Great Tips... one liners

Pink.

Hi EycplUK,

That's a really good tip! As it's dropped down the board I've added it to our main tips thread so that others will find it more easily.

Pink

Eenymeeny

EycplUK wrote: »

Got a new 3 pc suite and thought a set of covers would be nice and looked around various websites , cheapest we could find was £140 !!! Nah dont think so !
Then o/h spotted some of those "all in one cover blanket " thingys , you know the ones you sit in wrapped around you !
£12 for 2 , so bought 4 and with a bit of unpicking and some edge sewing we now have a splendid set of Suite covers :money:
£24 beats £140 any day :T

I've used cheap fleece throws to make seat and back covers for a bedroom armchair as I'm not a great seamstress and I thought that a bit of stretch would help! It worked very well and seems to be lasting ok. TBH I only use it to put clothes on overnight!;)

meg72

EycplUK wrote: »

Got a new 3 pc suite and thought a set of covers would be nice and looked around various websites , cheapest we could find was £140 !!! Nah dont think so !
Then o/h spotted some of those "all in one cover blanket " thingys , you know the ones you sit in wrapped around you !
£12 for 2 , so bought 4 and with a bit of unpicking and some edge sewing we now have a splendid set of Suite covers :money:
£24 beats £140 any day :T

Too right it does, a friend of mine once did the same with some velvet curtains found on a carboot, I tinki she paid 5.00 for two pairs an they were huge and great quality.

Pippin12

Instead of using shaving foam for your legs, use value baby lotion - currently 9p for a big bottle in Tesco.

Save water in your toilet by placing two or three 500ml bottles filled with water in the cistern - saves 1- 1.5 litres of water per flush.

Evil_Olive

I LOVE this thread!

Man! Where do I start!

---

Kitchen/Bathroom/Multi-Surface cleaning spray:
Keep an empty 750ml spray bottle from your last Mr Muscle Kitchen or whatever and fill it up with the following:
500ml (half a bottle) of the Value/Smartprice version of 'Flash' (all purpose cleaner) - 25p for 1 litre in Asda/Tesco/Wilko
1 capful of your favourite Zoflora concentrated disinfectant
top up with water
It works just as well as Mr Muscle Kitchen on congealed food/oil on the cooker and in the microwave - spray on & leave for 10-20 mins before wiping.
It's anti-bacterial so is great for kitchen/bathroom surfaces and the toilet seat/lid/handle/outside of bowl etc and it smells delicious.
Also cleans windows if you wipe down with a damp cloth.cellulose sponge-wipe after and buff up with a clean teatowel to remove streaks.
Works out at about 23p per 750ml bottle whereas commercial ones will set you back £1-2. Also gets rid of all those different bottles under your sink!

---

If you get a ladder in one leg of a pair of tights, cut the laddered leg off near the top of the thigh and keep the rest, when you've got two, wear them both one over the other with a leg in each.
The discarded leg can be used to filter the bits out of chip fat so it can be re-used, or cut into rings to use as ties - very good for plants

---

flatten out the surface of part-used jars of pesto/tins of tomato puree with the back of a spoon or by tapping on a worktop then gently dribble on a thin layer of olive oil to completely cover the surface so that all the product surface is submerged - will keep for weeks in the fridge without going mouldy - my current record is 8 weeks for a jar of pesto I forgot about at the back of the fridge!

---

bung all your cleaning/washing up cloths and dishwashing sponges in with the hot white wash you use for towels etc to keep them nice and clean & you won't find yourself reaching for new ones so often.

---

Don't buy expensive toilet cleaner. Keep your old angled bottle & fill it up with Value bleach (25p for 2 litres in Asda/Tesco/Wilko) Squirting this under the rim, leaving it unflushed for an hour coupled with a good scrub with the toilet brush is just as good as stuff which claims to 'stick' to the bowl. But if you can't live without the satisfaction of seeing a treacly substance crawling down the sides, refill with a supermarket own brand 'thick' bleach instead - still cheaper than toilet cleaner.

---

Value/Smartprice Bubble bath - 40p for a litre in Asda/Tesco - the tesco version smells nicer.
Use to refill Handwash & showergel bottles - also good as a basic shampoo. Add a little Zoflora to the handwash to make it antibacterial. Can also be used as a makeshift washing up liquid if you run out & don't want to pay over the odds in a corner shop though it won't be great on very greasy dishes.

---

Put one capful of your favourite Zoflora in an old spray bottle & top up with water. Use instead of Febreze and as an air freshener - is antibacterial too!

---

A little baby oil on a duster will clean both sealed and unsealed wood effortlessly and give a brilliant shine, smell and depth of colour/grain. No need to buy expensive specialist furniture oils which can often top £4 a bottle!
Be careful with varnished old/vintage surfaces though and test on an inconspicuous area first.

---

Don't buy exfoliating creams - use a buffing puff/exfoliating sponge - after much experimentation I've found that the No7 brand, while a little more expensive, lasts 10 times longer than the others. I've had my current one for nearly two years and use it twice a week. (I wash/rinse it thoroughly after every use and boil it up in water with a tiny amount of bleach added once every few months to keep it hygenic and plump it up again - rinse very well) Use with Aqueous Cream (see below) for dry skin or with supermarket own-brand unperfumed vegetable oil soap for other skin types. Works better and way less messy than homemade oatmeal or sugar exfoliators.

