When it comes to skip hire, you may be wondering if its worth actually hiring a skip or if you should dispose of the waste yourself. 

Of course in most cases, hiring a skip will set you back money. Just how much remains to be seen, but it will depend on a number of factors such as the duration you need your skip for, as well as the size, style and even if you need a permit to store it.

In our experience you'll know when the best time to hire a skip is because you will find that you are simply not able to dispose of the waste from your project yourself. If you're carrying out smaller projects around the house, you may get away with taking the waste to the local dump yourself, or even using a man and van service to assist you. This may be possible with smaller projects, but once your project reaches a certain size (usually when doing extension or conversion work), you will find its worth the price of hiring a skip to get the job done right.

When this happens, you'll have various options available to you, and hiring a skip is usually a fairly simple process. 
You'll have a range of sizes to chose from, and the local skip hire company will usually assist you with making sure you have the correct skip for your project needs. 

So if you're considering hiring a skip for your project, ask yourself if its possible to dispose of the waste yourself in accordance with the UK law? If it is, and you are able to take the waste to your local dumping area, then feel free to do this, however if your project is bigger than a small project, or if you don't fancy dealing with all the hassle and stress yourself, then go the skip hire route.

When it come to finding the best driving lessons, you'll want to make sure you do your research.

While there are many driving instructors out there, not all of them deliver the same quality. After all, this is an important skill that you're trying to learn here - let alone expensive, so you'll want to make sure your do your research before committing to a particular set of driving lessons.

In our experience, the best thing you can do is work with a team of driving instructors that your friends or family have used before. 

There's nothing better than a referral with this type of industry, so if you know someone that successfully passed their driving test and highly recommends their driving instructor, then we'd be inclined to use them.

If you don't know anyone else that has done their driving test recently, then you'll want to carry out some research first. Browse around online and look at driving lesson reviews. Find out what other people think of your potential driving instructor.

At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong way to learn to drive. Every instructor is slightly different and will have a different style of teaching, so you'll want to find out from these reviews which one you think will suit you better.

Once you've found an instructor which you think may be a good fit for you, go ahead and book a single lesson. This may be more expensive to do, but at least this way you're not committing to a long-term set of lessons, only to find you and your new instructor don't work well together.

All in all, learning to drive can be a stressful time, so make sure you team up with the right teacher to make the whole process as simple as possible.

When it comes to handing over a rental property, you'll find that you are usually required to have it professionally cleaned by an end of tenancy cleaning service, but what exactly should you expect for your money.

Well, a good end of tenancy cleaner will clean your property from top to bottom, and make sure that it is deep cleaned, which is a big difference between a regular domestic clean.

They should focus heavily on making sure the kitchen is taken care of, with a clean of the oven and hob area, as well as tiles, ceiling and floors. This should remove all cooking oils and fats. 

In the bathroom, your end of tenancy cleaning team should then focus on making sure all mould, mildew and limescale is removed, which will usually build up over time.

Last but not least, your team of cleaners will want to carry out standard tenancy cleaning in the living areas and bedrooms, to ensure that flooring, skirting boards etc are taken care of and that the property looks in great condition when the time comes to hand over the keys.

So if you're looking for a great end of tenancy cleaner, make sure that they are following the above steps to ensure that you are getting the best value for your money!

Cleaning the kitchen is never a fun job but cleaning the oven is even worse. For most of us the reason is that we simply don’t know where to start. But like most arduous the best thing to do is to break it down into manageable sections and use the right method for each of these sections.
The Inside:
Let’s get started on the toughest part as you will need this to sit for a while so you can carry on with the other parts while you wait. There are many good over cleaners that you can pick up in your local grocery store or online that are designed to break down the grease and make it easier to clean.
Follow these simple steps to restore the inside of your oven to it’s shiny best.

• Remove all large burnt on food particles with a soft spatula and sweep them away.
• Remove oven racks and soak them in hot soapy water and scour them clean with steel wool.
• Ensuring the room is fell ventilated and you are wearing rubber gloves for protection, spray the oven cleaner on the sides and bottom of the oven following the instructions on the tin, let it sit for the recommended time and then wash off with warm water and a sponge ensuring you have removed all of the chemicals.
• TOP TIP: I like to heat the oven at a low temp for a few minutes to burn off any chemical smells before cooking my next meal.

