Although it’s often the smallest area in our homes, we expect our hallway to hold everything from shoes and coats to bags and dog leads. And that’s before I mention the important letters and parcels we receive – or the ones we want to send out. That’s why I was incredibly intrigued when I spotted this clever Seagrass Letter Holder Basket (£8 at Dunelm).

Yes, while I do everything I can to be like the people with consistently tidy hallways, I find that paperwork and parcels create clutter that I can’t seem to shift – especially when they’re important letters that require my attention before they can be thrown away or popped in the post box.

The Seagrass Letter Holder Basket offers an alternative, though. By hanging this on your hallway wall, you can prevent letters from cluttering your console table (or even your floor) while still keeping them within easy reach so you don’t lose them. And it’s the clutter-busting addition my hallway has been crying out for!

Many of the hallway storage solutions out there aren’t equipped to deal with the onslaught of paperwork and parcels we receive on a daily basis. Instead, they focus on larger hallway items like shoes, bags and coats.

Even the best pretty-but-practical storage baskets are typically too large to safely store loose paperwork in small hallways without them crumpling, ripping, or getting lost at the bottom. Plus, they’re typically shoved in a corner to be forgotten about, taking up much-needed floor space.

But Dunelm’s Seagrass Letter Holder Basket allows you to keep these important documents front-and-centre, while adding some natural warmth and intrigue to your hallway walls. All you have to do is hang it from your walls using a hook like these KINGLAKE 115 Pcs Screw in Hooks (£7.99 at Amazon).

If you’re a renter or just don’t want to make any permanent holes in your wall, you could also avoid drilling by using these Command Wire Toggle Hooks (£16 at Amazon). Either way, the sturdy rope handle will keep the basket slightly open, so you can easily grab what you need without having to take it down every time.

It also takes advantage of vertical space, which is a must when you want to create order in small homes with limited storage, as it keeps everything off the ground and makes a small space – like a hallway – look even bigger and tidier.

However, I think the beauty of this letter holder is that it doesn’t just have to store letters. In fact, I’m going to snap a second one up to hold all of my ugly dog walking accessories that I don’t want on show. This way, my dog’s leads and treat pouch will be readily available by the front door, without cluttering up the space.

The textured seagrass weave is also incredibly versatile, suiting any hallway style, whether you’ve opted for a natural boho look, a cottage-style vibe, or a more modern look. And for £8, can you really go wrong?! I don’t think so.

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A tidy, clutter-free hallway doesn’t have to be expensive!

Ninja has a new multi-cooker to feast your eyes on and I think it’s the most capable offering I’ve seen from the bestselling brand yet.

The Ninja HyperHeat, which is currently down to £149.99 from £169.99, has an impressive 9 functions to get stuck into combined into one sleek appliance.

The setting I’m most excited about is rice cooking – which is something I absolutely loved when I tested what I think is the best multi-cooker on the market, the Ninja Foodi Possible. As well as that, the HyperHeat also has a pressure cooker setting, meaning that it can save you a huge amount of time on meal prep. Here’s what else it can do!

The HyperHeat is so called because it has the ability to lock in high temperatures and pressure in order to speed up your cooking process. Its pressure cooking mode is one of its big selling points, alongside the other functions, which are steam, slow cook, sear/sauté, rice, pasta, simmer, keep warm & yoghurt.

If you’ve never used a pressure cooker before then the big thing to know is that it can seriously save you time in the kitchen. Ninja claims that with the HyperHeat you can cook up to 70% faster than with hob cooking – though you do have to reserve time for the pot to pre-heat. It locks in steam and heat to supercharge the cooking process so that stews or rice will be cooked in record time in your home.

The capacity of this cooker is tailor-made for families, too. It has six litres of space, meaning you can batch cook with it or use it for family dinners. The sear and sauté functions allow you to use the inner pot as a stand-in hob, too – perfect if you need an all-in-one appliance if your kitchen is currently out of action. That’s exactly what our Senior Digital Editor, Jenny McFarlane did recently in her temporary kitchen whilst hers was being renovated.

