Peel your banana backwards and other simple but surprising tips which will make YOUR life so much easier 

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Life - it turns out that you've been doing it all wrong.

Because last week it was revealed that cooks, who for decades have crumbled Oxo stock cubes into their cooking with their fingers, are making a basic mistake.

The 'correct' - and certainly more efficient way - to add an Oxo cube to your food is to crush and flatten the stock in its foil wrapper before opening the packet with scissors and tipping the resulting granules neatly into your saucepan. The disclosure caused an uproar on social media.

Last week it was revealed that cooks, who for decades have crumbled Oxo stock cubes into their cooking with their fingers, are making a basic mistake. So what other everyday things have we been doing 'the wrong way'?

So what other everyday things have we been doing 'the wrong way'? From peeling off sticky notes to cracking eggs, tying your trainers and eating Toblerone - be prepared to be amazed at the little tips and tweaks that really can change your life.

MANDY FRANCIS takes a look ...

Quick Foil Fix

Do you hate the way your rolls of aluminium foil, cling film and greaseproof paper jump out of their boxes and unravel whenever you try to tear off a length? Funnily enough, this irritating quirk is not a design fault. In fact, you are missing a trick.

If you take a look at the small, square ends of your cardboard container, there should be a tab on each end with the words 'press here' or 'push in'. Push those tabs in and they will so they hold the roll of foil in place - much like a toilet roll holder, meaning the roll will be held securely in its box when you next tear off a length of foil, clingfilm or baking parchment.

Sticky solution

Love the convenience of sticky notes (such as Post-Its) but find the way they tend to curl up, stick out from, and sometimes even fall off any flat surface irritating? Just change the way you peel your notes from their stack.

If you take a look at the small, square ends of your cardboard container, there should be a tab on each end with the words 'press here' or 'push in'. Push those tabs in and they will so they hold the roll of foil in place

Instead of peeling away from the stack in an upward motion (ie grabbing the loose bottom edge of the note, and peeling off the sticky edge last), try peeling your note across - so that the sticky strip is peeled from the stack from left to right or right to left. This stops the note curling, so it sits nice and flat and will stay put longer.

Banana basics

You would think that, after millions of years of evolution, humans would have cracked the art of opening a banana – but apparently not.

The best way to peel a banana quickly and neatly is not to snap off the stalk end as we've all been taught, but to approach the fruit the way monkeys do - upside down.

Just give the opposite end of your banana - the one with no stalk - a gentle squeeze on either side, and the skin will pop open easily into two or three neat strips without the usual mushiness and bruising. Amazing!

Best for double dipping

Most fast food restaurants nowadays provide little paper cups to fill with ketchup or mayonnaise, instead of the wasteful and expensive sachets of old. While they unquestionably save money, they're absolutely tiny, meaning multiple refill trips. They're also frustrating for those who like to dip - a chicken nugget just doesn't fit.

Folded waxed paper containers can actually be easily customised to make a much bigger and more useful dipping bowl. Just unroll the top edge of the cup and gently fan out the pleats around the side to create a much wider, deeper container in seconds

However, those folded waxed paper containers can actually be easily customised to make a much bigger and more useful dipping bowl.

Just unroll the top edge of the cup and gently fan out the pleats around the side to create a much wider, deeper container in seconds.

Tired of clutching at straws?

Drinking through a straw is a great way to protect neatly applied lipstick. It can also help to keep cold, fizzy drinks away from delicate tooth enamel and sensitive teeth.

But when you place a straw in a can of cola or fizzy water, the bubbles in the drink make it bob around manically, before eventually ejecting it altogether as soon as your back is turned.

When you place a straw in a can of cola or fizzy water, the bubbles in the drink make it bob around manically. But just turn the pull tab around 180 degrees until it covers the drinking hole in the top of the can. The small aperture in the pull tab can now be used to hold a straw firmly in place

There is a simple trick that can stop this irritating phenomenon, however.

Once you've opened your drink, just turn the pull tab around 180 degrees until it covers the drinking hole in the top of the can. The small aperture in the pull tab can now be used to hold a straw firmly in place. Brilliant.

Egg-cellent idea

Can't crack an egg without getting tiny pieces of shell in your meal? Then you really need to try this life-changing technique.

Cracking an egg on the sharp edge of a bowl or pan, as most of us do, immediately breaks through the shell creating tiny shards that inevitably splinter off into the egg.

