Quit smoking for good in 2020

Tags

addictive nature, alcohol, ashtrays, bad, balanced diet, bathroom mirror, better, bin, cancer, cash, cigarettes, cigarettes are expensive, Cold turkey, dance class, dirt, eating well, family and friends, fitness levels, fitter, fridge door, fruit and veggies, get fit, GP, gross, gum, habits, health, healthier, healthier you, jar, join a gym, kitchen cupboards, lighters, lighting up, lozenges, maintaining your weight, make a list, matches, money box, netball team, nicotine, people, pocket, professionals, put on weight, quit, quitting, reminded, right headspace, save, save money, smell, smoke, smoked, smoking, stubs, substitute, sugary snacks, support, takeaways, talk, teeth, temptation, thirty a day, toxicity, treat yourself, vices, wash your bedding, waste of money, water, willpower, written down

Like so many vices, people know that smoking is bad for them, but giving up can be hard.

There is no getting away from the addictive nature of cigarettes, but stopping is the best you can do for your health, and it won’t hurt your pocket either.

Let’s have a look at how you can get away from the smoke, nicotine, smell and toxicity of one of the worst habits in the world.

Make a list
Having all the reasons you are quitting, written down in black and white can be a great way to kick things off. Whether it is to smarten up your teeth, keep cancer at bay, save money, smell better or just be healthier, write down your reasons. Next, stick them on the fridge door, kitchen cupboards, bathroom mirror and add to your phone so you are reminded all the time – and when you are feeling like cracking and lighting up, those words will help see you through.

Have a clear out
The dirt and smell of smoking is pretty gross, so having a clean-up can help get you in the right headspace to quit for good. Get rid of all the ashtrays, put lighters and matches in the bin, chuck out any old packs, find stubs in the garden and bin them. Then, open the windows in the house, and your car, and have a really good clear up. Wash your bedding, put throws and cushions through the machine, and a valet is good if you smoked when you drove.

Talk about it
Family and friends will be used to seeing you smoke, so let them know you are stopping. Some might join you, but at least if they know you are quitting then they shouldn’t offer you one when they see you, you don’t need temptation to be placed in your path.

Think about what you eat
A lot of people find that they put on weight when they quit smoking, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Eating a balanced diet and not adding in lots of sugary snacks and takeaways is the key to maintaining your weight. Drink plenty of water, stock up on fruit and veggies, and don’t up your alcohol intake as a substitute for smoking.

Get fit
Just as eating well, you might also want to consider doing some more exercise, or taking it up for the first time again. Maybe join a gym, go to a new dance class with a friend or join a local netball team who are looking for new players. Yes, you might find that smoking has had an impact on your fitness levels, but keep at it and in time you’ll get fitter, be able to keep up with others, but more importantly you will become a better, healthier you.

Keep your cash
There is no escaping the fact that cigarettes are expensive and a total waste of money. Whether you were on three a day or thirty a day, get a jar or money box and put the money you were spending on your habit, in it. At the end of the year, treat yourself to something you really want – we think you will be surprised at just how much you’ll save.

Ask the professionals
Before you do give up, maybe speak to your GP or pharmacist and make sure you have the support you need. Yes, you can go cold turkey and place your bets on willpower, but with gum, lozenges and groups out there to help you quit, you don’t have to go it alone.

Good luck and well done for taking the first step towards being a better you.

Team Pure Beauty

Go organic on a budget

Tags

Abel & Co, Aldi, apples, Asda, bag for life, bargains, beans, beers, butcher, canned tomatoes, cheese, chickens, choice, clothes, cost-effective, discount section, dreid goods, eggs, environmentally aware, exercise, expensive option, farm, farmers market, flapjacks, freeze, garden, green grocers, independent retailers, kitchen cupboards, local produce, meat, Morrisons, non-organic items, organic basics, organic coffees and teas, organic food, organic products, organic ranges, pasta, price comparisons, pubs, research, rhubarb, rice, Riverford, runner beans, Sainsbury’s Lidl, season, shopping around, soups and stews to pasta sauces, supermarkets, Tesco, tomatoes and strawberries, Waitrose, waste, wines, world

We are increasingly being told that organic food is the way to go if we want to be super healthy and environmentally aware.

While we are all for that, we know this route can also be a more expensive option, so we have looked at how you can make the switch even if you have a budget you need to stick to.

Start with your kitchen cupboards
First of all, don’t throw out everything in your kitchen that isn’t organic – that causes waste which isn’t the aim of this exercise at all. As you run out of basics such as pasta, canned tomatoes, beans, rice, and other everyday dried goods, replace them with organic, which are often found at the same price as your regular non-organic items. Over time easy swaps will mean you have a kitchen cupboard which is full of organic basics so you will always be able to create a tasty meal or snack that is good for you and the world around you. You might also want to apply the same principles when it comes to cleaning products, as well as clothes, as there is a whole range of organic products out there just waiting to be found.

Do your research
Increasingly, supermarkets and independent retailers are offering organic ranges, so it is worth researching who is doing what. Outlets including Aldi, Asda, Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Lidl, and Morrisons now sell their own brand organic ranges which can be more cost-effective than dedicated non-organic branded products which not only means you can get the best value for money but you have a better choice. It may take time to do this, but we think it is worth shopping around and doing some price comparisons to get the best deals for you. Oh, and don’t forget to go to your local greengrocers, butcher and farmers’ market as they can be real organic treasure troves.

