SPACE SOLUTIONS

There’s never enough fridge space – any good ideas?

Be ruthless. We’ve all got a bit precious about what we keep in the fridge – bottles and jars such as jam, pickles and ketchup, plus eggs, will come to no harm relocated to the cupboard for the week. Cheese is probably better off in a cool (unheated) room than in a fridge anyway. Drinks bottles and cartons can all be kept outside in the garden. For more fragile stuff, dig out your cold box and freezer blocks, and create an “ice box” in the garden – just be sure it is firmly sealed to keep out wildlife. No garden? When I lived in a flat, the outside window sills regularly housed insulated bags of fridge overflow, securely tied so there was no risk of the ingredients of my dinner tumbling on to passers-by.

There’s never enough oven space, either – what can I do?

Potatoes, stuffing, roast parsnips, turkey, chipolatas – even with a twin oven, it can get very tight at Christmas. So, plan to double up. Measure the oven shelves and work out which tins and dishes will fit two to a shelf – it sounds obsessional, but you’ll thank me. Oblongs are better than oval or round, obviously, so it may be worth investing in half-size roasting tins – Mermaid tins (from £29.74, samuelgroves.com) are pricey but indestructible, plus solid enough to go on the hob if necessary.

Help, I’ve run out of hobs! How can I manage the pots and pans better?

This is a tricky one unless you have a range cooker. You could dust down – or invest in – a slow cooker and use it to cook the pudding: it will take a bit longer (allow four hours for a 900g pud) but it can be done anywhere there’s a plug socket. Not having a Christmas pudding? Use the slow cooker to heat up the braised cabbage.