I’m evangelical about the need for a rice cooker in every household – no matter the size – thanks to its ability to help you whip up quick meals with essentially no effort. The reviews from users so far on the HyperHeat, where it currently has a 4.6 star rating out of 5 from 29 people, are overwhelmingly impressed with the rice cooking functionality in particular.

Another benefit of this new Ninja cooker is the included stainless steel reversible rack. Reviewers have been putting this to good use in order to cook across two levels in one pot. You can steam grains in the bottom while your protein is cooked to perfection on top.

Though it might seem counterintuitive in this heat given they have a reputation for being used to make soups and stews, a multi-cooker is actually a great appliance for the hot months. With it, there’s no sweating over your hob or lengthy prep times. Instead, you can throw everything into a cooker like this and quickly return to your finished meal, especially if you’re using the pressure cooking setting on this appliance.

Whether you’re already a multi-cooker convert or not, the HyperHeat certainly looks like an impressive new entry into the category for Ninja. Could you see yourself using this in your kitchen?

As a mum of two boys, aged 13 and 10, I know just how quickly household items can get destroyed by young, boisterous children.

Items in their bedrooms are no exception, and that’s why I’m so pleased I came across this £7.99 Amazon buy. It may not be the most glamorous purchase, but it’s protected one of the most expensive purchases we made for the boys’ rooms.

Plus, having tested it on the beds in our house, I’m not surprised it has over 11,000 mostly 5-star reviews.

What is it? A humble waterproof mattress protector. And if you haven’t yet invested in one for your child’s bedroom, let me explain why this purchase could be the best thing you’ve ever bought for under a tenner.

We all know that the best mattresses don’t come cheap, so this isn’t an item you want to buy twice, and let me tell you, children’s mattresses really do take a beating!

Although my children only had the occasional bedwetting accident when they were small, there have been occasions over the years when guests came to stay, and an accident occurred, and I struggled to shift the stain afterwards.

More recently, the big problem is food and drink being spilled on the bed and seeping through onto the mattress. We’ve had a bowl of cereal tipped over, a bedtime drink of water sent flying onto the mattress, and even bright pink Calpol splodged everywhere.

Plus, I find one of the worst offenders for staining the mattress is when fake tan and sweat seeps through, leaving a horrible brown stain (and I confess I can’t blame that on the kids!).

Despite following all the top tips on how to clean a mattress, each time I do my best to scrub the liquid or stained patch off, but no amount of scrubbing and drying will completely remove the watermark and discoloured area.

It makes an expensive mattress look unsightly and means it needs replacing more often.

The answer, of course, is adding a good mattress protector to the bed. However, as a child of the 80’s, I had vivid memories of scratchy waterproof mattress protectors which crackled more than a packet of crisps if you dared to roll over at night! That was enough to put me off for life.

Fast forward forty years, however, and it turns out waterproof mattress protectors have come on a lot in terms of effectiveness and comfort.

I took a punt, and convinced by the number of positive online reviews, I gave this £7.99 Amazon mattress protector a go.

There are more expensive options available, of course, and I’ve rounded up some of the best we’ve tested below, but I wanted to see how this budget buy compared.

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In contrast to more expensive options, my £7.99 buy may have arrived in very no-frills packaging, but on opening it I was struck by how soft it is – a world away from the scratchy waterproof mattress covers of yesteryear!

The terry towelling top layer felt soft and thick, and it didn’t make a loud crackly noise when I pushed and scrunched it.

Fitting it onto the mattress, I was also impressed by how deep it is; it fitted easily over my thick mattress and even on a mattress with a topper on it.

The elasticated edge also keeps the cover in place well, so it doesn’t wriggle out of place in the night, and both my sons and I can report that there’s barely any noise when moving or rolling over.

I put it to the test by pouring some water onto it and was impressed by how it completely prevented the water from seeping through to the mattress below, making it ideal to guard mattresses against spilled drinks or accidents, as well as unsightly fake-tan stains!

