A few years ago we found ourselves in a very dire situation and in desperate need of some essential furnishings for our home. Luckily for us, I was already aware of the wonderful sites, Freecycle and Freegle. These are community-led sites where you can offer (and ask for) unwanted goods to help keep them out of landfill.

As the old adage goes: one man's junk is another man's treasure, and I'm happy to say we were thrilled with those items we were able to recycle.

In the years since, we've virtually furnished our entire home using these sites, and have received everything from a set of drawers to a washing machine; picture frames and even a large television set!

There are certain rules and guidance which you should be aware of to use sites like Freecycle and Freegle successfully, so in this post I'll explain the tips and techniques we have used to have the best experience of these sites.

As children we're all taught not to run with scissors and look both ways before crossing the road. Like these examples, most of what we learn about safety and accident prevention seems like common sense.

Since becoming a parent, learning about accident prevention and teaching my children to stay safe has become even more important. There is no single resource covering every aspect of safety we may encounter, and a great many tips which we may not immediately consider.

In this post I've collected 85 useful tips which may not immediately spring to mind in a situation which demands them. I hope you will find this resource useful, and perhaps learn something new which could one day help save a life.

When considering a move, it's essential to learn as much about the area in which you plan to live as possible. Are there shops nearby? A park for the children to play in? What are the options for local schools, and are they good schools?

As we're hoping to move soon, I've been trying to find information about the areas we're looking to rent in. My first port of call would have been UpMyStreet.com, but since the site has been taken over by Zoopla, the invaluable statistics and overviews by postcode are not longer available.

Luckily I have discovered a few excellent alternatives to UpMyStreet.com which may be useful for researching areas you'd like to live, or even just to learn more about your neighbourhood. These sites provide easy-to-digest statistics based on postcode locations, covering social demographics, standards of education, employment statistics and even crime rates.

For the next two weeks, the independent cinema, Showroom in Sheffield will be host to Showcomotion - a film festival for young people.



As a film lover myself, I'm quite excited to know this is happening in my home town and am grateful that local kids will have the opportunity to see and learn about film. And with tickets at only £2.00 each, my kids are looking forward to a few cinema trips!

Having chanced upon a fly poster outside Tesco the other day, my daughter and I made a last-minute dash to The Baby Friendly Show at the Sheffield Park Hotel.

Despite already having two children, I hadn't yet had the opportunity to experience a show dedicated to babies, and had almost no idea of what to expect. At first, DD and I felt a little out of place in the glossy clean hotel entrance - where were the screaming hoardes of toddlers and their flustered parents? A quick word to the receptionist pointed us in the right direction where we found the show began in the entrance to the hotel's event section and a cheery greeting from one of the organizers.

We'd arrived a little late in the day, at around 1pm when the show had been in full swing since 9am. I guessed at this time that we'd probably missed most of the fun planned for the show, though my daughter was still very excited at being able to participate in the treasure hunt which led us from stand to stand in the main exhibition hall.

Despite our late arrival, there we still many families there, most of whom sported prams and babes in arms (or a growing bump like mine!). It was such a pleasant surprise to see many dads there who didn't seem bored to death, making me wish I'd had the foresight to encourage my partner to come along with us!

The Treasure Hunt for the children was a genius idea - we needed to find the fruit or vegetable hidden on each exhibitor's stand, helping me to discover many local services which I may have otherwise overlooked. Being pregnant, I was particularly interested in maternity events and services; though I was a little too shy to join in, I enjoyed watching the Daisy Birthing taster session and was very pleased to find information about financial help available to pregnant workers on the NCT stand!

My favourite part had to be rummaging through the "nearly new" sale where we found loads of wonderful bargains. For £12, I bought a pair of gorgeous smart maternity trousers, two tees, a long white shirt, a dress for DD and a pair of training roller skates, all great quality and decent labels too! If I'd had more cash on me, I would have also bought one of the lovely travel-systems too, though we didn't notice the hotel had a cash machine until we were on the way out!

Next month, the BFG is hosting The Kids Show at the same hotel which we're also looking forward to attending. If you live in or near Sheffield, we look forward to seeing you there!