The Best #BlackFriday Deals and discounts!

Tomorrow is Black Friday, which traditionally is one of the busiest Pre Christmas shopping days and is named as it is supposedly the day which retailers go from the red to the lack and start to rake in the profits. More recently though it's the day many shops and site reveal their best festive offers.

I've brought together a selection of the best Black Friday deals I could find. So if you have some shopping left to do, grab a brew and have a browse at the links below. Remember that most of these are just teasers and won't actually go live until Friday morning...


Black Friday Lightening Deals

Amazon have been bringing us some good ones all week but these should be even better!I a case of fastest finger first so check out what's upcoming!






Toucan Kids

This fabulous site that sells gorgeous brands including Frugi, Lily & Sid and Brio is offering 25% off all non-sale clothing and toys starting today and running until Sunday. Use code 'BLACKFRIDAY' at checkout. Also in store. www.toucankids.com





HippyChick

25% OFF Hippychick who sell gorgeous toys and gifts such as wheelly bugs and Moover prams

Visit www.hippychick.com between 7pm – 9pm on Friday 28th November 2014 and receive 25% off all product lines just quote  BLACK14 a the checkout!

Asda

With 40 inch TV's just £139 and XBOX 360's for less than £100 it's worth the early tip to yor local store to see if you can grab a bargain!

Tesco

Build a Bear

Build A Bear welcome Peppermint Kisses Bear and Festive Fun Bear! 2 for £15 or £10 each. Signature outfits only 2 for £7!

The Book People

As always the book people have some cracking deals. With books from just £2 and 

Mr Men & Little Miss All New Story Collection for £15 it's worth a browse!

Frugi

The Fabulous Frugi have Buy one get one half price on all tops until midnight tonight!

DIY projects for under £10...

If you want to do a little DIY on a budget, then here are some suggestions for cheap projects that each cost under £10. Improving your house can be a great way to lower the cost of your insurance. You should also inform your insurer of any changes you make to your house that could impact the cost of your insurance.

 

Sort out your bookshelves

The first of our projects won’t cost you anything at all apart from time. If you have a good number of books, the chances are that they sit on your bookshelves in random order and it always takes a time to find the book that you are looking for. Sort out your books in a logical manner, either by subject or author. Alternatively sort them out so that they look nice, either in terms of size or colour.

Make a pair of cushions

Visit your local department store and buy a meter of fabric for around £6. Cut two oblongs out of the fabric, one for each cushion. Get out the sewing machine and make the cushions following one of the many videos on YouTube. For the stuffing use fire resistant polyester stuffing which you can buy for £3.99 from eBay; total project cost = £9.99.

Renovate an old kitchen chair

Do you have an old painted wooden kitchen chair? If so then stripping it down to the original wood and applying a semi-transparent wood stain can transform it into a beautiful item of furniture. You will need to buy a can of cheap paint stripper (£6.89). Stipple it on, wait until the paint starts to bubble, then remove the paint with a stripping tool if you have one or an old knife if you don’t. Wash the surface down and when dry sand it down with sandpaper (£0.99). Next make your own wood stain by mixing some left-over coffee with a little balsamic vinegar in which a piece of steel wool has been soaking overnight, and applying it just like a conventional wood stain. Brush it on and let it dry for a great semi-transparent finish. If you prefer other colours then you can use food colourings rather than the coffee.

Make a picture for your wall using dried flowers

For this you will need some glue, some tissue paper, and some thick coloured or white  card, a pair of tweezers and  a spray can of art sealant, all of  which you can buy online or from your local stationers for a little under £10. 

The first stage is to press some flowers. Find a thick book that is smaller than the tissue paper, open it and place a sheet of tissue on the page. Select some blooms along with some leaves and stems and lay them out the tissue paper sheet in a similar way you want them to look on the card. Place another piece of tissue over them and carefully close the book.

Place several heavy books on top of the first one and leave for a week, then check to see how the flowers are drying; give them a little longer if necessary. When they are ready pick each out in turn with the tweezers, add a little glue to the back and place on the card. Allow the glue to dry and protect by spraying with art sealant.

