How To Keep On Top Of Your Dirty Laundry Basket.

For most of us when first leave home keeping our clothes clean is normally one of those things that we tend to take ages to get to grips with.  Often our fussy mothers who can’t quite accept that we have flown the next encourage the delay in learning how to fend for ourselves by taking our laundry basket home with them every time they visit.  While this method of processing your laundry is pretty cool, this codependency with your mother is not going to make you particularly attractive to the opposite sex.  No self respecting hottie is going to want to become your surrogate mother and do all of your domestic chores – it could spell disaster for a potential relationship.  Women are most impressed by a man who can look after himself and use an iron like a pro – believe it or not men can become perfectionists at ironing and put killer creases in trousers and shirts.

Let’s get back to basics here and consider the best way to care about your threads.

Washing Your Jeans 

First of all – you don’t need to wash jeans of any brand as often as you think.  As long as you don’t get your jeans too dirty you only need to wash them twice a year with zips fastened and button open.  Washing jeans too frequently can seriously damage the denim and alter the fade so they don’t look like the jeans you chose in the first place.  It has even been suggested by Levis that you put your jeans in the freezer to kill off bacteria with the cold temperatures.

Sort Clothes According To Weight And Colour

It is generally pretty obvious that you separate light clothes from dark clothes because the colour may run and your red socks will make your white t-shirt pink.  But did you know that you should also wash delicate and heavy clothes separately too?  By taking a little bit of time to do this you will find that your clothes last longer and the colours remain the same as they were before you put them in the machine.

Make Sure Your Washing Powder Can Do Cooler Washes

It is great being environmentally friendly and putting your washing machine on a low temperature to save energy. If your washing powder does not dissolve at low temperatures, chances are that you are going to end up dealing with slimy undissolved washing powder on your clothes.  Really the best advice we can give is for you to read the instructions on the box and pay particular to the bit that shows a number 30 or brags about being environmentally friendly.

Empty Your pockets

Emptying your pockets before washing your clothes prevents damage to your favourite threads and to your washing machine.  Hard things can rip clothes and get into the machines mechanism rendering it to s standstill, while beer mats and tissues can cover your clothes with streaks of paper.

Read The Labels

If you are unsure how to wash your clothes and don’t want to ruin them you would be prudent to read the labels to make sure that you don’t shrink, damage or fade your clothes.  To make life easier for you here is an explanation of the maning behind washing label symbols.

If you follow these guidelines you will be able to keep your clothes until they become vintage.  Whatever you do please don’t overfill your washing machine because it will cause it to stop completely and breakdown.

A Guide To Laptop Bags

There was a time that laptops were considered a smaller convenient alternative to the desk top PC.  These days however with the introduction of Star Trek type gadgets such as smart phones, tablets and now smart watches – laptops are cumbersome in comparison. Despite their size and weight laptops and net books are still the preferred method of producing documents and doing work on the move. In the past laptop bags seemed to cost a lot but looked quite cheap and looked really geeky (in a bad way) type of appearance.  Thankfully the range of laptop bags has increased as companies and designers have incorporated the practical nature of a laptop bag with designer influences.  We have been scouring the internet to find the most stylish laptop bags around.

Tucano Techyo 15 inch Laptop Backpack

This £45 Tucano laptop from Selfridges & Co is great for travels with your laptop.

Hilfiger Patrick Across Body Bag In Cognac

This £145.00 midnight blue and cognac bag from Zalando combines practicality and style.

Tech Air 15 inch Laptop Case And Optical Mouse

For £15.00 you can look really techy with this traditional la[top bag from Very

Luxury Leather Overnight Laptop Case By Rowallan

Make your business trips special with this £99.00 laptop and over night bag from Queens Leather.

Eastpak Reboot Laptop Bag

This £29.95 Sunday Grey Eastpak bag from Stand-Out.Net would make a good impression in any work environment.

Projects Star Wars Laptop Case

We are not sure if you can buy this particular one but if you are a fan of any particular film or television program – I am sure that Laura maybe able to help.

Obviously there are many more laptop bags to choose from but hopefully this selection will give you an idea of what is out there.

Tips On Keeping Your White Trainers Clean

When you decide to buy a pair of white trainers you are essentially committing yourself to a high maintenance pair of shoes.  it is inevitable that your pristine trainers are going to get marked and discoloured so here are a few tips to help you to keep your white trainers as good as new.

