6. Keep Saucepan Lid Raised

If you’re finding your pots boiling over and you have no way to balance them open, the answer is as simple as a tack and a wooden clothes peg. Just take the peg and drive a tack into the top part of the body. Then, fix the peg on the side of the saucepan, with the tack facing in, and balance the lid on the tack.

7. Cool Wine Without Ice

There’s nothing worse than realising you’ve forgotten to chill the wine before dinner, especially back in the days before refrigeration. Still, this tip could be a modern lifesaver. All you need to do is wrap your wine bottle in a flannel and place it in a bowl under the tap. Then just run cold water on it (not recommended for drought areas) for around 10 minutes. This thoroughly chills the wine, ready for drinking.

8. Make Dry, Floury Potatoes

If your potatoes are wet and slimy, more often than not, this is one household tip that you’ll be kicking yourself for not learning sooner. To make your potatoes more dry and floury, just add some sugar and salt to the water when cooking. When the potatoes are done, drain the water and put the pan and potatoes back on the stove for a short time, shaking the saucepan to spread them around.

9. Get A Splinter Out

Don’t cause even more damage digging for a splinter in your hand when a jar can solve the problem for you. Simply fill a wide-mouth jar, or bottle, almost to the brim with hot water. Press it tightly to the spot where the splinter is for a few moments. The suction of the hot water will pull on the skin, while the heat and steam will help to draw out the splinter.

10. Clean The Inside Of Bottles

If you want to reuse your glass bottles, but you aren’t sure how to get a proper clean on the inside, there is a solution. Just add some water and some sand to the bottle before closing the top, with a cork or with your finger, and shaking vigourously. The sand is enough to clean the inside, allowing them to be washed, dried, and used however you see fit.