I'd love to read your budget DIY tips, please share them below!

Posted in Collaboration with MoreThan.

Five Ways to Save For Your Child's Future...

I often think about my childrens' future. I think about what they may be when they grow up, about their first relationships, their first jobs, whether they will go to university or travel the world, maybe both?

I have no expectations other than wanting them to be happy, to follow their dreams.

I wonder about becoming a grandparent, watching my own children take on the Mummy and Daddy roles that they so love to 'play'.

Whenever I think about this I also worry about money. I don't want money to be the defining factor in what they do with their lives but I don't want them to be held back by a lack of it either.

Although they will always be my babies, I know that the time will come when they will fly the nest, when they won't need me to protect them from the big wide world any longer and although at the moment I look upon that day with fear and trepidation I also want to prepare for it, and they only way I know of doing that is to make sure that they have some financial security when it comes.

I want to provide them with something. It won't be a lot but could help them live their dreams, maybe pay towards tuition at University, enable them to see amazing places around the world or even contribute towards a deposit on the house that they will bring my grandchildren up in.

Whatever they would spend it on I need to decide how exactly I am going to save for my childrens' future. I've been looking in to the different options out there and have put together a selection of ways to build up a next egg for your child...

1. If you have a child who was born before September 2002 or after January 2011, you can start a Junior ISA for them. The Sippdeal Junior ISA offers a way of saving for your child's future that is free from tax and allows anyone to pay money in, up to a limit of £3,720 each tax year. This makes it ideal for other family members to contribute too. You can save from £25 a a month using their Regular Investment Service. and if you decide to invest in funds you will receive an annual cash bonus of up to 0.5%. The child will then be able to access the savings once they turn 18.

2. If your child does not fit into the age brackets above then you will have been sent a voucher to set up a Child Trust Fund (CTF) when they were born. As well as this initial bonus which would have varied depending on when your child was born (my son was sent £500 where as my daughter got £50)  you can also add your own money to build it up for your childs' 18th birthday when they will be able to access it. These accounts are also free from both income and capital gains tax and again have a limit of £3,720 each tax year. MSE has a useful guide on choosing the right CTF.

3. You may want to save regularly but for your child's future but also want them to have access to it before they are 18. What if they have the opportunity to travel or find their independence before they are 'officailly' an adult? There are savings accounts out there that will allow you to pay in regularly but will give your child access before their 18th Birthday.

4. What if you want to put a lump sum away for them? Have you been left some money, remortgaged or sold a family heirloom?! A savings Bond is a good way of putting away a set amount without having to add regular contributions. Fixed rate bonds will tend to pay higher interest rates and the terms start from 5 years, allowing your child to access the funds after this time.

5. Encourage your child to save. Teach your children the value of money from a young age and whatever and however you do decide to save for them it will be spent wisely and when needed rather than squandered as soon as they turn 18 and can withdraw it!

So there are some ideas on saving for your child's future, Do you already have an account for your child? What would you recommend? I would love to hear your thoughts.

This post was sponsored by Sippdeal.

Would you like to win £10,000 with Savoo?

Would you like to win £10,000 with Savoo.co.uk?

Yes you read that right... £10,000!! Wow, what a competition prize!

Savoo.co.uk are looking for the UK's smartest shopper and they are giving away an amazing cash prize!

Why are they doing this? 

Savoo.co.uk believe there is a wealth of money saving knowledge in the UK. By finding the uk's smartest shopper savoo want to help them share their tips with all of us and encourage the UK to shop smarter!

It's all about being savvy with your money, and not “super scrimping” or “using your teabags twice.” They are looking for a well-rounded, altruistic, passionate money saving ambassador that they can help to spread their money saving knowledge and raise their personal profile.

Who will decide who the smartest shopper is?

There is a panel of four fabulous Judges who all know their stuff when it comes to being savvy! They are the general manager of Savoo.co.uk Simon Bird, the money-saving author Marc Lockley and two lovely thrifty bloggers..Miss Thrfty and A Thrifty Mrs..

So how do you enter?

Simply click here to start your application, but be quick as the contest closes midnight on October 15 2012, yes that's Monday!