Give the side of your egg a gentle tap on a flat surface - just enough to dent it - and only the very outer layer of shell will break, leaving the thin membrane that sits just under the shell intact. Any stray pieces of egg shell will stay attached to this inner lining

Give the side of your egg a gentle tap on a flat surface however - just enough to dent it - and only the very outer layer of shell will break, leaving the thin membrane that sits just under the shell intact. Any stray pieces of egg shell will stay attached to this inner lining now, making it much easier to open the egg neatly into your pan without splinters.

Gripping tip

They are the most basic of hair accessories - but did you know you've been using your hair grips upside down all these years?

According to beauty bloggers and professional hairdressers, the correct way to put a grip in your hair is with the wavy side facing DOWN towards your scalp, apparently.

According to beauty bloggers and professional hairdressers, the correct way to put a grip in your hair is with the wavy side facing down towards your scalp, apparently.

Why? The wavy side of the grip, which opens out at the tip, is designed to scoop up hair and hold it in its grooved channels, while the flat side works best on top, pressing the hair down and gripping it tight.

Does this revelation work? Yes. Putting grips in upside down does seem to hold the hair more neatly and firmly, with less chance of loose flyaway strands making an unwanted appearance throughout the day.

Toblerone trick

Love Toblerone's famous triangular chocolate, but struggle to break off those big, chunky pieces?

According to the manufacturers, there is no need to resort to a sharp knife, your teeth or dynamite to break up one of their bars. A simple change in direction is all that's required.

According to Toblerone the manufacturers a simple change in direction is all that's required to eat the snack with ease. Instead pull the chunks towards you with your thumb

Instead of trying to pull the individual chunks AWAY from the rest of the bar, try holding the bar in one hand and using your thumb to pull the tip of the first triangle BACK towards you and the other chocolate segments. The chunk should snap off easily. Ta da!

Take a single tic tac

Ever gone to shake a tic tac out of the box, and ended up with a huge handful of mints? Ok, it's definitely a first world problem - but this neat, rectangular breath-mint box actually contains a clever compartment designed to dispense one mint at a time, if you just know where to look.

To take a single mint out of a tic tac box every time, first make sure the box is closed properly, then turn it upside down and give it a shake. Then carefully turn the box horizontal, open the box and find a single tic tac

To take a single mint out of a tic tac box every time, first make sure the box is closed properly, then turn it upside down and give it a shake. Then carefully turn the box horizontal, open the box by holding the lid and pulling the carton back, away from it. Inside the lid you will find a neat slot that should be holding just one, single sweet. Clever!

Shoelace secret

Wonder what that extra set of shoelace eyelets at the top of your trainers is for?

They are there to stop your feet sliding around in your shoes and blisters forming when you run - and there's a special way to lace them up if you want them to work their magic for you.

They are there to stop your feet sliding around in your shoes and blisters forming when you run - and there's a special way to lace them up if you want them to work their magic for you

Start by lacing up your shoes as normal, then use the two top eyelets to create a loop of shoelace on either side of the shoe. (The loops should be on top of the shoes, with the loose ends of the laces coming out from the undersides of the top eyelets).

Now create a 'lace lock', by threading the loose end of each lace through the loop on the opposite side of the shoe. Pull tight and tie a bow as normal. Your trainers will be as snug as can be.

Crack a tough nut

Pistachio nuts are delicious - but isn't it annoying when you find a handful that are too tightly closed to pop open with your fingers?

Use an empty shell half to prise open any closed nuts. Just wedge the edge of the empty shell into the tiny gap on the closed nut and twist. The pistachio should pop open

It's easy to resort to biting them open, but this can result in a mouthful of shell shards as well as nut. Instead, try nature's solution, and use an empty shell half to prise open any closed nuts. Just wedge the edge of the empty shell into the tiny gap on the closed nut and twist. The pistachio should pop open.

Sl-ice cream

If you have a dinner party coming up and want to serve ice cream, avoid the hassle of trying to scoop out perfect balls. Instead, slice your favourite frozen dessert.

If you have a dinner party coming up and want to serve ice cream, avoid the hassle of trying to scoop out perfect balls. Instead, slice your favourite frozen dessert

Cardboard tubs are best for this, as you can slice through them with a sharp bread knife then simply peel away the strips of cardboard container from your ice cream portions. Simple!