My mother, Joha, was a massive stickler for housework, and ran the house in which I grew up as though it were a military operation. Our home was spotless, but she rarely got to enjoy one of her delicious Sunday lunches, because she was too busy cleaning the kitchen afterwards. That’s why, after growing up and having two sons of my own — Rory, 23, and 19-year-old Ewan — I adopted a little mantra, which is that a home needs to be clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy, otherwise it gets in the way of living your life. Scroll down for video . Aggie's (pictured) mother was a stickler for cleaning too, and ran their house like a military operation . This may shock a lot people who think of me as something of a hygiene champion because I was co-presenter of the long-running television series How Clean Is Your House? It certainly surprised many when I admitted on the Today programme last week that I don’t always change the bed sheets between guests. In fact, I say it’s fine to have a hygiene hierarchy, where relatives of the same sex do not require a change of bed linen every time they stay. As far as men under the age of 25 are concerned, it’s a rule-free zone. They rarely notice. With that in mind, I’ve compiled a little list of my lazy-lady tips which can help keep your house looking decent — without unmasking your inner slob. QUICK CRISP SHEETS . Ironing your bed linen while still on the bed can work wonders . There once was a time when I happily spent my spare time ironing bed linen. It didn’t last long, particularly once I’d had children and realised I could be spending the time more productively, either with them or on the sofa with a glass of wine. Of course, there’s no denying freshly ironed sheets look lovely — it’s just a shame that getting them is so time-consuming, particularly if you’re dealing with an unwieldy king-size duvet cover. So these days, if I want to please my guests, I simply iron the pillowcases and then give the top of the duvet cover a quick once-over with the iron when it’s in situ on the bed. It’s amazing how much it looks as though you have done the whole thing. Incidentally, ‘waffle pattern’ duvet covers don’t need ironing at all — something you might want to bear in mind if you’re sale-shopping for new bed linen. INSTANTLY PLUMP AND PERFUMED PILLOWS . Freshen up your cushions and pillows by throwing them in the tumble dryer for ten minutes . Often the illusion of cleanliness is as good as the real deal. I’m a stickler for keeping my upholstery fresh, but even I have to concede that not everyone has the time to wash cushions and pillows every few weeks. You can, however, freshen them up by popping them in the tumble dryer for ten minutes with one or two scented fabric-softening dryer sheets, which will easily mask ingrained smells without going to the aggravation of washing and drying them. On the same theme, a few drops of tea-tree oil on a cotton wool ball rubbed along the edge of a radiator can do wonders in eliminating stale odours for a while — a particularly handy tip if you have guests who may wander into a teenage boy’s toxic bedroom. VACUUM-FREE STAIRS . I rarely vacuum my stairs but use a dustpan and stiff bristle brush instead, which does just as good a job in a fraction of the time. Believe me, by the time you’ve gone to the faff of hauling the vacuum cleaner out of the cupboard and fitting the assorted attachments required to do the job, it’s far less effort to get down on your knees and brush them. After all, it’s what our mothers and grandmothers did, and their stairs were always spotless. The old-fashioned method also has the advantage of protecting your paintwork from bashes with the vacuum-cleaner, not to mention eliminating the trip hazard of having a cable snaking up and down your stairs. Just make sure people take their outdoor shoes off before they go anywhere near the carpet to minimise dirt. WASH-UP YOUR CLOTHES . Got a stain on your jumper? Rub in a bit of washing up liquid to remove grease stains . On a similar theme, I often bypass the washing machine when it comes to clothes, and instead use a trick handed down by my dear old mum who, despite her endless rota of housework, did the laundry only once a week. If we ever had a stain on a jumper or skirt/trousers, she would give it a quick scrub with a damp cloth mixed with a dash of washing-up liquid, which is, after all, designed to cut through grease, until it had disappeared. I always used to do this with my boys’ clothes when they were little, and I still do it with my own to this day. SOCK IT TO THE FLOOR . This is an easy