How to Get Rid of Clutter

Hey everyone,

They say you can tell a lot from a person by how they keep their house. And most of the time this is true but lets make it even easier we won't look at the whole house, better? How about we only look at one room. Okay good we're to know you more now...

Lets look at your chest of drawers.... damn!

Unfortunately this is a very familiar sight and we quickly just learn to deal with it and carry on. But seriously this is nuts, the draws can bearly close and it's only a matter of time until the bottom of the draws starts bowing. Clearly I have too much going on here.
The picture above is all the stuff that come out of one draw 

I found the best way to start is the clear out the space your working on. When your home is filled with clutter, trying to tackle a mountain of stuff can be quite overwhelming. I found being ruthless was the only way, if I haven't worn it in a year its got to go!

Where do you start when you want to declutter?

For underwear, even if I folded it super neat it would slide around through daily section, so had to come up with a better solution.

I came across these awesome Drawer Dividers from MIU COLOR, which have made things so easy. Huge thumbs up on price only £12.99

After removing over 50 items of underwear this is the result. What an improvement! I even has compartments to spare.

Now when I open my drawers I see exactly what I have, this is also a great way to control myself buying things I don't need. These are beautifully sized with enough pockets to fit all the tiny bits of clothing I have. The outer frame is sturdy, so should do me right for some time. The colour is neutral enough to blend in with whatever your wardrobe might look like.

The different sized compartments make it easy to store bras, panties, socks even items such as boxed jewellery, perfume bottles and most things that get stuffed into a drawer.

I am so happy with these, I can't wait to get into the rest of my drawers and start organizing. Officially my biggest bargain of the year - so far...

How to Remove Lint From Locs

Hi everyone,

I knew this day would come eventually but it still managed to take me by surprise. How the heck did it take me so long to notice the nasty white highlights dotted all around my hair? 

Not just on the surface either, these buggers have had time to in-bed themselves into my locs. It's just so annoying and looks so... not cute. It just make your hair look dirty and is just a constant stain on your look.

How can you prevent or remove the lint? 

1. A popular choice is to remove it with tweezers or needle. For this I would begin with picking at the lint with my fingers the lift the lint up then I would use the tweezers to individually remove the lint. The problem with this I found I was picking and attacking my hair at the same time. So the loc would get frizzy and slightly thinner then what it was when I started. I imagine if I continues doing this it would cause more harm then good to my hair. Or perhaps the way I'm doing it is wrong? Let me know

2. Shake it off, shake it off! I do this often as my hair is quite short and isn't really long enough to be tied up, I'm always shaking it trying to poof it up. But it's a good way to get out any fly aways, dirt and bits of lint sitting on the surface of your hair. 

3. Brush your locs with a baby brush, similar to shaking it off I've found it an effective way of getting out debris and dirt. I like to do this before going in the shower; as wetting my hair allows the debris to in-bed themselves into my hair. However brushing can cause some frizzing so if it bothers you, you could palm roll the hair back in place. 

4. A good habit to get into is to cover your locs with a satin scarf/bonnet at every opportunity. If your cleaning...cover it, if your sleeping...cover it, when you are taking off your favourite fluffy jumper...cover it! Better yet as soon as you get through your front door just wrap it up. 

5. Sometimes it just is not worth the fight - dye it. Hair and lint can become one and nobody need know. In some cases dying hair to a darker more even shade can make it appear healthier, shinier and cleaner. Dirty mouse brown be gone.

Before (my natural colour)

After (I was too chicken to go permanent but I probably will next time)

As I mentioned before I am no expert, these are just things i've learnt along the way. I'm still learning things so if you guys know anything or have a experiences of your own please share I'd love to know about it. 

 Until next time...laters!

An Inspirational Quote That Will Grow With You

Hi everyone,

As I have got older I've noticed I worry a great deal more, suddenly I'm not as expressive because I do not want to offend people or be seen in a bad light. I have become more concerned and protective over the people I love. When away from them, I am anxious or overly emotional.

I find myself thinking about my future; finances, housing, my family, my health or my relationships (or lack of). This are things I never really cared about before not because they are not important, but I thought it its was better to focus on the hear and now, and just blindly assume things would fall into place. Which is not a bad attitude to have, but maybe a slightly young attitude to have.

I'm not saying to stress about the raising cost of homes of the UK, the up and down troubles in the NHS, or the horrible attacks on France and around the world; it would drive you crazy if you did. But I think its good to be wise about the future and to a degree sensible.

Its amazing how the small things that can remind you of what's important. Recently someone said something to me and its only until now that it stank in and I can really appreciate the depth and beauty of the words.

"That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them." 

Matthew 6:25-26

Amen.

Short Hairstyle for Women

Hi everyone,

We all love fabulous intricate styles and it is my hope to one day master it for myself. But unfortunately I am not there yet, that aside I wanted to share a style I was sporting this summer. (I know I'm a little late but bear with me)

I got this done at Premiere Dreadz which is one of my favourite places to go regarding my hair, I completely trust them, the staff are very professional plus the banter is really good :)

This styles can be for Starter Locs, Short/Medium Locs, and Twists. The style is essentially twisted to the sides, into mohawk down the middle and side fringe. What I like about this style its low maintenance, which is perfect because I am bit  lazy. I really like that most of the hair is twisted in, so my locs do not get frizzy and messy as quick and stand a better chance of holding the retwist of the roots.

To honest I thought my hair was too short for styles like this so I was delighted that this was possible. I think the fringe at the side added  a bit of femininity to style without it, this style could easy work men.

I absolutely love that its neat and edgy at the same time, so can be professional at work and be fun and funky on the weekend.  

