Month / February 2017

by Copley Sutton

5 awesome laundry hacks for bachelors

Washmen have come up with five ways to ensure that dry cleaning in Dubai is the last thing on a bachelor’s mind. If you’re an unmarried guy who wants to save time on laundry in the most convenient way possible, then these hacks are perfect for you!

 

  1. Use your phone to manage your laundry

Yes, it’s true: there are apps for managing your laundry in Dubai. This promises great potential for your bachelor lifestyle. Why? Because it’s so convenient and quick it’ll soon become a regular, unobtrusive part of your life.

 

  1. Have your laundry fetched & delivered

Between dating, working and hanging with friends, there’s very little time to worry about laundry & dry cleaning. As a bachelor, why not add more convenience & time to your schedule by arranging a laundry pick-up and drop-off from Washmen?

 

  1. Pay less during peak times

Washmen are not only already competitive with their pricing, but they actually discount you if you come in during their busiest hour! Other Laundromats will charge you more, but with Washmen’s ‘Happy Hour’, you pay less during their peak time.

 

  1. Pay electronically

If you still have to withdraw cash for your laundry, it may be time to switch to another Laundromat. Washmen will not only facilitate online payment, but also send your receipts electronically via email. No pesky slips and no need to withdraw cash. Payment is a breeze when you do your laundry at Washmen, so ask us today about our dry cleaning prices.

 

  1. Get an ‘All-You-Can-Wash’ bag

The best hack is this nifty invention from Washmen. It’s a bag that costs you a flat 79 AED every time you bring it in. Fill it up with as much of your laundry as you can. When it’s full, bring it in and pay the same price every time. That not only makes budgeting easier, but gives you a guideline on when it’s time to do the laundry!

 

by Copley Sutton

5 tips to improving your writing talent – by Christel Coetzer

It’s the most awkward position I find myself in. I saw myself as one of the up and coming South African writers who has some knowledge and skill. And then, after years of blogging and correcting other people’s mistakes, I find myself in a new writing environment. Furthermore, I find my knowledge and skills are actually limited, and I make such silly mistakes! The hunter becomes the hunted!

 

Totally teachable

Shall I retreat into an “I-can’t-do-anything-right” hole? It won’t bode well for my budget. It will also not assist me in getting anywhere in future. So let’s hunker down, face the failure-fears and actually learn something. Because the cliché is—once again—absolutely true. One is never too old. And there’s a myriad of skills you and I can add to our repertoire.

 

Hateful habits

As South African copywriters, we tend to get stuck in habits. Using terminology the international audience don’t use or identify with, can diminish the quality of your article. The only way to get out of these habits is to realise what they are and start eradicating them. I repeat words such as “that” over and over. I write ‘you are’ instead of the much more reader friendly “you’re”. Some of it may be school teachers’ residue, but guess what? You’re allowed to be short and sweet!

 

Pesky poetry

I’m a poet at heart. I can rhyme about any topic you throw at me. But unfortunately this does not make me a good copywriter. Including too many metaphors and poetic themes to a piece which is supposed to inform the reader, does not bode well for me getting more copywriting work. It may have impressed my teachers, but the multitudes out there do not listen to Shakespeare for entertainment. They are in need of facts and they want them fast.

 

Lazy Lizzy

For years I only ever worried about the grammar of written pieces around me. Never did I really focus my attention on the words which were being produced by me. And I bravely—though with my head hanging—admit how lazy I have become. I’m a member of the aspiring writers in South Africa who want to make an impact with words. For this goal to be reached, I’m supposed to use the best grammar and punctuation. I’ve seen however how lazy I am for activities such as using hyphens and semi-colons. In the right places they turn ordinary sentences into beauty. I sidestepped opportunities to place them in the correct spots (and instead mainly used them for smiley faces in text messages. There is so much more to them!

 

Ever elaborating

When one simply writes for yourself you easily forget your words may actually be read and heard by others. As soon as you apply yourself to copywriting, you receive feedback about sentences being too complicated. And then you read the sentence again. Aloud. And you think “What was I thinking?!” South African copywriters have to make their statements as simple as possible to assist the reader in quickly realising the goal for each sentence and paragraph, instead of having to dissect it to get to the true meaning.

 

But mistakes do not make me a bad writer. Making adjustments makes me a better writer. As a copywriter it’s such an honour to be part of a group of South African writers that share knowledge and thoughts through the written word. It’s essential to keep to the basics and make is as easy as possible for every reader to grasp the current message. As with so many aspects of life, less is more.

by Copley Sutton

What’s worse: Fat or sugar?

The diet hype has propagated a theory that fatty foods and fat in general is the main cause for obesity in people across the world. The general advice to those who wish to lose weight seems to be something similar to, “Just cut out fat from your diet, and exercise regularly.”

But is this advice sound? Does it correspond with the newest studies done on the problem of obesity? The short answer is “No!” Let’s take a look at how the no-fat fallacy has crept into our thinking and what the real culprit in obesity is.

 

The no-fat revolution and its side effects

Fifteen years ago you’d be hard-pressed to find a diet book that told you eating fat was fine. And yet there was not enough demonization of sugar either. Fat was considered to be the main cause of obesity while sugar was left mostly unchecked.

But with newer studies we now understand that depriving your body of fat will make you… you guessed it; FAT! What so many people fail to recognize is that not putting fat into your body will cause your body to frantically store the fat it already has. This is a basic survival mechanism your body has.

Now let’s turn our attention to sugar. Eating foods that contain processed sugars causes a vicious cycle which you will soon see. Sugar in the body that is not burnt up will eventually be stored as fat. Now because you’re not eating fat, your body is holding on to those fat reserves for dear life. The result: obesity, as well as a multitude of other health problems.

 

Hidden sugar everywhere

What’s worse about this vicious cycle is that it sneaks up on people without them realizing it. You may be trying to avoid sugar as much as you can, but there are a multitude of foods that contain sugar. If you aren’t educated about what certain foods contain, you may be consuming a lot of sugar without even realizing it.

Something as simple as commercial bread is packed with processed sugar. Yoghurt is thought to be a healthy snack, but almost all flavoured yoghurts contain some form of sugar. Cereal is another culprit that is sadly consumed by children and adults every day. These are just a few.

 

Added sugar is not a food – it’s a chemical

There are many forms of raw sugar that come across in nature. These include fruit, honey, corn, sugar cane, and starchy vegetables and grains such as potatoes or rice. However, once these sugars come into contact with processing plants, they take on a new property. They are chemically altered into things like processed sugar, high fructose corn syrup, fructose, etc. These sugars are then added to the everyday food you consume and then wreak havoc on your health.

Something else to consider is that when companies add sugar to their products, they are doing so for one reason: to make more profits. They know that adding chemically altered sugar is a sure way to sell more of their product by getting people to crave it more.

 

The dangers of cutting fat out of your diet

Add to this the fact that you have been told by your dietician or doctor to stop eating fat. Fat plays an important role in the healthy functioning of your body. Cholesterol from eggs has been shown as an essential ingredient in brain function. Omega fatty acids are also important for a healthy heart, while other oils are excellent for joints and cartilage function.

As already mentioned, eating fat is also a good way of losing weight. By letting your body know that it gets regular amounts of fat, it will release the fat it already has instead of holding on to it as a survival method.

 

Conclusion

Imagine the disinformation out there saying that fat is bad and sugar is good. According to many tests, the opposite is now believed to be true by reputable nutritionists. Unfortunately, this information seems to have escaped modern South African nutritionists who are still peddling the no-fat fallacy. It’s time to get the most up-to-date information on the subject and start telling people the truth about why they are unable to lose weight.