The Doors:
For the outside of the doors a non-abrasive standard kitchen cleaner and degreaser is best to ensure you preserve the look of the oven. Use a glass cleaner spray to finish off the outside glass panel and give it a great streak free shine.
Most ovens have two layers of glass, the internal panel can normally be removed fairly easily, follow the manufacturers guidelines if needed. This is the part that would have all the splashing of grease and oil on it so needs the most work. This can either be placed in a dishwasher if it fits or left to soak in a sink or even bathtub if you have to. For real stubborn grease and stains you can use the oven cleaner again as the abrasiveness should not affect the glass, just avoid getting it on any rubber trim. Again finish it off with a glass cleaner for a great finish.
 
The Hob:
A gas hob is harder to clean as there are more parts and nooks and crannies for grease to settle on, but don’t let that put you off, once you have removed the burner grate and the plates you are left with a surface that is easier to wipe down. This is often stainless steel so although you may be tempted to use you’re the oven cleaner you have bought for the inside of the oven, this can often be too abrasive for stainless steel and can scratch and damage it so be sure to check the instructions carefully before hand. I would suggest just spraying a standard non-abrasive kitchen surface cleaner and degreaser let it sit for a few min to work and then wipe it clean with a little elbow grease.
The burner grates and the plates can be placed in a sink full of warm soapy water to soak and make them easier to wipe down before being replaced on the hob in a much cleaner condition.
I hope this break down of cleaning your oven has made the job seem more doable and if it hasn’t convinced you then you could always call in the professional cleaners who can come round and give your oven a deep clean as well as the rest of your kitchen to leave the whole room sparkling.

When it comes to learning how to be charismatic, you will need to first work on your posture. Other than focusing on the skill of active listening, when you have your next conversation, make sure your posture is confident and proud. Sit upright, and make sure you don’t slouch. Really pay attention to this.
Next you will want to try and be fully aware of your facial expressions. Start by spending a little time in-front of the mirror each day (it doesn’t have to be long), and give yourself a great big smile back. Seriously! Give yourself a big huge grin. Notice how your eyes and face light up. Immediately you will look more charismatic and appear to be friendlier.

Of course I’m not saying you should walk around all day grinning like an idiot. In-fact if you did this you would probably come across as plain stupid, rather than charismatic.

There is obviously a time and place for smiling, but it is certainly something to be more aware of. Smile as often as you can in conversation and as you go about your day. This projects warmth, which is a vital part of being charismatic. We’ve already discussed that charisma is about how you make other people feel about themselves, and being warm and friendly will go a long way to making the people in your life feel great and want to spend time around you.
Once you’ve spent some time working on these exercises, I want you to practice your walk. It sounds like a strange thing to do, but try it. Walk with certainty and purpose, rather than ambling along slowly.

Lastly, work on the use of your hands when you speak. The best way I have developed this skill is by spending some time speaking in-front of the mirror and working on moving my hands. It’s really easy to do once you get into the habit of it. Take 5 minutes right now to tell a story to yourself and simply use your hands to gesture your point. The more you do it, the more natural it becomes and the more dynamic you will appear.

So if you want to develop your charisma, and really come across as more charismatic, then focus on this exercise and you'll see amazing results right away.

When looking for a fencing contractor you'll often find that not only do they carrying out high quality fencing work, that a large amount of these types of contractors also carry out a tree removal service and maintenance services such as hedge cutting, pruning etc. 

In a lot of ways the two services compliment each other perfectly. They both require high quality machinery and equipment to carry out the work, and more often than not, there may be an element of tree work that needs to be carried out before a new fence can be installed.

In a lot of properties, you'll find that a hedge needs to be cut away, or cleaned up before any fencing can be installed around it, to frame the property.

It all falls under the landscaping umbrella, and you'll find that if a particular fencing contractor does not carry out the tree service work themselves, they will certainly be able to advise or sub contract a reliable tree surgeon that does.

This is also the case with many gardening services, as they will often get quote requests for tree services, but may not have the training, machinery or skills to actually carry out the work themselves.