I'll be entering and so should you! If you are the very lucky winner I look forward to you becoming one of the Dealpro team!

Good Luck!

Are You a Yummy Mummy to be?

Pregnancy is a magical time, but it can also be an expensive one! Not only do you want to start buying things for your new addition, you also have to think about how your body will change over the coming months! Those smart shift dresses and suit's that make up your 'work wardrobe' won't fit over a growing bump and neither will your favourite skinny jeans! You'll also need to ditch those cleavage enhancing underwired bras (well, your body will be doing some 'cleavage enhancing’ of it's own very soon!) and invest in some comfy nightwear!

   

Although this does mean you get an excuse to go shopping (a great way to give yourself a boost if you’re having a weepy pregnancy moment!) It can also mean that you start spending the pennies you had saved up for the larger baby purchases.

Wouldn't it be great if you could buy a whole new maternity wardrobe and at the same time get money off a Bugaboo Bee or Cameleon and Accessories?

Well, with the fabulous new Yummy Mummy Card from Mummy & Little Me you can now get all this and lots more!!!

With the Yummy Mummy Card you get....



£600 to spend on maternity clothes including nightwear and underwear .... PLUS...

·  10% off EVERYTHING at Mummy & Little Me for 1 year

·  £30 towards any baby changing bag

·  £100 towards Bugaboo Cameleon

·  £50 towards a Bugaboo Bee

·  £25 towards Bugaboo pram accessories

·  a pampering gift worth £15

·  Access to a Personal consultant 7 days a week

·  Upgrade to 1st class delivery on all orders

·  Free gift wrapping if requested

And you could earn up to £100 more in gift vouchers by referring friends (£25 per friend up to a max of 4)



So how much will all this cost you?



If you add up all of the fabulous benefits the total value comes to well over £800!



However the generous folk at Mummy & little me are offering you all of this for just £500!



Although this does sound like a lot to pay out in one go, speaking from experience, the costs of maternity clothes mount up with out you realising. By purchasing a Yummy Mummy Card you get £100 of free vouchers to spend on the latest maternity fashion and it's a great way to 'save' money on the purchases you'd be making anyway such as a pram, accessories and a changing bag!



This would also make a fabulous gift! So if you've just found out your expecting why not ask for a Yummy Mummy card for Christmas?



To celebrate the launch of this fabulous offer, Mummy & Little Me are giving away a fabulous new season pink lining bag!!!

These are really stunning bags with plenty of room for both Mummy's and Baby's bits and will make you a very Yummy Mummy!

Don't forget if you purchase the card as well as getting £600 to spend on fabulous maternity fashion you could save £30 off your favourite Pink Lining bag too!



So who wants to win this fabulous prize?


Competition is now closed! The very lucky winner is...

Mel Hearn


Congratulations Mel!! Please email you contact details to mymummyspennies@gmail.com and I will pass them on to the lovely folks at Mummy and little me to have your amazing prize sent out!

Thank you all for entering, I'm sorry you couldn't all be winners, but if you are a Mummy-to-be don't forget to take a look at the fabulous offers on Maternity clothes at www.mummyandlittleme.co.uk as well as the unmissable Yummy Mummy card which will save you hundreds of pounds!

For your chance to win a stunning new season Pink Lining bag simply go to www.mummyandlittleme.co.uk and take a look at their fantastic range of Maternity fashion then return here and leave a comment below with your favourite item!

You can gain an extra entry by sharing the following on facebook and Twitter...     

' I want to #win a pink lining bag with @Mymummyspennies  and
@Mummy and Little Me  http://bit.ly/se4Vzf '

Remember to like Mymummyspennies and Mummy and Little Me on facebook to get all our money saving updates and news!

You can also check out the latest offers and deals at Mummy & Little Me's website www.mummyandlittleme.co.uk.

 Don't forget they have an amazing deal currently on the Pink Lining Grey Doves Yummy Mummy bag for just £50 while stocks last AND if you sign up to their newsletter here you can get an extra 10% off your first order!







T’s and C’s

·  winner will be selected by random draw

·  open to residents of UK only.

