Lifestyle & Hobbies Archives | Page 121 of 160

Genius Cleaning Hacks To Save You Money And Time

USE VINEGAR TO CLEAN THE BATHROOM

Your S$2-3 bottle of white vinegar have uses that are beyond the kitchen! To clean the toilet, pour a cup of distilled white vinegar into the bowl and let it stay there for 5 hours or overnight. Then, scrub it well and flush. To clean your tub and kill the germs, spray white vinegar around the tub. Then, wipe it with wet cloth to clean.

USE BLOW DRYER TO REMOVE WATER STAINS

Spills from your mugs, glasses, bottles, and cans can leave a whitened “ring” that can be easily visible on furniture. Before you replace or repaint some tables, a simple yet efficient shortcut is to use a blow dryer to clean it. Hold the blow dryer (high heat) close to the ring and see it disappear in a few minutes. Once it evaporates, add a small amount of olive oil to re-condition the wooden table.

USE A DRY TOWEL TO SPEED UP THE DRYER

To save money on electricity, you must reduce the amount of time it takes to dry your wet laundry load. Simply add a dry towel to your dryer with other wet clothes. This trick works because the dry towel absorbs the excess moisture around your dryer.

USE AN IRON TO ELIMINATE CARPET STAINS

To eliminate nasty carpet stains without professional help, clean it with white vinegar, iron, and water. Start by mixing 2 parts of water with 1 part of white vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray this solution on the stain. Then, iron the rag (steam setting) for about 30 seconds or more. This shall remove the stain as well as its unpleasant odor.

USE A DIRECTORY OF THE CLEANING SERVICES IN SINGAPORE

If all else fails, save time and effort by having a directory of the top cleaning services in Singapore.

a. NTUC Domestic Cleaning Service
Location: 75 Bras Basah Road, NTUC Income Centre, Singapore 189557
Contact: 6788 8788

b. House Cleaner Singapore
Location: 538 Bedok North Street 3 Singapore, Singapore 460538
Contact: 6844 3382

c. Home Cleanz Cleaning & Laundry Services
Location: 332 Changi Road, Singapore 419807
Contact: 6440 3342

d. Domestic One Cleaning Service
Location: 47 Hill Street, #06-06 Singapore 179365
Contact: 6100 2388

Image Credits: pixabay.com (CC0 Public Domain)

Sources: 1 & 2

Best Adult Playgrounds In Singapore With Tickets Under S$22

Everybody experiences stress at one point! From job loss to break-up, you have your own share of stressors. And these accumulated stress can be detrimental to one’s health when not managed.

While a trip to the nail salon with your best friend is always a good idea, why not consider blowing off some steam while burning calories at the same time?

Channel your inner stress-free kid by trying out these exciting “adult playgrounds”…

1. THE FLYING TRAPEZE

Being the first of its kind in Singapore, Sentosa’s The Flying Trapeze offers exhilaration and fun for its participants and spectators. Learning trapeze helps develop your strength, concentration, and coordination. Let the beach become your playground as you soar high above it!

Prices: S$10 per swing and S$20 for 3 swings

2. AMPED TRAMPOLINE PARK

Ready to experience the exciting thrill of defying gravity? If so, grab your grip socks and visit the nearest AMPED Trampoline Park. AMPED Trampoline Park has interconnected trampolines, foam pits, basketball court, and dodge ball court. Feel free to shoot hoops, jump into the valley of foams, and bounce around the trampolines. With outlets in Jurong and River Valley, adults of all ages can safely and efficiently enjoy this cardiovascular workout.

Prices: From S$10-18. Book here.

3. BUBBLE BUMP SINGAPORE

Take playing soccer up a notch with Bubble Bump. Bubble Bump Singapore offers bubble games where players wear inflatable balls in an attempt to win in a Soccer match. Each suit are harnessed and equipped to make sure your fall will be relatively painless. One session will surely bring all the players loads of laughter as you start the full-on bouncing action just to score a goal.

Prices: From S$15/pax of 20 people. Visit bubblebump.sg for more information.

4. MEGA ADVENTURE

Mega Adventure/ MegaZip Adventure Park is another place where you can play as adults in Sentosa. For people on a budget, you can enjoy one of its three attractions namely: MegaBounce, NorthFace, and ParaJump. If you want to jump as high as you possibly can, you can try the MegaBounce as its simple trampoline with elastic powercords allows you to jump up to 10 meters! If that is not enough, you can brave the 16-meter climbing wall at NorthFace.

Lastly, you can replicate a free-falling parachute jump with the 15-meter drop at ParaJump. Sounds like a good way to keep your adrenaline pumping, doesn’t it?

Prices: S$15 for MegaBounce and S$19 for NorthFace or ParaJump

Cheap Groupon Workshops To Enrich Your Life Skills

GROUPON is probably my all time favorite shopping companion. Used by many Singaporeans, GROUPON is a website that offers discounted deals on events, luxury goods, bags, watches, beauty products, lifestyle services, and getaways.

And if you swear by the website, you would know that they offer a number of deals on workshops too!

1. COGNITIVE SKILLS

Improve your memory with a two-hour workshop by Pinnacle Minds. Buy here.

Learn mnemonic techniques, develop your own memorization strategy, absorb information important to your profession, and more for the price of S$25!

With this workshop, Pinnacle Minds aims to relay their knowledge on multiple memorization techniques such as mnemonics. Founded by Sancy Suraj Singh, the current Guinness World Record holder for the longest sequence of colors memorised, the company has held seminars for various prestigious clients including Singapore Tourism Board and SingTel.

