How to impress yourself, your mother-in-law, and your wallet

With the credit crunch and all that, I try to tighten up my belt when it comes to usage of energy at home. Take for instance the use of shower. All four of us take a shower twice a day. Now, that's a lot of water and electricity used. When the bill comes, I always prepare for what could be a heart attack. To avoid the embarassment of paramedics seeing my twitchy face, my overused and overwashed robe, and my sky-high bill, I have to think of some good old money-saving 'tricks'.

Lewis still has his baby bath. It's still big enough for him and Zak to sit on so it is still being used since over two years ago. I bought it from a sale for £5 so it's money well-spent. Before bedtime, I fill it up with warm water. I bath Lewis in it, and Zak afterwards in the same water. Obviously, their nappy areas have to be clean before they both go in it. Afterwards, I use the bath water to clean the bathroom and flush our two toilets, without the boys in it, of course.

When K and I have a shower, we stand on the baby bath to catch the water to flush the toilets! And K is only allowed to have a hot bath once a month, or when we're both feeling sore. Baths use a lot of water. Last year, I heard that it costs 25pence (roughly $.50) to flush a toilet, which means it could be double by now. By reusing water, I saved a few pennies, even pounds, and it's not even hard work!

This morning, I took K to the kitchen and lectured him about the use of teabags. We consume about 24 teabags during weekends, when we're both at home, so I showed him how to save. Whenever I make a cup of tea, I don't throw the used teabag in the bin. Instead, I transfer it to another clean cup for the next cup of tea. Or, I use a teapot and just refill it with hot water everytime.

The heating is always the cause of our arguments. I have adjusted fairly well to the British weather and so I don't always like to have a very well-heated home. I put on more clothes and the boys always have two or three layers of clothing instead of me turning up the heating system. Our bedroom should only be 16c or less because the longer you stay in bed, the warmer you become. And what are pyjamas for anyway?

I also used to have my nails pedicured by a lady who does home service. This is one luxury that seems silly to me now. I realise that my lifestyle doesn't revolve around walking the red carpets or twirling in open-toed stilletos. I push a buggy whenever I go out and when I am at work, my feet are not seen anyway, so what's the point of paying good money to clean the nails only for it to be hidden away?

And so, I DIY. Sometimes, I get an unwelcome help from my 2-year-old but it doesn't matter. Even if the paint goes everywhere except the nails, I have pampered myself anyhow - for free, come to think of it!