The Saturday List #76 - Handy Household Tips

Over the years, I've picked up some handy household tips. I thought today would be a marvellous opportunity to share a few of them with you.

1. Vodka and kitchen roll makes a superb laptop computer screen cleaning fluid, and is infinately cheaper than supposedly specialist screen wipes.

2. Both Green tea and Pomegranite juice are high in antixodants which have been shown to have beneficial effects in suppressing cancer. Start the day with a cup of green tea and dilute with pomegranite juice to cool down, as you would with milk.

3. If your old vinyl records are sounding "noisy" they can be washed in warm water and detergent and rinsed off with cold water. Dry with kitchen towel. Be very careful, but they will sound much better if they've had a lot of use.

4. If your wine and beer glasses are getting dulled by limescale soak in a solution of vinegar and water, as the acidic vinegar will break down the limescale. Most cleaners are vinegar.

5. Shop sell by dates are not the date food goes bad at. It is the date at which they no longer want to sell it. Shellfish however should always be eaten asap.

6. If you find your house is cold, make sure you keep all internal doors shut as much as possible. Restricting air flow lessens the amount of heat lost.

7. Put a fake camera and a sign saying "you are being monitored 24x7 on the front door of elderly relatives properties and tell them to tell all unsolicited callers they are being video'd. This will make any conmen think twice about trying to swindle them. Put a real one up if you want to catch them!

8. If you are making a cup of tea for one or two people, get a cup and fill the kettle a cup at a time. This way you'll heat the right amount of water and over the course of the year, this will save you a lot of money, as boiling kettles is an extremely energy hungry activity.

9. If you have teenagers, don't wash any clothes unless they put them in the clothes basket. You are not their to be "room service".

10. If you are in an old house, with a large toilet cistern, and you are metered, put a brick in the toilet cistern. This will mean you use less water when you flush the chain and this will save you money.