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Tag: home

A metal roof gutter running between corrugated steel sheeting, seen close along its length, half packed with dark wet gum leaves and half cleared, with a trowel resting in the clear section.
Garden & Backyard

Storm season: the house jobs to do before the first big one

Almost all storm damage to a suburban house comes from three things:…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
A plain round white smoke alarm mounted on a white ceiling, seen from below with soft daylight across it.
Household Tech

Your smoke alarm has an expiry date, and Queensland has a deadline

There is a date printed on the back of your smoke alarm.…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
A plain brushed metal kitchen tap dripping into a stainless steel sink, seen close in with a single drop caught mid-fall.
Moving House

Rental repairs: what counts as urgent and what to do when nothing happens

The clock does not start when you notice the problem. It starts…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
A dim bedroom at dusk with a wide open window on one side and an open internal door on the other, making a path for air to move through the room.
Household Bills & Energy

Why the house is still hot at 10pm when it cooled down outside

It is 24 degrees outside and 29 in the lounge room. The…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
A timber wardrobe pulled away from a pale bedroom wall, showing the dark gap of air between it and the skirting board.
Cleaning

Mould behind the wardrobe: the winter problem that is not a leak

It appears on the south wall, behind the wardrobe, in winter. It…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
A terracotta pot plant saucer on paving under a leafy plant, holding a shallow film of rainwater with a few leaves floating in it.
Garden & Backyard

Mosquitoes: the teaspoon of water in your yard breeding them

A pot plant saucer holds enough water to raise a generation. The…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
A stainless steel floor waste drain set into pale tiles, photographed close to floor level with water beading on the tiles beside it.
Cleaning

One big cockroach or three small ones: they are different problems

A single large cockroach that wandered in from the drain and three…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
The eaves of a brick house at dusk showing a dark gap open in the eave lining, with a gum branch reaching close to the roofline.
Garden & Backyard

Possums in the roof: it is illegal to move them, so what can you do

Relocating a possum is illegal in every Australian state, and the penalties…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
A close view of the narrow gap where a pale kitchen benchtop meets the wall, with the skirting join below it lit from the side.
Cleaning

Ants in the kitchen: why they arrive and what actually works

Spraying a trail of ants kills the ants you can see and…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
A hard rubbish pile sorted into three groups on a nature strip: an armchair and side table, a rolled tied carpet, and stacked scrap metal with a bike frame.
Storage & Decluttering

Hard rubbish: what councils take, what they leave, and what it costs

Councils take far more than people expect and refuse a short list…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
A clear lidded jar on a timber bench half full of used batteries with clear tape across their ends, and a roll of tape beside it.
Household Tech

Never bin a battery: where they actually go in Australia

Batteries in kerbside bins start fires in trucks and sorting facilities. There…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
An open grey kitchen caddy on a timber bench holding vegetable peelings, with egg shells, coffee grounds and sheets of newspaper on a chopping board beside it.
Garden & Backyard

The FOGO bin: bones and meat yes, pizza boxes and tea bags no

Meat, bones, seafood shells and dairy all go in. Pizza boxes, tea…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
A clear plastic tub on a timber benchtop filled with clean scrunched soft plastic packaging, with a folded grey shopping bag beside it.
Cleaning

Soft plastics recycling is back: what to do with the bag under the sink

Most households stopped collecting soft plastics in 2022 and never started again.…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
Looking straight down into an open recycling bin under its raised yellow lid, holding loose flattened cardboard, plain glass jars, aluminium cans and plastic bottles, none of it bagged.
Cleaning

What actually goes in the yellow bin, and what ruins a whole load

Most recycling mistakes are made confidently. Six items cause the bulk of…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
A plain white enclosed litter box on floor tiles with a scoop lying in front of it and a small sealed tub beside the scoop.
Before You Buy

Before you buy a self-cleaning litter box

An automatic tray solves the scooping and quietly removes the single best…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
An empty folding wire dog crate open on floorboards with a flat grey mat inside and a metal divider panel fitted across it.
Pet Gear

How to choose a dog crate: sizing, type and what to skip

A crate that is too big does not help a puppy, it…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
The upper rails of a white folding clothes airer hung with towels and t-shirts spaced apart with gaps of empty rail between them.
Home Organisation

Clothes airers: how to size one for a family wash

Airers are sold on footprint and bought on hope. The number that…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team
A tall sisal-wrapped scratching post on a wide timber base standing on floorboards directly beside a grey fabric couch.
Pet Gear

Cat scratching posts a cat will actually use

A cat that ignores a scratching post is usually telling you it…

Dovelyne editorial team
Dovelyne editorial team