two-for-the-price-of-one cheat: if you have guests arriving for Sunday lunch and your floor needs a quick scrub after all your food preparation, you can get it washed and dried in half the time if you wear a pair of towelling socks over your slippers while you mop. That way, you can walk over the wet surface without making muddy marks and dry the floor as you go. If you use the rubbish bin in place of a bucket to hold your detergent, you can give your bin a quick clean at the same time. SCRATCH SCUFFS WITH TEA . Wooden floors may look lovely, but they can also easily get scratched and stained, particularly if the wood is untreated, as it is in my study. I’ve been known to move furniture around when guests come, to hide stubborn marks, but in recent years I have hit upon this novel way to save scrubbing and sanding. Make a pot of strong tea, leave it to cool a little then apply it to the scratches using a damp kitchen cloth. Of course, you may have to experiment with the strength of tea depending on the type of wood — but once you hit the mark, this cheap remedy can save hours on your hands and knees. STEAM CLEAN THE MICROWAVE . Want a sparkly clean microwave? Put in a bowl of hot water with lemon slices and turn it on high . It’s years since I have wasted elbow grease scrubbing my microwave. Now, I employ a foolproof short-cut which removes even the most stubborn of stains — put a heatproof bowl half-filled with hot water and a few lemon slices inside the microwave before turning it on high for five minutes. BABY-WIPE YOUR BATHROOM . Never underestimate the power of a pack of baby wipes, which are great for performing a quick and instant clean-up on most surfaces. I keep a pack in my car and run one over the dashboard and steering wheel every few weeks to keep the dirt and dust at bay — it takes less than 30 seconds to do, but makes your car look as though it’s been valeted. I’m not above swooshing one over my bathroom surfaces either when time is of the essence — combined with a quick squirt of detergent down the loo, you can mask a multitude of sins.
Lots of hard to reach areas or stains you just can't seem to remove?
Take on Aggie's advice for some easy ways to get a sparkling house .
She's covered everything from ironing bed linen to scrubbing the floor .
My mother, Joha, was a massive stickler for housework, and ran the house in which I grew up as though it were a military operation. Our home was spotless, but she rarely got to enjoy one of her delicious Sunday lunches, because she was too busy cleaning the kitchen afterwards. That’s why, after growing up and having two sons of my own — Rory, 23, and 19-year-old Ewan — I adopted a little mantra, which is that a home needs to be clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy, otherwise it gets in the way of living your life. Scroll down for video . Aggie's (pictured) mother was a stickler for cleaning too, and ran their house like a military operation . This may shock a lot people who think of me as something of a hygiene champion because I was co-presenter of the long-running television series How Clean Is Your House? It certainly surprised many when I admitted on the Today programme last week that I don’t always change the bed sheets between guests. In fact, I say it’s fine to have a hygiene hierarchy, where relatives of the same sex do not require a change of bed linen every time they stay. As far as men under the age of 25 are concerned, it’s a rule-free zone. They rarely notice. With that in mind, I’ve compiled a little list of my lazy-lady tips which can help keep your house looking decent — without unmasking your inner slob. QUICK CRISP SHEETS . Ironing your bed linen while still on the bed can work wonders . There once was a time when I happily spent my spare time ironing bed linen. It didn’t last long, particularly once I’d had children and realised I could be spending the time more productively, either with them or on the sofa with a glass of wine. Of course, there’s no denying freshly ironed sheets look lovely — it’s just a shame that getting them is so time-consuming, particularly if you’re dealing with an unwieldy king-size duvet cover. So these days, if I want to please my guests, I simply iron the pillowcases and then give the top of the duvet cover a quick once-over with the iron when it’s in situ on the bed. It’s amazing how much it looks as though you have done the whole thing. Incidentally, ‘waffle pattern’ duvet covers don’t need ironing at all — something you might want to bear in mind if you’re sale-shopping for new bed linen. INSTANTLY PLUMP AND PERFUMED PILLOWS . Freshen up your cushions and pillows by throwing them in the tumble dryer for ten minutes . Often the illusion of cleanliness is as good as the real deal. I’m a stickler for keeping my upholstery fresh, but even I have to concede that not everyone has the time to wash cushions and pillows every few weeks. You can, however, freshen them up by popping them in the tumble dryer for ten minutes with one or two scented fabric-softening dryer sheets, which will easily mask ingrained smells without going to the aggravation of washing and drying them. On the same theme, a few drops of tea-tree oil on a cotton wool ball rubbed along the edge of a radiator can do wonders in eliminating stale odours for a while — a particularly handy tip if you have guests who may wander into a teenage boy’s toxic bedroom. VACUUM-FREE STAIRS . I rarely vacuum my stairs but use a dustpan and stiff bristle brush instead, which does just as good a job in a fraction of the time. Believe me, by the time you’ve gone to the faff of hauling the vacuum cleaner out of the cupboard and fitting the assorted attachments required to do the job, it’s far less effort to get down on your knees and brush them. After all, it’s what our mothers and grandmothers did, and their stairs were always spotless. The old-fashioned method also has the advantage of protecting your paintwork from bashes with the vacuum-cleaner, not to mention eliminating the trip hazard of having a cable snaking up and down your stairs. Just make sure people take their outdoor shoes off before they go anywhere near the carpet to minimise dirt. WASH-UP YOUR CLOTHES . Got a stain on your jumper? Rub in a bit of washing up liquid to remove grease stains . On a similar theme, I often bypass the washing machine when it comes to clothes, and instead use a trick handed down by my dear old mum who, despite her endless rota of housework, did the laundry only once a week. If we ever had a stain on a jumper or skirt/trousers, she would give it a quick scrub with a damp cloth mixed with a dash of washing-up liquid, which is, after all, designed to cut through grease, until it had disappeared. I always used to do this with my boys’ clothes when they were little, and I still do it with my own to this day. SOCK IT TO THE FLOOR . This is an easy two-for-the-price-of-one cheat: if you have guests arriving for Sunday lunch and your floor needs a quick scrub after all your food preparation, you can get it washed and dried in half the time if you wear a pair of towelling socks over your slippers while you mop. That way, you can walk over the wet surface without making muddy marks and dry the floor as you go. If you use the rubbish bin in place of a bucket to hold your detergent, you can give your bin a quick clean at the same time. SCRATCH SCUFFS WITH TEA . Wooden floors may look lovely, but they can also easily get scratched and stained, particularly if the wood is untreated, as it is in my study. I’ve been known to move furniture around when guests come, to hide stubborn marks, but in recent years I have hit upon this novel way to save scrubbing and sanding. Make a pot of strong tea, leave it to cool a little then apply it to the scratches using a damp kitchen cloth. Of course, you may have to experiment with the strength of tea depending on the type of wood — but once you hit the mark, this cheap remedy can save hours on your hands and knees. STEAM CLEAN THE MICROWAVE . Want a sparkly clean microwave? Put in a bowl of hot water with lemon slices and turn it on high . It’s years since I have wasted elbow grease scrubbing my microwave. Now, I employ a foolproof short-cut which removes even the most stubborn of stains — put a heatproof bowl half-filled with hot water and a few lemon slices inside the microwave before turning it on high for five minutes. BABY-WIPE YOUR BATHROOM . Never underestimate the power of a pack of baby wipes, which are great for performing a quick and instant clean-up on most surfaces. I keep a pack in my car and run one over the dashboard and steering wheel every few weeks to keep the dirt and dust at bay — it takes less than 30 seconds to do, but makes your car look as though it’s been valeted. I’m not above swooshing one over my bathroom surfaces either when time is of the essence — combined with a quick squirt of detergent down the loo, you can mask a multitude of sins.
your life. Scroll down for video . Aggie's CRISP SHEETS . Ironing your bed linen while still the job, it’s far less effort to get down on your to remove grease stains . On a similar theme, I muddy marks and dry the floor as you go. If you of sins.