Homestyle Gossip

We are constantly referred to as a throwaway society for understandable reasons, but this is never more apparent than in our treatment of mobile phones.

This small and remarkable piece of technology has evolved far more rapidly over the last twenty or so years than most of us would ever have believed. We pay many hundreds of pounds over a typically two year period for the latest handsets. Despite this expense, upon their replacement, they are frequently consigned to a dusty drawer until they become of truly nominal value or they do simply get disposed of as waste once their working life is over. It seems extremely unlikely that any other high value, high powered modern tool is so regularly disposed of without any attempt to realise its remaining value.

This behaviour is simply not sustainable or realising the most of both your own personal assets and the resources of the planet. The vast majority of the cost of a mobile phone is representative of the development investment that has supported this rapid technological evolution. There is however very real value in the component parts and materials used in their construction.

Mobile phone recycling offers two very real benefits. In cases where you possess a fairly modern handset, you can obtain cash for your phone while it still possesses resale value. Mobile phone recycling is not restricted to modern handsets though. Old handsets are still actively recycled as the valuable components can be recycled in a more basic form. This helps to reduce our contribution to landfill and unsustainable behaviour.

Beds don’t have to be boring these days! Take a look at these modern and quirky bed designs…

Floating bed? This bed has legs that double up as bed side tables!

The casket bed! This oval shaped bed is certainly unusual, looks very relaxing

The Lomme, comes with massaging memory foam mattress, modified for the iphone and light therapy alarm clock

Carpet bed – perfect solution for friends coming over, just inflate any time you need a bed

Napping pods – as the benefit of power naps become more apparent will these be installed in the office?

Whether we’re in a recession or not, taking the whole family out for a day is one of the most expensive things that parents can do. Whether you go to the cinema, to a theme park or just out around the shops and for a meal, when you have children you can easily spend over £100 on what should be a simple, inexpensive trip out.

Family tickets at theme parks, where the typical family unit of two adults and two children is expected, often cost in excess of £50 before you even begin to factor in travel costs, food and the all important expense on souvenirs. If only there was a way to enjoy free days out that the children would enjoy?

When you collect Airmiles, there is. By collecting Airmiles you can exchange your Airmiles for free activities, such as tickets to Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, or even more adventurous activities such as quad biking or paintballing.

Airmiles can be collected whenever you pay for something with a Lloyds TSB Airmiles Duo Credit Card Account, meaning that just by spending what you would normally spend on food and other essentials, you can achieve free days out with Airmiles.

You can also collect Airmiles by exchanging your Tesco Clubcard vouchers for Airmiles. You can get Tesco Clubcard points on things like paying for your gas and electricity with E.ON.

Theme park tickets can be very expensive for large families, but by collecting Airmiles you can turn this ‘would be’ expense into one of many free activities.