60 tricks · £17.99 / $22.99 · 30-day money-back guarantee
Tap the video below to play it. I explain everything in a minute.
Get the book · £17.99
Gran Morag's Old Tricks — Volume One cover
Digital books from the Gran Morag's Old Tricks channel

Gran Morag's Old Tricks

60 'outdated' British ways to a warmer, cheaper home, shown step by step in photographs
“If it costs you nothing and keeps you warm, pet, it was never old-fashioned.”— what my mother told me when I was nine, stuffing rags along a door

Sixty old British ways to keep a house warmer and cheaper to run, each one shown on a single page of three or four numbered photographs. I do them in my own home, often with a before and after. You get draught snakes, foil behind the radiator, warm beds, indoor drying without damp, bread saved from the bin, and cleaning for pennies. Each page has my note and a safety box. At the back is a look-up index of 180 problems. None of it needs a gadget, a subscription or anything you don't already have in the house.

24 YEARS A DINNER LADY60 YEARS OF MAKING DO
Get the book60 step-by-step tricks · PDF
£17.99
  • 30-day money-back guarantee. Write to us and you get your money back.
  • Bonus: The Home Helper Cheat Sheet — one page to print, every number that matters
  • Pay once · yours to keep · no subscription
  • Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay · secure checkout by Stripe · download the moment you've paid

By buying you agree to the Terms of Sale and Refund Policy.

0 people went to checkout in the last 24 hours

PDF · 78 pages · 60 illustrated tricks · read on phone, tablet or computer, or print it

60Numbered tricks
6Parts
60 yearsof making do
180Problems in the index
30 daysMoney-back guarantee
For the cold moment

For the evening you look at the bill and put another jumper on.

The heating's on a timer, the washing's on the airer, and the cold still creeps in under the door. This book is for that moment. You open it at the kitchen table, find the trick, and follow the photographs with whatever's in your cupboard.

What you needA short list of things you already have at home.
How it goesThree or four numbered photographs, one step each, in plain words.
Before and afterOften a pair of photographs, so you can see what changed.
A note from the hostMy own word on when it helps, and when it doesn't.
Keep it safeA boxed warning on anything involving heat, water or cleaners.
What makes it different

Built for the day it goes wrong

Look up the failure

At the back is an index of 180 problems, from a draught that won't go to a window that streaks. Look up what's wrong, and it sends you to the trick that helps.

Photographs, not guesswork

Every trick is shown in numbered photographs taken in my own home, so you can see how tight to roll the towel and how the finished job looks before you start.

A numbers section you can trust

The reference section holds 111 values in one place: oven temperatures, timings and amounts. You don't have to hunt through the tricks for them.

Made for ordinary British houses

These tricks suit semis, terraces, flats and bungalows. They use towels, foil, vinegar, bicarbonate and old blankets, so there's nothing to order and nothing to fit.

What you'll be able to do

After the book

  • Stop the draughts round your doors, windows, letterbox and chimney with things from the cupboard
  • Get your bed warm before you climb into it, and use a hot water bottle safely
  • Dry washing indoors on an airer without it turning damp or musty
  • Rescue stale bread, store food better and waste less of what you buy
  • Clean windows, sinks, drains and ovens for pennies, and know which cleaners never to mix
VOLUME ONE · SIX PARTS

From a cold draughty house to a warmer, cheaper one

Sixty tricks in six parts: Warm House, Warm Bed, Laundry and Drying, Kitchen and Food, Cleaning, and Money at Home. Start anywhere, and do one a day or one a winter.

Part OneWarm HouseDraught snakes, radiator foil, curtains, window film, letterbox and floor gaps, and a chimney pillow.
Part TwoWarm BedHot water bottles and covers, layering blankets, warming pillowcases, and tucking the bed tight against the cold.
Part ThreeLaundry and DryingDrying indoors without damp, saving on powder, whitening, stain soaking and pressing without an iron.
Part FourKitchen and FoodReviving stale bread, freezer tricks, kettle limescale, keeping food fresh and using every scrap.
Part FiveCleaningVinegar and bicarbonate of soda, newspaper windows, drains, the oven, sink and grout, using things already in the cupboard.
Part SixMoney at HomeUsing up soap and toiletries, reusing paper and water, mending, and writing things down to keep an eye on bills.
From inside the book

Every trick has its own photographs

Each of the 60 tricks gets one page of three or four numbered photographs, often a before and after, with my note and a safety box.

Trick 6 photo
Trick 6 · page 11 · The Letterbox Flap
Trick 16 photo
Trick 16 · page 22 · The Rice Sock Warmer
Trick 26 photo
Trick 26 · page 33 · Vinegar in the Rinse
Trick 36 photo
Trick 36 · page 44 · Reheating Leftovers Safely
Trick 46 photo
Trick 46 · page 55 · The Oven Paste
Trick 56 photo
Trick 56 · page 66 · Setting Thermostat and Timer
A page from the bookA page from the bookA page from the book
WHY THIS GOT WRITTEN DOWN
"If it costs you nothing and keeps you warm, pet, it was never old-fashioned."

My mother, Isabella, said that to me when I was nine. I was stuffing rags along the bottom of a door, and I thought it was a poor sort of job.

She was right, of course. We had one fire in the house and a great many draughts, so you learned that warmth is something you make yourself. Later I raised four children, and I spent 24 years as a school dinner lady, where I learned to stretch a loaf and a pound.

When my husband Donald died, I moved into my daughter's semi in Stockport. It's a lovely house, and I have my own armchair by the radiator. But I noticed the family heating the whole place and then losing it under the doors.

So one cold night I rolled up a towel and put it along the front door. My granddaughter filmed it on her phone, and that was the start of the channel.

