We went camping a few weeks ago, and one of the things we took with us was a Sun Jar, a jar that 'captures' sunlight and glows in the dark.

Inside the lid of the jar is a solar panel which, when exposed to direct sunlight charges the rechargeable AA battery.  If there isn't any sunlight, you can charge the battery in a 'normal' battery charger for the same effect. There are two settings - auto and charge - with 'charge' essentially being 'off', in other words, it wont glow unless you set it to auto. Should you leave it on auto it will glow when the light is low enough and charge when it is bright enough.

The jar is basically a mason jar with frosted glass, and a waterproof seal. This is particularly useful if you put it out on a sunny morning, and by afternoon it's tipping down - your electronics will stay dry and hopefully you'll have caught enough sun to light up your evening.

The glow from the light is similar to that of a torch. It casts a soft hue around it and someone said it looks like a fairy in a bottle - it really does give that magical feel. It's lovely.

The charging is sometimes hit and miss though, and after the first time I took the battery out to charge it manually, I think the wiring went a bit funny because it switches on and off randomly when you touch or apply any pressure to the bottle at all, which is weird. It still works though.

It would make a lovely night light in a child's room, or a lamp to keep the hall dimly light at night.  It was also nice to have in the tent so we could get ourselves to bed easily enough. It doesn't last all night though, so you may wake up in the dark.

Something else that's quite cool about the sun jar is that it is light sensitive and will only glow in relation to the light around it. If you're in a dark space - say a play tent - and you walk into a lighter space - like the living room - with it, the light adjusts and goes dimmer. If you're in full light, it doesn't glow at all.

There’s 30% off the chemical free, mineral based Jason Sun Block at Big Green Smile.

• Get better-for-you sun protection this week

If ‘they’ are to be believed, we’re in for some long anticipated good weather this week coming, and while we can’t wait to relish in the sun on our skins, little ones really need protecting. When you have an eczema sufferer on your hands its often a toss up between two bad options – burning sun exposed skin, or burning sun cream exposed skin.

There are only a hand full of really good products on the market, and while I haven’t tried this one, I like that it’s chemical free (although you couldn’t tell by the long list of ingredients!), making it better for young skins.  It offers UVA and UVB protection. A blend of Chamomile and Marigold (Calendula) extracts help to calm and soothe skin. It is safe for use in babies over six months and sensitive adults.

Children, despite their smaller size, generate a load more washing than the adults in my house. I’m guessing that it’s probably the same in your house too. So I’ve done a little investigating, to find as many money saving tips for the laundry as possible.

It’s a cold wash

I’d feel like I’ve been lied to all these years, except to be honest no-one has. At least not explicitly. Somewhere along the way I fell for the advertising and marketing. I came to believe that you couldn’t get a clean wash unless you used hot water, or special low temperature detergent. It came as a revelation to find the number one tip on every website that I looked at was: wash at cold temperatures, and you don’t need to use special cold water detergents.

I felt like a bit of an idiot when I excitedly shared this with my mum only to find out that she’s used a cold wash all her life. Except, of course, when sterilizing (as you’d want to with sheets and towels). According to the Energy Trust if you just turn down to 30C you’ll save up to 40% of your electricity usage. The site says that “today's washing powders work just as effectively at lower temperatures, so there's no reason to use a hot wash unless there are particularly stubborn stains on your laundry.”

One Play Pennies reader, Jennifer, says she’s done her laundry for years using cold water, and ordinary detergents, and never noticed a difference. So there you go!

Detergent savings

Another Play Pennies regular, Sho, cuts her washing powder with household soda. This is also called soda crystals, or bicarbonate of soda. It is inexpensive – Tesco sell a 1kg packet of Dri Pak Soda Crystals for 70p.

Soda is quite an effective stain remover, and particularly good for grease based stains. “You can knock a third off the recommended amount of detergent and still get your clothes just as clean. Replace some of that with the soda,” Sho suggests.

Soda also softens water, which is a big bonus for me and anyone else living in the Thames Valley region where water is so hard it is almost solid. Even the chap who installed our washing machine recommended it. He told us to forget spending money on softeners like Calgon and just stick soda in the wash. It’s what he always did, and said it worked just as well.

I love this page at the Green Store. It lists 30 different uses for bicarbonate of soda around the house. Brilliant stuff.

If you’re really keen, try making your own detergent. I found this recipe on a US site called the Simple Dollar. Not quite sure I’d want to have a go myself, but it looks pretty eco friendly.

One thing I can’t help noticing as I peruse the detergent aisle in the supermarket is that biological detergents are much cheaper than non-bio versions. Often they’re a third of the cost. So what is the difference between the two? Should we be worried about using a bio?

According to environmental website Big Green Smile “Biological detergent contains enzymes which aid the removal of stains. They do this by reacting with the water through hydrolysis. These enzymes will often work at lower temperatures than non-biological detergent, which does not contain enzymes.”

On the down side, the site says that biological detergents can irritate the skin of some people, so you may want to try just a little before running all your clothes through a bio wash. My other half was convinced that he was allergic to bio detergents, and that it bought his skin out in a rash. Except he only told me this a few months ago, when he finally read the box of washing powder we used. And I’ve been using bio’s since we got married 18 years ago with no complaints from him!

DIY fabric softeners

If watching Kim and Aggie on How Clean is Your House has taught me one thing it is that the only cleaning product you really need is white vinegar. And a little lemon juice. Although now I’m adding soda to that list!

Those Americans sure do love making their own stuff. I found this tip on a website called Stressless Country - I like the sound of that! Here’s its recipe for making your own fabric softener. “Plain white vinegar is a good substitute for fabric softener. Environmentally safe and nonalergenic, just add ½ to ¾ cup as you would a liquid softener.” Definitely sounds stress free to me. My only concern is – will it make your clothes smell like chips?

Finally, a few more tips

Never spend another penny on dry cleaning. Well, OK, I’m exaggerating. But KT Campbell’s excellent Hand Washing 101 site  has saved me a fortune over the years. And I’ve found her tips worked too. Although do read the disclaimers carefully!

Eco Salon has some more tips to offer on whether or not to dry clean (even if the washing label says ‘dry clean only’).

Back to the Stressless Country again. I love the sound of this and I'm going to try it out on some of my older clothes to see if it’ll put the colour ‘zing’ back into them. Definitely cheaper than buying new clothes. “When washing dark clothes for the first time use cold water and put 1 tablespoon of salt in the water. The salt helps set the colour. To brighten dark clothes after they have been washed several times, repeat the procedure.”

The last word

Do you have any laundry money saving tips to share? Let us know! We’re also after all your homemade efforts. Have you found a nifty little trick to make something yourself and save a few bob? Let us know – we’ll be running a feature on this in the next few weeks.