Best Friends and Family

Alternative use for a cake stand

I've got a couple of cake stands now which are brilliant when I am having friends over for cake and cupcakes.  They look lovely and make me seem like a real domestic goddess!  However, the frequency of such an event is... hmmm... rarely.  In reality, my cake stands are packed away in the cupboard and if I make cake, it gets eaten off the plate!

So why not find an alternative use for the humble cake stand?  A nice idea is to use it to hold bits and bobs on the dressing table.  So it could be used for perfume bottles, jewellery, make-up - anything really - but it will keep it all together and look pretty.

Unclogging a Drain

Firstly, boil some water.  While this is being done, pour a bunch of bicarbonate of soda (also known as baking soda) into the drain.  I use enough to go in to the plughole and pretty much cover it.

Then pour on some vinegar, an amount a bit less than the baking soda.  Some places suggest white vinegar but I find malt vinegar works just as well.  You'll see it all start to work, with the mixture bubbling up nicely and satisfactorily!  This is the clog breaking down.

Next add some salt on top of the vinegar to make it even more foamy and work even better.

Let it sit for a while to gurgle away - 15 minutes or so, until you're ready to clear it all out by pouring in the boiled water.  This should do the trick easily and naturally.  And look!  Pretty sink with no clogs, environmentally-friendly and naturally.

If necessary, repeat for those more stubborn clogs.

Cleaning Steel Cutlery

Have you noticed how cutlery can get stained quite easily?  I'm sure it's quite safe, but it doesn't look great and it doesn't seem to get clean when washing normally either by hand or in the dishwasher.  But a top tip is to use a lemon!

Chop a lemon in half and wipe on the stained cutlery.  For more stubborn stains, wipe a little harder!

Then rinse under the tap, dry and voilà!  Unstained cutlery!

Ripening Bananas

Do your bananas ripen too quickly?  Or not fast enough?  Top tip - they ripen fastest when they are in a bunch, so if you want to slow them down, separate them!  Simple.

Bananas ripen quickly when in a bunch

But more slowly when they are separated

Melting Lollies

A week or so ago, I posted a top tip about how cupcake cases can be used to prevent insects from getting in your drinks.  Today, I've got another use for the humble cupcake case - to prevent lolly spills!  Simply stick the bottom of the lolly stick through the middle of the case and you have a super basin to catch any spills.  It's best to use a metallic/foil one for this as they're a bit more sturdy, but any will be better than nothing!

Recycling Cereal Boxes to make Box Files

I've been finding that, despite this whole idea of a paperless home and office, I'm getting more and more paperwork.  Letters from the kids' school, appointments, party invitations, vouchers, reminders - the list goes on!  Inevitably, I lose some of it - or it clutters up the house - so I have been looking at ways of keeping track of it in an efficient but pretty way.

One great tip I have found is to recycle old cereal boxes.  It's so simple!  Take an old cereal box and cut it into a box file shape.  I cut about two-thirds of the way down the side and the same again across the top.  If you want to be really precise, you can measure it and mark it up with a pencil, but I didn't find it necessary.

Next - decorate!  Choose any paper you like, be it specialist crafting paper or just simple wrapping paper, and glue it on.  What's also great about this is that you can use any size box you like, depending on what you're storing.  And there you have it - quick, easy, cheap, efficient and easy organisation!

Ripening Avocados

I can never get it right with avocados.  Either they are too hard to do anything with or I leave them out for too long and they go all squishy and brown, so not even suitable for guacamole.

So the way to do it is to ensure that the avocado is ripe just when you want it (durr!).  If you're not going to use it for a while, keep in the vegetable chiller drawer at the bottom of your fridge.  It will keep for ages without ripening.  Then, when you need it, you can put it in a dark cupboard or drawer (or a brown paper bag if you have one) with a banana and it will ripen really quickly.

An alternative, immediate way to ripen avocados which kind of works is to place in the microwave for 20 - 40 seconds.  However, I only use this when I am desperate as it makes the avocado too warm and it doesn't taste quite as nice.

Recycling Cardboard Boxes to make Drawer Organisers

My underwear drawer was a mess.  But then I discovered a way to utilise all of those old shoe boxes I had hanging around, waiting for me to do something with them - use them as drawer dividers to create a cheap and easy way to organise my stuff!

Literally, all I did was to cut the boxes in half, either along the length or width to fit the space and fill each section with my socks, underwear and bras.  Quick, easy and cheap - and I can now find what I need without rummaging around every morning!  And if you want to make it pretty, it's easy to do with some lovely craft paper and glue.

You can do this with any drawer - it doesn't have to be underwear!  And I imagine any box will do - think cereal boxes as well....

Preserving Fresh Herbs II

So I've just said how you can preserve fresh herbs so that they aren't wasted once you've opened the packet, but there are other ways that they can be used and saved too, which I think are brilliant!  These involve creating herb oils or butters and freezing.

For herb oil, all you have to do is chop the fresh herbs very finely, put in an ice cube tray and add olive oil.  Mix a little. Pop in the freezer, then, once they're frozen, place in a sealable plastic bag, label and use when needed.

For the herb butter, chop the herbs and add garlic for a bit of a kick!  Mix with room-temperature butter to taste and then wrap, sausage-like, in some greaseproof paper.

Place in the freezer for up to an hour so it firms up and then chop into slices about 1cm thick.  Re-wrap in the paper, ready to use when needed.  I'm planning on making some garlic bread with this - chop a baguette, add some ready-made butter to each slice and bake.  Yum and quick!

I have to say, this and the previous post of drying herbs is something that I do already but thanks to Jamie Oliver's new series 'Save with Jamie' for reminding me!

