Home Safety: How To Make Your Home Safe

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Making your home safe is one of the most important things you can do to protect your family. There are several steps you can take to make your home less dangerous and more secure. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the most important ways to make your home safe. We will cover topics such as fire safety, childproofing, and security measures. You can help keep your loved ones safe from harm by following these tips.

Smoke Alarm and Fire Extinguisher 

One of the most important ways to make your home safe is by installing a smoke alarm. Carbon monoxide is a deadly gas that can be produced by burning fuel. It is odorless and colorless, so you may not know it is there until it is too late. A smoke alarm can help save lives in the event of a fire. It is also essential to have a fire extinguisher in your home. Then, if a fire does break out, you will be able to put it out quickly and safely. You can also research some top tips for a fire-resistant bathroom and other areas in your home and implement them. 

Light it Up
Another way to make your home safe is by keeping it well-lit. Ensure all entrances and exits are well-lit and consider adding motion detector lights near doors and windows.

Securing Valuable Items 
You can make your home safer by securing valuable items. For example, keep expensive jewelry and electronics hidden away, or install a safety deposit box to store them in. If burglars can see valuable items through your windows, they may be tempted to break in. 

Childproofing
Another way to keep your family safe is by childproofing your home. You can do many things to childproof your home, such as installing safety gates and covers on electrical outlets. You should also keep dangerous objects like knives and chemicals out of reach of children.

Case of an Emergency Plan 
It is also essential to have a plan in place in case of an emergency. For example, you should know how to get out of your home if there is a fire and where to go if there is an earthquake or another disaster. You should also have a list of emergency numbers, such as the police, fire department, and ambulance, handy in case you need them.

Get to Know Your Neighbours
Neighborhood watch programs are a great way to deter crime. Get to know your neighbors and be on the lookout for suspicious activity.

How to Protect your Vehicles at Home

It’s no secret that Britain is a nation filled with motoring enthusiasts. Unfortunately, car crime is still rife, and many cars get stolen or broken into each month across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

You may live in an area with a reasonably low crime rate. But, that doesn’t mean crime rates won’t rise in the future. You’re obviously reading this article because you care about your cars, and you want to make sure they’re safe and secure while they’re outside your home.

But, what steps can you take to ensure their security? Check out the following suggestions for some inspiration:

Park Your Cars Out Of Sight

The first thing you need to do is find a way of storing your vehicles out of public view. That means parking their cars in two bay oak garages for most people. The thing about parking cars in garages is they aren’t visible to people in the public eye.
Let’s face it: you can’t steal something that isn’t there, so hiding your cars in plain sight is a brilliant way to thwart any potential theft attempts.

Use A Steering Wheel Lock
If you can’t park your cars in a garage, another thing you can do is consider a visual deterrent like a steering wheel lock. They are simple devices that fit through the gaps in steering wheels and get made of solid metal.
What’s more, their design makes it virtually impossible to remove forcibly. An opportunist car thief is unlikely to steal a car if they have to spend a lot of time trying to achieve that goal. They’d rather opt for a vehicle with no steering wheel lock fitted.

Store Your Keys In A Faraday Pouch
Many of today’s modern vehicles feature keyless entry systems. The trouble with such systems is they are incredibly vulnerable, and a pair of car thieves can easily steal such a vehicle in seconds.
If you store your car keys in a Faraday pouch, the signals from the keyfobs will get blocked, meaning car thieves cannot duplicate the signals that would enable them to unlock vehicles and start their engines.

Install CCTV
CCTV is both a visual deterrent and an excellent way to capture any criminal activity, such as attempted thefts of your vehicles. If you invest in a high-quality HD security camera system, you will have visual evidence of people trying to steal your cars.
What’s more, modern CCTV systems allow you to record footage at night thanks to night vision, infrared technology. Today’s CCTV security systems can often get linked to the cloud, meaning you can view footage from anywhere around the world.

Install A Fuel Pump Cut-Off Switch
Lastly, consider installing a hidden fuel pump cut-off switch. It’s a simple security measure that you can fit to any vehicle, and if you hide the switch, no one will know it exists! With the switch enabled, no one will be able to start your vehicle.
Make sure when entrusting someone with your car, give it a refresh or service, for example, that you keep your fuel pump cut-off switch disabled.

