One of my favourite websites is one called Lifehacker. It has various hints & tips of productivity, making the best of software plus some other homemade devices to replace commercially available ones. You’ll get a better idea if you visit it.
However it got me thinking at the weekend. Ive had to relocate my Ref kits at home due to a room redesign and having moved them out of a drawer that no longer exists I needed a new home. So i purchased some stackable plastic tubs. You can buy these from Wilko’s, Woolies or any of those kind of shops for various prices.
I have now split my kit in to tubs. So the Kit I wear on Contrib games is all in one tub, Supply in another and so on. This way I can grab everything I need quickly and easy without those panics.
A common Refhack you see is the notebooks that people use. A lot of people use the standard wallet with the Red&Yellow cards and the match card in that. However other people use a small notebook and mark the goals down as they go along in that. I tried this but to be honest my writing is awful and I find use a form itself works better. One improvement I did make to my notebook though was to stick a piece of card in it to give me a firmer base to write on. This was something I did years ago after the paper got wet and I went through it! I had forgot all about it until writing this!
One common “RefHack” relates to pencils. Why buy pencils and cut them down when you can fleece the local argos, ikea, or ladbrookes. Although I don’t recommend Ladbrookes as its not the best image to give off to the teams.
Refereeing can be an expensive hobby to get going with. Kit isnt cheap and then once you’ve brought your whistles, cards, notebook, flags (because clubs never provide them despite what competition rules say) it can mount up. I remember when i first started back in 93 it came to about £80 and that was with the RA kit. So if you can find these things you can use from every day life and implement them then why not.
If you have any “Refhacks” let me know. A prize to the person who has their own home made Buzzer flags or Communication headset as seen on the Premier League 
Posted by Gary on August 21, 2009 at 2:22 am
of course
Posted by JK on July 7, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Gary are they home made?
Posted by Gary on June 25, 2009 at 11:15 pm
I have my own personal buzzer flags and comms kit… whats my prize