Kawaha Point, Rotorua

Have you got your tickets yet?

Have you got your tickets yet?

For just $15, you could win a fully furnished home in Clarks Beach, Auckland worth over $1 million. Buy your tickets today!

1390 days ago

Distressed garden shelves

The Team from Resene ColorShop Rotorua

Create more space in your garden with these handy garden shelves. Try out an easy to create distressed paint effect using two Resene colours.

Make the most of this weekend with this easy step by step project idea from Resene. Find out how to create your own

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1390 days ago

Got a gem next door?

Neighbourly.co.nz

Think of a neighbour that's done wonders in your neighbourhood, who's helped you out without you even asking them or who's dropped some homegrown goodies to you just because they can.

You thought of one yet? Now craft that thought into a nomination that could earn your neighbour … View more
Think of a neighbour that's done wonders in your neighbourhood, who's helped you out without you even asking them or who's dropped some homegrown goodies to you just because they can.

You thought of one yet? Now craft that thought into a nomination that could earn your neighbour recognition in all of Stuff's community papers nationwide - you could even score a bit of cash from us!

It's simple - Click the button below and nominate them on our Nice Neighbour nomination page now
Nominate Now!

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1390 days ago

From first arrivals to first encounters

Trust Tairāwhiti

Tairāwhiti is a welcoming place for new beginnings and new discoveries – the landing place of great Pacific navigators and the origins of Aotearoa New Zealand’s defining dual heritage.

Steeped in vibrant arts, rich history and authentic Māori culture, we invite you to discover the many … View more
Tairāwhiti is a welcoming place for new beginnings and new discoveries – the landing place of great Pacific navigators and the origins of Aotearoa New Zealand’s defining dual heritage.

Steeped in vibrant arts, rich history and authentic Māori culture, we invite you to discover the many stories Tairāwhiti has to tell.

The treasures of Tairāwhiti are ready for you to uncover.
Find out more

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1391 days ago

9 Home Cleaning Hacks Tested

Robert Anderson from Curtain Clean Rotorua

The internet is awash with natural cleaning hacks. We put them to the test.


1. REMOVING A WATERMARK BY RUBBING WITH A WALNUT

The advice: Get rid of watermarks on wood by rubbing it with pieces of walnut (the nut not the shell).

How it worked: Vigorous rubbing was needed and we went … View more
The internet is awash with natural cleaning hacks. We put them to the test.


1. REMOVING A WATERMARK BY RUBBING WITH A WALNUT

The advice: Get rid of watermarks on wood by rubbing it with pieces of walnut (the nut not the shell).

How it worked: Vigorous rubbing was needed and we went through a few walnuts, but gradually the watermark disappeared. A quick polish with a clean cloth to finish it off.

Worth repeating? Yes, we were surprised at how well it worked, we even tried it on larger surfaces and it did the trick there too. | Rating: 5/5


2. USE OIL TO GET RID OF GREASE STAINS ON STAINLESS STEEL


The advice: Use a smear of olive oil (or similar) on a rag to clean fingerprints and grease smears off stainless steel appliances.


How it worked: Like a dream! It was easier and neater than using the spray-on stainless steel cleaner I have been buying from the supermarket. Trick is not to use too much, you just need the slightest smear...

Keep reading (with pictures: www.curtainclean.co.nz...)

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1392 days ago

Pioneering Dementia Care

Bob Owens Retirement Village

Our village is a supportive and caring community with a focus on improving the lives of residents living with dementia.

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1394 days ago

Sunset Road - Help needed to put lounge suite on a trailer for dumping.

Mike from Owhata

It won’t take long and I’m happy to pay $25 cash for your help.

1397 days ago

Who needs a plant doctor?

Reporter Homed

UPDATE: Thank you for all your questions. We're picking the best to send off to the houseplant doctor from Kings Plant Barn and the answers will be published in an article on Homed soon.

Are your houseplants looking worse for wear? The experts at Kings Plant Barn would love to help. Send us … View more
UPDATE: Thank you for all your questions. We're picking the best to send off to the houseplant doctor from Kings Plant Barn and the answers will be published in an article on Homed soon.

Are your houseplants looking worse for wear? The experts at Kings Plant Barn would love to help. Send us your houseplant questions and problems to homed@stuff.co.nz, or leave them in the comments, for the houseplant doctor to diagnose. Pictures are encouraged.