·  Facebook is no way affiliated with this competition.

·  If the winner does not contact me within 3 days of their name being chosen another winner will be drawn.

·  Competition will close 9pm Friday 2nd December 2011 and will be announced on here shortly afterwards

· The prize will be a new season pink lining bag and may differ from images shown

I did not receive any monetary payment for this post but I was sent a lovely gift from Vicky at Mummy & Little me to thank me for my time.

I'm Sorry....

I'd like to start this post with an apology. I'm afraid over the last few weeks I have neglected you, my readers. For that I am very sorry! If I may explain...

Two weeks ago I returned to work, my 'day job' in an office. I know many of you are surprised to find that mymummyspennies is not actually my job, I do not get paid for updating the facebook page and twitter with all the fabulous offers and competitions I find, I do it because I want to help as many Mummies as possible get a good deal! I love it when you write on the wall to say you've grabbed a bargain from something I've posted or won one of the competitions I share, It really makes me smile!

So anyway back to explaining my neglect...

At the beginning of this month after a whole year of Maternity leave at home with my children, I returned to my office job. I have to admit at first it was a shock to the system! Leaving the house at 6.30 am and not seeing my children again until 5 o'clock (or later if the bus gets stuck in traffic) is heart wrenching, but it is getting (slightly) easier and after just three and a half weeks maternity leave feels like a distant memory! Now I am more settled and into the routine I will get back to updating you with lots of 'Mummy saving tips', reviews and competitions! I have lots of exciting things to share with you! As well as all the usual posts I will be writing about my life a a working Mummy of two and sharing my experiences such as how I am managing to still breastfeed my daughter by expressing in the office!

So there's my explanation! I promise I will be a better blogger from now on...

The other reason for this post was to say 'We did it!' The Mymummyspennies family survived a whole year of Maternity leave with four months paid, 5 months of SMP and 3 months with no income from me at all! We penny pinched our way through and I am very proud of us!

If I could have any job in the world...

I was tagged by the lovely Mummy VS Work to share with you what job I would have if I could have any in the world. Well this is a subject that is quite prominent on my mind at the moment as I am currently on Maternity leave and due to return to work in just two months. To be honest I am dreading it! It's not that I don't enjoy my job, I do! I work in a nice office with lovely people and get to experience a variety of things on any given day. However I don't want to leave my little ones! I have so enjoyed spending the last 10 months with my children and experiencing every milestone they have reached first hand.

I find it quite shocking when I realise that if I was only taking the nine months 'paid' (if you can call SMP pay!) Maternity leave like I took after Ben was born I would have been back in work for nearly a month now! It was very different that time around, I knew I would dread going back as I didn't enjoy the job I had at the time, there was too much office politics, overtime was mandatory and unattainable targets hung over my head, it was not a pleasant place to work. However within six months of returning I had handed my notice in and was starting work for my current employer, a job I thoroughly enjoyed for the two years until I left on Maternity leave last year.

This time around I really wanted to take the full year off to spend not just with my new baby but also with my 3 year old son. He starts School next week just 6 days after his 4th Birthday and I was determined that it would be me and not a childminder watching him walk through the classroom door in his school uniform for the first time and hearing about his adventures when picking him up each day for those first few vital weeks.

Money was a real issue as my Salary is actually the higher one in our household and if I'm honest, realistically we really shouldn't have been able to afford for me to not have any income for three months, but I scrimped and saved even more than usual throughout the year and when the time came to make the decision I was able to show my husband that although we would be living on a very tight budget we could just about afford for me to stay off until November. In fact all the penny pinching was what inspired me to start this blog!

So although I am happy that I will have had a year off with my children I really can't imagine leaving them again to return to work, which I will have to do very soon...

All this rambling leads me to my answer to the original question! At this time in my life if I could have any job in the world... it would be a SAHM.

To be able to afford to devote all my time to my children and not have to worry about bringing in an income would be my dream! I would still write about my life on here and would still run the madeformums local site for my area which is a voluntary role, that allows me to be closely involved in my local parenting community, attend lots of family activities and events and meet some lovely Mummies!