If you have any styles or tips to share let me know :-)

Take care x

How to be Happy Being Single in the Summer

Hi everyone,

It's summer and lets face it there are couples everywhere but fear not, being single can actually be pretty awesome. I'm going to share with you some things to avoid to ensure you still have fun.

Before we get started a little disclaimer I am not expert and even after reading and following these rules you are still miserable and bitter - I'm sorry! 

1. Couples
I'm not saying avoid all couples, obviously. Some couples are hilarious and positive and bring best out of you. I'm talking about those couples that make you feel like shit, the ones that greet you with sad moon face or talk to you as if you less accomplished in life. No, no, no we don't need that. If they make you feel miserable every time you see them, stop seeing them - done!

2. Exes
It might seem like a good idea at the time, and you might try to convince yourself it wasn't that bad - *sigh* ...Back up! Its like starring in your own version of Groundhog Day, any attempt to continue it is futile. However we're only human, so just remember why it didn't work in the first place.

3. Depressing Single People
If you want to be a dynamic singleton you need to hang out with other sassy singles. Try not to give too much time to those depressing needy people, it could kill your vibe.

4. Internet Dating
The internet may be a fun and amazing way to meet new people, but lets face it - its a little sad too. The fabulous, single, intriguing version of you does not retire from the universe so easily. Don't become a home hermit!

5. Routine
Work, Home, Eat Repeat. Ok so we all fall victim to that pattern but where possible doing different and spend the day with different people. Having variety in your circle of peeps is never going to be a bad thing.

More importantly you should be happy in your own skin and remember to smile 

I hope you enjoyed list of tips for singles at summer, if you've had a different experience or have other tips/rules please share in the comments :)

Thanks,

Faye 

Cool Apps You Should Know

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share with you a few apps that I absolutely love. Like most people I'm slightly obsessed with my phone and tablet, I'm always checking for new apps to try and experiment with.

Being the bargain hunter that I am all these apps are completely free! So without further adieu, here are a few of my very favourite apps that you should have!

Money Tracker
Seriously, this quickly becoming my favourite app for keeping track of my money ins and outs. Using a simple layout it allows you to create folders and categories, so you see where it all goes and where you could make savings! Perfect, right!

Duolingo
Google Translate is great but the long term goal is to speak all those languages yourself. Duolingo is convenient education tool and cost absolutely nothing. And is great if your into travelling or simply just want to learn something new, plus is fun. 

Show Box
This is amazing! I don't always have time to watch latest of Empire or Games of Thrones but using this app its doesn't matter. All the episodes and movies are there in abundance, which of course makes me a very happy bunny. Definitely one of my favourite apps ever!!!

7 Minute
This app has just become part of my daily routine. I really like this app because its not too light and not too ridiculous that I want to give up. I feel this right amount of push for a beginner and you can work it in a way that works for you. 

8 Tracks
This app is basically a collation of different playlist created by other user or yourself. What I really like about it is that it doesn't have those annoying adverts that YouTube has and the more you listen to playlists, it will start to suggest playlist for you. And so far the suggestions have been spot on! A must have app on tablet or phone.

Hope you guys enjoy the apps! I'd love to hear about all of your favourites in the comments down below!

Take care x

Starter Locs Journey

Hey everyone,

As I mention previously I have decided to locs up! Yay!! whoop whoop! One more for the natural sisters of the world.

Ok, so I've made the decision now what? Although I got the gist of starting locs is two stand twist and leave it for a while, but even still I had so many questions. Like how thick should my dreads be? What is the best technique for my hair? What should I do to my hair before I start? How do I look after my locs? How often should I wash my hair? and biggest question was how will it before hair is down to my bra strap?

I am so excited to get to the point were I can do those amazing locs styles I see in the magazines and videos. Seriously check out pinterest the styles are amazing!

Before I get into my story, just a little disclaimer I am not an expert, everybody hair and experience is different this just my personal experience. Before I started I washed my hair, had a treatment and trimmed my ends. The technique used on my was a two stand twist that was interloked at the base (with fingers). In terms of how thick i wanted the locs, I wanted them to be medium/thick. As pretty as skinny locs are, I was worried about the strength of them. So the size partings the stylist did was approximately 1 inch squares. My hope is that my locs/hair will be thick enough to fill it out.

This was my first day, hopefully you can see the twists

Not going to lied you, once it was done it really wasn't want I was expecting. It was far too gappy and I could see too much scalp. This was not how the girls on Youtube look! After a little sulk I remembered that locs is a journey and there are no quick fixes. Time to man up and get on with it. I noticed my hair had shrank at bit since the initial twisting, which I was not expecting.

After about a month this is what it look like - thank goodness for hats!

I went through an 'ugly' stage (tbh I still go through this every now and again), this is development stage. My hair hadn't quite worked out how to be and was not 'looking' the way I'd like. I didn't feel very attractive, I couldn't do much with it. It took time for me to build confidence at first, but slowly but surely its really started to home in that my hair is for me, not for anyone else.

Although its neater still looks thin and a bit gappy 

About 5 months into locs I decided to go to a different salon and get my hair neatened up and interlocked tightly with the tool. I decided  to do this because my hair was starting to unravel and the 'interlocking' that was done was pulling out. After doing this my locs felt much more secure and fuzziness at the ends had reduced. At this stage I also noticed my hair had began budding so progress at last.

This was in January

Fast forward another three months and this is were I am. I try to re-twist my hair every 8 weeks or so. My aim is learn how to re-twist and style myself and only go to the salon for special occasions. I'd like to talk about product build up and lint, as well as frizzy ends. But I'll leave that for another post.

Overall I am happy with my hair and the way it looks, but I still have much to learn. There is no set time on when your hair will loc. Patience is needed, its a process. Its going to take time.

Take Care x