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1395 days ago

Covid 19

Dennis from Lynmore

So Auckland goes into level 3 and the rest of us into level 2 because some people don’t abide by the rules and decide to go to work and possibly infect their work colleagues and customers how inconsiderate of them. These people should be made accountable for their actions

1394 days ago

Home hacks: Your best tips for cleaning jobs around the house

Robert Anderson from Curtain Clean Rotorua

Most of these are free or inexpensive, and we can only assume they are tried and tested user-submitted hacks. It's interesting to note that the same everyday products crop up again and again, so let's hear it for dishwasher tabs. Here's what people to say...

IN THE KITCHEN

* … View more
Most of these are free or inexpensive, and we can only assume they are tried and tested user-submitted hacks. It's interesting to note that the same everyday products crop up again and again, so let's hear it for dishwasher tabs. Here's what people to say...

IN THE KITCHEN

* Dishwasher tabs are good to soak muffin trays and cake tins.
* I use dishwasher powder and a splash of bleach diluted in water to soak stained whites overnight. It will bring even whites that have been turned another colour in the wash back to sparkling white.
* Dishwasher powder works for the silver oven racks. I put them in a bath lined with an old towel, then add dishwasher powder, but the tablet would work and a bit of washing powder. Leave it to soak for four hours and it comes off pretty easily.
* To get tea stains off cups, use 1 tsp dishwasher powder and fill the cup up with hot water. Stir to dissolve the powder and let soak for a couple of hours. Put the cup in the empty sink so any overspill doesn't damage the benchtop.
* I clean my glass oven door with ash from my firebox. I clean my firebox glass door the same. Wet newspaper dipped in ash, rub all over glass, dry with clean newspaper. Brings it back like brand new. Used tea bags are also good with the ash.
* Got a pot which is filthy disgusting? Put a dishwasher tablet in put enough boiling water in to cover the filth, stick a lid on and leave over night. Amazing results.
* Soak your filters from the kitchen rangehood extractor fans in warm water and clothes washing powder. Grease and oil just melts off with no scrubbing at all. Good as new!
* Here are two tips to save your money. Let oven warm up. Once warm, the oil stain on door turns soft, and it just wipes off. Tip 2, if it's been baked on for years you just need a sharp blade. You can use one of those window scrapers, but no liquid. Scrape it (when warm); grab a vacuum and suck up all the dust.
* To clean stainless steel tub. Get a tube of Autosol from Mitre 10 or similar and clean with that. Have done it and it works brilliantly. First used to restore chrome on vintage car (brilliant) so gave it a go and delighted at the outcome.
* Oil of cloves is brilliant on mould. Smells a bit like dentist for an hour but it kills mould spores. The chemist sells it fairly cheaply, or Trade Me.
* We run a motel and polish the stainless steel every day. You need three rags. First rag works Polaris paste into the stainless steel. You end up with a rag caked with the paste. Add a little water and mop it up with a second rag. Then with a third clean rag you buff up the surface. We cut up old worn-out towels into squares to make rags.
Other cleaners such as Jif and Chemco also work, but Polaris gives the best shine.
* I put my oven racks and rangehood filters in the dishwasher and let that do the hard work. As soon as the cycle has finished, I remove the racks one at a time, closing the washer door between each one to keep hot, and just wipe over each rack with a Scotchbrite scourer dipped in hot water. The remaining grease marks come off easily; no hard rubbing needed. For the filters, I just rinse them in hot water and give them a good shake to remove as much water as possible then stand them on one edge outside to dry. I do this every three months and clean-up is easy. Oh, and if my oven door glass has grimy grease-spots, I use a putty scraper. It doesn't scratch the glass and it works a dream.

IN THE BATHROOM
* Try using dishwash liquid to clean your bath and shower, including the glass.
* Dishwasher tabs get brown stains out of your toilet.
* To get those stains off toilet bowls, use a very, very fine wet and dry sandpaper.
* Razor blades/paint scraper blades are awesome for removing water stains from around your taps or tiles.
* For the shower, I use 30 Seconds water spot remover to clean first. Then use Rain-X water repellent (the car windscreen stuff). The water just beads off the glass and makes cleaning easier. Reapply the Rain-X every few months when the beading has reduced.
* Try a piece of pumice – free from the beach. Wet the door and clean it with the pumice. It does a brilliant job and is also good on burnt saucepans.

FIREPLACE
* Dirty logburner glass? Dip a wet cloth in the ashes. Scrub with that.

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1394 days ago

Celebrate Community - March 1st to 31st 🎂

The Team from Neighbourhood Support New Zealand

This month is all about bringing your community together and having a great time! We want March to be all about celebrating the connections we have while making new ones along the way. As we all know, what makes a neighbourhood great isn’t the houses and cars, gardens and streets - it’s the … View moreThis month is all about bringing your community together and having a great time! We want March to be all about celebrating the connections we have while making new ones along the way. As we all know, what makes a neighbourhood great isn’t the houses and cars, gardens and streets - it’s the people who share their presence and aroha with each other.