Final Thoughts
If you want to ensure people won’t try to steal your vehicles, the above ideas will help you achieve that goal.

As Fresh As A Daisy: The Secrets Of People Who Have Homes That Smell Beautiful

Do you ever walk into somebody’s home and stop in your tracks to think: “this smells beautiful”? If so, you’re not alone. It turns out that making indoor spaces smell as wonderful as a lavender meadow is something that you can achieve yourself. It’s just a matter of know-how. 

Find out what to do below: 

Light A Candle

If you have a lot of stinky smells in your home, light a candle. Candles have a wonderful ability to transform how rooms both feel and smell. 

When choosing a candle, be sure to pick one with essential oils and made of soy wax. This combination offers the ultimate in terms of health, wellbeing and effect. For a relaxing scent, choose either frankincense, lavender or eucalyptus. 

Clean The Carpets

Vacuuming will only remove so much debris from your carpets. If you really want to remove all the odour-causing particles, you’ll need to do some proper carpet cleaning. 

When it comes to cleaning your carpets, you have two options. You can either try doing it yourself with a wet vac, or you can get professionals to do it for you. Once the job is done, you’ll notice just how much fresher and lighter everything smells. For some households, it can make a tremendous difference. 

Deodorise Your Shoes

Stinky shoes left in the hallways can produce bad smells that flow throughout the home. If you have a shoe rack, keep some deoderiser nearby, particularly during the summer when people are sweating more. 

Open The Window

You can also reduce the number of smell particles in your home by opening a window. Just leaving it slightly ajar will allow the air to diffuse, with any bad smells eventually making their way outside. 

Clean Your Sofa Upholstery

Just like carpets, sofas can become a magnet for bad smells. Their fibres trap odour-causing compounds and then release them slowly over time. 

Again, to clean your sofa, you’ll need to hire a professional. They follow a special technique that allows them to essentially dry clean your furniture so that it’s ready again for you to use the next day. They also impregnate it with odour-cancelling particles so that it stays smelling fresher for longer. 

Use Essential Oil On Your Air Conditioning Filter

Essential oils smell great when placed in regular diffusers. But you can also combine them with your air conditioning system. As air circulates, it will pick up scent molecules from the oil and distribute them around your home. 

You don’t need much essential oil to create the desired effect. Just a few drops will suffice. 

Use Vinegar While Cleaning

Plain white vinegar smells quite pungent when you use it, but it is actually one of the best cleaning substances there is for making your home smell great. Its chemical structure allows it to grab onto odour-producing molecules and sweep them away. It is well worth using in both the kitchen and bathroom. Don’t worry: that sour smell will soon evaporate away, leaving everything looking and smelling fresh. 

Why People Sell Their Homes

Selling a house is a huge deal. You are going to spend a lot of time packing, cleaning and decorating to ensure that your home is perfect, and that takes some time. Selling your house isn't going to be the easiest thing to do, but if you know why you’re doing it it becomes much more of a simple process.

There are plenty of reasons that people choose to sell their home, and getting rid of a house can save you time, money and above all - stress! It could even stop your bank from repossessing your house if you’re at risk of that. If you want cash in your pocket quickly, selling your house for over market value is going to make a big difference. It’s a sellers market right now and having your home valued is the first step. Below, we’ve got some of the reasons that you should look at selling your house at last!

• Repairs. Your house might be falling to bits and while you can invest the money to make the repairs, you might just want to sell the house and get rid of it. The best thing that you can do, however, is make the right repairs and then sell it so that you can upgrade it. If your house is always falling apart, you might want it off your shoulders so you no longer have the stress all over it. 
• You inherited it. If you have been given a house in a Will, you’re likely going to choose to sell it so that you can benefit from the money you get. You might not have a need for a house, and if you don't you can sell it off and not worry about it anymore! You will benefit from the cash, too.
• Avoiding more taxes. Owning a property can mean more taxes to pay, and failure to pay this means that you are going to end up with more being paid out than you could want. Selling as soon as possible means that you can stop paying property taxes on a house you don't even use. 
• You can’t keep up with the payments. People lose their jobs all the time and if you are one of them, then you need to think about how you plan to pay your mortgage. If you can’t do it, you might think about selling up and downsizing to a property that’s smaller and easier to manage.
• You need more space. If you are growing your family or your teenagers seem much bigger than they used to, then selling your house and moving to a new one is a smart thing to do. Buying another house can make a huge difference to your bank balance and it can be so much easier to move somewhere smaller. 

