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How clean is your kitchen?
Aggie MacKenzie shares her tips for keeping your store cupboards clean.
1. Pull everything out of your cupboards and throw away anything that is out of date or that you know you will never use again. Have a good nose through packets you haven't used for a while.
2. If you see insect webbing, it's a sure sign of flour moths. They will have got into everything stored in packets and boxes so you'll have to throw them away. Wash and dry the cupboard well (paying extra attention to corners, where eggs are laid) before putting stuff back. Any open packs of flour, sugar, matzo meal etc should be stored in plastic containers – less likely for beasties to invade.
3. Buy dry ingredients such as flour in small quantities (see above!)
4. Don't store nuts in the cupboard – they keep longer in the freezer. Use straight from frozen
Aggie's guide to natural cleaning products
- To remove limescale from your kettle, pour in a mixture of half vinegar and half water. Bring to the boil and leave overnight. In the morning, all that limescale should just fall away.
- Use to remove stains in tea cups. Also good for cleaning chrome and steel as it doesn't scratch.
- Acts as a deodorant: wipe your fridge down regularly with bicarb to eliminate odours.
- Rub squeezed lemon halves over chopping boards to disinfect them.
- You can remove mess in the microwave by microwaving a shallow dish filled with slices of lemon and hot water for five minutes. The steam will soften the dried food and the lemon will leave it smelling fresh.
2. If you see insect webbing, it's a sure sign of flour moths. They will have got into everything stored in packets and boxes so you'll have to throw them away. Wash and dry the cupboard well (paying extra attention to corners, where eggs are laid) before putting stuff back. Any open packs of flour, sugar, matzo meal etc should be stored in plastic containers – less likely for beasties to invade.
3. Buy dry ingredients such as flour in small quantities (see above!)
4. Don't store nuts in the cupboard – they keep longer in the freezer. Use straight from frozen
Aggie's guide to natural cleaning products
White vinegar
- A weak acid perfect for cleaning, disinfecting, removing stains and descaling.- To remove limescale from your kettle, pour in a mixture of half vinegar and half water. Bring to the boil and leave overnight. In the morning, all that limescale should just fall away.
Bicarbonate of soda
- Sprinkle onto a cotton cloth and use to wipe work surfaces and sinks clean.- Use to remove stains in tea cups. Also good for cleaning chrome and steel as it doesn't scratch.
- Acts as a deodorant: wipe your fridge down regularly with bicarb to eliminate odours.
Lemon juice
- Acts as a bleach and is antibacterial so can be used to clean and deodorise.- Rub squeezed lemon halves over chopping boards to disinfect them.
- You can remove mess in the microwave by microwaving a shallow dish filled with slices of lemon and hot water for five minutes. The steam will soften the dried food and the lemon will leave it smelling fresh.
