I originally wrote this post and eBook back in 2009. Since then our food bills have become even more expensive, but the advice offered remains as useful. 

So I've decided to re-publish this post and (hopefully) rekindle a little interest for Glamumous readers who may find it useful in 2013.

As I'm sure we're all aware, the cost of our family food bills has skyrocketed these past few months! According to the price comparison site, MySupermarket, the average weekly spend for a family of four has increased by as much as 25%.
Shocking, isn't it?

While we have little control over the rising cost of fuel, housing and other household bills, we can control just how much of our hard-earned cash we part with to feed the family. Switching over to supermarket own brands is not the only solution: there are many more ways we can choose to save money yet feed our families healthy and satisfying meals.

I've always considered myself a frugal mum. Compared to my friends and family, our food shopping bills are positively miniscule, and yet we always have food on the table, in the cupboards, stored in the freezer... In short, we are never hungry and I often feel smug in my knowledge of thrifty ways which are helping us survive this credit crunch.

So in response to encouragement from my friends (and all the articles in magazines which seem to teach us nothing new about saving on food bills), I decided to write my own ebook: Fabulous Frugal Food Bills.

This ebook offers useful tips, tricks and a scattering of family-friendly recipes to help you save money on your family food bills. From learning how to organize your food stores for maximum efficiency to saving money at the supermarket and even growing your own, I hope you will find something useful to lessen the burden of your weekly shopping trips.

Yesterday I set about purging my entire kitchen of muck and mess. Essentially three years' worth of spring cleaning to be achieved in a single day.

Yes, there was a lot to do, considering I hadn't properly cleaned the tiles, around the chip pan or scrubbed between the appliances since before we moved in, but I'm on a mission with my New Year resolution to keep house and intended to get the job done.

Cleaning the dried on oily gunk from around the chip-pan and cooker was undoubtedly the most difficult element, until I remembered having seen an episode of How Clean is your House in which Kim explained that good old fashioned shaving foam is excellent for cleaning up grease from kitchen tiles.

Essentially, shaving foam is concentrated soap making it the ideal frugal product for grease and grime removal in the kitchen. I covered the greasy spots in a thick layer, rubbed it in with a dishcloth and waited about 20 minutes... After which the greasy gunk virtually wiped off, barely any elbow grease required!

I'd tried loads of other products before to achieve the same thing but had found myself scrubbing for hours despite product claims of being the best grease-busters on the market. My 47p shaving foam did a better job than everything else I've tried combined. So I used it for virtually the whole kitchen - tiles, grubby spots on the floor, cleaning the ventilation fan. Now the kitchen looks like new!

So the next time you need to stock up on cleaning products, ditch the expensive brands and bag yourself a sub-50p, basic/smart price can of shaving foam instead and experiment. I assure you, you'll be glad that you did!

P.S - Shaving foam is also great at removing price stickers and gluey gunk from mirrors and glass too!

If your daughter(s) are anything like mine, your house will have bobbles and hair clips hiding in every corner of the house! Nefotlak has devised a wonderful project to upcycle glass jars and create an organised hair station which I'm sure any little princess will adore!

Use any old doorknobs you may have around the house (or scour charity shops and car boot sales) and decorate the board with paint or fabrics to match the decor of the room. This looks so pretty, I think my little one will have to share with me!

Via Nefotlak

Wishing all Glamumous readers a wonderful start to the New Year!

I've made resolutions to maintain a more organised and homely home in the year ahead, and will be blogging about our household transformations in the coming weeks.

What resolutions have you and your family made?

The weather has turned bitterly cold and since almost all energy companies have raised their prices (yet again!) I'm sure we're all feeling the pinch this winter.

Our North-facing house is particularly cold, and over time we've devised quite a few offbeat techniques to keep the warmth in to spend as little as possible keeping the house toasty warm. Of course I'm sure you're all aware of the obvious ones (turn the heating down one degree, only heat when you need to, wear jumpers and socks indoors), so instead I'll present you with a few tips you may not have tried yet - and I promise they all help!

Hopefully Glamumous readers will find some of these tips useful in maintaining the temperature in their own homes.

Gaps beneath your skirting boards? Tape them up!

When we realised the (rather enormous) gaps between our skirting boards and floorboards were letting in icy drafts, my other half decided to block them with Gaffa tape. It worked a treat (albeit being a bit unsightly).

If you have any gaps at all, consider taping them (perhaps masking tape is a better option?) or at least fill the gaps with foam, scrunched up newspaper or whatever draft excluder you may have lying around!

Make your own draft excluders

Gaps beneath doors also let the heat escape. We have a balcony door leading off from the lounge which is a terrible culprit for letting in the cold. Old pillows rolled up and pushed against the gaps did the trick. If you're feeling crafty, make your own sausage-dog type excluders, or just use a rolled-up blanked.

Blankets on the beds

Much as we'd love to leave the heating on all night, we simply can't afford to. Luckily I found a box full of those old style woollen blankets (the type you may remember your grandmother stashing in the airing cupboard) and bought the lot. They're wonderful for keeping the heat trapped beneath the duvet, and make our beds feel ever-so snug.

Hot water bottles

Found in Poundland, I now can't sleep without my hot water bottle close to my feet. Beds feel so much more inviting after being warmed for 20 minutes before slipping in.

Close doors behind you - vigilantly!

I'm sure the kids are sick of hearing me tell them to keep the doors closed, but my this does make a difference! If only I could train the cats to close doors behind them too...

Turn off radiators in rooms you don't use

Thick winter curtains (over doors too!)

Our house is terribly designed. We have an archway instead of an entrance door in our living room which (as you can imagine) lets out all the warm air.

So we invested in a set of long thick curtains to keep the warmth in. Plus another for the balcony door, another to pull across the front door at night... Well, actually we were lucky to have them gifted from Freecycle, though you can probably also find nice thick curtains in charity shops for just a few pounds a pair. Even blankets hung over drafty doorways is better then nothing!

Gather round in the kitchen!

Late at night our kitchen is the coldest room in the house, but while I'm cooking or have the tumble dryer on, it's probably the warmest!

Don't let that energy go to waste! If the kids are feeling the chill, gather them round the kitchen table with some activities while you get to work at the stove or do the laundry. Not a long-term solution, but for those on pre-pay meters who can see how much heating costs per hour, it can feel quite satisfying.

Do you have any more tips for keeping warm this winter?

I'd love to know any more frugal ideas for maintaining a toasty warm home, so please feel free to leave your comments and suggestions below.

I love my Kindle. Admittedly with the rush of work lately I haven't had much time to enjoy it, but come next week I'll be taking time off to spend making this Christmas magical for the kids.

While browsing Amazon's list of free Kindle books to download, I discovered some real treasures which the younger ones will be sure to enjoy. Perhaps you will enjoy reading these festive Kindle freebies too!

The Christmas Angel by Abbie Farwell Brown