Shelter's Christmas Appeal

Blue Door often has unusual, quirky properties, with super large unusual spaces that lend themselves to artists and makers. Because we support creatives we’re often approached by production companies who want to use our interior spaces for music videos, fashion shoots and even scenes for TV and film.

Recently we had the honour of collaborating with Academy Films to offer support for filming the Christmas appeal for Shelter, the Housing Charity. Here at Blue Door we stand by everything Shelter believes in and works towards, which is why we were extremely proud to have the opportunity to collaborate and offer the project location.

A Home is a Fundamental Right

Shelter is a fantastic charity helping people in housing by providing advice, assistance and tirelessly campaigning for better investment, laws and policies in the housing sector. Since 1966, Shelter has campaigned for safe and affordable homes for all.

Their 2022 Christmas appeal titled ‘Brave Face’ shines an honest and hard-hitting light on the reality of struggles that many families will be facing over the next few months. ‘Brave Face’ tells viewers the story of a typical day for a young boy at school who shows resilience by smiling through a series of events including failing a written test, being last in the school canteen queue and missing out on pudding, and letting a goal in during a kickabout. As his (bad) day ends, the young boy goes home to be with his Mum, where the viewers then see and realise that they’ll both be spending Christmas in a noisy, damp bedsit. The final poignant message of the appeal reads ‘No child should have to put on a brave face…but without a home, over 199,500 children do’.

Defend the Right to a Safe Home

The housing crisis affects people throughout the year, but this Christmas the cost of living crisis is making housing problems worse for 7 in10 callers to Shelter’s emergency helpline. Seventeen and a half million people are trapped by the housing emergency, and (1 in 5 renters say their home is damaging their physical or mental health.

We fully pledge our support to Shelter (we have chosen Shelter as one of our Christmas Charity donations this year) and would like to encourage you to do the same. You can donate to the charity here, or you can show your support by sharing their campaigns and spreading the appeal to ensure everyone has access to a safe home.

Shelter runs various events for people to get involved in such as book clubs and walks. Guess what? You can also organise your own event to help raise money, awareness and support Shelter.

Home is Everything

Our team at Blue Door are here to support you if you need any advice or assistance when it comes to affordable housing for key workers, working professionals and post graduates. We understand the importance and the necessity of having a safe and secure home and offer guardian opportunities if you meet our criteria. Please contact admin@bluedoorproperty guardians or phone us on 0207 859 4213.

Shelter - Brave Face

Directors - Si & Ad @si_ad_films

Agency - Don’t Panic @dontpanicldn

Property Guardian Testimonial - Sebastian Tipau-Tatarusanu

For a few years, I had been struggling to find a place of my own that I could afford and wouldn’t affect my budget. When I was looking online, I came across an advert to become a Property Guardian for Blue Door Property Guardians, which would allow me to live in a studio or a one bedroom flat.

After I registered to be a Property Guardian, my dreams came true. For the past year, I’ve been securing a one bedroom flat in Rickmansworth through Blue Door Property Guardians.

Due to a lower fee than the average rental asking prices, I was able to save more money and spend it on growing my skills, so I could better my career as a Plant Operator.

Along the way, I have met some very interesting people from a variety of cultures and made many friends.

I would recommend becoming a Property Guardian for Blue Door Property Guardians to professional individuals, who would like to climb a step in improving their life.

Sebastian Tipau-Tatarusanu

How to De-Stress at Home

Although many people don’t like to speak about it, stress is extremely common in multiple people’s everyday lives. Some may have a high stress tolerance whereas others may have a lower stress tolerance. The only difference is, some people may know how to relieve their stress whilst others struggle.

There are multiple factors that contribute to stress:

• Feeling under pressure or overwhelmed

• Constant worry

• Changes to your personal life or working life

• Having no control over a particular situation

• Taking on too much responsibility without leaving time for yourself

• Family and personal relationship issues

• Grief

…and of course, there are many more factors too.

Is stress normal?

Stress is completely normal and you’ll find that if you’re struggling with it, then you’re not alone.

In the body, we have adrenal glands. Adrenal glands create a hormone called cortisol, which is released when the body enters a ‘fight or flight’ mode - stress. When you’re experiencing a stressful event, the cortisol in the body increases to help battle paramount challenges.

