If you have any handy housekeeping hints, please tell us about them so we can use them in this column. Thank you.

COOKING HINTS

To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.

To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling.

To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature and roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter before squeezing.

When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead - no white mess on the outside of the cake.

If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato.  It absorbs the excess salt for an instant "fix me up."

Wrap celery in aluminium foil when putting in the refrigerator - it will keep for weeks.

Brush some beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to give a beautiful glossy finish.

Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to soften it back up.

To determine whether an egg is fresh immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water.  If it sinks, it is fresh - if it rises to the surface, throw it away.

Potatoes will take food stains off your fingers.  Just slice and rub raw potato on the stains and rinse with water.

Peel potatoes after onions and the onion smell will disappear from your hands and from the knife.

If you can't stand the smell of cabbage cooking just add one teaspoon lemon juice to the water and it helps diminish the smell.

If you place a few grains of rice in your salt cellar, your salt will never be damp.

GENERAL HOUSEHOLD HINTS

You can use rice to remove that green horrible mould from the base of your vase by popping some uncooked rice into the vase and adding hot soapy water. Shake well and rinse.

Clean up burned saucepans by filling them with water, adding a sliced onion and two tablespoons of salt. Soak overnight and the pot should be much easier to clean.

Don't throw out cold tea. Cut flowers last longer when arranged in it. Adding a little household bleach to your flower water stops that horrible stagnant smell. The bleach will not harm the flowers.

Don't throw out your eggshells; they make a good plant fertilizer. Half-fill a jam jar with eggshells, fill with water, place on windowsill and leave for about four weeks.

Save your old pieces of soap, pop them in a glass bowl, add a tiny drop of water. Half-fill a saucepan with water, bring to boil, place glass bowl in water and allow soap to melt.  Allow to cool and have fun moulding soap.

Peanut butter will remove ink from the face of dolls.

Vinegar or citric acid (in the baking aisle at the supermarket) will remove the scale from the inside of your electric jug. Boil your jug with a small amount of vinegar or citric acid in the water, then rinse thoroughly before you use the jug again.