Preserving Fresh Herbs

If you're anything like me with herbs, you've got the best intentions when you buy those little bags of fresh ones from the supermarket - lots of plans to cook gorgeously flavoured and seasoned recipes from scratch.  But what inevitably happens is that I use about 1/4 of the packet, throw the rest into the fridge and forget about it until it's gone off.  So what to do with the remainder, so you're not wasting it and wasting money?  It's simple!

All you have to do it bunch them up with a bit of string and hang them somewhere fairly warm, like an airing cupboard or larder.  I've got some sage and some bay leaves on the go at the moment, and have attached them to a cooling rack by the oven.  Leave to dry out for a while - at least 12 hours - until they are crisp and then store in a jar or Tupperware and use as you would dry herbs.  They will last for ages this way.

Click here for another way of preserving those fresh herbs!

Bug Free Outdoor Drinks

I may have missed the boat season-wise for this one, but you never know, there may still be opportunities to eat and drink outside this year!  A great tip to stop flies and other insects from getting into your juice or precious cocktail is to use cupcake cases upside-down on top of the glass, and stick a straw through them.  Pretty and practical!

Red Wine Stains

One of the best tips I have ever been given is how to clean red wine stains.  Quite simply, pour over some white wine, leave to soak a few minutes and wipe!  That's all!  The white wine somehow dissolves the red, normally leaving no stain at all.  It is fantastic!

Alternatively, just drink the white!

Earring Organiser

I've got a couple of great ways to recycle old bits and bobs to create a lovely earring organiser.

The first way is so super simple!  Just get an old cooling rack for cakes and voilá.  An earring organiser!  Just make sure it's criss-crossed to hook the earrings on, like this one from Amazon.  If you want, you can paint it, but I quite like the silver.  It's basic but it works.

A second, more project-based and potentially pretty one is to use an old photo frame and some wire.  Remove any backing and glass, so you're just left with the frame.  Attach the wire to the frame with some eyelet hooks, decorate the frame as you see fit and hang the earrings from the wires.  Or - even easier - attach some chicken wire or similar!

With both, you can attach it to the wall or just place on your dressing table or chest of drawers.

Cleaning the Blender

I've always been a little worried about cleaning our blender, as I'm terrified of slicing my fingers as I'm doing so.  Which is why this simple top tip is so great!

All you have to do is put some washing up liquid in the dirty blender - any will do.

Add some water, give it a whirl and rinse.  And there you have it - one clean blender, no bleeding fingers!

What to do with Samples & Hotel Beauty Products

I must confess, I am a serial collector of sample beauty products, including the gorgeous little shampoo and body lotion bottles that are provided by hotels.  If I don't use them, they come home with me.  I find they are really useful for when I go away for a short break, at someone's home or another hotel - but with the latter, I inevitably end up with more products!  So what to do with them?

A really simple and useful idea is to put them in the guest bathroom, meaning that when friends and family come to stay, they can just help themselves.  And this can be done so beautifully.  All that is needed is a lovely jar to store the items in, such as this vintage candy sweet glass jar that's available on Ebay.

Simply put your shampoos, conditioners, body lotions, shower caps and whatever else you've acquired in the jar and leave in the bathroom.  Guests will really appreciate the gesture, it will look lovely and it will stop all those little bottles from cluttering up other parts of the house!

Descaling the Kettle

If you live in a hard water area like me, limescale builds up on your kettle very frequently.  Not only does this affect the taste of your drink, but horrid chalky bits end up in your tea or coffee and it's just vile!  Look at mine today - gross!

In order to combat this, you can fork out on chemical descalers.  However, apart from the cost of these, my main problem is the fact that it's so unnatural and I imagine if it's not rinsed from the kettle properly, it would be nasty.  Which is why I was so pleased to discover that plain old malt vinegar does the same thing as a chemical descaler.  Any malt vinegar works; I usually use supermarket own brand, but I guess they had run out as I was substituted with some posh stuff!

To descale the kettle, pour the vinegar into the kettle - use as much as you like.  I then top it up with water to cover all the limescale, but you could use more vinegar if you don't want to dilute it too much.  Wait at least half an hour, rinse and voila!  A sparkling clean kettle, at a cheap cost with no chemicals (albeit a bit smelly - rinse, rinse, rinse)!  Perfect!

Cleaning Skirting Boards

I find skirting boards are a real faff to try to keep clean - it seems that no matter how often I wipe them, they are always gunky!

So a tip I've found is to use tumble dryer sheets to wipe them with.  The dust and dirt collects on the cloth without smudging or sticking, to produce lovely, clean skirting boards!

You don't have to buy any special ones - just use the ones you may have already, or buy supermarket own brands!

Cleaning, Dusting & Vacuuming

It seems obvious and I feel a bit silly about posting but...

Dust first, then vacuum!

Cleaning the Steel Plate on your Iron

I admit, I'm not much of an ironer.  I prefer to hang my clothes to dry and then think, 'That will do' - unless, of course, it's a special occasion!  However, I am a little more meticulous about my kids' clothes and so there are occasions whereby I must iron.  *Sigh*

Then what really annoys me is the bottom of the iron is always grubby, no matter how much I clean it with standard cleaning products.  So I have done a little research and have come up with the solution - salt!  Indeed, plain old, cheap table or sea salt.

First of all, take an old cloth, tea towel or similar and lay it flat on the ironing board.  Remember that this is where all the grime will end up so use one that it doesn't matter if you can't get the stains out!  Sprinkle the salt on to the towel.

Next, turn on the iron to its highest setting - but no steam.  Once its heated up, iron the salt on to the towel.  And that's pretty much it!

The friction of the salt will remove the grime and you'll end up with a muck-free steel plate - hurrah!  I gave it a quick wipe afterwards with a damp cloth, just to get rid of the salt - I found when I didn't do this, I got some salt on the next thing I ironed.