Scrimp, spend, splurge

Extend your kitchen to the great outdoors by turning an empty patio into an outdoor food zone - add a fantastic portable gas fired barbecue and turn meal prep’ into fun for all the family!

Scrimp: Darwin 3 Burner Gas Barbecue, £149 from B&Q, www.diy.com

This stylish timber framed barbecue has the Piezo push button system for easy ignition and a grease drip tray to catch unwanted grease with ease. There are also two side shelves so you can have your condiments close to hand when you need them most.  Code: EAN: 0000005298624

Spend: Landmann Attracto Two Burner Gas Barbecue, £209 from Debenhams, www.debenhams.com

The features of this barbi include a 2 burner stainless steel cooking area, lid with viewing glass and integral thermometer, a cooking area of 52cm x 35cm, tool holder, flame tamers and a storage shelf.  If this doesn’t fire you up this summer, nothing will! Item No. 3220122476

Splurge: Ultra Chef 3 Burner Gas Barbecue, £299 from Marks & Spencer, www.marksandspencer.com

With a generous 60x46cm cooking area, 2 stainless steel tubular burners, a flush mounted brass side burner and additional features like electronic ignition, you could be forgiven for thinking that this is a more expensive appliance than it is.  We just hope your cooking is up to scratch…

Tricks of the Trade

Here’s a sweet and natural way to get rid of nasty marks - remove tea or coffee stains from cups by rubbing with lemon juice.  You’ll find the acidity of lemon also works on stainless steel pans that are marked by boiling pasta, beans or tomato. 

Sort out your rubbish and do your bit for the environment by using one of the great stainless steel recycling bins from Dunelm Mill.  Available in 30 or 45 litre sizes, they look effortlessly cool in the kitchen while sorting rubbish and keeping odours to a minimum.  Part of the ‘Spring Clean’ range, with prices from £29.99 at www.dunelm-mill.com

If you kitchen reeks of smoke damage after a toast accident or if one of your nearest and dearest is a smoker, here’s a simple way to rid the room of the offending odours.  Simply leave a bowl of vinegar out overnight and you’ll find that the toxic odour of smoke will miraculously disappear.

Keep hands clean and germ free in the bathroom or kitchen by using the new sensor soap pump from Simplehuman.  This surface mounted pump cleanly dispenses anti-bacterial hand wash, liquid soap or hand lotion thanks to its touch free automatic action (for additional hygiene) which makes it ideal for family homes where many hands handle soap.  The Spout Sensor Pump costs £26.24 from www.havendirect.com

Keep your linen cupboard ‘laundry day’ fresh by hanging a few Bounce dryer sheets where the heat from your boiler can circulate and carry the fresh scent.  Change as and when required and your laundry will have that just washed feeling for longer.

There’s no excuse for having bare, boring walls, especially with retailers like Ferm Living around.  This online store offers a great selection of fashion forward wallpapers (we love Fashion and Squares) and wall graphics (Falling Leaves, Lovebirds and Powerpole are all fab’) to name but part of their range.  Have a look at www.ferm-living.com and get decorating now!