A wonderful way to take part is to participate in Neighbours Day Aotearoa which takes place from 20 - 30th March. This year’s theme is ‘The Great Plant Swap’ - as an easy way for our neighbourhoods to grow stronger together. If you’re hosting an event, make sure to register it on their website: neighboursday.org.nz/join-in

Show us how you’re celebrating community this month by tagging us in your social media posts or emailing us your photos, videos, or experiences to: info@neighbourhoodsupport.co.nz

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1394 days ago

Support your local news

Mags4Gifts

Save $30 off RPP when you subscribe to your local newspaper at mags4gifts.co.nz, and enjoy the convenience of safe delivery straight to your home.

By subscribing, you will also be supporting our journalists across the country who work tirelessly to ensure you remain informed as situations … View more
Save $30 off RPP when you subscribe to your local newspaper at mags4gifts.co.nz, and enjoy the convenience of safe delivery straight to your home.

By subscribing, you will also be supporting our journalists across the country who work tirelessly to ensure you remain informed as situations evolve.
Take the offer

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1395 days ago

COVID-19 ALERT LEVEL UPDATE

The Team from New Zealand Police

From 6am tomorrow morning, Auckland will move to Alert Level 3 and the rest of New Zealand will move to Alert Level 2. The measures will remain in place for the next seven days.

More details available at www.covid19.govt.nz....

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1395 days ago

Your neighbourhood is now at Alert Level 2

Neighbourly.co.nz

**UPDATED:** 1.22pm Sunday 28 February

The Prime Minister and the Director-General of Health are currently providing an update to media in the Beehive.

Ardern has confirmed that health authorities have found a possible person to person link for how Case M and N picked up Covid-19. This could … View more
**UPDATED:** 1.22pm Sunday 28 February

The Prime Minister and the Director-General of Health are currently providing an update to media in the Beehive.

Ardern has confirmed that health authorities have found a possible person to person link for how Case M and N picked up Covid-19. This could eliminate concern that there are other chains of transmission to identify.

Ashley Bloomfield asked people to keep an eye out for atypical symptoms
"This new variant of the virus, the B117, does seem to be presenting with symptoms that are not the typical respiratory symptoms," he said.

If you have muscle aches, do consider this might be a Covid-19 symptom.
_____________________________________________________

Auckland is now at Alert Level 3 and the rest of the country will move to Alert Level 2 until at least 6 March.

Here's what you need to know:
- Case M, the latest Covid-19 case, is a 21-year-old male, the older sibling of a Papatoetoe High School student.
- If you have symptoms of concern, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 or call your GP.
- Find your closest Covid-19 testing location on the Healthpoint website
- Essential services such as supermarkets and pharmacies will remain open.
- Customer-facing businesses will need to move to non-contact methods of payment and collection.
- See the full list of guidelines under Alert Level 3 and Alert Level 2
- Keep up-to-date with the latest by following the Stuff live blog

Neighbourly will be updating this message as further information comes to hand.

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1396 days ago

Tell us about a local business that makes your day?

Prospa

With the craziness of last year behind us, it’s time to give your favourite local business owner the recognition they deserve by nominating them in the 2021 Prospa Local Business Hero awards – and they could be up for some fantastic prizes.

As NZ’s business lending specialists, we at … View more
With the craziness of last year behind us, it’s time to give your favourite local business owner the recognition they deserve by nominating them in the 2021 Prospa Local Business Hero awards – and they could be up for some fantastic prizes.

As NZ’s business lending specialists, we at Prospa love seeing small businesses reach their goals with a faster, easier approach to business loans. And we’re proud to be back sponsoring the 2021 Prospa Local Business Hero awards.
Nominate now

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1399 days ago

What's your experience with pre-fabricated homes?

Kelly Dennett Reporter from Sunday Star Times

The Sunday Star-Times is looking into the rise of transportable/ kit-set/ pre fabricated homes. The upsides are build-efficiency, quality of design, and cost. The downsides appear to be land supply, red-tape with council and difficulty getting lending from banks. If you're willing to share … View moreThe Sunday Star-Times is looking into the rise of transportable/ kit-set/ pre fabricated homes. The upsides are build-efficiency, quality of design, and cost. The downsides appear to be land supply, red-tape with council and difficulty getting lending from banks. If you're willing to share your experience - good or bad - email kelly.dennett@stuff.co.nz, otherwise leave a comment. Is there an aspect of transportable housing you'd like us to enquire about for you?

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