Once upon a time, the housewife's cleaning armoury consisted of several trusty household faithfuls, which could be relied upon for a whole host of domestic chores. There was vinegar to clean windows ...

'Tis the season to be jolly, and, if the advertisers are to be believed, to go shopping, flex those credit cards and buy bucketloads of stuff to get us in the festive mood - much of which we don't ...