There are many more reasons than this to sell your home, but if you know why you’re doing it it’s going to be so much easier to go ahead and let it go!

Top Tips for Redecorating Your Home

Your home is where you are going to spend a lot of your free time, so make sure you like it and you are happy in it is really important. However, it can be hard to know what you can do to spruce up the home and redecorate to make sure you are happy with it, there are a few different things you can do to help redecorate your home and make it somewhere you are happy to live and that you want to spend time in. It is easy to get bored of your home so redecorating is an easy way to refresh the home. 

Although it might seem overwhelming to start with, it doesn't have to be a huge job because you can make some really simple changes which make all the difference to the look of your home; whether it's a fresh lick of paint or a few decorative bits such as some funky prints or maybe even a neon sign. Here are a few tips on how you can prepare and redecorate your home to make it somewhere you are happy to live in.

Make sure you plan

The best thing to do when you start renovating or decorating is to plan out everything you are looking to do. By planning this out properly you are less likely to have issues and you can make sure that you are not going to have to redecorate again anytime soon. When planning take into consideration appliances and other certain aspects of the house that could have issues, although you are not changing them before redecorating, it is best to make sure they are insured and that they are maintained and working. This helps to stop unnecessary redecorating due to faults. Also, make sure you are planning your themes and everything you want to change too.

Start with the big things first
When redecorating it is best to start with the big things first, things like furniture, walls, and floors are a great place to start. This is because it sets the tone for the rest of the house, making it easier to guide you through the theme and make sure you know what you want. For example, if you have a particular theme but you are stuck on colour then buying the furniture you want first and deciding on that colouring will help you determine how to decorate the rest of the room. You could get the lion knocker chairs you wanted for example and then build around them to help build up the theme and colours you were looking for.

Make sure to utilise good lighting
When it comes to redecorating or decorating in general the thing people can tend to overlook is the lighting in their home. If you look at what the professionals do they are always utilising good lighting for their designs. This can be done by adding decorative mirrors to a room that has bright lighting to make it shimmer and reflect the light around the room and increase the lighting in that room. By doing this you are utilising the lighting you have without having to add more and also decorating the room at the same time.
If you are looking to redecorate your home and give it a bit of an uplift, but you are unsure where to start or what you can do to make this happen. Then hopefully, these few tips will give you some ideas of what you can do to get started with your redecoration.

Top Tips For An Easy Stress-Free Home Move

Whether you have decided to move across the world to pursue your dreams, or have decided to downsize your home - moving is a big deal. After all, even if you are only travelling a short distance away, you have to uproot your family and move away from a familiar space into somewhere totally new. In addition, the entire process - from finding the right home to signing the contract - can be incredibly time-consuming and expensive.

As a result, many people associate moving with intense levels of stress. However, it doesn’t have to be that way - you just need to be plan ahead. With that in mind, here are some simple steps you can take to make the process as stress-free and exciting as possible! 

Put together a moving timeline. While you may be excited to move into your dream property right away, it’s important that you do not try to rush the process. Doing so could cause you to make mistakes that cost you further down the line. Furthemore, it’s also likely that you’ll need to save up some money ahead of time  - especially if you are a first-time buyer.  

Know what you are looking for in a property. Every day, hundreds of properties are introduced to the market - meaning that you can easily spend hours browsing real estate sites or attending open houses. Therefore, in order to streamline the process, you need to have a clear idea of what you are looking for ahead of time - think location, size, and amenities. The more specific you can be, the better. 

Don’t do the paperwork yourself. Very few people actually enjoy doing paperwork, however, when you are prepping to buy a house and completing the necessary documents it’s important that you don’t make any mistakes. One faulty transaction could result in you losing the home and having to return to square one. Therefore, you can save yourself a great deal of time and stress and ensure you get it done right by utilising conveyancing services - such as those offered by Gorvins Residential.

Pack a little bit at a time. Packing is boring - there’s no denying it. However, this does not mean that you should put it off until the last possible minute - otherwise, you’ll be stood surrounded by boxes, ready to scream by the time that the movers pull up. Instead, you should aim to give yourself a headstart on the packing by beginning to pack a few weeks before the big move. Start small, and begin with the items you won’t need ahead of time. The earlier you start, the easier it will feel. 

