... I said TIPS!

After a brief but quite long enough thank you spell of being offline, thanks to a pesky virus (I may not have gotten rid of) I'm going to pick up where I left off.

Let's see...my tips. I wonder if we can turn this into our own "tip directory"? Feel free to add comments, and good tips, I'll incorporate into the blog at a later date and put labels on so we can all find them again.

1) JB and myself have already discussed this, my favourite tip. Instead of wasting money on expensive products like Cillit Bang or Mr Muscle, soak your baking trays, cooking racks, Pyrex, saucepans (anything WITHOUT TEFLON - this tip does not apply to non stick) in laundry powder/liquid/liquitabs. There's very little that bad boy won't remove. Use it for the inside of your oven too, but remember to rinse well or your Victoria Sponge will taste of black lotus flower and orchid or some such nonsense. Bio washing stuff works best (enzymes) but non bio will do well.
2) A doubler for you. Invest in a really good pair of rubber washing up gloves. I like "Busy Bees" ones. Tough as old boots but incredibly gentle also. When you're getting ready to wash up, smother your hands in hand cream before you put them in the gloves. The warmth, motion and pressure aids absorption of the cream and leaves hand soft and silky. When you've finished washing up, with your gloves on,, wash your gloved hands in hand soap and dry them thoroughly. This will prolong the life of your gloves and make using them a much nicer experience.
3) Got a jacuzzi bath? Me neither. If you ever do, though, the best way to clean the jets and pipes through is to run the bath over the jets with warm water, then chuck in half a dozen dishwasher tablets dissolved in hot water. Turn the jacuzzi bit on, then stand and watch for a bit, or go and have a cup of tea.
4) Prolong the life of your hairbrushes by pulling out the hair using a tweezers and scarp scissors to free it up. Run good hot water in the sink, pour in some shampoo like bubble bath and leave for an hour. Then, in the water, vigorously rub two brushes together and you'll be surprised at how good they come up.
5) Use lemon juice on your hands to get rid of the smell of garlic after cooking.
6) Invest less that £1 on a bottle of cheap eye make up remover. It re moistens dried out face wipes, cools tired eyes, stretches out the life of a mascara several times over, and, believe it or not, it removes eye make up.
7) Instead of running your car for 20 minutes before you need it defrosted, fill a hot water bottle and throw it (obviously sealed) on the dash board. That'll thaw your windscreen out but make sure it's not too hot or it could crack your windscreen or scald you.
8) Instead of buying one person you love a present this year, why not make one? It's Valentine's day soon, we'll be getting creative for that!!!
9) To get the most out of your jam/marmalde far, zap them in the microwave for a few seconds on low. Hey presto - another serving or two!