you the head ups as to what is on offer so that you can be prepared to fight for the household bargains up for grabs come next Monday in Lidl.

Among the number of value for money products the two I have my eye on are the Lervia Steam Iron for a brilliant €13.99 and the Wet & Dry vacuum cleaner for €59.99. The great thing about the vacuum cleaner is that not only is it a high-performance machine but also a multipurpose vacuum cleaner for both in and outdoor use! – How cool is that?!

• Take a look at the Lervia Iron
• Take a look at the Vacuum Cleaner

Well the countdown to IKEA is nearly over! This day next week I can only imagine how thronged the IKEA store will be with happy shoppers!

So you don’t miss out on anything and in case you haven’t heard IKEA have a store card similar to that of a points card for supermarkets. Its called the ‘IKEA Family’ with the motto ‘The more you visit the more you get’. With the IKEA FAMILY card you will be the first to know of upcoming promotions, sales and events! Not only that but when you join up you’ll get:

• 25% off selected products from the regular IKEA range
• 25% off the exclusive IKEA FAMILY Range
• Free home furnishings magazine
• Offers via email! 

What do you have to do to get an IKEA Family? Once IKEAs doors are open run to the shop and apply in store!

Read more about the IKEA Family card

However keen you are to take a trip abroad or a weekend jaunt to the country, make sure your home is secure before you leave. As the weather gets warmer we are inclined to get a little more lapsed about home security – forgetting to close windows, leaving patio doors open etc. These are all open invitations to burglars. The longer you are away, the more vulnerable your house becomes. Here are a few quick fire tips on keeping your home safe as houses.

1. First off and a bit obvious but check that doors and windows are locked both back and front
2. If you’re out for the evening, close the curtains and leave a light on in a main room
3. If you are away, get a neighbour to check in each morning and evening to make it look like someone is home
4. If you have taken the car with you, get a neighbour to park in your driveway
5. If you have an alarm, leave a key and the codes with a neighbour or friend. An alarm that is continuously going off is not only annoying to neighbours but also a clear sign to potential burglars that there’s nobody home.

Remember there is no such thing as a burglary-proof home. There is such thing as a home that is just too damn difficult to break into.  It’s just common sense.

Varnishing a table is simple as long as you use the right varnish and follow the 'Ronseal Principle' i.e. Do exactly what it says on the tin.

You will need a mask, varnish, brush, sandpaper, sealant and a little bit of patience.

Depending on the finish you are looking for you can choose between a matt, semi-gloss or full gloss finish. Clean the table thoroughly. If there are any holes or scrapes in the table, fill them in with putty. Leave to dry and then sand the areas to a smooth finish. Place the table at a height. This will make it easier to varnish the legs without doing your back in. (Place the table on another table to use as a work surface). Varnish the table in an open area that is well ventilated. The fumes can be pretty toxic (even if they’re not). Apply the varnish following the instructions on the tin carefully. Once the varnish dries, you can then apply a sealant. This will help to preserve the table and make it more durable.

Happy Varnishing.

It’s nothing to be ashamed of. We’ve all had one. Yes, that’s right - a stinky, smelly sink. Sometimes it can smell like something has died down there but don’t fret.

Residue food and fat can build up around the sink area leaving a really bad smell that can spread throughout the house. So what’s the best way to “de-stink” your kitchen sink? Clean the rubber sink plug thoroughly. You will be surprised at the amount of grime that builds up which can really stink over time. Clean the basin, draining board and in behind the taps where damp can accumulate.

Don’t forget the drain. Your kitchen may look nice and clean but most smells usually come from the drain. Begin by pouring boiling water down the drain. Try adding some baking soda which should breakdown any fatty elements that have built up in the drain. If this doesn’t work, make up a vinegar and lemon solution for the eco-clean approach.