Find an outlet for your stress. While the above steps are a great way to reduce any pressure you may feel when moving, it’s important that you find a necessary outlet that helps you let go of your stress too. For example, if you feel like you simply cannot look at any more paperwork - give yourself a break and do something that you love. Alternatively, you can remind yourself exactly why you are moving in the first place - and that a fresh start is just around the corner.

3 Tips for Starting a New Fitness Journey

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Out of all the different New Year’s resolutions that get made time and time again, and that often fall by the wayside pretty quickly, the commitment to start a new fitness routine must be somewhere near the top of the list.

Everyone basically knows that being physically active on a regular basis is very beneficial in all sorts of different ways, ranging from better health, to improved mood, higher confidence, and more.

The thing is, starting a new fitness journey – and sticking with it over the long term – can be a bit daunting.

Here are a few great tips to try out when starting a new fitness journey, so that you get the most out of the experience.

Reduce barriers to getting started (and consider creating a home gym setup)

A lot of what gets in the way of a new fitness routine is often the fact that our natural mental resistance to doing something difficult meets some external barrier or obstacle, and our willpower or resolve crumbles as a result.

Maybe you go for weeks without missing a workout, then one day you’re tired after work, it’s raining, you have a long drive to the gym, and you just can’t be bothered.

One of the best ways of improving your consistency on your fitness journey is by taking steps to reduce the barriers to getting started as much as possible.

One great option could be to consider creating a home gym setup, whether that means contacting a Basement Construction Company and having a fully kitted out gym built at your property, or whether it just means getting a few resistance bands and a yoga mat.

Focus on getting the habit of working out solidified, and be consistent with timing

If you can make working out a habit, and a more or less established part of your everyday routine, it is usually going to be a lot easier to ignore that little voice in your mind that tells you to skip your workout and go back to bed, and to just get up and get exercising instead.

When you’re first getting your fitness routine established, focus specifically on making it a habit, before you really work on increasing intensity, or anything else.

Pick a set time of day when you will do your workouts, and make a point of showing up regularly and being consistent with your timing.

Go for forms of exercise that you genuinely enjoy

So, you hate using the elliptical trainer at your gym, but your friend told you that it’s the best way to get your cardio in, so you force yourself to hit the elliptical day after day.

Do you think that this is ultimately going to make you more or less likely to stick with your fitness journey over time?

Although there are all sorts of commonly repeated guidelines out there about the best way to work out, the basic fact of the matter is that you can get fit by doing a huge range of different activities – so you might as well go for forms of exercise that you actually, genuinely enjoy.

Try a dance class, or a martial arts class. Go jogging in nature, or cycle to work. Whatever you do, just take steps to make your fitness routine enjoyable and fulfilling.

How To Get Free Samples Without Being an Influencer

Everyone loves free stuff, don't they? 

So I'm here to tell you about Triyit which is a relatively new product discovery club where you build yourself a profile and they will match different campaigns and products up to you and send you free products for you to try. These products are usually new to the market or have gone through some sort of rebrand and it means that you are part of providing valuable feedback to the brands and you also get to share your thoughts on social media and with your friends in real life!

I recently received a box full of 5 products:

As you can see the majority of the products are full sized apart from the Hooch gin which is a 5ml sample. If you follow me on Instagram you'll see that I've shared my thoughts on a couple of the products but I've also shared more feedback with Triyit through a questionnaire. You have to give the feedback in order to be eligible for more boxes... it's only fair right? You receive the products, try them and give them something back in return. 

You don't have to have a huge following or even a platform at all to sign up for this but please note that you aren't guaranteed to receive anything just yet - I've been signed up for over a year and only just received a box but the wait was well worth it!

Date Night Ideas for when you don't want to Leave the House

I know lots of us have been rejoicing at the fact that things are finally opened up again and we can return to some resemblance of normality but I'm also conscious of 2 other things: the fact that we're spending WAY more money than we have over the last 18 months and some of us need to tighten our belts and secondly all this socialising at once can be a little bit overwhelming and sometimes we just want to have a night in. 

