Every family has their own set of unusual remedies, tips and tricks for cleaning, budgeting or special methods of preparing food in their new kitchen full of replacement doors. However, in case you’re lacking in the kitchen wives tales department, fear not. We dug deep and asked around for some bizarre ideas that involve culinary items. We’d love to hear your advice or if you disagree with any of ours, then let us know!

To kick off our tips, this one is a godsend for cleaning the oven. Possibly everyone’s worst chore, in our opinion. A cheap and cheerful pumice stone is the answer to your prayers for this gruelling task. We know the pumice isn’t a kitchen item but hey, it's household. So, a wet pumice stone removes the grease and grime from your oven without the strenuous scrubbing of a wire brush or cloth. You can thank us later.

Another tip that will save your freshly painted manicure, or just make life easier is to add salt into a greasy pan before washing it. The salt magically absorbs all of the grease. This allows you to bin the content and wash as normal instead of the obligatory two or three day soak before washing.

Next of our tips is a more fun DIY tip involving a banana. Next time your CD or DVD starts skipping or generally just misbehaving rub a banana (the actual fruit part, not the skin) around the edge of the disc. Unbelievably this stops skipping or freezing by sealing any scratches. This really is a great and cheap trick to rescue your favourite old album.

Glass and mirrors are notoriously difficult to clean well, but look no further. Use cheap coffee filters instead of dusters or paper towels. They don’t leave any streaks and are available for pennies. This is a great tip for this time of year too, whilst you’re spring-cleaning your home.

A lot of people use bay leaves within their cooking, however these beauties can also be helpful in your garden. Its will soon be the summer when you will be enjoying being outside at home. One of our Brits most common bugbears during the nicer weather is the influx of insects! The answer to combat this is to spread a few bay leaves around veggie patches and flowerbeds. The scent deters insects, so no more nibbled petals or ruined crops.

Unfortunately, there isn’t any science behind this one, but it is time and tear saving nonetheless. When chopping onions, garlic or shallots it is said that placing a glass of water on the worktop near where you are working means no embarrassing tear situations. Something to do with moisture in your eyes and the atmosphere, but it works! If you don’t like that one, having a metal teaspoon in your mouth whilst chopping also works wonders.

We finish with fresh and zesty product lemon oil. This has so many uses, we can’t even list them all. If you have little ones crayoning on your walls a couple of drops of this on walls or wooden furniture removes the scribbles completely! In the kitchen you can make a multi-purpose cleaner by mixing a few drops with water and white vinegar. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle. There's no need to keep buying the expensive, toxic offerings from your local supermarket.