Brighten up cotton items that are yellowing by soaking them in hot water and the juice of a couple of lemons rather than household bleach. They’ll smell nicer and the lemon juice will be less harsh on the fibres.

If your leather shoes need a shine and you’ve no shoe polish, spray a quick squirt of furniture polish onto a soft cotton cloth, rub the shoes with it and buff well to bring out the sheen.

If you’re painting your radiators white, you’ll need to use special radiator paint as ordinary white paint will eventually turn yellow with the heat.

Top tip from my chef son: when scrambling eggs, add salt at the very end – you’ll have a much creamier finish. (Salt breaks up protein and makes the eggs watery.) 

Digital kitchen scales registering low on battery and you’re mid-baking? Slip a little piece of foil between element and battery and you’ll squeeze a bit more life out until you’re able to replace the battery.

Don’t avoid barbecuing because of the clean-up afterwards. Make it easy: use a hot strong solution of soda crystals (a cup to 500ml water) – and be ready for the next time the sun comes out!

If you’re ever faced with hard-to-shift stains on your kitchen worktop (or vinyl flooring), a paste of bicarbonate of soda and warm water usually works. If not, a sprinkle of Bar Keeper’s Friend (from hardware shops) on a damp microfibre cloth certainly will.

Always store your nuts in the freezer rather than the cupboard. There’s no danger of them going off or attracting moths, and you can use straight away either in baking or added to dishes.

The surface of good quality waterproof garments has a layer of durable water repellant. Washing with normal detergents can remove this, which is turn wrecks the water-repelling action. To clean, use DP Liquid Soap Flakes (around £3 from supermarkets), which will protect the repellant.

As the temperature warms up, you might find bad smells becoming stronger! Keep your kitchen bin sweet with a regular sprinkling of bicarbonate of soda – it absorbs odours rather than masks them.