It's been really fab to be able to get out and have date nights out of the house but if, for whatever reason, you want to organise a date night in, here's some ideas:

Cook a meal together

You don't have to be a Michelin star chef to rustle up something tasty in the kitchen and it can be a really nice experience to actually cook together and sit down and eat in a quiet environment, away from the crowds. Alternatively, if you don't fancy cooking from scratch, M&S have some fab dine in deals to be had which often comes with 2 mains, sides, a pudding and a drink for a set price.

Create a drawing/painting using a YouTube tutorial

Whether you're arty or not, anyone can follow a drawing tutorial on YouTube and I think it would be quite funny to see how each others creations turn out! You don't have to spend a fortune on equipment either, there are hundreds of simple pencil drawing tutorials.

Bring the fairground into your living room

If you love going to the fair but aren't quite ready for the crowds or the expense that comes with it you could get a date night in box from Box42 which helps you to create your own fairground experience at home. 

As you can see, the box comes with lots of goodies inside to help you to create that fairground experience at home with games, drinks and snacks. It even comes with face paints which could definitely get interesting after a few drinks! Box 42 have a full range of date night boxes to help you to create an experience that suits you including pottery, picnics and undercover agents.

You can also set up a subscription to Box42 which would be a fab anniversary gift. Individual boxes are priced at £34.99, however they are £31.99 if bought as a subscription. 

Camping in your back yard

If you already own a tent and all the equipment that goes with it why not take yourself back to your childhood and camp in the garden for the night; get the bbq and cook your dinner outdoors and later on get your marshmallows toasting while you look up at the stars. 

So there are some date night ideas if you're on a budget or you just don't want to be in a crowd right now. Let me know on Instagram if you've got any other date night in ideas!

*this post contains a PR sample

HOW TO MAKE MINIMALISTIC DECOR MORE HOMELY

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Minimalist decor is very popular right now and when done right, it can look amazing. However, a lot of people find that it feels a bit cold and unwelcoming, especially when compared to rustic decor with lots of soft furnishings. When you have a lot of sleek metal surfaces and hard lines, spaces tend to feel quite clinical and you don’t get the relaxing atmosphere that you are looking for in your home. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way. If you change a few details and make a few additions, you can easily create minimalist decor that feels homely. Here’s how you can make minimalist decor feel cosier.

Add Some Curves
Minimalist decor is characterised by straight lines and hard edges, which is fine, but it can look a bit dull and it doesn’t create a very comfortable atmosphere. People often take it too far and remove anything resembling a curved edge from their home, but you don’t need to do that to create great minimalist decor. You can still create a design that leans heavily on hard edges but introduce some soft curves in certain areas. For example, when you are choosing a sofa in the living room, go for something with rounded edges. A circular coffee table is another simple way to break up the hard lines. You only need to introduce a few carefully selected pieces and it makes all the difference. 

Install A Fireplace
People tend to associate fireplaces with rustic decor, but they’re just as effective in a minimalist setting. You can find some of the most realistic flame effect electric fires, which can be installed into the wall, giving a sleek minimalist look. But the flame effect also creates a brilliant cosy feel to the room, so you get the best of both worlds. This is a great way to take a very cold room and instantly make it feel homely. 

Get Some Plants
Bringing nature into the room is another great way to soften the edges of your minimalist decor. That’s why plants are one of the most desirable changes in the living room. By putting a few plants around the place, you can add a burst of colour and introduce some more interesting shapes to offset the hard lines. Plants also clean the air in your home, which is an added bonus. 

Play Around With Light
Lighting is the best way to transform the aesthetic of a room in an instant. During the day, natural light makes the room feel nice and bright and welcoming. In the evenings, try not to rely too heavily on the main lights in your home. Instead, add lots of floor lamps to create low lighting instead. Go for bulbs with warm light rather than cool light too. By adjusting the lighting in your home, you can make it feel a lot more relaxing, even if the decor is very minimalist. 

Minimalist decor doesn’t have to be cold and drab. Just make these simple changes and it can be just as homely as rustic decor. 

How to be a Good Landlord

While it can be an incredibly lucrative and rewarding undertaking, managing a rental property is also rife with stress. This is obviously most often the case because of unvetted or poorly paired tenants, but you can have a picture-perfect family living in your rental, and you’ll still likely experience some issues along the way. After all, far from simply letting out a property and forgetting about it, landlord responsibilities mean that said family's quality of life, and enjoyment at home, also rests on your shoulders. And, as is often the case with homeownership in general, things have a habit of getting in the way of that. 

