Hello Dawn s, you are most welcome to our Group, enjoy!

Having mashed your potatoes in the saucepan, add hot milk and generous knob of butter AFTER you have mashed them and then give it a good whisk with a hand whisk. If they are to remain in the saucepan to keep warm always place a piece of kitchen paper over the pan before putting on the lid. A lot of water creates on the inside of the lid which then drops into the mash!

Welcome Jake, lovely to have you with us.

It is that time of year when the spiders try to sneak into our homes to mate and lay their eggs in our warm , dusty and cluttered spaces. Even if we don't think we have any. They will find a tiny gap in the corners of our skirting board or some dust under a corner table where the vacuum cleaner or duster rarely go . Especially in dark corners, under the stairs, the back of a little used larder and they love high ceilings. I'd rather they stay in out houses, garages and sheds though. The best way to keep them away is to keep windows and doors shut, fill up any gaps and be vigilant.
There are plenty of sprays meant to remove them, kill them or put them off but over the years we have tried several home recipes and ideas including Horse chestnuts, citrus , peppermint oil and white vinegar and have found some to assist to a degree. If you are going to use any of the liquids make sure you dilute them. You can mix put citrus peel in the diluted white vinegar to tone down the smell.

I'm aware I need to eat more fruit but often don't feel like it. My very lazy way - especially with soft fruit - is to chop it together (currently strawberries, nectarines, and grapes as the time they should be eaten is getting shorter) and mix with a couple of trifle sponges, leave in the fridge for it all to merge and then have some with custard/ice cream. Keeps a couple of days and the juices definitely start to mingle.

If you ever have to fill a form in online but do not want to give your phone number but the form will not be accepted without one try this.
Type in 0333 8888 888
Its called True Call and when the person phones it they will get a message to say that you do not want them to contact you by phone and to use your email address.
Ring it now to listen to the message it gives out. Hope this helps someone.

Just made a batch of my 'family favourite sausage rolls' for the freezer.
I've discovered that instead of using a knife to trim the pastry the best gadget is a pizza wheel. I never cut the rolls into individual pieces until I've forked the front of the sausage roll and then run the pizza wheel along the edge to remove excess pastry and keep them all neat then egg wash before cutting into the whole roll to make each sausage roll and placing them onto a baking tray. A Pizza cutter is great when making biscuits too, you get such a nice straight edge.

Welcome Robert, hope you enjoy our tips Group

For the last 50 years I've always had a gas cooker but as my current one is really showing its age I decided to try a portable induction hob. I'm now converted it's brilliant except for one thing - fried eggs. On the old gas cooker I used to angle the pan to get a triangular wedge shaped egg with a nice runny yolk. Is there anyway to get this effect on my new hob - I know there are silicon moulds you can use but am not keen on them

We have a dripping tap. Well it dripped for a few days but then started flowing rather than dripping - expensive and wasteful. I know we should sort it ourselves but decided to get a plumber in. He can’t come until Monday but suggested in meantime that we press down hard on the top of the tap and if that stops the drip (it did) to put an elastic band around it holding it in down position. Worked wonders!

Welcome MickiS, nice to have you with us.

Nowadays our washing line clothes pegs are so pretty, don't just save them for hanging out your washing.......they will seal bags of anything you have opened in your freezer, chips, veg, opened loaf bags, discarding those annoying sticky tabs! Useful too for clipping bills together....you name it, clip it together with a clothes peg! don't waste money on dearer bag clips, the humble cheaper clothes peg is so handy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olHw-8py9K0

I need to send these in the post as they were made as a gift but the current lockdown climate means I cannot take them in person.
Any handy tips on the best way to pack them for sending via post.
Are there are other methods that are better and safer to use.
I have a tray of 20 small pots.
I'm concerned the flowers will break in the postal system.

..as I'd like to reuse these to grow herbs on my narrow window sill.
Any handy tips on the easiest way to do this.
If possible, I'd like to save the wax to make outdoor firelighters as I have some other packaging material saved for this purpose.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/365393426816955/permalink/2960897337266538/

We have been painting everything that doesn't move, well it seems that way. lol
Instead of continually washing your brush, pop it inside a plastic bag, seal it in and the next day it's ready to continue!

Any handy tips on how to remove ingrained musty smell from small items of clothing, e.g. socks, etc.
For some reason, I left these in a bag in my shed and they got wet and now they smell. Likely I may have been dieting and they seemed a bit big (chance would be a fine thing!) but, in this current lockdown period, I could likely still use them.
After 2 repeat wash cycles, they still contain the smell.
Any tips if I can rescue them by restoring to a decent condition?

Does anyone have any idea on how I can do this quickly, easily and cheaply.

I have hundreds of plastic bottles to clean, so looking for speed, simplicity and savings of course.

Alcohol based hand gel works well for glass bottles but unfortunately not for plastic ones though, in this current climate, of course, hand gel should not be wasted for this purpose.

A warm welcome to you Miranda.

We once talked about different ways to tackle a Swede, I personally gave up on them BUT here is another tip for this 'difficult to prepare' Vegetable......

Peel it, prick it well with a fork then microwave it for 4 to 5 minutes. It will come out soft and ready to either mash, chop or put in a stew. Let it rest for a bit once taken out of the microwave.

Good morning Anjie, welcome to our group.

Hi Gabby, welcome to our band of friends on sharing tips group

Everyone seems to be in a panic about the lack of toilet rolls in supermarkets, and yet there are normally loads of kitchen rolls for sale. Why don't people use them instead?

