5 ways to use up old lemons.

I buy lemons a bag at a time, thinking that we will go through many more in cooking than we ever do, so I end up using them for other things around our dear little house when they look a little bit too skanky to eat any more. Here is a list of things that you can do with slightly-past-best lemons.

Lemons that have lost their lustre

1. Cleaning your microwave. Chop your lemon in half and put both halves in a bowl of water. Stick it in the microwave for 5 minutes, making sure that the water doesn't boil dry. This will cause all the baked on scunge in you microwave to come loose from the walls, you can now easily wipe it up with a damp cloth and your microwave smells lemony fresh.

2. Cleaning and deodorising chopping boards. Rinse your already washed chopping board with warm, running water and then rub thoroughly with half a lemon, squeezing as you go so the juice gets all on the board. Leave it for a 15-20 minutes and then rinse again with more warm, running water.

3. Scrubbing the bath. Take half a lemon and pour a generous amount of salt on it. Use it to scrub the inside of the bathtub to remove soap scum or 'rings' from the surface. The salt helps as a gentle abrasive to help you lift the dirt. Wipe over with a warm, damp cloth.

4. Whiten your fingernails. Rub the surface of the nail with a wedge of lemon, allow the juice to remain on the nail for a few minute, rinse off. This even works on nails that have gone yellow under nail polish.

5. Remove the evidence that you've stolen mulberries from your neighbour's tree. Mulberries (and other berries) can stain your fingers terribly and it is often difficult to remove this tell-tale evidence. Just thoroughly rub the stain with a lemon wedge, let it sit on there for a few minutes and then rinse off.

There are hundreds of other uses for lemons around your dear little house house, what are some of your lemon tips?