Now this answer would be different if asked in a few years time when my children are older and have both started school. I would get restless during the day without them, I am certainly NOT the housewife type! If asked in 3 years time my dream job would probably be the same as it was when I was growing up, and that is a journalist, writing about the world around me. I would want to be able to fit it around my family life so I would be 'mummy' before and after school but would have a career that fulfilled me while my children are at school.

I have always loved writing from a very young age and studied History and Politics at University with the intention of going into this field but life leads you to cross roads and I chose the path that led me to meeting my amazing husband and having my beautiful children, a route I am very happy I took.

So maybe in the future this is a dream I can still achieve but for the time being I will continue to share my writing with you lovely readers on this blog and keep buying that weekly lottery ticket with my fingers crossed, hoping it will give me the numbers that could allow me to stay at home with my children and continue to experience every special moment first hand!

Thank you to Mummy vs Work for asking me to write this and I am tagging the lovely Busymumof3, Mummy Wants and Loved by Lexi to share what job they would have if they could have any in the world and link back to Ramblings of a Suburban Mummy...

My First Scooter from Ozbozz

Most of the items we’ve been lucky enough to be given the chance to review so far have been aimed at babies so it’s been Elizabeth who has been the tester. But this time we were given the opportunity to review a product that Ben could use! The fantastic ‘My First Scooter’ from Ozbozz!

It seems to be the ‘craze’ these days for little ones to have scooters from quite a young age, but a 2 year old has completely different needs to a 3 year old or even a 4 year old when it comes to something like this. So what do you do? Buy one with four wheels for your toddler then have to replace it each time they progress? That could be a very costly process!

The very clever people at Ozbozz have come up with the perfect solution!

 

 

The ‘My First Scooter!’

It is an ideal starter scooter suitable for toddlers age 2 upwards. At this age you would start out with four wheels to provide your little one with stability and balance while still allowing them to whizz around with the ‘big kids!’ Then as they grow in confidence, you can reduce the scooter to three-wheels and then as their ability develops further, they can progress to a super ‘grown-up’ two wheels! This means that one scooter could last your child for years!

What‘s even better is that this fabulous 3 in 1 scooter comes in at a very ‘Penny Pinching’ price of just £19.99 RRP! Which is really good value for any scooter!

The my first scooter is available in pink for girls or blue for boys, The lovely folks ot Ozbozz kindly sent us a blue one for Ben to play with!

Getting Started…

When the brightly coloured box arrived Ben was very excited and wanted to play with it straight away, but thinking that it would take me a while to put it all together I said that he would have to wait until the next day.

So when he had gone to bed and Elizabeth was having some ‘Daddy time’ I thought I would have a go at putting it together, realistically thinking that I would ‘give in’ half way through and let my hubby take over!

Inside the box you are provided with the main parts to the scooter, four wheels, and a ‘mini tool kit’ consisting of two Allen keys and a double ended mini wrench. The instruction’s although only pictures are simple and easy to follow and I was amazed (and quite proud) that in just over 5 minutes I had put the whole thing together! (ME – who can’t even put an IKEA bookcase together correctly!)

Once together the Scooter is very sturdy and really good quality, the frame is painted steel with plastic wheels and foam covered handles which are ‘easy grip’ for small hands. The bright colours look really good together and appeal to little one’s eyes with out being too ‘tacky.’ On the footplate of the scooter the words ‘my first scooter’ are printed in a rough anti-slip material, to prevent falls. There are no sharp edges or exposed parts that would made me worry about a small child using it. The Mechanism to fold the scooter down is nice and chunky with a plastic covering so there is less risk of small fingers getting trapped.

Let’s Play!

Even though Ben is three he has never really used a scooter before (although he has looked enviously at his cousin’s) so we decided to start off with four wheels to get him used to it while he developed his co-ordination and balance. The first time he saw it all put together, his first words were ‘Wow Mummy! That’s cool!’ and gave me a thumbs up! I was definitely in the good books! Firstly we just stayed in the back garden to get him started, but he soon got the hang of it and was off scooting up and down the path! The frame, although sturdy was light enough for Ben to pick up and carry when he wanted play in another part of the garden. 