Regular home checks and easy communications are, obviously, the best possible ways for landlords to directly prevent escalating problems from taking their toll. But, even before tenants have moved in, there are a few simple steps that landlords can take to keep their properties in the best possible shape for longer, and those include – 

Investing in high-quality appliances

Countless landlords will opt for cheap appliances without thinking about how this impacts functionality, or how much it increases the risks of breakdown. Unfortunately, issues including boiler breakdowns and broken washing machines are one of the main reasons that tenants have to contact their landlords, and if they keep on happening, it can either lead to lost tenants or escalating repair costs that never quite leave the problem in the past. By comparison, investing upfront in high-quality, tested appliances that will surely stand the test of time is a far more lucrative and honest way to operate, ensuring not only that tenants stick around for longer, but also that repairs are a far less regular requirement. 

Removing soft furnishings

Furnished apartments will typically attract higher monthly rates, but it’s important to note that keeping soft furnishings in an apartment from one tenant to another can be problematic, especially as general wear and use create questions around hygiene and appearances. With this in mind, it’s worth removing soft furnishings that could quickly get grubby, including cushions, sofas, mattresses, and even curtains, in place of ready-made bed frames, quality television stands and blinds like those offered by the Great Shutter Company. This way, landlords can quickly and efficiently clean all furnishings for quality, safe appearances that stand the test of time even between tenancies. 

Replace carpets

Carpets can add a real sense of warmth to any rental property, but they also have a habit of getting grubby pretty fast. In fact, with most carpets needing replacements roughly every five years or so, carpet investments are often ruined in as little as two tenancies and can bring monthly rental rates rocketing down. By comparison, laminate or wood floors that stay looking fresh for much longer are again transferable across tenancies and are far less likely to need replacing each time you accept a new family. 

Given that the quality of a rental property is essential for ensuring high rents and landlord compliance, these steps towards longevity are no-nonsense ways to secure this investment in the long term. 

Furnishing On A Budget? It Can Be Done!

Remember when you were a kid and you couldn't wait to decorate your house yourself? No one else would be telling you what decor to pick and no one else could choose the color scheme because this was YOUR house and YOUR rules. Now that you’re an adult, you have somewhere to decorate and furnish - but you’ve just spotted the price tag on a sofa cushion and now you need to rethink your life. 

Owning or renting a house is exciting, but trying to get the budget together to furnish the entire thing is far more expensive than you ever thought possible. Every single time someone moves into a new house, this is the case for them! It’s more expensive than they thought, so the luxury divan with the memory foam mattress and the squashy headboard is swapped out for one of many cheap beds. The two-door refrigerator with the ice maker offering three types of ice is switched out for the cheap running, second-hand option. The good news is that furnishing an entire house doesn't have to be terribly expensive, and you can get some great bargains for a lot less than you think. So, don't panic at the price tags and check out how you can furnish your house on a budget. Don't worry - it can be done!

1. Don't try to furnish the entire house at once. Get your pen ready and start writing lists. Begin with which rooms are the most important ones to furnish, and then write down the essentials. The rest of it - the colorful ornaments and the beautiful paintings - they can wait and you can gradually add to each room until it’s furnished exactly the way that you had always imagined it would be. 
2. Get someone to help you out. One of the bigger costs for some people is the fact that furniture needs to be put together. You don't have to be the person putting that furniture together, you know, as someone else can furnish it for you! Designers can take care of all the smaller details and you can do it room by room, so each room will be fully complete before you move onto the next. Shop around for quotes here!
3. Head to the charity shops. The charity shops are more than just places for a bargain jacket for a night out. You can get onto Facebook marketplace and start asking around for furniture pieces that others may be selling. When you do this, you can furnish your home with the right hand-me-downs that are as good as new. What’s the use in spending triple what you have to?
4. Haggle. Some furniture stores allow you to haggle a price or offer a lower price of what you can pay. You may even find a place that offers to charge less if you can find an item cheaper elsewhere. Take them up on this, as you can knock ££ off the price and give yourself a bargain. It doesn't have to be a stressful time, to furnish your home. Do it well and you only need to do it once.