2. CREATIVITY

Unleash your creativity with the two-hour hand bouquet arrangement workshop by Rosebud. Buy here.

Suitable for beginners and those with green thumbs, this workshop is priced at S$26.

Using an assortment of imported flowers and other materials that are provided, Cindy Ko will teach you about floral design. Cindy Ko, the founder of Rosebud, is a UK-trained floral artist with twenty-three years of experience. Fortunately, you are able to bring home your wonderful creation!

3. LANGUAGE SKILLS

Take on the chance to learn the basics of Korean language with a four-session workshop by City of Manchester Centre of Management. Buy here.

Attend introductory lessons on Hangul (Korean Alphabet) and Korean conversational skills for the price of only S$22!

To further enhance your language skills, City of Manchester Centre of Management offers a series of classes to learn Korean through hands-on, activity-based lessons. The center is located in Shenton House, just a six-minute walk from the Downtown MRT.

4. FINE MOTOR SKILLS

Develop fine motor and concentration skills with your child with the two-hour clay sculpting workshop by Jumping Clay. Buy here.

Looking for a fun activity that you and your child can do? Look no further as Jumping Clay gives you the “2-Hour Clay Sculpting Class for S$24”.

Jumping Clay, an established brand founded in Korea, is a shop that teaches art workshops and sells an array of clay products. Participating in their workshop will help improve you and your child’s fine motor skills, concentration skills, and spatial intelligence. Everything is safe for your child as you will use nothing but non-toxic polymer clay.

Image Credits: pixabay.com (CC0 Public Domain)

These deals are available for limited time or limited slots only. See something you like? Go and click it!

5 Efficiently Quick Ways To Beat Financial Stress

These days, there is no shortage of reasons why people are anxious about money. From higher unemployment rate to expensive school fees, everyone has their own share of financial stressors. And these accumulated stress can be detrimental to one’s health when not managed.

On that note, here are simple ways to conquer your inner beast:

1. DETERMINE WHAT STRESSES YOU OUT

Spare at least 10 minutes of your time to identify what triggers your financial stress. Whether it is dealing with your horrific credit card balance or realizing that you are barely hanging onto your job, write down your three greatest financial stressors at the moment. It is important to keep the list short to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

2. CHANGE YOUR MINDSET

Staying positive in a seemingly challenging financial situation can help you get your thoughts together and motivate you to change. Rather than mourning about your piles of debt, visualize how great your life can be with less of them. Then, repeat an internal dialogue that aims to conquer that stressor. For instance, you may vow to spend about S$100 less each month in order for you to pay more for your debts.

3. FOCUS ON SMALL AND SUSTAINABLE GOALS

You do not have to beat your financial stress head-on immediately. Just as crash diets can lead to burnout, overly ambitious financial goals can lead to quitting. So sustain your goals by identifying what you can actually achieve each day and each month.

4. REWARD YOURSELF

Set a realistic budget and reward yourself for sticking by it. Alvin Hall, an author and a financial commentator on BBC TV, once said that a helpful way to lower your stress is to purchase something that has a long-lasting positive personal effect…for the least amount of money. Personally, visiting museums that display exceptional art uplifts my spirits while costing me S$0-20 only!

If you cannot think of any rewards right now, consider reading this guide: “36 Things You Can Do In Singapore, Aside From Spending Too Much Money”.

5. WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU ARE GRATEFUL FOR

Before you fall into a deep slumber, write down at least three things that you are thankful for. This changes your focus from your financial stressors to the beautiful things that you might have taken for granted throughout the day. It does not have to be a big thing!

This quickie activity is focused on giving you a positive strategy to cope with life’s difficulties.

Image Credits: pixabay.com (CC0 Public Domain)

If all else fails, do not hesitate to seek help from your friends, family, or financial professionals.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, & 4

Is It Time To Embrace The Rise Of Digital Red Envelopes?

First comes Snapchat’s Snapcash then there was MasterCard’s Selfie Authorization, and now we make way for the digital Ang Baos.

Yes! You read that right.

As we usher in the Year of the Monkey, China’s three Internet giants namely Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent (developer of WeChat messaging app) offered their own versions of digital red envelopes. Even the Chinese government weighed in as they gave away a total of 300,000 RMB or about S$63,000 through Alipay – Alibaba’s digital payment service. However, the most impressive of them all was Tencent’s WeChat app.

WeChat‘s red envelope scheme started in January 2014 in support of its digital payment service called WeChat Payments. Its functions include sending virtual money, withdrawing cash, and checking the transaction history.

Its popularity spread like wildfire since its inception. In fact, last February 8 marked a milestone as over 8 billion of digital red envelopes were sent through WeChat’s gifting scheme. That signifies an eight-fold increase from the previous year.

The types of WeChat’s red envelopes are as follows:

a. REGULAR RED ENVELOPE – upon availing this, the user can specify the amount of money he or she wants to give.

b. RED ENVELOPE LUCKY DRAW – upon availing this, the user will allocates a lump sum of money to a “group red envelope” wherein a number of small red envelopes are inside it. After posting this on a group chat, WeChat will randomly assign an amount for each recipient’s red envelope.

Although these all sounds fuss-free and convenient, you must consider its disadvantages. For instance, digital platforms are susceptible to cyber crimes. In 2015, a user who claimed to be the billionaire Chen Guangbiao deceived many WeChat users and ended up receiving a significant gain from them.

Also, digital Ang Baos may take away the family re-connection that the tradition entails.

Image Credits: pixabay.com (CC0 Public Domain)

So ask yourself: “Do you want focus on strengthening relationships or on monetary incentives?”

Sources: 1, 2, & 3

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