Plus, it’s washable at 40 degrees and suitable for being tumble-dried at a low temperature.

The only downside I found is that the ‘skirt’ around the sides is quite thin and not much thicker than a pair of tights. I do worry a little that it will get easily snagged or laddered, but with a fitted sheet over the top, we didn’t have any issues.

And it seems I’m not alone in being a fan of this budget buy. As one 5-star Amazon review says, ‘I have to say I’m so impressed with this product, I immediately purchased another.’

‘The toweling side is soft, and the waterproof side makes no annoying crinkling sound,’ shares the happy owner. ‘The main bonus is the fact you can tumble dry it! Something I’ve never been able to do with these types of sheets before.’

‘I’ve bought several of these mattress protectors over the years,’ says another reviewer. ‘They work so well and really are waterproof. They definitely help to preserve your mattress. They wash really nicely and can be tumble dried, which is so convenient. Fantastic value for money.’

Clearly I’m not alone in thinking that this budget buy is a lifesaver when it comes to protecting the most expensive thing in my children’s bedrooms! For our needs, this budget buy does the job perfectly.

If there’s one potting ingredient I swear by, it’s an unlikely one: sheep’s wool.

My potted plants have thrived every year since I discovered it for gardening, and it’s all thanks to its water-retaining benefits. Even in peat-free composts, which tend to dry out quicker, I’ve found I can water my plants less than I usually would – and that’s especially handy in hot summers like this one.

There are several ways you can use wool in potted plants, so I’m about to break down the ready-made composts I use and the pellet method I just discovered on Ish Kamran’s (@gardening.with.ish) Instagram reel.

What you’ll need

When I first stumbled upon Dalefoot Wool Compost for Potting (which you can order from Crocus) back in 2021, it completely changed the way I garden. Initially, I chose the brand because it specialises in peat-free composts (I’m a huge advocate for their environmental benefits), but I was pleasantly surprised by the ingredients: nutrient-rich bracken and comfrey, which feed the plant for up to 12 months and, of course, sheep’s wool.

Dalefoot Composts claims that plants require 50% less watering in this compost, and I found that to be pretty true. I’ve actually planted all of my tomatoes in Dalefoot Wool Compost for Tomatoes (also available at Crocus) this year, and they managed to survive the few days I was away while there was a heatwave here in the UK (even if the tomato leaves looked a little yellow and droopy when I first came home!). The plants are still pumping out tomatoes, which is so impressive considering the fact that A) it’s been sweltering, and B) they’re in relatively tiny pots.

You don’t have to buy pre-mixed wool compost, though, thanks to the existence of wool pellets.

It’s common knowledge that wool can deter slugs, since the critters hate anything that wicks water out of them, but I’d never really considered adding it to my potting mixes. Until I saw Ish’s Instagram reel, that is.

‘Add them to a tub of water or some really wet compost, and all of a sudden it makes this fantastic little slurry which is soaking in the moisture really, really well,’ says Ish.

‘I’ve been mixing this in with my multi-purpose compost or peat-free compost, which is not very good at retaining moisture anyway, and as a result, it’s been holding onto that moisture just a little bit longer, meaning that I don’t have to worry about my plants drying out so quickly.’

Besides their moisture-retentive and slug-deterrent properties, wool pellets have a few more benefits – and mulching is one of them.

‘If you place them on top, it actually works as a really good mulch layer, too,’ Ish says. ‘Any sun rays during a heatwave are reflected off of the soil, meaning the soil dries out slower.’

You can buy a top-rated pack of wool pellets from Amazon for £13.99.

‘A double bonus is sheep’s wool is naturally full of nitrogen, meaning when this breaks down, it’s also a slow-release food,’ he adds.

I’m sticking with my sheep’s wool compost for the foreseeable – but wool pellets are something I want to try as a layer of mulch, or mixed into other wool-free composts I have lying around.