HOME SWEET HOME
Mary Berry’s book is full of hints and tips on how to have a happy house
SHE’S renowned as the queen of baking but now Mary Berry has the perfect recipe for a happy home. The 82-year-old has written a book full of handy hints and tips to help you around the house. Mary said: “My focus may have been on cooking but it’s always centred on the home. “In my books and TV programmes, I’m always keen on sharing tips to help people. “This book’s not about creating more work or telling people what to do, it’s just passing on a collection of tips,
SHE’LL be glad to be home after what must have been the most hectic week in which she was crowned as the new supermodel on the block.
And all 16-year-old Kaia Gerber had to do at Paris Fashion Week was show up. When your mum is Cindy Crawford – quite possibly the best known supermodel of all time – your accession into the modelling elite must have been all but guaranteed from birth.
Even her brother, Presley, is getting in on the act and, at the age of 17, has already landed a Calvin Klein campaign and walked the runway for Dolce & Gabbana. Nice work if you can get it, huh?
Yet this is all becoming so predictable and I’m getting sick of seeing rich people’s kids plastered everywhere.
They sashay out of restaurants and airports in mandatory oversized shades worn at nighttime (the visual cue to photographers who may have otherwise missed them) smirking, often surrounded by adoring hangers-on.
Maybe it’s my age but I can’t find anything interesting about them. And it’s a world away from the pictures I used to pore over of Streatham-born Naomi and Croydon Kate stumbling out of nightclubs, not a single part of their lives scripted or predictable but instead distinctly and quite fabulously off the rails.
They earned their celebrity status through blinding good looks and gargantuan amounts of attitude.
When catwalk legends Carla Bruni, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi, Cindy and Helena Christensen recently reunited to walk the runway at the Versace show in Milan, it was a reminder of the dominance they once enjoyed.
They made it, not because of mum or dad or the number of Instagram followers they had, but because the camera couldn’t get enough of their looks and charisma. The stars who worked their way into the limelight are marked out by their resilience and determination, often created through a childhood in which they harboured a dream of a life much bigger than the one they were living. The world has not stopped producing these vibrant, interesting young things. But in the absence of a famous or hideously wealthy parent, they’re going to find it very, very hard to break through in fashion because those top slots are already filled with celebrity offspring. I read that the industry is hungry for these kids with their ready-made social media followings and frequent tabloid appearances. But just don’t expect anything other than vacant smiles and well-rehearsed poses. They have been practising for this most of their lives, after all.
They earned celebrity status through blinding good looks and attitude
things I learnt from my mother, my own ideas gleaned from years of practical experience, as well as helpful hints from friends and family.”
Mary added: “Home should be a place where, if you have a family, they want to visit and can come in and instantly relax.
“We’re very lucky – my husband Paul and I have been married 50 years and don’t really argue. Life’s too short. Never let the sun go down on a row is our motto.”
Here are Mary’s top tips: 1. SORT IT OUT My house is tidy but definitely not immaculate. I like to keep on top of things, though, so every so often I’ll sort out the chaos in my wardrobe and clear out some clothes.
I also clean out kitchen cupboards and drawers every six months – I empty them, use a clean cloth and hot soapy water to wash all surfaces, and dry thoroughly. I’d suggest lining pan drawers with ridged rubber matting (available from online catering companies). 2. IRON CANDLE WAX OFF A CARPET If wax has got on to a wool carpet, place kitchen roll or grease proof paper on top of the affected area, then iron it. The wax will melt and stick to the paper. (Take care with synthetic carpets as they don’t take well to heat.) 3. CLEAN YOUR MACHINES To clean a dishwasher, run a wash with white vinegar. Use around 250ml placed in a container on the bottom rack – just run a normal cycle and it will be like a new machine.
For the washing machine, run an empty cycle to clear the drum, and add a cut lemon to a short empty cycle to keep the machine fresh.
To pep up your microwave, put a cut lemon in a bowl of water and microwave on full power for one minute – condensation will release stains around the sides and make it easy to wipe clean. 4. USE NUTS TO HELP FADE FURNITURE SCRATCHES Break an oily nut – such as a walnut – in half, and rub the exposed area over scratches in the wood. The oil of the nut should help them to fade and appear less noticeable. 5. STEAM CLEAN YOUR FLOORS I use a steam mop to clean my tiled floors and I don’t think it’s too much to say that it’s changed our lives. Steam mops are quick to heat up, can be used on any sealed floor surface, and the reusable micro fibre pad collects dirt with minimum effort,” advises Mary. 6. WEAR RUBBER GLOVES AND GET STUCK IN TO PROPERLY CLEAN A TOILET To remove hard water and limescale toilet stains, wear rubber gloves. Flush the cistern and remove a mugful of water from the bowl – I use a tin mug – so you can see the rim of the limescale line clearly. While the water level is low, pour or spray loo cleaner around the limescale in the bowl. Leave for 30 minutes (or according to the product instructions), then rub with a fine scourer or brush. Pour the water in mug back into bowl, then brush and flush the cistern again. 7. PROTECT THE FLOOR WHEN YOU’RE PARTYING Protect carpet if you’re having a party by using rolls of polythene film, used by builders to protect flooring. Make sure you buy the appropriate film for the floor surface – the one for carpet shouldn’t be used on hard flooring. 8. KEEP FLOWERS LOOKING AND SMELLING AMAZING When putting cut flowers in a vase, remove any leaves which come below the water, otherwise they’ll make it turn green and smell. To clean irregularly shaped vases or containers, use a handful of rice and a good glug of white vinegar. Swirl around briskly, so the rice can clean corners, before rinsing and drying. 9. USE ONIONS TO GET RID OF PAINT SMELLS If you have newly-painted walls, counteract the smell by cutting two onions into quarters and leaving them cut up on a plate overnight. 10. CLEAN WINDOWS THE OLD-SCHOOL WAY A half-and-half mixture of vinegar and water is a traditional window-cleaning solution and an alternative to chemical sprays. Alternatively, use a window/glass-cleaning spray and a micro fibre cloth. ●Mary’s Household Tips & Tricks by Mary Berry, is published by Michael Joseph, £20.