---

Aqueous Cream - I'm in love with this stuff!
Made for use by sufferers of eczma and other conditions involving very sore, sensitive or dry skin it costs only around £3.50 for a massive 500g tub (Tesco/Boots etc) is non-irritating and doesn't contain perfume, parabens or any other chemical muck (contains only 4 ingredients, one of which is water ) It has a multitude of uses - it's all but replaced every other beauty product on my dressing table.
The tiniest blob will remove eye makeup - including mascara. Rub gently over your closed eyes till you look like a Panda & then wash off with water.
Used neat it works just as well as the most expensive Night Creams I've ever had & is very good round the eyes and lips as it doesn't irritate or sting. Also great on severely dry hands and for hard skin on the feet - especially if you put it on then walk around in plastic flipflops for a couple of hours so it sinks right in.
Dilute it with varying amounts of cooled boiled water to make a cleanser, moisturiser/day-cream or hand/body lotion - add a squirt of your favourite expensive perfume & you've got the matching body lotion at a fraction of the price.
Don't buy expensive moisturising deodourant - just rub Aqueous cream into your armpits after shaving then use an ordinary deodourant.
Rub a little onto your hands and smooth over your hair to combat frizziness.
Slightly personal this one *'-'* - I'm a post menopausal lady who occasionally needs a little lubricant assistance. Commercial lubricants are expensive, tend to dry up & go sticky mid *fun* and the fancier types can cause quite nasty soreness & irritation - Aqueous cream does none of these things, works better than all of them and feels more 'natural' DON'T use it with condoms though as, like anything that isn't fully water-based, it can damage latex, making the condom unsafe. </embarrassment>
DISCLAIMER - As with anything, Don't use if you are allergic to any of the ingredients!

EVEN CHEAPER OPTION If you don't have sensitive skin or don't mind your hand/body lotion being highly perfumed I've just discovered that Tesco do a 500ml bottle of baby lotion for 9p! - you read that right - 9p!!!
It is *very* strongly perfumed tho - wouldn't recommend anyone use it on their face (or baby for that matter!)

---

Plain Value brand soap (around 11p a bar) is cheaper than showergel or liquid handwash, lasts longer, cleans more thoroughly and is better for the environment.
You can grate it into warm water & dissolve for washing delicate woollens instead of buying soap flakes or handwash liquid.

---

Value brand washing powder (less than £1 a kilo in Asda) can be used instead of Shake-n-Vac and bin freshener powder (just keep your old containers and refill)

---

savingqueen

great post - thank you! I'm gradually using up my stash of cleaners, toiletries etc and looking to replace with just the sort of stuff you mention. Interested in all the uses for aqueous cream

sq:)

Evil_Olive wrote: »

I LOVE this thread!

Man! Where do I start!

---

Kitchen/Bathroom/Multi-Surface cleaning spray:
Keep an empty 750ml spray bottle from your last Mr Muscle Kitchen or whatever and fill it up with the following:
500ml (half a bottle) of the Value/Smartprice version of 'Flash' (all purpose cleaner) - 25p for 1 litre in Asda/Tesco/Wilko
1 capful of your favourite Zoflora concentrated disinfectant
top up with water
It works just as well as Mr Muscle Kitchen on congealed food/oil on the cooker and in the microwave - spray on & leave for 10-20 mins before wiping.
It's anti-bacterial so is great for kitchen/bathroom surfaces and the toilet seat/lid/handle/outside of bowl etc and it smells delicious.
Also cleans windows if you wipe down with a damp cloth.cellulose sponge-wipe after and buff up with a clean teatowel to remove streaks.
Works out at about 23p per 750ml bottle whereas commercial ones will set you back £1-2. Also gets rid of all those different bottles under your sink!

---

If you get a ladder in one leg of a pair of tights, cut the laddered leg off near the top of the thigh and keep the rest, when you've got two, wear them both one over the other with a leg in each.
The discarded leg can be used to filter the bits out of chip fat so it can be re-used, or cut into rings to use as ties - very good for plants

---

flatten out the surface of part-used jars of pesto/tins of tomato puree with the back of a spoon or by tapping on a worktop then gently dribble on a thin layer of olive oil to completely cover the surface so that all the product surface is submerged - will keep for weeks in the fridge without going mouldy - my current record is 8 weeks for a jar of pesto I forgot about at the back of the fridge!

---

bung all your cleaning/washing up cloths and dishwashing sponges in with the hot white wash you use for towels etc to keep them nice and clean & you won't find yourself reaching for new ones so often.

---

Don't buy expensive toilet cleaner. Keep your old angled bottle & fill it up with Value bleach (25p for 2 litres in Asda/Tesco/Wilko) Squirting this under the rim, leaving it unflushed for an hour coupled with a good scrub with the toilet brush is just as good as stuff which claims to 'stick' to the bowl. But if you can't live without the satisfaction of seeing a treacly substance crawling down the sides, refill with a supermarket own brand 'thick' bleach instead - still cheaper than toilet cleaner.