Go with the seasons
This can take a while to get used to, but if you want to go organic and keep costs down, eating local produce when it is in season is the way to go. From tomatoes and strawberries to rhubarb and apples, there are some great foods out there, you just need to know what to look for and when.

Buy a box
Another way to eat with the seasons is to take part in a box scheme. There are various options out there, including Abel & Co and Riverford as well as local companies and they are a fantastic way to move to organic eating. You can mix and match your foods, including eggs, meat, and cheese, to get a box that is right for you.

Shop at the end of the day
This isn’t exclusive to organic food, but if you shop at the end of the day and check the discount section, you will be amazed at some of the bargains on offer and if you freeze what you aren’t going to eat that day, there is no waste either.

Leave packaging behind
Retailers are starting to stop using unnecessary food packaging and this is often the case with organic options. You don’t need broccoli wrapped in plastic, so take a bag for life, or even better a basket, when you shop and you can feel extra pleased with your choices.

Do it yourself
Growing your own food is a brilliant way to go organic. We aren’t saying go and buy a farm and get chickens, but growing herbs in the kitchen, tomatoes in tubs and runner beans in the garden are simple ways to do it yourself. Not only do these taste miles better than shop bought produce, but having your own mini kitchen garden is rewarding and totally cost-effective, go you!

Cooking from scratch
With a well-stocked larder, we hope that breaking away from microwave meals and cooking from scratch might be easier? One of the best things to do is plan your meals and then batch cook, freeze portions and make lunches in advance. From soups and stews to pasta sauces and flapjacks, you will honestly wonder why you didn’t start soon.

Organic when you eat out
You don’t have to be tied to the kitchen sink to make organic choices. You will increasingly find organic restaurants when you are out and about, as well as organic coffees and teas being served in cafes and wines and beers in pubs. Once you starting looking you will be surprised at what is on offer out there.

We hope you can see that while you need to be a little creative, small lifestyle changes can help you and the planet be healthier and happier.

Team Pure Beauty

Make the Most of Your Space

Tags

armchair, bigger, bold prints and stripe, books, bookshelves, bottles of wine, brilliant, cables, candles, cash, chalk paint, charity shop, cheap, clear out, coats and scarves, contracts, contrasting colour, cool coffee table, costs, deposits, desk, doors, dressing gowns and hoodies, dust, easy, expensive, furniture bible, hanging, hats, home, home decor style statement, inches, kid’s toys, kitchen cupboards, linen basket, lotions and potions, magazines, mortgage, moving house, newspapers, on-trend bookcase, packing boxes, paintings, plant pots, removal companies, rubbish, ruthless, small price, sofa, space savers, student, studio flat, the clothes airer, tidier, towels, Vacum bags, wardrobe, wooden step ladder, yoga mats

Moving house to simply get more space is extremely common, but it is also very expensive.

From deposits and contracts to removal companies and packing boxes, the costs soon add up. Rather than making a big move, we think that you might have more room than you imagines. Whether you are a student in a studio flat, sharing a maisonette with mates or doing the full monty and paying a mortgage, we have some ideas to help you make the most of the space, and the cash, you do have.

Be Ruthless
Before you do anything else, have a good old clear out. Go room by room and work out what you want to keep, what is gathering dust and can go to the charity shops and what is just rubbish and needs to go. You will be amazed at the number of newspapers, books, cables and pairs of shoes you have held onto for all the wrong reasons and are just cluttering up your space, and life too.

Push It High
You might look at the space in front of you, but what about the pockets of air in high places that are left to gather dust? The top of bookshelves, kitchen cupboards and bathroom cabinets are all potential space savers, but we don’t always think about using them. These are great places to stack your books, photo albums (if you still have them) and even store those winter jumpers you never really have room for. Vacuum bags are good for clothing storage and you can buy some pretty cool boxes that look good and hide a multitude of space sins. Win, win.

Use All the Spaces
People often talk about dead space, but you don’t want to think about things in this way. Whether it is the few inches under the sofa, the top of wardrobes or the beside your kitchen cupboards, this can all be used for tucking away magazines, yoga mats, the clothes airer and a many other things that need a home, but currently don’t have one.

Don’t Forget Doors
Doors aren’t just made to be opened and closed, they are also made for hanging things on. Investing in a few over the door hocks can give you a lot of space, for a small price. Think hats, coats and scarves as well as towels, dressing gowns and hoodies, and your home suddenly become a bigger, better, brighter place.

Get a Basket
Or two. Baskets are a brilliant, easy, cheap way to store things that don’t have a place right now, but that you want to keep. Magazines, kid’s toys, bottles of wine, shoes and so much more can all be put in a basket, and if you go for a contrasting colour to your walls, or find bold prints and stripes, you will make a home decor style statement too.

Think Out of the Box
That chest you have in the living room, as well as being a cool coffee table, it can also be home to your bulky winter coats. The linen basket can double up as a handy table for your lotions and potions, and a wooden step-ladder becomes an on-trend bookcase after a lick of grey chalk paint.

Be Inventive
Yes, bookcases were made for books, but they are also the perfect resting place for plant pots, paintings, candles and those trinkets you want to keep for sentimental reasons. At the same time, you can have a desk in the kitchen, an armchair in the bedroom and a chest of drawers in the study.

So, rip up the furniture bible of the past and go your own way to make more space in the home you live in and love.

Team Pure Beauty