A while ago, somewhere on this site but not this group there was a thing about keeping food fresher for longer.
I said that contrary to the website advise of keeping salad/veg in the fridge in water i always keep mine dry by wrapping in kitchen roll and in paper bags.
Update is - my iceberg lettuce is now on it's 4th week and still entirely edible and crisp [just had some with lunch]

Just done battle with about 50 [only wanted 2 but they all came out tangled up together]
Anybody know how to control the little blighters ?

Enjoy and I'm rubbish at them so any advice would be very welcome!

This little recipe was given to me by a lady on Kahuti and I consider it to be a great and easy tip........It's called Gloucester Pie, simple, delicious and warming.........

Make 2 cheese and tomato sandwiches, cut off crusts and cut into 4.
Beat 2 eggs with a little milk.
butter an oven proof dish, place the sandwiches in evenly and then pour over the egg mixture, making sure they are covered.
Pop in a l80c oven for 30 minutes and tuck in.

Never heard of it, what do you think.
Plan extra snoozes. Sleep deprivation makes you hungrier.

How to peel and chop up without having to hire a chainsaw ??
Anyone any ideas ?

I accidentally splashed a little spray cleaner that contained bleach onto the bottom of my favourite pair of black trousers. Only discovered it whilst ironing them! Used a waterproof marker pen on the stain and it worked a treat.!

First apologies if I read this tip here previously!! If, like me, you struggle to recycle clothes (might wear it one day) so your wardrobe is bulging, then this is worth a try. Note the date. Turn all the hangers hooks one way. Whenever you wear an item turn hanger the other way. After one year, ie 4 seasons, recycle anything with hanger still facing the initial way. I wonder if it will work?!

Hi Lynne, welcome aboard, enjoy!

Hi Sam, welcome to our friendly handy tips group.

It's a job to get the last bit out of a jar of honey, you can place the jar into a Microwave for 30 seconds so it melts to enable you to pour the last out......or if you don't own a Microwave, stand the jar in a bowl and pour hot water around the jar, take care when lifting it out, I use my rubber gloves that I use for washing up.

Welcome Gigi

https://youtu.be/15PWtE2Yrqs

We are hoping to move house in late January. Any tips for making things go smoothly- any pitfalls to look out for?

When writing a date on any document in this new year, 2020. We should write it in it's full format, e.g. 31/01/2020 and not as 31/01/20 because anyone can change it to 31/01/2000 or 31/01/2019 or in between any year to suit his or her convenience, which could render the document invalid, so be cautious about this. Don't write and also don't accept it in any documents.
This problem will persist only during this year of 2020.

Well yes but do not despair ---here is the solution.

Vinegar is an easy and effective way to disinfect and clean-- dentures naturally. The acid in the vinegar dissolves tartar that has built up on dentures over time. To make this natural cleaning solution at home, combine equal parts of white distilled vinegar and warm water. Let your dentures soak in the solution for at least 30 minutes or overnight for best results. Be sure to rinse the dentures completely before re-inserting them into your mouth.
For partial dentures soak them in the vinegar solution for only 15 minutes once a day. This short amount of time will still soften build up on the dentures without damaging the metal clasps on the partial dentures.

Soak your denture brush in a bleach/water solution. You should soak your denture brush in a half bleach/half water solution once a week to prevent the growth of bacteria. Rinse the brush thoroughly before using it on your dentures.

Do not re-use the vinegar solution as it now contains debris from stains, tartar, bacteria, and whatever else was on your dentures.

You also can use bleach, purchase bleach especially designed for cleaning dentures. Then take about a teaspoon of the bleach dissolved into one cup of water and soak your dentures about 15 minutes in this solution. It should do the same thing as the vinegar solution, although the bleach might dissolve the tartar a little better than the vinegar would. Rub the dentures with a denture brush to clean away the tartar.

And A happy Christmas to you all.

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and the best New Year.

250g icing sugar

1 egg white, beaten

few drops of peppermint essence

15 chocolate sweets (we used Waitrose blue and green chocolate beans)

Method

Sieve the icing sugar into a large bowl. Mix in the egg white, a little at a time – stop adding it when you have a soft dough that feels like plasticine.

Add 3 drops of the peppermint essence, mix well and taste. Add another drop if it isn’t minty enough.

Roll half the mixture into 15 balls, about the size of cherry tomatoes, then flatten them with your hand to make the bear heads.

Place on sheets of baking parchment on a large board or tray. Using half the remaining mixture, make blueberry-sized balls and flatten them out onto the heads to make snouts. Add chocolate sweets for the noses.

Use the rest of the mixture to make the ears. Shape them into tiny balls and press them gently into the top of the heads with your fingertips. Use a cocktail stick to shape the eyes.

Leave the polar bears to dry for 3-4 hrs, or overnight. Eat within 1 month.

I find using WD40 and a soft cloth, quicker than these expensive silver cleaning products. It's also great for clearing frost off car windows, just a little is needed.

Happy Christmas to all my Members and a good 2020.

Welcome Rosalind!

I was very sad to hear of the death of Gary Rhodes today and will always remember his tip of applying mash to the top of a Shepherd's pie....using a spatula apply mash all around the edges of the pie before adding the centre mash, stops the mince from leaking from the pie. R.I.P Gary.

Welcome to Begum and Shiraz, nice to have you onboard.

Reminding you of my tip of wrapping gifts on an ironing board. A massive help especially if you have back problems.

Such a chore if you send a lot like myself. I write all the addresses on the envelopes when I have spare time, then nearer Christmas I have the pleasurable bit of writing in the card. Pop in envelope, lick and stick, job done!!

Boil your potatoes with their skin on, and peel them once they’re cooked. This means they’ll absorb less water, giving you a fluffier mash with an earthier flavour. It’s less effort this way since the skins will just rub off.

Over time they fade or one has to search on container.
Now I write with a Permanent Marker Pen the date on top of tins/jars and with one glance I can see what has to be used up first.