Life, Love and Dirty Dishes delivers award winning funny tales from the parenting front line delivered with humour and heart. We're all in this together.
It’s really important to have a good sense of your finances. Keeping on top of your monthly household budget by knowing your outgoings, and reviewing them regularly will help you to spend within your means. It can also reduce your chances of getting into debt, and increase your chances of saving money. It helps to […] Read more…
This post is sponsored by klarify.me who specialise in home allergy testing kits. You can test for 294 allergens with an easy at home test, that makes finding out what you are allergic to simple. I have been paid to write this post, but all experiences of allergy symptoms are entirely my own! I’ve lived […] Read more…
Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since we’ve no place to go, let’s open another box of chocolates early and get that wine seen to. Now, while I am 100% certain those are not the correct lyrics to Baby, It’s Cold Outside, I think it is fair to […] Read more…
My approach to skincare used to be quite hap hazard. It basically consisted of cleanse and moisturise in the morning and that was it. Occasionally I would commit to making more of an effort in my night time skin care routine, but it never really lasted beyond a week. A few months ago a friend […] Read more…
I was recently commissioned by Premier Care in Bathing to give my thoughts on the following topic: Premier Care in Bathing is one of the first ever companies to specialise in the installation of bathrooms specifically designed for customers with mobility needs. They are on a mission to encourage families to talk more openly about getting older and future-proofing […] Read more…
We have lived in our home for 14 years now. It’s fair to say it’s changed a bit in that time. 14 years ago there were just two of us. We moved from a tiny flat to a four bedroom house and rattled around a bit. There were a fair few parties in those first […] Read more…
I’ve always quite enjoyed doing jigsaw puzzles with the kids, and the husband and I often joked that we would do puzzles when we were retired. Then 2020 arrived and took away our social lives and left our mental health in tatters. With little else to do we decided not to wait until retirement, I […] Read more…
The whole world and his dog has advice for you when you become a parent. When you should be feeding them, how much you should be holding them, dummy or no dummy. It’s relentless. But what about the practical advice for new parents that is actually going to be useful? Here are 9 things to […] Read more…
I have been blogging for six years now. It started as a hobby, but pretty soon I started to earn a bit of money. My youngest has just started year 2, when he first started school I gave myself a year to see if I could earn enough to effectively be a second salary. By […] Read more…
Saving money can be difficult. Life chucks us curve balls like the boiler breaking, or a global pandemic! Sometimes we give in to temptations, and as a result our savings pot never really grows. Financial experts advise having three months worth of living expenses as savings. For the majority of people this isn’t possible. Savings […] Read more…
There has been a lot of discussion in regards to smart meters and its current growing trend of popularity, with people discussing what’s good and what’s not so good in debate. However, what a lot of articles and discussions do not look into is why people are turning to smart meters for their home and […] Read more…
As the nights draw in and the days get cooler, you will most likely be considering the best time to turn on your heating. After a relatively warm summer, the chances are you will not have touched your heating system for a few months. That is all about to change and very shortly you will […] Read more…
Rental homes can often come with restrictions when it comes to making a home your own. There can be restrictions over hanging things on walls, painting and decorating, and making alterations. A lot of rental homes can be very neutral in tone. And whilst you may not be able to paint the walls your favourite […] Read more…
Becoming a parent is the best thing. But it’s also the most terrifying thing. Nothing will make you love more, or worry more. It’s amazing and it’s infuriating. It comes with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. There are days when you feel more weighed down than a weighted blanket. But that’s […] Read more…
Over the last six months Little is getting more and more into Lego, so along with his Big brother we now have an insane amount of Lego in our house. And if you have Lego, you need storage! So here are a few Lego storage ideas I have put together to help with playing and […] Read more…
Although we are all facing the same restrictions in this lock-down situation. The reality is that actually lock-down looks quite different for all of us. Some of us may be key workers under enormous amounts of strain doing their daily jobs. Some of us are working from home. Some of us are juggling working from […] Read more…
Isolation is being talked about a lot at the moment due to the current pandemic we are facing and the lock-down rules. Feeling isolated is a very real problem, leading to loneliness and low self esteem. It is important to recognise that anyone can feel isolated. Whether you are living alone, or have a house […] Read more…
I’ve been working from home for nearly 6 years now. In the early days I found it really hard to leave work behind, switch off, and have some down time. There are still days like that now, if I have lots of deadlines, or I am waiting on an important email. But on the whole […] Read more…
When I was a kid we used to pretend the shed in the garden was our clubhouse. Inspired by our love of the Secret Seven books, my friend and I declared the shed as the base for the Red Indian Club. You could only come in if you knew the password. Only the shed was […] Read more…
I love organising a party. Everything from the invite to the party bags. The first big ‘party’ I arranged was probably my wedding. That was way before sweet tables were a thing, and printing invitations was incredibly expensive. That’s why I hand made my invitations. It took me hours and hours to write them all. […] Read more…