•  Leave them in the box and only wear them indoors – a bit restrictive I know but it does work.
• Treat your trainers with stain and water repellent as soon as you take them out of the box repeat every few weeks to keep them protected.
• Clean your trainers every night when you get in so that none of the scuffs and stains get chance to settle – use soap and water and make sure that you give the trainer plenty of space to dry in.
• Use a toothbrush and toothpaste to carefully rub gently on your trainers to remove dirt – avoid scrubbing because it may damage your shoe.

• Keep your trainers out of the sun and too much heat so that the white soles don’t go yellow.

Sometimes accepting that your trainers will only look white for a short time may be the best way to enjoy them.  There are some people who deliberately dirty up white trainers so that they are not so bright.  If it is too stressful owning white trainers buy grey ones instead.

10 Great Father’s Day Gifts For Under £20.

For those whose fathers have played an extremely important part in their lives, and taken on the role of; taxi driver, football coach, bike mechanic, enthusiastic spectator and generally and all round supporter of everything they have tried and sometimes failed miserably. Father’s Day is an opportunity to tell the old man how much you appreciate him and one thing for certain is that he will definitely not like being called an old man. Deciding what to by for your Dad is often really difficult because he generally has everything that he wants and if he wants something expensive it is not really your call to buy it.

Father’s Day is really a commercial spin off of Mother’s Day and in the scheme of things is not the most important celebration but does require some degree of recognition – after all you don’t want your dad thinking that you don’t care about him.

Setting yourself a maximum budget of what you would like to spend is often a good way to start your quest for a fabulous present.  If you shop in good time and don’t buy something that specifically has, ‘Father’s Day’, written on it you should get more for your money.  Our challenge is to find ten great Father’s Day Gifts for under £20:-

Light Saber BBQ Tongs 

This is the perfect gift if your Dad is both a BBQ and Star Wars fanatic and for only £19.95 from Prezzy Box.  As well as being a splendid set of tongs the light saber sound effects will keep your Dad occupied for hours.

Ear Warming Headphones

For £20 these headphones combined with ear warmers from I want one of these will ensure that your Dad can listen to music while keeping his ears nice and warm.

Farmison Dad Pork Pie

At £18.50, this is one expensive pork pie.  If your Dad is partial to pastry and loves his pies then this would be a fantastic way to show him how much you care. Available from Not on the high street.

Prestige Football Size 5

This stunning Nike football is a masterpiece at exactly £20.  Whether your old man is a sofa soccer star or likes a kick around himself, this shiny black ball can either be displayed or used as a great adult toy. Avaliable from John Lewis.

Diesel SKM Ray 3 Pack – Calzino Socks

We couldn’t make Father’s Day present suggestions without including socks.  This three pack of Diesel socks are a useful addition to your Dad’s wardrobe.  At £20.97 in the Stand-Out.Net sale.

Personalised Glass Token Dad Dictionary Definition

This sentimental glass ornament from Getting Personal is £19.99 including gift wrapping, it basically says it all and will show your Dad that you appreciate everything he does for you.

Cool Rock Desktop Drum Kit

This cool desktop drum kit is a brilliant present for those of us whose Dads have always been aspiring rock stars.  At only £7.45 from Genie Gadgets this gift is not only good value but will definitely be liked,

Smart Phone Projector

This gadget is probably the best we have seen for £15.50 from The Great Gift Company.  This little box projects images from your smart phone on to the wall enabling you to take your own cinema with you everywhere.

Super Dad Beer Tankard

This engraved beer tankard from Gift Pup is £14.99 and will most certainly be used proudly by your dad.  All he will have to provide is the beer.

Father’s Day Wine And Cheese Gift Set In A Wooden Box

We couldn’t suggest gifts without choosing something classy and sophisticated like this wine and cheese gift set from Regency Hampers. At only £19.80 it is extremely good value and looks as if it cost an awful lot more.

What ever you choose to buy your Dad this Father’s Day make him feel special – a phone call or a chat would do.  Take time to get to know him.

Eleven Degrees – A look At An Emerging Clothing Brand.

The Lake District is famous for many great things such as; Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding, Grasmere Gingerbread, Jennings Beer, Helvelyn, Lake Windermere and Kendal Mint Cake.  An exciting new clothing brand called Eleven Degrees is yet another fantastic addition to the list.  Eleven Degrees is yet another great creation from the beautiful little town of Kendal and only a stone’s throw away from imposing mountains and glittery lakes in Cumbria.  Eleven Degrees is brand new clothing brand that is inspired by nights out in the city rather than clomping around muddy fields.  Created in 2014 by Kendal businessman, Christian Hoyles and fronted by Gaz Beadle from Geordie Shore, the Eleven Degrees brand exudes the presence of an established company.

