Life Hacks
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5 TIKTOK HACKS TO EXTEND THE LIFE OF FLOWERS by OLIVIA BRIDGEN
Even though flowers can stay fresh for up to a week, it can be so hard to bid farewell to your petals once they sadly begin to wilt. With this in mind, Nick Drewe, trends specialist at WeThrift, has revealed five flower hacks that are taking the social media world by storm… 1. Vodka It turns out that our flowers like a boozy pickme-up. When added to a vase, vodka helps to preserve flowers due to its ability to inhibit ethylene production. Alcohol is also an antibacterial agent, which further makes the spirit a rejuvenating drink for your flowers. Simply add a few drops of vodka to your flower vase and watch them blossom as the days go on. 2. Sprite Known as the most effective way of keeping your flowers fresh, Sprite (and other sodas) are your flowers’ best friend. This is because the drink makes the water in your vase more acidic, enabling it to travel up the stem more quickly. What’s more, the sugar acts as flower food. Put ¼ cup (60ml) of sprite into your vase - you’ll notice your flowers will also start to smell very sweet!
3. Apple cider vinegar & sugar It’s an interesting combo, but adding apple cider vinegar and sugar to your flowers is just as effective as adding store-bought flower food to your vase. This is because the vinegar acts as an antibacterial agent while the sugar acts as additional flower food. Mix two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and two tablespoons of sugar into the water in your vase before adding your flowers. 4. Copper penny Ever heard of adding a copper penny to a fresh bouquet of flowers to extend its life? Well, now you have! Dropping a penny into the middle of your vase works wonders because copper is a fungicide and naturally kills bacteria growth in your flower arrangement. After a couple of days, you’ll find that the blooms with the copper penny will have opened up quite nicely. 5. The fridge Last but not least, we have the fridge method. Due to the cool temperature of your fridge, it will slow down the ageing process of your flowers, which will delay the time they take to wilt and die. That said, try the method of putting your bouquet in the fridge every night before bed, typically for a duration of eight hours.
Easy tips to look after your phone battery
Drain phone completely: Keeping the battery level between 20% and 80% is the best level for a long-lasting device. Don’t overcharge: Be mindful about keeping your phone on charge overnight as it can cause pressure to build up in the battery.
Manage your apps: Keeping several apps open whilst you’re not using them can put excess strain on the battery. To keep on top of things you can set a reminder on your device a couple of times a day to remind you to close things down consistently.
Change to dark mode: By switching from 100% to dark mode it is estimated that you can save upwards of 30% of battery power. Utilise airplane mode: Putting the phone on airplane mode can halt calls, texts, and notifications without the battery strain. Hold push notifications: By switching or limiting notifications in settings, more battery power will be saved. Use the right cable: Unbranded alternatives can cause lasting damage to the phone and have been known to cause electrical fires too.
Utilise cloud-based systems We’ve all got photos, videos and other memories clogging up our storage. By transferring this data and storing it on a cloud-based system you could help save your battery’s life.
HOW TO STAY AWAKE WHEN YOU’RE REALLY TIRED by JAMES WILSON, beingwellfamily.com
Light it up
Expose yourself to natural daylight! It sets us up for the day and enables us to feel more energetic and less prone to bouts of sleepiness.
Make a move
Get the body and brain going by taking a ten-minute brisk walk. Or, if you're pushed for time, simply get up and stretch every hour.
At work
Taking five minutes to compose yourself and find something more stimulating can prevent your eyes from feeling heavy.
Food is fuel
Sugar and caffeine can affect both your sleep and daytime functioning. Take note of what meals give you energy for the day ahead and eat more of them. If these tips don’t work, then this might be an indication you have an underlying sleep issue which should be addressed.
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April 2022 Life in... Orpington 21
