MISS MONEYSAVER: Readers reveal their secrets that make housework a breeze

Back in November I asked you to share your favourite hacks for saving money around the home and I was absolutely inundated with brilliant ideas.

Many of the cleaning tips were really clever, like this one from Julia Hartstill, who said: ‘Use a scoop of Napisan in your washing machine with your usual detergent — even at low temperatures it will help to sanitise and whiten your wash. It’s also a good pre-soak.

‘It was what mums used to tackle old-fashioned towelling nappies, and they always looked snowy white on a washing line. Napisan is also cheaper than Vanish — £2.99 in Home Bargains, £4.20 in Sainsbury’s (in the baby department).’

Julia was not a fan of my tip of putting white vinegar in with the wash, though, as she says that can be harsh on washing machine mechanisms.

However, she did say that white vinegar is great for killing weeds and, when mixed with bicarbonate of soda, it also cleans drains very effectively.

Heather Bishop uses white vinegar to blitz limescale. ‘If you have scale in showers or anywhere, dab it on, wait a few minutes and wipe clean,’ she says. Just don’t leave it on too long.

To clean glass or windows, Heather recommends a mixture of half white vinegar and half water to wipe away smears.

To remove tea stains in mugs or flasks, her tip is to use washing soda (soda crystals) and boiling water: ‘Leave for half an hour, and then wipe clean’.

There were also some really handy pointers for how to prepare food cheaply.

Annette Gregory advised: ‘I go through the fridge just before I do “the big shop”. I take out tired vegetables and the odd slice of ham/bacon and make a soup, using a tin of tomatoes and stock cubes as a base.

‘With a crusty loaf, it makes a meal out of what you probably would have thrown away.’

I’m definitely going to do that the next time I get down to the last few sad-looking things in the veg tray.

Susan Williams also sent in a tonne of fantastic food tips. She said: ‘When I was growing up, my mother only put the oven on once a week (not a Sunday, unless it was Christmas) and she filled it with whatever the meal to be served that evening was, as well as jacket potatoes, sponge pudding, loaf cakes, currant buns and assorted small cakes to last the family for a week.

Barbara Davies says: ‘When buying bananas, separate them and wrap each stem in clingfilm so they don’t go brown or soft.’ It works, I’ve tried it!

‘It was a full afternoon’s work, but made good use of electricity and meant the family was stocked up for days.

‘I used to do this as well, but we recently moved into a house without a cooker at all.

‘There’s only me and my husband, so instead of spending money on a new cooker, we bought an electric, double ring induction hob, a small table-top oven and a circular glass halogen convection cooker.

‘We find these work perfectly well for us.’

You can get a 17-litre halogen cooker at Wilko for £50 (wilko.com), or try Daewoo’s 12-litre (with a five-litre extension ring) halogen air fryer, which costs £44 at very.co.uk.

Susan also has a great tactic for cooking jacket potatoes. ‘I thread them on to a couple of kebab skewers and wrap them in foil. And if you don’t eat them on the day, leave them to go cold and they can be sliced and fried until golden brown the next day.’

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 CHEAP VEGGIES

Right now you can get lots of seasonal veggies for just 19p in Lidl stores. Sainsbury’s is doing the same from tomorrow, with prices also starting at 19p, and Aldi has said it will drop the price of its ‘Super Six’ veggies from tomorrow too. In Lidl you’ll be able to grab a 1.5kg bag of potatoes, a 500g bag of parsnips and 1kg bag of carrots all for 19p each.

You’ll also be able to get 500g of sprouts and a single swede for the same price. Aldi is matching that but you can get 2kg of potatoes for 19p and it is adding red and white cabbage to the deal, too.

Sainsbury’s customers will be able to buy an even bigger bag of potatoes (2.5kg) for only 19p, plus a 1kg bag of carrots, 500g of parsnips and 500g of Brussels sprouts — all for 19p each.