In these cases, they too will usually sub-contract out the tree work to a reliable tree surgeon in the area, and will have a mutual working relationship with them.

So if you're looking for a tree and fencing service contractor, try and find one that will handle all the work for you. It means less hassle for you and keeps everything clean and simple.

The good news when it comes to hiring a skip, is that it's usually a pretty simple process. With many skip hire companies available, it's usually a only a case of picking up the phone and making a few calls to find a price that suits you.

Of course, hiring a skip will come down to the size and style of skip you are looking for, and this will determine your price.
In our experience we find that most skip companies offer similar pricing for skips. All you'll want to check is their availability and to make sure that the company is reliable.

The biggest factor when it comes down to skip hire is to make sure that your skip arrives on time, exactly when you need it. Failure for this to happen will result in a delay to your project which can lead to all sorts of problems later down the line.

Using a reliable company will go a long way to making sure that all waste management is well controlled during your project and that there are no unnecessary delays with removing this from your site.

This way, you can carry on doing what you do best, working on your project, while you allow the waste management company to do what they do best.

You'll also want to make sure that the skip hire company you decide to work with follows the UK's strict waste disposal rules, as this can also land you in trouble later down the line.

All in all, selecting a good company to handle your junk removal is not complicated. Do your research and then pick the one that suits your needs best.

One of the best things you can do as a homeowner in our opinion is to make sure you take advantage of a great carpet cleaning service as least once a year.

Why you may ask?
Well it's simple. Over time, the fibres of your carpet will build up with moisture, grit, dirt and all sorts of nasty bacteria. This is perfectly natural in any household, particularly during the harsh Winter months when you members of your home are consistently walking in dirt and mud.

The problem that most people fall for, is that they think that simply vacuum cleaning their carpet will suffice and remove these unwanted items from their carpets, but sadly this is not the case.

The good news is that making use of a high quality carpet cleaning service and even a high quality cleaning service, will allow you to utilize their high power machinery, which will blast away any bacteria and dirt effortlessly. While some may try to save money cleaning their carpets themselves, in our opinion you are paying for the ability have their high tech machinery operate on your carpets.

So how do you got about finding a solid carpet cleaner, that won't break the bank? 

In our experience where we were recently looking for carpet cleaning in Bicester, and carpet cleaning in Banbury, it's important not to get too hung up on the pricing.

While you may not want to overpay for your carpet clean, make sure you don't go for the cheapest clean either. As always, you often get what you pay for, and going too cheap may mean that you get a sub part job that requires you to use another cleaning service after.

The best way to find a great carpet cleaner is by word of mouth from friends and family you trust. Ask around and find out if anyone you know has recently used a good service that they can recommend to you.

If no one you know has recently used a carpet cleaner then your next best option will be doing a local Google search in your area. Start by looking for customer feedback on their website and ensure that they have happy customers. 

Next, give them a call and pay careful attention to how they take your call. First of all, do they even take you call? If not do they get back to you quicky?

Are they friendly when they take your call? Do they sound like they want your business, or do they make you feel like they are not interested in serving you?
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These are all important factors in finding a high quality carpet cleaning service. If their reviews are positive, and they handle themselves well over the phone, then you can almost be sure that they will carry out their cleaning work to a high standard. 

So once you've selected a service to work with, the next step is to be clear about your expectations with them before they start the work. Identify any stains and marks on the carpet and discuss these with them to ensure that they can get these removed for you.

Bonus Tip: Make them a cup of coffee or tea with a few biscuits and you can be sure that they will do an extra good job for you. It takes little to no effort to do this, but in a world where almost no one treats service workers like this, you will stand out as one of their best customers and they will no doubt go the extra mile for you.

Finding a great cleaning service doesn't have to be daunting. By doing your due dilligence and making sure you carry out all your checks, you will be well on your way to finding a great service and by doing so, getting your carpets looking great again.

From there you will hopefully build a great relationship with them and they will clean your carpets every 12 months as advised.. 

Are you using the wonder of vacuum storage bags? 

In this post we'll take a look at one of the best vacuum storage bags on the market, and discuss how to get the very best use out of them.

