Rough skin solution
To soften stubborn dry patches on rough elbows and knees this winter, rub with a simple scrub of honey and sugar, then gently rinse.
Avo to go
Now avocados are cheap and plentiful once again, blend the ripe flesh with a little lemon juice and freeze in sealed containers. The frozen purée is great for smoothies, dips and spreading.
Travel tip
Use an inexpensive, lidded plastic ice-cube tray, secured with a rubber band, to carry and store pairs of earrings when travelling.
Yuletide tipple
Celebrating Christmas in August? Use your slow cooker to make and serve mulled wine or hot chocolate.
Eggs-ellent idea
Fry eggs in rings of capsicum instead of an egg ring – it’s nutritious and there’s no messy clean-up.
Mind the gap
To avoid gaps when picking up stitches on a neckline or armhole, pick up a stitch in every possible stitch along the edge. On the next row, work enough K2 tog or P2 tog evenly spaced around the opening to get the number of stitches you need and proceed as per pattern.
Lemony fresh
After squeezing the juice from lemons, try putting the skins in the cutlery holder of your dishwasher and then run it as usual – the skins will leave a wonderfully clean and fresh lemon fragrance in the machine.
Remove grass stains
Dampen the stains and rub in a thick paste of oxygenated stain remover powder and water. Leave for one to two hours, check to see if stains have lifted (and repeat if necessary), then wash as usual.
Snow simple
If you live in a snowy area, spray your shovel with cooking spray and the snow will slip right off when shovelling.
Home-grown spuds
Use two or three identical polystyrene food boxes to grow potatoes. Plant seed potatoes in one box (make sure there are drainage holes), then cut the bottom out of the second/third boxes and hill the plants by placing the second box over the first, and adding more potting mix as the plants grow.
Close shave
Use an inexpensive plastic razor to remove pilling from jumpers and other clothing quickly and easily.
Reader’s hint
Fix a magnetic knife strip to the wall near your sewing machine to hold all your bobbins, scissors and small machine tools.
