What's your best household tip that you don't think is widely known??

[PisforPeter]

I need to up the standards on the domestic front

For me, it's been Get A Cleaner.

Not helpful, sorry!

Line your kitchen bin with several bags at once. Makes it quicker (and more likely) to empty it. It will also catch leaks meaning you have to wash the bin less often.

Teach your children to make their beds and tidy up their toys

They also see putting away clothes as fun and love hoovering

Get a company in to clean your oven-do not start to do it yourself. Get some of that Teflon sheet to put in the bottom and wash it every now and again.

Baby Oil your stainless steel.

Do cobwebs with hoover attachment hose rather than waving a feather duster about.

Choose a MIL that has lower cleaning standards than your own, then she can never judge the cleanliness of your home!

Buy Bar Keepers Friend, the powder, not the spray.

If you have as many French windows as me (25) buy a Karcher window cleaner - it does all the tiles and kitchen cupboards too!

Instead of getting a company to clean your oven why not wipe it after every use?

Dont keep anythink you dont need.

also marking place I want some tips

I love the multiple bin liners idea, I'm going to do that!

Clean brushed aluminium surfaces e.g oven hoods using nail polish remover. It cuts through the greasy fingerprints and comes up like new. I also like the fumes

Clean windows and mirrors smear free by using scrunched up newspaper.

Check the nick of a new DP's house before you move in and have to turn into bloody Snow White because your OCD can't handle it.

Use babywipes to clean the paintwork in your house every now and then - cheap, easy, and makes SUCH a difference to how clean the house looks.

They are great instead of dusters too - or cleaning awkward to reach places like behind the toilet.

Baby oil on a bit of kitchen roll to polish stainless steel... I picked this up when I worked at KFC when I was a student! Clean items as normal with your usual cleaner (warm water and a drop of washing up liquid works finefor cutting through grease). Dry I then put a smidge of baby oil on a sheet of kitchen roll then just buff it into the stainless steel. Looks so shiny and new again, with minimal effort.

People regularly comment on my lovely shiny steel!

(We also did the multiple bin liner trick at KFC too to save time, nice tip)

Has anyone said 'don't have kids' yet?

(Obligatory response to domestic goddess tips type threads)

Clean the one side of a glass surface left to right and the other side top to bottom - You´ll know on which side the smear is then

I don´t to the multiple bin liners but every bin has a roll of bin bags that fit in in the bottom of it.

Cut / fold newspaper to fit the top of cabinets in your kitchen then just bin and reline instead of cleaning!

To clean a microwave, put a bowl with some water and bicarbonate of soda in the microwave and microwave! the steam will clean and soften anything baked on just wipe clean.

Use wax paper to make chrome taps etc shine. Clean as normal with a soap and water, then rinse and dry. Run hot water (into the washing up so as to not waste it) until the chrome is warm and using the waxy side of the paper BUFF it makes them sparkle and keeps water mark / future cleaning at bay.

I´m sure I have a few more that will come to me.

Clean your washing machine very now and then by dumping a load of bicarb and white vinegar through the soap dispenser. It will clean out the pipes and get rid of any lingering smell.

If you have burnt on crap on your cooker hob, pour a little bit of boiling water on it...leave for 5 mins and then simply wipe it off with a cloth.

No need for scrubbing or cleaning stuff.

Clean the one side of a glass surface left to right and the other side top to bottom - You´ll know on which side the smear is then

Absolutely genius!

If your kitchen cupboard doors are sticky with old oil from cooking, wipe it off with some fresh oil on a rag (leave it soak in for a min and then wipe with clean cloth).

Then a small spray of any cleaner & a quick wipe, will remove the last of the new oil.

Have tried neat bleach for the sticky cupboards before, and the clean oil method works much better & with less smell.

Use baby oil sparingly on stainless steel..if you overdo it like I did dust will stick to it

Don't spend ££££s on wipes, buy microfibre cloths - 1 for bathroom, 1 for kitchen, 1 for dusting. Just rinse/wash and leave to dry. They will dry by the next day and are so absorbent for cleaning. Much more environmentally friendly than wipes/kitchen towel.

Use a drop of vinegar and scrunched up newspaper for windows. Gets them properly clean and smear free. (Love Newname's tip )

Become short-sighted to enjoy a soft-focus illusion of cleanliness.

Marry a chap who appears to like the whole sorry business of cleaning and is fecking superb at ironing.

Concur with bunchoffives - microfibre cloths are superb. They even remove light limescale with a little rub. I don't bother with polish - just a wet and dry microfibre for a dust-free finish.

I do rate Lakeland's Nilglass for windows - just that and kitchen roll and Bob's your auntie's live-in lover.

By grabbing hold of a charity letter and twisting it sideways, it is possible to remove the free pen without opening the envelope and subjecting yourself to all that guilt.

;)

Save a fortune on laundry bills and give your dirty shirts to Oxfam. They will wash and iron them and you can buy them back for fifty pence.

;)