Vacuum storage bags are designed to create more space around your home. They can be used for almost any item, including clothes, outgrown baby clothes, duvets and bedding, and pretty much anything else you can think of that will fit in them.

Let's dig into a little more about these particular space saver bags, and find out how to use them.

BUY WITH CONFIDENCE:
As one of the leading sellers on Amazon, they offer world class customer service, with a very helpful follow-up email being sent to all customers, just checking in that everything is ok with their purchase and that they aren't having any issues with their vacuum storage bags.

They offer a 100% Money Back and Satisfaction Guarantee, which allows you to buy with confidence.

These bags are also oustanding quality, and come in a variety of different sizes, from small all the way up to Jumbo size. They are made with a thick plastic and you can definitely feel the quality when you run them between your fingers..

With their variety of sizes, you have the luxury of storing almost anything you can think of, from smaller items, all the way to much items in their Jumbo bags. Some of these include bed sheets, blankets, duvets, pillows, luggage, clothes (outgrown baby clothes), guest towels, outdoor patio cushions, and anything else you can think of really.

THEY PREVENT MOLD, INSECTS, MILDEW AND DUST:
One of the great things about these space saver basgs is that they allow your items to stay airtight, meaning that they are spared from bacteria, mold, insects and mildew. They also remain watertight when selaed, so no damp will get into them.

THEY LOCK TIGHT:
They come with a great zip seal and an airtight valve which ensures that once you extract the air from the bags, it stays out, unless you decide to open them again.

THEY CAN SAVE UP TO 80% MORE SPACE:
These vacuum storage bags really save you tons of space and have been known to shrink the items down by up to 80%. Once you have extracted the air out of a number of bags you'll be amazed how much space you've saved when you stack the bags on each other.

GREAT FOR TRAVELLING AS THEY COME WITH FREE TRAVEL PUMP:
They also come with a free travel pump, which allows you to travel with them and save tons of space in your suitcase. We found that the best way to extract the air out of the bags is definitely by using a vacuum cleaner, but the free hand pump also works well if you don't have access to a vacuum cleaner, and is a great tool for travellers.

ORDER NOW ON AMAZON
These bags are great, and they sell really well on Amazon. Their price is always changing though depending on stock levels, so be sure to visit Amazon to see how much they cost.
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The process of using vacuum storage bags is fairly simple. What I'd say though is that it's definitely worth following the instructions carefully, as you want to ensure you get the steps exactly right, in order to prevent air from re-entering the bag again.
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Step 1:
The first step in the process of using vacuum storage bags is to decide exactly what you are looking to store away, and then how much. 
As these particular vacuum storage bags come in Jumbo size, you'll do well to make use of them and store as much as possible in each bag.
An important step though is to make sure you don't overfill each bag, as this will prevent the zip from making a tight seal. It's all about making sure the seal is tight in order to stop the bags from leaking. 

Once you have decided what you're going to store in the bags, start packing them carefully, making sure the items are evenly spaced out so that you get an even compression once you extract the air out of the bag.

Step 2:
Now that you have filled the bag, you will want to make sure you make the tightest seal possible when closing them. This can be done by dragging the blue slider along the runner multiple times. This is a critical step in the process and getting this wrong will only cause the bags to leak again, even if they are really good quality vacuum storage bags.

So be sure to run that blue slider along the runners really tightly, and drag it all the way across the line of the bag to ensure it is sealed completely and as air tight as possible.

Step 3: Once the bags are secured tightly the next step is to extract the air out of them. These bags come with a great hand-pump which is useful for travelling, but if you're at home then you'll want to make use of your vacuum cleaner, as this is by far the quickest and easiest (and strangely satisfying) method of vacuuming out the air from your bags.
To do this, simply screw off the cap and then place the vacuum cleaner nozzle on it. Then start the vacuum cleaner and you will immediately notice the air starting to extract out of the bag. 

Let this continue until you are certain all of the air has been removed. You will notice that the size of the contents has been significantly reduced, often saving up to 80% or more in space.

Step 4:
Finally make sure you screw the top back on the valve to ensure no air escapres. It's also worth double checking the seal is completely locked tight and that you can hear no air escaping.