Cheap, cheerful, and tried-and-tested. the friends share a few of their useful tricks.
If you have a great shortcut that makes life easier please share with us.
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🍽️ Kitchen
K1 — Nothing-in-the-House Toastie
Here are some of Johana Maria’s rescues
The phone rings. Surprise! ‘We are in Pretoria. Can we come for coffee’. ‘Coffee and tea for unexpected visitors is easy, but what will I give them to eat?’
Empty a tin of pie apples (or grate a couple of fresh apples) into a pot
add cinnamon and cloves to taste,
add a heaped spoon of raisins or sultanas if you have them,
drop in a heaped teaspoon of butter, and castor sugar to taste.
Bring to the boil in a pot while stirring, then switch off the plate.
While the apple mixture cools, spread slices of bread to make toasted sandwiches and use the apple mixture as filling. Sprinkle with a little icing sugar and cinnamon mix over the top to finish.
If you don’t have a sandwhich maker simply butter warm slices of toast generously. Make sure the toast and the mixture have cooled down. Pile the mixture on the slices of toast and cut diagonally. Sprinkle with a sugar and cinnamon mix.
If you’re really desperate: make cinnamon toast instead. Toast the bread, spread generously with butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Johana M
K2 — Yoghurt Curry Chicken Rescue
A marinade of yoghurt, curry powder, tomato sauce, and chutney for chicken pieces. Mix the ingredients to suit your taste, Marinate anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight. Boil the marinade afterward and use it as a sauce.
I always keep a 2kg or 5kg bag of frozen chicken in the freezer — enough for the dogs’ dinners, and enough for whoever turns up and stays. When tea-time visitors end up staying for supper, out comes the chicken: a quick defrost in the microwave, an hour in the good marinade, and onto the table. Nobody ever guesses it is budget chicken.
This recipe works just as well for one chicken breast. Just use a teaspoon full of each ingredient.
A tip first: budget chicken is cheap, but not always perfectly clean — give each piece a once-over for stray bits of feather before it goes anywhere near the marinade. Also remove excess skin and fat. Once trimmed budget frozen chicken is a great standby. Johana M
K3 — Tenderiser Tricks
500ml Coca-Cola mixed with 2 Tsp lemon juice and poured over tough meat or pork works as a marinade and tenderiser, and adds a lightly caramelised taste. Johana M
K4 — Burnt Pot Rescue
I’m always getting side tracked when I am cooking so I need this simple hack.
Boil up enough vinegar to cover the base of a burnt pan or pot. Add half as much bicarb – usually a Tsp. Once it boils switch it off, scrape the loose bits and let stand for half an hour. Pour off the vinegar and burnt bits. Add a teaspoon of dish soap and scour off the last bits using the remaining bicarb. If the pot is very badly burnt, repeat several times. Augusta J
Why it works: Vinegar loosens burnt-on gunk, bicarb scrubs it off. Give it time to soak, don’t rush it. Overnight is also good. Jan Frederik
🧹 Cleaning & Household
H1 — Shower Cleaning
For a man who is so meticulous about his work, Klaas seems to have a never ending list of short cuts to hand out.
Empty a bottle of spirit vinegar into a spray bottle and spray your shower down regularly. Then clean the walls, door, and floor with a long-handled shower brush — no need to kneel or stretch. Klaas
Why it works: Vinegar is acidic enough to dissolve soap scum and limescale before they build up. Regular spraying means the brush is just finishing the job, not fighting old, hardened grime. Jan Frederik
H2 — Soda Ash for Hard Water
The water on the farm is very hard. Soda Ash helps. Buy it in the pool section of your grocery or DIY store.
- A quarter teaspoon soda in washing-up water makes dishwashing easier.
- The same amount in the rinse water gives a brighter dry.
- A heaped teaspoon in the dishwasher makes a big difference, especially with fatty items like things that have has cream in them.
