Tag: New Year resolution

Edinburgh smokers urged to make quitting their goal in 2024 

EDINBURGH’s smokers are being urged to set the goal of leaving tobacco behind in 2024. 

Charity ASH Scotland is campaigning to improve the physical and mental health of people who smoke by encouraging them to use free expert stop smoking support provided by the NHS. 

Quitting is one of the biggest proactive steps people in Edinburgh who smoke can take to quickly improve health and mental wellbeing, reduce the risk of longer term illness and also save money. 

If a person who smokes decides to make a New Year’s resolution and starts to quit, not only will they find their health will improve by the end of January, in one month an average smoker could also save in the region of £250. 

Sheila Duffy, Chief Executive of ASH Scotland, said: “Tobacco is highly addictive and, although it can take a number of attempts to quit, some people find giving up cigarettes or tobacco easier than they had thought. 

“Don’t be discouraged if you’ve tried before, you’ll have learned something valuable about what did and didn’t work for you it is the best thing you can do for your health, finances and for those around you. 

“You don’t have to quit on your own in the New Year. We’re encouraging people in Edinburgh to seek person-centred support from local stop smoking services or the national stop-smoking service Quit Your Way Scotland. 

“Getting support will give you the confidence to move forward with your quit journey and the tools you need to make the best possible start to 2024.” 

Contact Quit Your Way Scotland by visiting www.QuitYourWay.Scot or by calling the free helpline on 0800 848484. 

ASH Scotland is tackling tobacco head-on by campaigning to reduce the harms caused by smoking. For more information, follow the health charity’s social media channels on Instagram and Facebook. 

Make a New Year resolution to help cats and owners flee abuse by becoming a volunteer fosterer

A charity which provides free and confidential foster care for pet cats while their owners flee domestic abuse is looking to recruit more volunteer fosterers this January.

Cats Protection’s Lifeline service offers temporary care for cats in a home environment, enabling survivors to get to safety knowing their cat will be looked after until they can be reunited.

But in order to help more people, the charity is in desperate need of more volunteer fosterers who can offer a temporary home to a cat in need.

Cats Protection’s Lifeline Manager Amy Hyde said: “Many people want to start a New Year by making a resolution to help others, and joining our Lifeline team as a volunteer cat fosterer could be the perfect opportunity.

“Not only do our volunteers help cats, they also provide an opportunity for victim-survivors to get to safety knowing that their beloved pet cat will also be safe.

“We know that in cases of domestic abuse, pets are often targeted as a way to control or coerce a victim-survivor into staying. And as most refuges are unable to accept pets, this can be a significant barrier for people seeking support and safe housing.

“By offering free and confidential cat foster care, Lifeline helps to remove that barrier and gives victim-survivors the time, space and opportunity they need to get to a safe place.”

Referrals to Lifeline – previously called Paws Protect – come from either owners themselves or a support worker. Once in Lifeline’s care, cats are given a full health check before going to a Lifeline volunteer fosterer who is provided with everything they need to make sure the cat remains happy and healthy until they can be reunited with their owner.

After supporting cats in the South East for almost 20 years, Lifeline was recently able to expand into Yorkshire, East Anglia and the Midlands.

“We’ve fostered over 330 cats during 2023, enabling over 200 owners to get to safety but we need more cat fosterers to turn it into a UK-wide service.” said Amy.

Cats Protection is the UK’s largest cat charity, helping an average of 157,000 cats and kittens every year through a network of over 210 volunteer-run branches and 34 centres.

To find out more about becoming a volunteer, or other ways to support the Lifeline service, please visit www.cats.org.uk/lifelineservice

If you are experiencing domestic abuse or know someone who is, please contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, anytime on 0808 2000 247.

New Year, Fresh Start: Five hacks to declutter your home this January

Simple, influencer-approved tips that won’t break the bank

New year, clean slate? While most of us will be focused on our own personal development in the new year, January is also the perfect time to invest in your home and give it some extra TLC.

But breathing life into your home doesn’t have to break the bank. Using empty space, donating unused clothes to charity or even a fresh lick of paint are just some ideas, but knowing where to start can be tricky.

Amy McElhaney, known to her 17K Instagram followers as Amy’s Home Life, lives in Barratt Homes’ St Clement Wells development on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

A crafty home economics teacher by day, the 27-year-old blogger moved into her three-bed Wemyss home with her husband Scott, 29, in 2019 and has since spent the last four years making their house a home.

