The Only Girl Guide to Buying on Ebay | Secondhand & Pre-Loved Top Tips

The second in my series of sharing my secondhand buying secrets focusing on how to get the most from Ebay. All my top tips on finding heirloom treasures for your home to cosy cashmere for the chilly months.

It was a Miss Sixty Coat from Germany back in 2001 that got me hooked on the non-stop bargain merry-go-round that is Ebay. That first Ebay purchase never actually arrived, but that didn’t put me off.

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What Makes Our Christmas Magical {Sponsored}

We’ve tried no presents, presents and parred-back presents; we’ve gone away, stayed at home and invaded relatives houses en-masse. One thing I’ve learnt from our festive trials as a blended family – trying to ensure everyone feels like they belong and feels ‘at home’ – is that what we give, where we are or which parents’ house the kids are at on the actual day, has minimal impact on how festive we feel.

The magic, the sparkle and inner-belly warmth don’t come from the latest Xbox game or ‘must-have’ gizmo, they come from the Christmas traditions we’ve inherited and the ones we create as a family.

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Self-Care Isn’t Selfish {Sponsored}

‘Me time’. Self Care. Unwind. Rest & Relaxation. Filling your cup. Whatever we call it, apparently we’re not getting enough of it. According to a study* carried out by British bed manufacturer, Rest Assured, we’re getting an average of 40 minutes a day to ourselves. So, what do we do with that precious time and is it beneficial to our well-being?

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Show Us Your Drawers! With Breville #HomeHeroes {Sponsored}

It’s at this time of year, when the mass clear-outs start that it becomes apparent just how much stuff we have! Stuff we don’t need, want, use or even remember owning! I like to consider myself pretty ruthless when it comes to throwing stuff out, donating it to the charity shop or sticking on eBay – to the point I don’t even keep sentimental, paintings/crafts etc from the kids, baby clothes or photographs! I’m an avid listener of The Minimalists’ podcast and went as far as to watch their film. But, when Breville challenged me, as part of their #HomeHeroes ambassadorship, to riffle through my drawers and dig out the kitchen gadgets I don’t actually use – I was surprised to see that I was clearly suffering from clutter-denial! From the back of our drawers I salvaged the spiralizer from my “of course courgettie tastes great kids! It’s just like spaghetti!” phase (it is not like spaghetti!!); a zester, used once for a lemon drizzle cake (I am not a baker but the cake was very lemon-y!!); a personalised, silver Marmite lid; a ‘too posh to use’ chopping board  and, an apple slicer/corer (what’s wrong with a bloomin’ knife?!) – amongst other defunct kitchen gizmos.

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Home at my Fingertips With Honeywell Lyric #Ad

It’s no secret that autumn days at home with tea-on-tap and onsies-clad are my favourite; but with 5 boys, football season in full swing and non-stop birthday parties between now and Christmas… most of my days are either spent at work, the football side-lines or taxi-ing to and from a 10 year old’s rave-up. But forever the optimist, while carrying out my front-line parental duties, I still daydream of getting home, slipping on my sheepskin slippers and that renowned cashmere jumpsuit!

We all know the dread of getting home cold and a bit soggy, to a dark, nippy house or discovering the home-alone teenagers munched all the snacks, which is why I’ve teamed up with Honeywell to ensure while I’m shivering my ears off at the park, (building up an appetite) my peace of mind is kept intact! They kindly sent over a selection of busy-family friendly gadgets from their smart Lyric range – the Lyric T6R Smart Thermostat, Lyric C1 Wi-Fi Security Camera and Lyric W1 Wi-Fi Waterleak and Freezer Detector. The team over at Honeywell, with over 100 years’ experience, are making family life just a little bit easier with their Lyric products and app – helping busy mums (and dads) be in control of their home comforts wherever family life takes you! 

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