- A flat tablespoon in with the detergent in a washing machine gives a cleaner, brighter wash. Klaas
Why it works: Hard water stops soap and detergent from lathering properly, so you end up using more. Soda ash softens the water first — a little goes further, dishes rinse cleaner, and washing looks brighter. Remember to close the soda ash container properly. I usually decant it into an old coffee bottle. Note, nothing will make up for a dirty dishwasher filter. It often clogs up with the very fine remnants of labels on goods you buy. It requires warm water, a hard brush and lots of soap to get clean. To prevent this happening remember to check the underside of plates, bakkies etc to make sure the label is properly removed. Stubborn glue residue can be removed with acetone (nail polish remover and elbow grease. Jan Frederik
H3 — Grated Sunlight Soap Spray
A spray or squeeze bottle of dissolved grated sunlight soap (the green bar) can be used for almost anything — removing stains (oil and food if applied as soon as possible) on clothes, cleaning a toilet pan, or for washing delicates by hand. I no longer use preeen or similar. It is also great for cleaning my gas hob, floors and counter tops. And cheap. Shelley
Why it works: Sunlight soap is a strong all-purpose cleaner once it’s dissolved into liquid form — same ingredients as the bar, just easier to spray or squeeze exactly where you need it.
Sunlight soap has an interesting story — it’s one of the oldest mass-produced soap brands (originally British, from the 1880s, though the version most South Africans know is locally made). A few genuine things going for it:
Actual advantages
- Simple formulation — traditionally made from tallow or vegetable oil and soda, with far fewer additives, fragrances, and preservatives than modern “beauty bars.” For sensitive skin, that simplicity can genuinely be gentler, ironically, than heavily perfumed soaps.
- Effective degreaser — it’s a proper soap (not a detergent-syndet blend), so it cuts grease and dirt well, which is exactly why it worked for floors and dishes.
- Antibacterial-ish by nature — plain soap of this kind is very effective at simply lifting dirt and microbes off skin through mechanical action, which is most of what handwashing needs anyway.
Where it falls short for face and hair specifically
- It’s alkaline (high pH), which strips natural oils more aggressively than a modern pH-balanced cleanser so despite what your grandmother may have said, don’t use it for your face.
- The strong smell comes mostly from the tallow/fat base plus a basic fragrance — it’s not added for a therapeutic reason, just tradition and cost. Jan Frederik
H4 — Foam Draft Strips
Our houses are built for summer and each new house or, more recently, flat I’ve moved into has been full of drafts because neither doors nor windows fit properly.
Thin grey foam rubber strips seal drafts around windows and doors. Just use the very thin one. The thick ones may prevent the door from closing properly. Buy it at larger supermarkets or at hardware stores. It comes in a flat role. Shelley
Why it works: Air moves through gaps, and moving air carries heat with it. The foam seals the gap when it closes. Jan Frederik
Practical note: clean and dry the frame first, or the strip won’t stick. Replace once it’s squashed flat, usually after a year or two. Klaas
H5 — Squeaking Hinges
Run sunlight or another cake soap along a squeaking hinge. Klaas
Why it works: A hinge squeaks when metal rubs against metal with nothing to cushion it. The wax in ordinary soap coats the metal surfaces, filling tiny gaps and letting them slide past each other instead of grinding — much like a light grease, but safer to have lying around the house. Jan F
H6 — Stubborn Zip
Run cake soap along the teeth of a zip you struggle to open and close. This works for things like cold-bags and jackets. Klaas
Why it works: Zips jam when the teeth grip each other too tightly, usually from grit or dried-out fabric fibres. A thin layer of soap fills the gaps between the teeth and lets them glide rather than catch, the same way soap helps the ring slide off a finger. Jan F
🌿 Garden & Plants
G1 — Camphor Cream Before Gardening
A thick layer of camphor cream on hands and under nails before working in the garden protects against the mild rash brought on by fine plant hairs, and makes washing up afterward easier. Jan F
Why it works: Traditional camphor cream forms a barrier over the skin. Fine plant hairs can’t dig in as easily, and the cream keeps grime from getting right into the pores — so hands wash cleaner afterward, too. Jan F
G2 — Cleaning Indoor Plant Leaves
Wipe leaves (top and underside) with a soft, damp cloth to remove dust. For smaller plants, a gentle lukewarm rinse in the shower or sink works well, especially where there are too many small leaves to wipe individually. A light wipe of milk and water (1:1) can add a bit of shine afterward — don’t overdo it. Avoid commercial leaf-shine sprays, and don’t wet-wipe fuzzy-leaved plants like African violets — dust these with a soft brush instead.
