Set in stains do not stand a chance with this carpet cleaning trick. Spray the stain with a solution of water and vinegar. Place a clean, dry towel over the stain and with a warm iron set to the steam setting place it over the towel and steam the carpet for 3 seconds. Repeat until stain lifts to towel.

As well as lifting pet hair from your clothes (why do they always love your nicest outfit the most?) lint rollers are a handy tool for removing dust from lampshades, mantlepieces and even shelves. Just roll it over and hey presto!

Blinds can be a magnet for dust, dead insects and floating pet fluff. Get them looking good as new with an old sock. Mix one part white vinegar to one part warm water and give your blinds a rub with an old sock to remove dust and grime.

If you get annoyed when, after a hot bath or shower, you can”t see yourself in a misty mirror, toothpaste could be the answer! Just rub your bathroom mirror with toothpaste and wipe clean with a clean, dry cloth before you shower and hey-presto – one easy to use mist-free mirror.

If someone hasn’t used a coaster and has marked your coffee table, use a hairdryer on it before wiping the area with a tiny amount of olive oil. Hey-presto – good as new.

Lacking shoe polish? Use some trusty Vaseline or petroleum jelly to shine them in a hurry. It’s cheap too.

Get rid of water marks or stains in your bathtub by cutting a grapefruit in half, sprinkling on some rock salt and giving it a good scrub. Have the other half for a nutritious breakfast!

It sounds weird but rubbing finger marks with a slice of white bread will give your walls a new lease of life! We’re not sure how someone discovered this but we’re grateful they did.

Get tricky-to-reach crumbs and burnt bits out of your toaster by unplugging it and sweeping with a pastry brush. This will help your toaster last longer as well as making crumbs less likely to catch and smell.

Apply a red hot iron to the head of the screw for a short time, the screwdriver being applied immediately while the screw is hot.

Half fill with cold water, then cook in it one whole onion unpeeled until soft.

Make a simple paste using flour, salt, and vinegar. Simply brush it on, let it sit for a while, then rinse it off with clear water. You can also use Ketchup. It may require more than one application if the tarnish is severe.

If the hands are stained there is nothing that will remove the stains as well as lemon. Cut a lemon in halves and apply the cut surface as if it were soap.

Any dish that seems to require soaking until the next meal washes easily if placed upside down in a pan of hot water and steamed a few minutes. Steaming cleans dishes much quicker than soaking.

Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda to cranberries while cooking and they will not require much sugar.

Heat lemons well before using and there will be twice as much juice.

To avoid lumps in batter, add a pinch of salt to the flour before it is wet.

Use cotton swabs dipped in lukewarm soap or detergent suds to clean the grooves of carved furniture.

To keep nuts from sinking to the bottom of cake or bread batter, shake them in a paper bag with a pinch or two of flour.

Do you have trouble making tender, flaky, biscuits, pie crusts, or scones?
You know when a recipe, particularly something like a biscuit or scone recipe, tells you to cut the butter into the flour mixture? There are several ways you can go about doing this.

Ways to cut butter into flour:

• Use a food processor and pulse the mixture until you have a crumb like mixture.
• Use two knives and literally cut the butter into the flour until you have little tiny bits of butter.
• Use a pastry blender which ultimately works pretty similar to the knife method but is easier

Fill your dirty, icky, sticky blender a little more than halfway with very warm water. Add the dish soap of your choice. Then put the top on {a very important step} and turn it on high. Then watch as the sticky mess just begins to disappear right before your eyes! You might have to stop once and scrape the sides just a tad. Then just give it another whirl until it’s clean. Then just pour out the grimy water. Rinse with clean, fresh water. It cleans the blade better than your tongue ever could.. and it’s SO much safer.

I don’t think there is a better method around to clean your air vents! Using just a butter knife wrapped in cloth you can get in between those tiny spaces in your air vent and get rid of all of that nasty accrued dirt and dust.

Remove burnt on food and other messes from your stove burners with this simple cleaning method. Using a cup of ammonia and ziploc bags, allow the burners to soak overnight. In the morning you will have shiny, clean and like-new stove burners!