Below are her simple, budget-friendly tips to help declutter your home, create more space and give it that New Year clean feel:

  1. Learn to love labels

My favourite things to have in the kitchen are personalised storage containers, with labels. This means I have less packaging and more space for food. It also means I can easily find ingredients when cooking and baking.

I love using my Cricut machine at home, but labellers like the Brother P-touch Cube are great too and can connect to your phone. For cheaper solutions, good old-fashioned stickers or paper and a pen work a treat.

  1. Hidden gems

We purchased storage boxes that are the same colour as our kitchen cupboards, which sit above our kitchen cabinets. It allows me to put the equipment I use less regularly and my recipe books in a safe place, but not cluttering up the house.

Supermarkets like ASDA have some cheap storage solutions that can be easily be picked up on your weekly shop. If you’re a regular shopper at Tesco, vouchers from Clubcard points can also be used towards covering the value.

  1. Rack it up

I cook from scratch most days, so my collection of herbs and spices is rather large. To save shelf space, we bought a spice rack which is a screwed onto a cupboard door. It is perfect as it saves space and makes finding jars easy.

Ikea have some basic spice racks under £5, or you can pick up in-cupboard racks for just over a tenner in stores like B&Q.

  1. Utilise hidden space

Being smart with space is always essential and buying an Ottoman bed really helped us with this. We have plastic box underneath for all bedding, towels, summer/winter clothes and then things like board games. It’s organised whilst also being hidden!

Wilko, The Range and Dunelm all have options that can be used for under beds, starting at under £10.

  1. On your marks, get set, clean!

To keep the house tidy after a good clear out and declutter, I set daily 30-minute timers to do my cleaning. I set the timer, put on an upbeat playlist and tackle jobs to save me doing it at the weekend. I find this essential when we both work full time and allows our weekends for fun stuff only!

Spotify has loads of pre-made playlists that are specific to cleaning and can also act as a timer for completing tasks.

For more information on Barratt Developments in Scotland, visit:

https://www.barratthomes.co.uk/new-homes/scotland-east/ 

Make ‘Walk All Over Cancer’ your New Year’s resolution

FOLK in Edinburgh and the Lothians are being challenged to kick start the New Year by taking steps to support Cancer Research UK. 

The charity is urging people to sign up now to Walk All Over Cancer and get sponsored to take 10,000 steps every day for a month.

By raising vital funds, people across the region could help to get life-saving research back on track after the impact of COVID-19 – while burning off any excess Christmas calories. As well as helping towards a healthy body weight, taking part could take a little weight off the mind too. Regular walking is a great stress-reliever and can help with mental wellbeing by improving mood and sleep.

Linda Summerhayes, Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson in Scotland, said: “Fundraising has fallen and right now, future research is at risk – that’s why we’re urging as many people as possible to make ‘Walk All Over Cancer’ their New Year’s resolution.

“We all hope that 2021 has a more positive outlook. So why not give yourself a boost by committing to get more active and having an achievable goal to aim for – all in aid of a good cause.

“There’s plenty of time for supporters to start building up to the challenge in March and planning new ways to fit in some extra steps.

“Sticking to a resolution can be hard, especially through the cold, dark winter months, but registering now and making a public pledge to take part in the Spring, could help people steel their resolve. Plus, there’s the ultimate motivation of knowing every step you take will be helping to save lives.”

Based on the average person’s strides, 10,000 steps is equal to about five miles, so by the end of March participants will have clocked up more than 150 miles.

That’s quite a challenge for some but adopting small changes that you can stick to can really add up – whether it’s doing conference calls on the go, exploring local beauty spots or treating the dog to a month of extra-long walks.

Keeping check on the number of steps taken each day is a great way to create a sense of achievement and it’s easy to do with smartphone apps, pedometers and wearable activity trackers available to help. Walk All Over Cancer is now integrated with FitBit, so that participants can automatically publish their step count on their fundraising page throughout the month.

Linda added: “With around 32,400 people diagnosed with cancer every year in Scotland*, we’re working every day to find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease.

“The truth is COVID-19 has slowed us down, but we will never stop striving to create better treatments for tomorrow. Every step our scientists take towards beating cancer relies on our supporters. That’s why we need everyone to step up to Walk All Over Cancer.”

Before the outbreak, Cancer Research UK was able to spend over £8 million in Edinburgh on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research.

To sign up and receive a free fundraising pack, with tips and ideas to help with the challenge, visit cruk.org/walkallover.

Participants are being encouraged to use #WalkAllOverCancer and tag @CR_UK when sharing their challenge on social media.