Top Tips

Take a look at our Top Tips, from how to look after your pennies to keeping your house spotless! And don’t forget to add your own at the bottom…

1. Cooks tip!

When measuring sticky ingredients such as honey or syrup, lightly coat the measuring cup or spoon with cooking spray. That way, nothing gets left behind!

2. Candis cheats!

Got a few dregs of wine left in a bottle? Don’t feel you have to drink them, just freeze in ice trays and you’ve got a ready-made splash of wine to add to dishes as and when required.

3. Polish away…

Furniture polish can be full of chemicals – why not try making your own by filling a small bottle three-quarters full with olive oil, top up with white vinegar and add 20 drops of lemon essential oil… spread sparingly over furniture with a soft cloth and then buff off with a clean duster!

4. Extra shine…

To bring an extra shine to glass or mirrors, use vinegar – fill a spray bottle with half vinegar and half water and it will give you smear-free surfaces.

5. Iron trouble?

Remove burnt-on sticky marks on your iron’s soleplate by rubbing with a damp cloth when the iron’s warm. For more stubborn marks, use white toothpaste or bicarbonate of soda on the cloth, then clean off.

6. Clear those plugholes!

Keep plugholes clear of clogging hair with a Dossil (£3.29 from Lakeland) – a simple solution to an unpleasant problem!

7. Stubborn grease…

Tired of scrubbing stubborn grease and unsightly spillages from you kitchen hob? Invest in a set of Magic Hob Liners (£7.99 for a pack of four from Lakeland). These non-stick protectors shrug off burnt-on food and fat with no more than a dip in hot soapy water. And they’re reusable too – genius!

8. Washing powder…

Unless your clothes are very dirty, wash them in half the recommended amount of liquid/powder – and for a white wash, add a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to bring them up a treat!

9. The simple rule…

Save money on clothes with one simple rule – never buy anything that you’re going to wear “once you’ve lost some weight”! Instead, lose the weight first and reward yourself with new clothes.

10. Fresh or not?

Worried about whether an egg is fresh or not? Place it in a jug of cold salted water water. If it’s fresh it will sink, if it floats it’s off – so throw it away!

11. Catching up with friends can improve your health 🙂

If you want to improve your overall health, simply catch up with your friends. People with strong family or friendship ties have a 50% higher survival rate than those without.

12. Don’t be so quick to chuck out the stale bread!

Don’t throw stale bread away – whizz it in a food processor to make breadcrumbs that can be used to make delicious stuffings to compliment your roast dinner! Even when you freeze it it still stays free flowing so you can just use exactly what you need.

13. Herbs at hand!

Whenever you buy fresh herbs, onions or peppers, dice up the leftovers, place them in freezer bags and then into individual storage containers – that way you’ll have them to hand already cut up whenever you need them.

14. Help is at hand for PMT sufferers…

If you’re prone to PMT, adding magnesium to your diet can increase pre-menstrual progesterone levels, helping to alleviate symptoms. And the highest natural source of magnesium? Cocoa – which, of course, is found in chocolate!

15. Spruce up your wooden furniture…

To disguise unwelcome scratches on your dark wood furniture, make a paste with instant coffee and water, rub into the offending scratches and wipe off the excess with a clean cloth.

16. Get your loaf of bread looking and feeling fresh!

If a loaf feels a bit hard, sprinkle it with cold water and reheat in the oven for 10 mins – voila, it will feel like you’ve just bought it from the bakers!

17. Remove stubborn marks…

To clean stubborn marks on a casts-iron fireplace, use methylated spirits on several soft cloths, changing them until they come away clean. Carefully re-blacken.

18. Scones fit for a Queen!

Did you know you can use mashed potato to replace some of flour to make scones as light as a feather? Replace half the quantity of flour with mash and for a real treat add some chopped ham and cheese – delicious eaten warm from the oven covered with lashings of butter.

19. Four-Day Wait rule…

Apply the Four-Day Wait to anything you’re about to buy that’s not a necessity. It gives you time to compare prices elsewhere, come up with an alternative or simply decide you don’t need or want it.

20. Fight off that nasty cold this winter!

Instead of rubbing something like Vicks on your chest for a cough, rub it on the soles of your feet instead, cover with warm socks and go to bed – it’s amazing how quickly it works!