 A HANDY HELPER

There’s a new free app out called ivie (ivie.co.uk/ivie-app/) which gives you personal insights into what energy you’re using and when. You can also buy the ivie Bud to go with it which is a screen device that shows you how much energy you’re using, and where, in real time.

It costs £49.99 plus delivery but Daily Mail readers can get an exclusive 10 per cent off using the code JASMINE10 at the checkout at ivie.co.uk/product/ivie-bud/. Offer runs until December 31.

Cooking kebab-style is a clever way to reduce the amount of energy needed to prepare all sorts of foods, which is the thinking behind a new kitchen gadget, mySpike. This is a metal spike on a stand that you put in the oven.

It costs from £29.99, and enables you to cook meat and vegetables for much less time because the heat from the metal spike helps them cook from the inside.

Daily Mail readers can enjoy a 10 per cent discount by using the code JASMINE10% at the checkout, valid until January 31 (myspike.co.uk).

Another clever food-saving hint comes from Barbara Davies, who says: ‘When buying bananas, separate them and wrap each stem in clingfilm so they don’t go brown or soft.’ It works, I’ve tried it!

Heather Bishop, meanwhile, wraps cabbage, carrots, spuds, beans and more in a damp cloth when she puts them in the fridge. ‘The veg keeps fresh for days, or even weeks,’ she says.

Clare Byam-Cook gave me a telling off, saying: ‘I was surprised to see you recommending buying expensive resealable (but single-use) freezer bags from Lakeland, along with plastic storage boxes bought from Amazon and hardware stores.

‘Surely it would be better to tell your readers to use items they already have, such as glass jars, yoghurt pots and margarine tubs, to freeze leftover food?

‘I always wash these items in the dishwasher and they are perfectly safe to use in a freezer for years on end.’

Good point well made, Clare!

She adds: ‘My other money-saving tip is that you can restore wilting vegetables such as broccoli, courgettes and cauliflower by cutting the end of the stems and then standing them in a bowl of cold water for an hour or so. They absorb the water and are then as good as new.’

This is certainly news to me. It’s the sort of thing I do with lettuce and herbs, but I hadn’t thought of it for veggies.

When it comes to staying warm indoors for less, Rita Pocock has this handy bit of information: ‘Some years back I bought a hardly used (if ever) electric foot warmer at a charity sale in the village I live in. It’s like one large boot — shoes or slippers are not to be used inside it.

‘I was lucky as I paid only £1 for it, but I would not be without it. It saves me turning on or turning up the central heating until I’m ready to go to bed.’

Beurer, a good make, does a heated foot warmer with a removable fleece liner for £52.99 at lakeland.co.uk.

Or you could get heated slippers that you can walk around in from Kudd.ly.

Its Komfies slippers have clay inserts that you put in the microwave to heat up.

They come in two sizes and colours, and cost £25 (kudd.ly/shop/komfies).

Susan Williams recommends fingerless mittens for keeping warm indoors — and leg warmers, too.

Sweaty Betty fingerless wool mittens are now half price, at £15 (sweatybetty.com), and Marks & Spencer has thermal legwarmers for £8 (marksandspencer.com).

 Susan Williams has discovered radiator aluminium foil from a company called Radflek. ‘It is really simple to install and virtually invisible when in place,’ she says.

Her other discovery is radiator aluminium foil from a company called Radflek. ‘It is really simple to install and virtually invisible when in place,’ she says.

‘The rooms do heat up quicker and the heat seems to project into the room better, rather than going backwards into heating the walls.’

Each sheet measures 120cm x 60cm and come in three, five and eight-sheet packs, which also contain everything required for wall-mounted radiators such as clips, tape and instructions. It costs from £21.99 per pack (radflek.com).

I don’t have enough space here to include all of your clever tips, but you can see a lot more by having a look at moneymagpie.com/messageboards/board/ make-money.

And please do add some of your own to help other readers.