Although stress is commonly experienced by everyone, it doesn’t mean that it’s healthy. Untreated stress can lead to an array of issues both mentally and physically, that will require more treatment.

What are the side-effects of stress?

There are different side effects of stress on the body, yet not a lot of people realise it.

• Headaches

• High blood pressure

• Heart problems

• Breathing problems

• Diabetes

• Digestive issues

• Muscle aches

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Sleep deprivation

These are only a few of the side-effects of stress, and there are a lot more.

How can you de-stress at home?

Helping to reduce your stress at home is completely possible, and there are many ways you can achieve this.

Mindfulness

Practising mindfulness helps you to gather awareness of your thoughts and feelings. Pick yourself a daily activity, and focus on being present for a few moments. The activity could be finding what you’re grateful for, focusing on breathing techniques or taking part in yoga.

Call someone you can rely on

Having a conversation with someone you can rely on, can help to decrease your stress levels. Your ‘support person’ can listen to your problems, reassure you and help you to unwind. Remember, a problem shared is a problem halved after all!

Exercise

When you exercise, you release endorphins that in a nutshell are feel-good chemicals. Exercising helps you to blow off steam, refocus your mind on what’s important, reground yourself back into reality and settle whatever thoughts may be intruding your mind. Also, fresh air is a wonderful thing!

Release your creativity

Being creative often requires a lot of focus, so this is a great way to divert your mind onto something more positive.

Do something you enjoy such as baking, cooking, painting and upcycling to give your mind a break. Let your mind float free!

Practice self-care

Self-care is super important because you’re looking after yourself! 

Self-care can be in the form of anything - a bubble bath, cooking your favourite meal, watching your favourite film or reading an indulgent book. We spend the majority of our time doing things for others such as working, caring or looking after a family if we have one, and rarely take that time out to have a breather for ourselves.

Be in the moment

This one may be easier said than done, but when you practise it it’s easier to maintain than you think.

Even though stress can happen when we’re building up emotions from a specific moment, a lot of it can fall on us looking in the past or towards the future. Being in the moment allows us to focus on what truly matters at that time, without being blinded by future possible stresses, or ones that have been and gone.

Here are just a few ways to help you reduce your stress levels and keep them at bay. Although there are ways to help reduce our stress, if it becomes unmanageable then please seek medical advice from your doctor.

How to Make our Appliances Work Harder and Cut Costs!

From the 1st October 2022, energy prices have risen again (we saw the first increase in April 2022), and if you have a smart meter the dramatic increases are really starting to show. You’ll  have a better understanding of how different appliances are shooting up the prices on that smart meter screen. 

There are some ways we can help to reduce the amount of energy we use, and there are even some swaps we can make with appliances that are considered to be more efficient.

So here we go, what are things costing now and how can we make them more efficient?

What’s Cooking?

When we’re cooking, we don’t usually take into consideration how much it costs to actually make the meal. Instead, we presume it wouldn’t be that much… Would it?

From a recent study by Go Compare, it was announced that from October 2022 the cost to use your oven for an hour would work out between £1.04 and £1.14. Prior to October, it would cost you between 56p and 61.60p.

This price jump is pretty extreme, especially when there are other appliances you can use to halve the cost of your cooking - and no, this doesn’t involve loading the Deliveroo app!

Microwaves

(Prices from Go Compare)

Admittedly, they’re not everybody’s first choice but running a microwave for 10 minutes will cost you between 5.20p and 12p per hour. 

Whether you’re going to batch cook your meals for the week and then use the microwave to heat them up, or if you find ways to cook your meals from fresh using a microwave, this could be a cost-effective option towards the cost of cooking.

Air Fryers

(Prices from Hometree)

Yes people were starting to buy air fryers a few years ago, but since the announcement of the energy bills rising, air fryers have become a popular and firm favourite in our households.

Using an air fryer for 10 minutes costs around 5p, so using it for an hour would cost around 30p.

The great thing about air fryers is that you can cook practically anything in them! From roasted veggies to meat, eggs to cheese on toast… Great meals for the fraction of the price of turning on the oven!

Toasters

(Prices from Go Compare)

To use your toaster for 30 minutes is going to cost you between 20.80p and 39p. This seems like a lot for toasting some bread doesn’t it?!