---

Value/Smartprice Bubble bath - 40p for a litre in Asda/Tesco - the tesco version smells nicer.
Use to refill Handwash & showergel bottles - also good as a basic shampoo. Add a little Zoflora to the handwash to make it antibacterial. Can also be used as a makeshift washing up liquid if you run out & don't want to pay over the odds in a corner shop though it won't be great on very greasy dishes.

---

Put one capful of your favourite Zoflora in an old spray bottle & top up with water. Use instead of Febreze and as an air freshener - is antibacterial too!

---

A little baby oil on a duster will clean both sealed and unsealed wood effortlessly and give a brilliant shine, smell and depth of colour/grain. No need to buy expensive specialist furniture oils which can often top £4 a bottle!
Be careful with varnished old/vintage surfaces though and test on an inconspicuous area first.

---

Don't buy exfoliating creams - use a buffing puff/exfoliating sponge - after much experimentation I've found that the No7 brand, while a little more expensive, lasts 10 times longer than the others. I've had my current one for nearly two years and use it twice a week. (I wash/rinse it thoroughly after every use and boil it up in water with a tiny amount of bleach added once every few months to keep it hygenic and plump it up again - rinse very well) Use with Aqueous Cream (see below) for dry skin or with supermarket own-brand unperfumed vegetable oil soap for other skin types. Works better and way less messy than homemade oatmeal or sugar exfoliators.

---

Aqueous Cream - I'm in love with this stuff!
Made for use by sufferers of eczma and other conditions involving very sore, sensitive or dry skin it costs only around £3.50 for a massive 500g tub (Tesco/Boots etc) is non-irritating and doesn't contain perfume, parabens or any other chemical muck (contains only 4 ingredients, one of which is water ) It has a multitude of uses - it's all but replaced every other beauty product on my dressing table.
The tiniest blob will remove eye makeup - including mascara. Rub gently over your closed eyes till you look like a Panda & then wash off with water.
Used neat it works just as well as the most expensive Night Creams I've ever had & is very good round the eyes and lips as it doesn't irritate or sting. Also great on severely dry hands and for hard skin on the feet - especially if you put it on then walk around in plastic flipflops for a couple of hours so it sinks right in.
Dilute it with varying amounts of cooled boiled water to make a cleanser, moisturiser/day-cream or hand/body lotion - add a squirt of your favourite expensive perfume & you've got the matching body lotion at a fraction of the price.
Don't buy expensive moisturising deodourant - just rub Aqueous cream into your armpits after shaving then use an ordinary deodourant.
Rub a little onto your hands and smooth over your hair to combat frizziness.
Slightly personal this one *'-'* - I'm a post menopausal lady who occasionally needs a little lubricant assistance. Commercial lubricants are expensive, tend to dry up & go sticky mid *fun* and the fancier types can cause quite nasty soreness & irritation - Aqueous cream does none of these things, works better than all of them and feels more 'natural' DON'T use it with condoms though as, like anything that isn't fully water-based, it can damage latex, making the condom unsafe. </embarrassment>
DISCLAIMER - As with anything, Don't use if you are allergic to any of the ingredients!

EVEN CHEAPER OPTION If you don't have sensitive skin or don't mind your hand/body lotion being highly perfumed I've just discovered that Tesco do a 500ml bottle of baby lotion for 9p! - you read that right - 9p!!!
It is *very* strongly perfumed tho - wouldn't recommend anyone use it on their face (or baby for that matter!)

---

Plain Value brand soap (around 11p a bar) is cheaper than showergel or liquid handwash, lasts longer, cleans more thoroughly and is better for the environment.
You can grate it into warm water & dissolve for washing delicate woollens instead of buying soap flakes or handwash liquid.

---

Value brand washing powder (less than £1 a kilo in Asda) can be used instead of Shake-n-Vac and bin freshener powder (just keep your old containers and refill)

---

savingqueen

Saver0811 wrote: »

To prevent screws (small) constantly loosening, insert a length of cut rubber band into the screw hole, then insert the screw, & tighten.

Cut rubber band to length.

Works a treat on my loo seat !!

another thing I'll be trying - our loo seat is always coming loose

ta
sq

sb44

I just came across this tip via the foodsaver yahoo group.

Sometimes you only want a couple of rashers and have to thaw a pack of 6 to 8.

http://www.tastehongkong.com/cooking-tricks-tips/how-do-i-freeze-leftover-bacon/



I am def going to do this and vac pack them in a foodsaver bag to avoid freezer burn.

rosie383

Peel the 'fat' end of the carrot first and then the root end. Having just peeled a huge bag of carrots this morning, I can confidently say that if you do it this way, it is about a hundred times easier to hold!!!

quintwins

rosie383 wrote: »

Peel the 'fat' end of the carrot first and then the root end. Having just peeled a huge bag of carrots this morning, I can confidently say that if you do it this way, it is about a hundred times easier to hold!!!

Or don't peel them at all, i acually read that on here a long time ago and wasn't keen but acually aslong as you give them a scrub there fine, and there no waste other than the ends