Gaz Beadle from Geordie Shore, who is a self confessed womaniser, has headed Eleven Degree’s campaign to achieve world domination in the men’s fashion industry.  If we are to look at Eleven Degrees social media progress the mere fact that they have over 25K followers on Facebook and 8,000 on Twitter demonstrates that they have chosen an image that appeals directly to the customer base they were aiming for.

In an interview with a local paper Chris Hoyle stated that “We are aiming at the new-found man, between 14 and 30, who really cares about his appearance.”  We anticipate that there are likely to be some men that are new-found and over thirty who would still look good wearing these stylish threads, also the slightly more mature bloke is probably more able to afford the inflated price of Eleven Degrees clothing.

With an average price of approximately £35 for a t-shirt it is important to look at the collection to see why they should have such a hefty price tag.  Without having a t-shirt in the office to touch it is impossible to discuss the quality of the material used but we can consider the impact of the design.  T-shirts described as, ‘Brand Carriers’, tend to be plain black or white cotton t-shirts with the Eleven Degrees logo on the front and the word eleven in hollow writing on the back of the neck.  Many of the t-shirt designs are based on either floral or paisley pattern that covers the whole of the t-shirt or is situated as a strip down one side, many of these are made from 100% polyester.  There are also t-shirts with zips on, ones that look like football t-shirts and some kinky ones that are covered in mesh.

With the brand being so new it is very difficult to find online reviews and finding celebrities, other than Gaz Beadle, wearing Eleven Degrees clothing is very rare.  At the moment you can by Eleven Degrees Clothing mainly in online stores such as Stand-Out.Net, Urban Celebrity and Pride Clothing.  If you are young, free, stylish, new found man with plenty of cash you may want to take the plunge and try an Eleven Degrees T-shirt for size.  If you do please tell us what you think.

Keep Your Eyes On Your Balls – Testicular Cancer Statistics

Hey guys remember to look after yourselves and check your boy bits regularly. This infographic from www.stand-out.net gives some very promising information about testicular cancer and how well it can be treated these days.

Choosing The Right Holdall For Your Adventure!

heydaysandholidays

If you are new to travelling or are in the process of upgrading your luggage, you will be astounded at how many different styles of holdall are available.  Obviously the luggage in the photograph dates as far back as the first immigrants arriving in America on huge boats, rather than as hand luggage on a plane or filling the boot of your car.  If you look carefully at the range of holdalls available you will realise that there is one to suit every type of budget.

When you have decided what type of traveller you are, choosing your holdall will be much easier.  If you are backpacking around the world then you would probably be best opting for a sturdy ruck sack that you can throw on your back.  If you prefer to stay in hotels or are unlikely to be carrying all of your possessions on your back then a

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How To Get The Perfect Selfie Smile

We are in the era of the, ‘Selfie’, where it is almost obligatory to take photos of yourself with your mates while; drinking, swimming, walking, eating, in fact any activity that makes you smile. The pressure to look good in these shots means that our standard of dress has improved and we visit the hairdressers more often. Chances are that you will have checked your hair, clothes, tattoo and waistline but have you remembered to make sure that your teeth are camera ready?

Preventing Stains

Stains caused by wine, coffee and sometimes smoking can turn our teeth yellow causing them to look unappealing and quite frankly awful.  You can prevent stains from getting any worse by avoiding acidic drinks, sweets that change the colour of your tongue and accepting the natural ageing process. You obviously can’t do anything about ageing but you can make sure that your diet is tooth friendly.

Treating Stains

Probably the easiest advice to follow is to drink plenty of water, especially after consuming tooth staining foods.  Use a tooth whitening tooth paste such as Opalescence Whitening Toothpaste.  Make sure that your dental hygiene routine is thorough and that you clean and floss your teeth for two minutes twice a day.  If your teeth are particularly badly stained kick start a whiter smile by making an appointment with your dentist to discuss teeth whitening options.

Remember anything you do to whiten your teeth will also ensure that you remove decay as well.  In this instance vanity is a great thing.

Is There Such Thing As A Perfect Tattoo?

