Try not to overfill your fridge – it should be around 75 percent full for maximum efficiency.

Is woodworm a problem but you don’t like using chemical insecticides? Try rubbing a clove of garlic along the grain of the wood. Seems the worms aren’t too fond of the taste of garlic!

If you’re a fan of indoor flowering plants, they’ll produce more flowers if you keep them slightly pot-bound.

Liquid’s good for greasy stains and as a spot cleaner and pre-treater. Powder is cheaper and fine for general loads and households free of small children and food stains.

When you’re washing corduroy trousers, turn them inside out to avoid crushing the pile. Use a warm cycle, a relatively low spin, then iron on the wrong side of the fabric to further protect the pile.

Next time you’re cooking pasta, use my tried-and-tested method. Bring it to the boil, turn off the heat under the pan and leave for exactly 20 minutes before draining. You’ll save both fuel and the bother of testing to see when it’s ready!

Foot traffic and sunshine can make a rug look tired. Turn it round once or twice a year to even out the wear.

Do you have clothes that smell musty? Or soft furnishings that reek of cigarette smoke? Get them fresh again by pouring some neat vodka into a spray bottle, spritz your item lightly and leave to dry. Any odours should be neutralized, and it’s cheaper than a trip to the dry cleaner!

I love making jam and now it’s chutney time, the preserving continues. The best way of reducing time/faff/question marks over setting is with a Thermapen (jam is set at 105C). They’re not cheap – from £36; thermapen.co.uk – but are professional quality, super-quick and dead accurate. A great present for a jam-maker.

If you’ve mislaid your bookmark, cut a corner from an old envelope and slide over the page you’re at. No more folded-over pages and a cute way to use up old envelopes.