People kept writing to ask for the tricks in one place, where they could follow them without pausing a video. They wanted something to keep on the kitchen table.

So here it is, with photographs, because I can tell you how tight to roll a towel, but you'll believe it once you see it. I hope it keeps your house warm and a little more money in your purse.

— Morag

WHO'S TALKING

Morag MacLeod

Morag MacLeod

I'm Morag MacLeod, I'm 78, and I live in Stockport, Greater Manchester. I've had sixty years of making do, and I show it all from my kitchen table.

I grew up in a draughty house with one fire. I raised four children and worked 24 years as a school dinner lady. Now I keep my daughter's semi warm on towels, foil, old blankets and common sense.

“Nothing in here is clever, pet. It's just what works, written down.”

All 60

What's inside

    Warm House

  1. 1The Towel Draught Snake
  2. 2Foil Behind the Radiator
  3. 3The Curtain Tuck-In
  4. 4Blanket-Lined Curtains
  5. 5Bubble Wrap Windows
  6. 6The Letterbox Flap
  7. 7Stuffing the Floor Gaps
  8. 8The Door Curtain
  9. 9Finding Your Draughts
  10. 10The Chimney Pillow

    Warm Bed

  1. 11The Hot Water Bottle Swap
  2. 12The Old Jumper Cover
  3. 13Layering the Bed
  4. 14Hospital Corners
  5. 15Hot Water Bottle Safety
  6. 16The Rice Sock Warmer
  7. 17Airing the Bed
  8. 18Blanket Behind the Headboard
  9. 19The Bedside Shawl
  10. 20Newspaper Under the Blanket

    Laundry and Drying

  1. 21The Towel Roll Squeeze
  2. 22Shirts on Hangers
  3. 23The Airer Spacing
  4. 24Reading Care Labels
  5. 25The Cracked Window Airer
  6. 26Vinegar in the Rinse
  7. 27The Bicarbonate Whites Soak
  8. 28The Half-Dose Scoop
  9. 29Salt on Red Wine
  10. 30The Heavy Book Press

    Kitchen and Food

  1. 31Reviving Stale Bread
  2. 32Crusts to Breadcrumbs
  3. 33Freezing Bread Slices
  4. 34The Kettle Descale
  5. 35Milk in Tubs
  6. 36Reheating Leftovers Safely
  7. 37The Scrap Stock Bag
  8. 38Celery in Foil
  9. 39Cheese in Greaseproof
  10. 40Setting Fridge Temperature

    Cleaning

  1. 41The Newspaper Window Shine
  2. 42The Bicarbonate Sink Scrub
  3. 43Lemon and Salt Board
  4. 44The Vinegar Spray Bottle
  5. 45Fizzing the Drain
  6. 46The Oven Paste
  7. 47The Showerhead Bag
  8. 48The Old Sock Duster
  9. 49Never Mix Cleaners
  10. 50Bicarbonate in the Shoes

    Money at Home

  1. 51Pressing Soap Ends
  2. 52Using Every Last Drop
  3. 53Reading Your Energy Bill
  4. 54The Washing-Up Water Can
  5. 55Saving Wrapping Paper
  6. 56Setting Thermostat and Timer
  7. 57Darning a Sock
  8. 58Sewing On a Button
  9. 59The Meter Reading Notebook
  10. 60Envelope Budgeting Jar
Straight answer

Who this book is for

It's for you if

  • You sit with a blanket over your knees because the heating bill frightens you
  • You feel the cold creeping under the front door every evening
  • You dry washing indoors and worry about damp and the smell
  • You've thrown out a stale loaf or a bit of cheese and felt bad about it
  • You like to follow clear photographs rather than a video you keep pausing
  • You'd like to clean and mend things with what's already in the cupboard

It's not for you if

  • You want a smart-home system or gadgets to buy and fit
  • You'd rather watch than read, since this is a book of photographs, not video
  • You need a plumber or electrician, since these are small household tricks, not repairs
How it works

Paid, then yours in a minute

1 · Pay onceCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay on Stripe's secure page. We never see your card.
2 · DownloadThe PDF opens the moment you've paid — phone, tablet or computer, or print it.
3 · Keep itBookmark the download page — it works any time. Lost it? Write to us with the email you paid with and we send it again.
Before you buy

Questions

What do I get?

One PDF book, Gran Morag's Old Tricks: Old Ways to a Warmer, Cheaper Home. It has 60 tricks in six parts, each on one page of numbered photographs with my note and a safety box. It also has a numbers section of 111 values and an index of 180 problems.

How do I get it after paying?

The download page opens right after payment, and the PDF links work from there. Save the file to your device so you always have it.

Can I print it?

Yes. It's a PDF, so you can print the whole book or just the pages you want, for your own use. Each trick sits on one page, so printing a single trick is easy.

Is the advice safe?

Each trick that involves heat, hot water or cleaning products has a safety box. The tricks are everyday household ones, not repairs. Follow the boxes, and don't mix cleaners; there's a whole trick on that. If you have a medical condition or a worry about your home's wiring or heating, ask a professional.

What if it isn't useful?

You have 30 days. If the book isn't useful to you, ask for your money back and you'll get it.

How do I pay?

Checkout is through Stripe, by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. The price is £17.99 in the UK, Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey, and $22.99 everywhere else.

Start with the towel by the door.

Sixty tricks, £17.99 / $22.99, and 30 days to decide if it's for you. The first trick needs one old towel and a bit of string.

Get the book60 step-by-step tricks · PDF
£17.99

By buying you agree to the Terms of Sale and Refund Policy.

0 people went to checkout in the last 24 hours

£17.9960 tricks · PDF
Get the book