Last week I had a good response to the tips I gave. I was pleased to see some put into action. So today I bring you some more.

With the dark colder evenings, the thought of a warm fire gladdens the heart. Pine cones are a simple form of kindling to start a real fire. They heat up quickly and burn for a long time.

To clean a microwave oven, add four tablespoons of lemon juice to one cup water in a microwave-safe, four-cup bowl. Boil for five minutes in the microwave, allowing the steam to condense on the inside walls of the oven. Then wipe them with a soft cloth.

To get more juice from lemons, halve them, heat on high in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds, then squeeze.

Use lemon juice to bleach and soften grubby elbows: place a few drops of baby oil into two lemon halves. Stick elbows in the lemon, tape in place and leave on for 30 minutes.

To clean a stainless steel sink, put the stopper in the sink with 2 denture cleaning tablets and half fill with water, leave for several hours or overnight and the next day it should be sparkling. Then use the water to clean the draining board too. Obviously it doesn’t harm sink (as tested for teeth!) Also, it’s not an irritant like bleach.

I use the last method to clean teapots with a build-up of tannin. One tablet is sufficient and I fill the pot with boiling water and leave overnight.