Another alternative is to use an air fryer; you can cook some amazing recipes in there! (See above)

Slow Cookers

(Prices from Hometree)

Slow cookers are great for cooking large pieces of meat, stews, curries and more. People tend to use slow cookers in the colder months, or for the convenience of putting something in the slow cooker and leaving it until meal time.

To use a slow cooker for 8 hours (the standard use) costs around 5p per hour which is 40p.

Washing Your Clothes

(Prices from Go Compare)

We all need clean clothes and the majority of us do this at home using our washing machines.

As of 1st October 2022, washing your clothes will cost you between 5.20p and 13p for ten minutes. Although these prices are quite unavoidable, there are some options to help make it more efficient.

Try washing your clothes on a 30° or even 20° wash, to stop using as much heat. When you need to put a wash on, make sure you’re doing full loads so you don’t need to use the washing machine as frequently.

Many of us have tumble dryers to dry our clothes, however when it’s fine weather we have the option of putting clothes outside to dry (if you have access to an outside area), or using a clothes horse. When we start to enter the colder months, we can’t really use Mother Nature’s services to dry our clothes, so we end up using a tumble dryer or a clothes horse indoors.

A tumble dryer sounds lovely and cosy, but from the 1st October it will cost you between £1.04p and £1.56p per hour to warm your pyjamas up. That price is extortionate, especially if you have multiple loads of washing and a busy house with no option to dry your clothes outdoors! However, drying your clothes indoors without proper ventilation can come at a cost too, as this produces damp and mould.

Once all your washing is done, most people like to give their clothes an iron to make them look more presentable. The cost of using an iron has risen to 72.80p per hour. 

So, what can we use instead?

Heated Drying Rack

(Prices from Go Compare)

Ever since the energy prices have increased, heated drying racks have become a must have! You should see the queues in Aldi with customers drying to get their hands on one.

Using between 13p and 26p per hour to run, they are the new alternative to a tumble dryer and drying your clothes indoors…(basically the two options at a fraction of the cost) Heated drying racks are upright or wide, and they normally hold a full wash load.

You’ll no longer have to grin and bear the tumble dryer costs or damp clothes, and you’ll no longer have to pile on the jumpers either. Heated drying racks give off heat so the temperature will increase in the room your clothes are drying in and give you that added extra bit of warmth. As your clothing is drying hanging up, the creases will drop, reducing the need to pull out the iron and use another 72.80p!

Here are just a few ways you can reduce your energy bills this winter and turn your home into efficiency central. We’ve got plenty more tricks up our heated dryer sleeve, so feel free to give us an email or message us on our socials and we’ll let you in on a few more energy saving techniques. Who knows, with all these pennies you’re saving you might just be able to open up the Deliveroo app at the end of the month after all.

Property Guardian Testimonial - Mark Van Der Zeyden

Property Guardian Testimonial by Mark Van Der Zeyden

I currently work within the government sector. Although it’s a stable job, the remuneration could often be described as ‘lacking’. The price bracket for Guardianship in my current property seemed really appealing to me, and as a bonus it’s well-maintained, close to shops and public transport.

In my case, I found this property on Spareroom and the process of applying to view and all the vetting required upon acceptance, happened within a quick turn-around timeframe.

This is my first Blue Door property that I’ve been a Property Guardian with, and I have been resident since April 2022. The current group of Guardians have been very easy to get along with, and there is a communal perspective whereby everyone is kept abreast of any updates or changes within a group chat. The property is kept clean and collectively, we contribute to having a cleaner attend for an intensive clean up of communal areas which all lends to the mutually agreeable environment.

From what I have come to discover, the properties available through Blue Door are in general more than initially expected in terms of available space. Also, the affordability aspect is a major contributor especially in the current economic climate! 

Property Guardians are adequately vetted prior to acceptance, with the same base expectations from the start. There is a mutual respect and simultaneously the security that comes with a group of people all looking out for one another, whilst securing and utilising a property that would otherwise be left vacant and unsecured. 

The communal acceptance has led to many opportunities to share meals and the occasional drink out, which in itself can’t ever be overlooked. The fact that this can be so readily available closer to home is hard to turn down. I would happily recommend trying out Property Guardianship.