After seeing how well he had done in the garden the next day when we were going to the park I decided to take it with us. To get to our local park we have to walk down a busy main road and I didn’t want Ben riding the scooter that close to the traffic so I popped it in a ‘bag for life’ and hung in on Elizabeth’s Pram. The scooter is incredibly light weight, and folds up quite compact  so was easily transported like this and didn’t weigh the pram down or get in my way at all.

In the park Ben spent over an hour scooting around the play area and paths, and didn’t fall once! Having the extra stability of the four wheels really meant that he could concentrate on steering the scooter and getting confident on it with out worrying too much about balance!

Moving on up…

After Ben had used the ‘my first scooter’ like this for a few weeks I decided to try changing it down to three wheels to see how he got on. (Obviously if your child is younger you will mostly likely keep it on four wheels for a longer period but Ben is almost 4 and had grown really confident on the scooter in just a few weeks.)

To change the ‘my first scooter’ down to three wheels you need to remove both front wheels and change the fitting to a smaller one (provided in the box) this took me only a minute to do and was very simple.

At first Ben was a little wobbly with just the one front wheel but with a little guidence from Daddy and all the practice he had had with the four wheels had helped to develop his balance and co-ordination and he soon got the hang of it! He now whizzes around our garden, Gran’s garden and the park on just three wheels!

 I think it will be a while before he is ready to progress again to the traditional ‘two wheels’ but when he is I am reassured that instead of having to ‘shell out’ for a whole new scooter I can simply adjust this one for him and it won’t cost a penny!

Overall thoughts

Ben has now been using this scooter for a month and I am really pleased with it. It is fantastic quality for the price and wears really well, considering how rough Ben can be with things, there is barely a scratch on it!

The bright colours and ‘big boy’ design will appeal to children, but the quality, price and ability to ‘grow with your child’ will definitely appeal to parents! I would certainly recommend the ‘My First Scooter’ to any parents of 2 – 4 year olds who are looking to buy a scooter for their child who is not quite ready for a two wheel version straight away! It is definitely a ‘Mummy Saving Buy’ that could save you having to purchase up to 3 separate products to keep up with your child’s development!

The Ozbozz ‘My First Scooter’ is available from Amazon, Tesco and Argos stores at around £19.99. (As I write this it's currently on offer at Amazon for £17.99!) 

Visit: www.ozbozz.co.uk for more information. You can also follow Ozbozz on facebook for the latest news.

Mummy Saving Tip - Buy (and sell) Preloved...

So on Sunday I was up at 5.30, gave 'Missy' her morning feed and put her back to bed with Daddy while myself and 'Nanna' packed up the car and drove it round to the local park for a 'car boot sale'. Now the main idea of doing this was to clear out some space as we have a small house and it was being taken over by baby clothes, toys and equipment, lots of which we no longer used or needed. However I did want to make some pennies too...

After a very long but successful morning, where I met some lovely Mummies, we packed the car back up. Although it had been a success and most of the toys and equipment had sold, lots of the lovely baby clothes and maternity wear had not, which I was quite surprised about, so i'll be bundling them up and putting them on ebay!

If you have a lot of baby equipment to get rid of then a car boot sale can really be worth it if you have the time, they usually cost £10 - £15 per car, it's advisable to take a decorating table and some old sheets to display your items on and if you have a clothes rail even better (although these can be more of a hindrance than a help sometimes... as it was very windy we spend half our time holding on to the rail so it didn't blow over!)

If you have lots of baby clothes, and you have the time I would advise separating them out into boy/girl/unisex and then separating them again into different sizes, then displaying them all in to labelled plastic boxes for people to route through! If you have lots of basics (such as vest, babygrows, socks...) it can be a good idea to bundle them together in clear bags and label them, for example 3 boys baby grows with 3 vests or 5 pairs of girls socks....

So that was our day of selling, but don't forget about buying preloved! Everything you buy for your family can be so expensive if it's all purchased new so it's often worth looking for second hand items. Of course there are a few things that are best to always be bought new for safety reasons, such as mattresses for cots, cribs and moses baskets, and car seats. But that doesn't mean you can't buy they cot, crib, basket or travel system pre-loved and then just buy a new mattress or car seat to go with it!

