Borka Shoemaker
Borka Shoemaker reports on the everyday tangle of work, family and an ADHD brain that refuses to colour inside the lines. She trades honest stories for honest advice — plus occasional detours into balcony gardening and how to make a weeknight feel less like a triage.
Articles by Borka Shoemaker· Page 2 of 2
The Overnight Oven Clean That Needs No Scrubbing and Nothing You Don't Already Own
You do not need a caustic spray, a full Saturday or a set of knuckle-scraping pads. You need a paste, one night of patience and a sensible order of operations.
Cosy Season Without Buying Anything: Seven Swaps You Can Do in One Afternoon
The internet will tell you autumn arrives in a shopping basket. It mostly arrives in lighting, textiles and where the chairs are pointing.
When Your Child Clearly Prefers One Grandparent — What to Do With the Ache
Children pick favourites, loudly and without tact, and grandparents feel it. Here is what is usually behind the preference and how to widen it without forcing affection.
The Sour Smell in Your Laundry Isn't the Detergent — It's the Machine
Clean clothes that come out smelling faintly of a damp cellar are almost always telling you something about the drum, not the powder. Here is the monthly reset that fixes it.
The Ten Minutes Before a Storm: What to Do on a Balcony and Inside a Flat
Late-summer thunderstorms arrive fast, and most of the damage is preventable. Here is the short round I do on my balcony and in the flat when the sky starts turning green-grey.
Organise Your Pantry Around Real Meals, Not Matching Jars
Most pantry makeovers collapse within a month because they're designed to be photographed, not cooked from. Here's the version that survives a busy household.
Cut These Balcony Plants Back Hard in Late August and You'll Get a Second Flush — Plus Three to Leave Alone
Straggly, bare-stemmed pots do not need replacing yet. A bold trim now, followed by a feed and a decent drink, buys you another round of flowers before the weather turns.
Organise Your Fridge Around the Week You Actually Have
Most fridge systems collapse by Wednesday because they were designed for an imaginary calm household. Here is a layout that survives a real one.
Why Your Dishes Come Out Gritty — and the Half-Hour Dishwasher Clean That Fixes It
If your glasses come out cloudy and your bowls feel faintly sandy, the machine is not failing — it is asking to be cleaned. Here is the order to do it in, and what to stop doing at the sink.
The Hour Before Bed Decides How You Sleep on a Hot Night
You cannot cool a bedroom at eleven at night if you spent all day letting the sun into it. A slow, unglamorous routine that makes August nights survivable — for you and for the children.
Your Child Wants You to Play Their Game: How to Actually Say Yes
A big update has sent half the children in the neighbourhood back to the same creature-collecting game — and many of them are asking a parent to join in. Here is how to accept the invitation without pretending you know what you're doing.
How to Clean an Oven Without Fumes, Panic or a Whole Lost Sunday
You don't need caustic spray and an open window in November. Here's the slow, low-drama way to get a greasy oven properly clean — including the bit most people skip.
The Winter Forecast Is Trending Again: The August Jobs That Actually Pay Off in January
Long-range winter predictions are back in everyone's feed, and they make excellent conversation and terrible instructions. Here is what is genuinely worth doing around the house now, while the weather is still on your side.
Your Washing Machine Needs Washing Too: The Monthly Reset That Fixes Musty Laundry
If clean laundry comes out smelling faintly damp and stale, the clothes aren't the problem. A straightforward monthly routine for the machine that washes everything else.
The Cabinet Reset That Survives a Busy Week: Organising Kitchen Storage Around How You Actually Cook
Most kitchen cabinet makeovers collapse within a fortnight because they are designed for a tidy photograph, not a Tuesday night. Here is a slower, sturdier method built around your real routines.
Ten-Minute Triage for a Scorched Balcony: Which Pots to Save First
After a week of real heat, half the containers look finished. Most aren't — but they need to be sorted quickly into save, cut back, and let go.
Organise Your Fridge Once, Waste Less All Month: The Zone System That Actually Sticks
Most fridges are organised by accident — whatever fits, wherever there is a gap. A simple temperature-and-visibility system cuts food waste, shortens shopping lists and makes weeknight cooking calmer.
How to Build a Five-Minute Recall Habit for Everything You Plug In
A trending conversation about recalled rechargeable gadgets is a good nudge to look at the drawer of chargers, power banks and battery-powered comforts we all keep. Here is a calm, practical system for keeping track — no panic required.