Why it works: Leaves breathe and photosynthesise through tiny pores, and dust blocks light from reaching the leaf surface as effectively. A damp cloth or gentle rinse clears the pores and lets the plant work properly again — it’s less about appearance and more about the plant’s health. Oily “leaf shine” products can actually clog those same pores over time, which is why a simple wipe or rinse outperforms them. Fuzzy leaves trap water instead of shedding it, so a dry soft brush works better than anything wet. Jan F
G3 — Reviving Dry Potting Mix
I have a big vetplant (succulent) and cactus garden, but likes to soften the area near the house with shrubs and a few annuals in pots. Vetplant is literally fat plant because succulents usually have fat leaves. Jan F
For dry weather, when potting mix dries out and water just runs straight through the pot: mix equal parts potting soil, lawn dressing, and vermiculite or perlite. Do this in a deep bucket, or dampen the mix as soon as it’s in the bucket — dry vermiculite or perlite tends to blow away while you’re still mixing. You can get vermiculite or perlite at a garden shop, hardware store, or even sometimes, at the grocery store in the hardware section. Jan F
Why it works: Dried-out potting mix can become water-repellent — once it shrinks away from the pot’s edges, water finds the gap and runs straight down rather than soaking in. Lawn dressing and vermiculite/perlite hold moisture and structure between the soil particles, so water spreads through the mix instead of just past it. Jan F
🤲 Body & Comfort
B1 — Rough Hands Scrub
My late wife used to complain that the only thing she hated about living and working on a farm was the damage to her hands. She said a large part of her life was spent cleaning my hands. Often she used chemical cleaners and sanitizers but she as she also worked in the kitchen she still had to wash her hands very often. This was her tip. Klaas
Wash your hands well, then, leaning over the sink, put about a tablespoon of food oil (sunflower or canola) on your hands and add two teaspoons of kitchen salt or bicarb. Rub your hands with the mixture as though washing them, for about 3 minutes. Rinse in warm water but don’t use soap. Dry on an old cloth or paper towel. Rub in hand cream or tissue oil if you have some. Great after gardening without gloves. Klaas
Why it works: Oil softens, salt or bicarb scrubs off the dead skin. Works better than soap, which just dries hands out more. Drying your hands on paper towel leaves some oil on your skin. Jan F
B2 — Getting a Ring Off
Use liquid soap to help slide a stuck ring off a finger. Augusta J
Why it works: Soap does two things at once — it makes the skin’s surface slippery, and it slightly softens the very top layer of skin. Together, that’s often just enough to let a stuck ring slide over the knuckle where friction was doing all the resisting. Jan F
B3 — Stopping Donsies (Bobbles) from the Seat Belt
Have you noticed that your car safety belt creates little bobbles or donsies on your clothes. My tops develop donsies from right to bottom left but mainly on and below the right shoulder. Just knit or crochet a long strip a twice as wide when stretched as the car seat belt. Sew it on so that it covers the seat belt. The use of a clothes brush or fabric shaver will remove the donsies (proper term is pilling) but rather prevent it.
Due to back problems I also sit up very straight when I drive, and find the edge of the seat belt can rub my neck. Not normally noticeable on short trips but on longer journeys it can be. The crochet cover helps.
One can buy commercial versions that wrap around the seat belt and Velcro closed but after a while the edge of the Velcro strip starts to cause problems
Got a Tip?
We’d love to hear your own cheap and cheerful rescues — send them in and we might feature them here. send to: AJ@StandingTall.co.za
Quick Index
🍽️ Kitchen
- K1 — Nothing-in-the-House Toastie
- K2 — Yoghurt Curry Chicken Rescue
- K3 — Tenderiser Tricks
- K4 — Burnt Pot Rescue
🧹 Cleaning & Household
- H1 — Shower Cleaning
- H2 — Soda Ash for Hard Water
- H3 — Grated Sunlight Soap Spray
- H4 — Foam Draft Strips
- H5 — Squeaking Hinges
- H6 — Stubborn Zip
🌿 Garden & Plants
- G1 — Camphor Cream Before Gardening
- G2 — Cleaning Indoor Plant Leaves
- G3 — Reviving Dry Potting Mix
🤲 Body & Comfort
- B1 — Rough Hands Scrub
- B2 — Getting a Ring Off
- B3 — Stopping Donsies (Bobbles) from the Seat Belt
Got a tip of your own? Send it in and we might feature it here.