Simple useful things that took you too long to work out...

[MyCatIsAGit]

Like taking the oven shelf out of the top oven to use in the bottom (bigger) oven so you can fit 3 trays in rather than just 2.

10 years we've had that oven, juggling baking trays at Christmas and for kid's beige food and chips tea, in fact most days. Especially as top oven doesn't work v well.

Revelation this Sunday..

When making cauliflower cheese, tip the cooked and drained cauliflower into the cheese sauce and give it a good stir before putting into the oven dish rather than pouring the sauce straight on top of the cauliflower. It prevents it from going watery when baked.

I also found that adding a processed cheese slice or dairylea triangle to home made cheese sauce stops it from going grainy.

Before cooking broccoli I stab the stalks a few times with the tip of a small kitchen knife, it makes them cook quicker so the florets don't go soggy by the time the stalk is cooked through.

Rubber gloves to remove pet hairs from the edge of the carpet or on curtains where they rub against them.

MAke "ice cubes" of cream in an ice cube tray with leftover cream so that when a recipe calls for the inevitable "tbsp of cream" in a sauce you have some without having to buy a tub

If you have a an ice cube dispenser in your fridge, one or two ice cubes into your cup of tea or coffee immediately takes it to drinking temperature.

Jux - sorry for massive delay. I just use ordinary malt vinegar (that you put on chips) as is cheaper than white vinegar, just chuck a big glug in kettle. I don't boil it, (but heed PunkHedgehog's advice on frothing if you do!) just leave it for an hour or so and you'll see the difference. Obvs you'll need to boil a few kettles with fresh water afterwards. You can even use the 'used' vinegar to clean metal plugs and sinks etc.

And if you're using white vinegar as a fabric conditoner you won't need the fabric conditioner if that makes sense. I can't get it to fluff up my towels personally, but if you can, you won't smell it.

Happy err.. Vinegaring?!!

DH just pointed out that the 4 plug extension lead needs to be in main luggage not hand luggage, as friend at work had one confiscated from hand luggage as cord too long - strangling risk I think.

If you ever burn anything in a pan, add a bit of washing power and leave overnight, next day stains lift off easily.

Freeze cheese sandwiches for packed lunch. They defrost by lunchtime and save time in the morning- got that tip from mumsnet a couple of years ago and it is still pleasing.

amazed at the toaster revelation, must try this!

Put a layer of wax paper on the top of kitchen cabinets.

You will never again have to shudder at the layer of YUCK & dead flies that build up on the top of cabinets / upper shelves. Just replace it once or twice a year.

mycatisagit I had the same revelation with the oven shelves recently except it's super shiny and the other two are well....not so shiny!
Also you can get replacement ones off eBay that are extendable and fit any over for about a £5

Blitz stale bread into breadcrumbs and freeze. Handy when you need them for recipes.
Hair conditioner for shaving legs. Just keep rinsing the razor.
Scrunched up newspaper for polishing windows.
If painting and need the brushes to continue next day, wrap bristles tightly in cling film and you dont have to wash and dry them.
Immac for de-clogging hairy plug holes

When breaking in a new pair of shoes or boots, rub your feet with talc. Put some more in your socks and then put them on. Put more in the shoe or put and then put them on. No more blisters. Works v well with kids new school shoes

My cat's right messy, so I put kitchen paper under his dishes then scrap later, stops the stuff welding itself to the floor with his spit....lovely

I don't know if the toaster thing is true. Imagine leaving a piece of bread in the toaster for six minutes... There would be a fire!

Another way to transport shampoo bottles (& others) is to unscrew the lid, put some cling film over and put lid back on. No leaks.

Probably obvious but when I'm filling the dishwasher I put each type of cutlery in seperate sections in the cutlery basket. Then dead easy to unload.

Labelling things for the freezer - use strips ofmasking tape and a black marker.

I have 5 small baskets in the laundry room and two wide shelves that they all fit into. One baskets holds uniform items for the kids and socks, underwear. I just rotate. The other baskets are for adult clothes, kids clothes, ironing and sheets/ towels. I sort straight out of the dryer or when I bring in from the line.
So if I'm going to my bedroom I can just grab adult basket and put stuff away with our having to sort. Or if I'm too lazy to put away I can always find something clean without having to dig through a gigantic pile.

The cling-film tip also works if you wrap your paint trays and rollers tightly in them overnight.

I love these threads.

Method for cooking rice : 1 cup white basmati rice: 1 1/3 cup water. Cover and bring to the boil and fast simmer for 2 mins. Turn to very lowest heat (if you're have an electric hob, preheat a different ring to the lowest setting during the 2 mins simmer and then move pan to that ring, if you have gas, you might find a diffuser useful) leave with lid on undisturbed for 7 mins, then remove from heat and leave for another 7 mins. Remove lid and fluff up perfect rice with fork. Could never cook rice until I read this in a Sunday newspaper magazine.

The toaster = minutes is not true. Certainly not for all toasters. It's a setting for for how brown you want although god knows why they have a setting of 3-6 when anything past 2.5 burns them black.

www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/toasters-are-illuminati-tho

If your toast did pop up at the exact right number of minutes it was either a coincidence or you have a very intelligent and ridiculously over priced toaster with a built in timer that cost more than any sensible person would spend on a contraption to heat up two slices of bread.

I always wondered how people made those clear ice cubes as mine were always cloudy opaque. Apparently you use boiling water to make clear ice cubes (& can put in a flower, herb or fruit). Cold water makes cloudy ones.

You probably all knew this already.

littleham boiled or boiling? they would take ages to freeze?

I want to ask about the combing hair I the shower thing - why?
Mil stayed for too long longer than normal recently and left her comb in the shower. Had hair trapped in it and looked horrid. Was so glad when she left and took it away.

I use a dossil for hair catching but not sure she did so extra hair being pulled out and blocking the drain. Yuck. And I get to clear it out if it blocks.

Re the vinegar in the kettle - you'll need to boil the kettle two or three times to rinse out the flavour of the vinegar. Use this water to chuck down the kitchen sink / hand basins with some soda crystals. Two jobs done in one!