Many Mummies (including me!) are a bit clothes mad and can go crazy when it comes to clothes shopping for their little ones, but it's worth remembering that maternity and baby clothes only fit for a very short time so are often in almost new condition when they are no longer needed so are the perfect things to buy at bargain prices pre-loved! Both my children have a selection of designer clothes that were bought in great preloved condition for no more than a couple of pounds each!

Carboot sales are great for bargains but you do have to get down on your hands and knees and route through! Another great place is charity shops and as well as getting bargain, you know your money is helping a good cause! If you prefer to shop online then there are still plenty of options to buy preloved, from ebay which most people are aware of, to other sites such as Baby swap or shop, www.preloved.co.uk, gum-tree and the sale pages/ groups on facebook (just search 'pre loved' or 'for sale' and 'your local area' and you should get quite a few coming up) not forgetting the fantastic freecycle where people offer their unwanted goods to you for FREE if you're willing to collect them!

There's just a few ideas for you, please feel free to share any tips you have below and thank you to everyone who has shared their best bargain buys in our competitions, I will be sharing the best of them with you all very soon...

A box of Fluff!

In May, During 'Real Nappy week' I attended a Nappuccino promoted by Recycle for Greater Manchester and presented by the lovely Lisa from Birth 2 Potty. I was already a user of cloth nappies at the time but only used them about 50% of the time. At night and when we went on days out I still used to put disposables on Elizabeth's botty. After listening to what Lisa had to say I was determined to switch to cloth full time. I took advantage of the offers that many real nappy retailers had on to promote 'Real Nappy Week' and purchased a small selection of nappies to try and see what types fitted in with our family best. After trying out various types I found that at night times 'pop in's' were the most absorbent, but they weren't great during the day as they are quite bulky and Elizabeth is starting to figure out how to undo the velcro! During the day the type of nappy we found were most suited to Elizabeth (and us!) were pocket nappies. There are many different brands of these available. Some of my favourites are Bumgenius, Issy Bears, Smartipant's and Baba+Boo (watch out for the mymummyspennies review of the fabulous Baba+Boo limited edition nappies coming soon...)

So now we had made the decision to switch full time we had to make the initial investment. Which if we purchased the whole kit, including enough nappies to last a three day wash (around 20), nappy bucket and net liners, real wipes kit and wet bag would set us back around £300. Although this sounds a lot, over the course of the time that a baby is in nappies you are likely to spend an average of £600 on disposables.

Although I knew we would be saving money long term this was quite an amount for a 'penny pinching' Mummy such as myself to pay out in one go so while we saved up and purchased bit by bit,  a good friend of mine was kind enough to 'loan' us some of her sized pocket nappies that her eldest had grown out of but her youngest was not yet in.

A few weeks ago I received a suprising email from a representative from 'Recycle for Greater Manchester' with the amazing news that I was one of the winners of the prize draw they held at the Nappucinnos during Real Nappy Week! I was ecstatic! Our prize was a 'birth to potty kit' tailored to our needs worth up to £300!

So last week we all visited Lisa at her fantastic little shop in Leigh, and picked out some lovely nappies while Ben played with all the exciting toys! Lisa's advice and guidance was invaluable and we were able to choose a selection of what she called 'bombproof' nappies that would last us until our little one is potty trained (and for our next if I can ever convince Mr Mymummyspennies....) and are easy enough for daddy, relatives and childcare providers to use!

So on Monday the lovely Sheridan from 'Recycle for Greater Manchester' came round and presented us with a box containing our fantastic prize! I couldn't resist taking a few photo's of Elizabeth surrounded by it all! I have now prewashed them all and Elizabeth started wearing them today, she must have the best dressed botty in Bury!

If you are considering switching to Cloth, then please do look into it, it's so easy and really does save you money as well as reducing the mountain of disposable nappies at landfills. If you are in Greater Manchester check out the real nappy pages on Recycle for Greater Manchester's website here. And there is lots of useful advice and information on the birth2potty website.