Human beings have been using their bodies as a blank canvass to add symbolic shapes or jewellery to since we first walked upon this earth.  When you see footage of newly discovered tribes around the world, their bodies and faces are often adorned with markings that signify either a battle won or mark an important stage in their lives.  In the Western world the tattoo has remained popular as a way for any body from from any walk of life to add meaningful graphics to their body.  Celebrities have collectively increased the desire for us to face the needle and leave with a meaningful ‘scratching’ on a carefully selected part of our bodies.

David Beckham’s body is a walking gallery of body art, his scratchings all have meanings relating to his family, approach to the world and his career.  Angelina Jolie also sports tattoos that refer to her children.  Fortunately for these two celebrities the tattoos have not caused then any problems with furthering their career, but they have a lot of clout as A Listers and make up artists and Photoshop experts are particularly good at hiding tattoos. For many of us a tattoo may be detrimental to our career path.

The sole purpose of a tattoo is so that you can show it off to the rest of the world and let them know what an individual thinker you are.  By adding this distinguishing mark you are making yourself very memorable and easily identifiable, which is great if you want to be a male stripper or body builder.  However if you want to join the MI5 and become a spy you are not allowed to have a tattoo on your; face, neck and forearm because it makes you very easy to identify.  If you care read the job description further you would probably find sitting around doing very little really boring and if you are the type of person that likes to hide a lot you are very unlikely to have a tattoo anyway.  Maybe you should consider the long term impact of the positioning of your tattoo because the way you feel about yourself and the world as a stroppy teenager changes dramatically when you settle down as you get older.  Imagine suddenly wanting to become a vicar with the words, ‘love’, and ,’hate’, inked into your knuckles.

Avoid getting romantic tattoos done with your present squeezes name or face because you will probably split up just after your skin has healed and you have taken the plaster off – believe me it will make pulling another girl a bit of a challenge.  If you must have a tattoo make sure you put it in a place that can be easily concealed with long sleeves or trousers and don’t go for a really cheap one done by a psychopath with a ball point pen after twenty pints in Ibiza.  Also make sure that the reason you have it is a good one otherwise you may find yourself looking extremely stupid in the future explaining that you got that tattoo of the naked lady for a bet.

If you like the idea of looking as if you have got attitude but don’t want to commit to a tattoo, Religion clothing have fantastic t-shirts that  aim to shock and include the complimentary naked ladies and roses in their designs.  This Bad Ass T-shirt from Religion shows just enough flesh and ink to distract from the fact that you haven’t been gunned or inked.

What ever you decide to do – just make sure that you are choosing a design that you are happy with and are willing to spend the rest of your life with.  Remember you may be young now with taut skin but it will get wrinkly and saggy in the future!

Do Not Look At Your Smart Phone On A Date!

Can you imagine what life was like before you were in constant contact with the whole world?  Less than two decades ago people used to arrange to meet their mates and actually turn up on time.  Everybody used to talk only to the people in the room and resorted to tearing up beer mats or smoking cigarettes to occupy their fingers.  Today however we are in constant contact with our so called friends but often never meet them, when we do meet we are so preoccupied with the people who aren’t there that we might as well have stayed at home. It is fair enough playing with your smart phone when you are alone but to do it when you have company is frankly a bad move.

So many times you see couples sitting next to each other in the pub oblivious to each other’s existence, neither of them should have bothered meeting up in real life and opted to meet on Face Time instead. Imagine that you have plucked up enough courage to ask the girl of your dreams on a date so you can get to know each other better and the whole thing goes belly up because of your pesky smart phones. I am certain that couples leave after a first date and don’t actually know what the colour of the other person’s eyes are.

Getting to know someone is all about finding everything there is to know about them – we are not talking about what they tell you because anyone can big themselves up.  We are talking about the cute way they put their hair behind their ears or wring their hands when excited.  Does her face light up when she talks about her pet or her job?  Have you noticed that the purple in her skirt matches perfectly with the purple in her top?  Do you appreciate how much effort she has gone into looking good for you this evening?  Does she realise that you only have a flat stomach because you make sure you eat well and visit the gym regularly?  Has she noticed that you push your glasses back up to your eyes with your middle finger – just like Superman?

Next time you go on a date ditch the phones and enjoy the company of a human being who is captivated by what you have to say and really wants to get to know you better.  If it doesn’t work out you can just become friends on social media – but it is worth taking the time and effort to know the true colour of someone’s eyes.