My title may be a tad titillating but I guarantee this information will serve you well as temperatures rise...
When making dinner for friends last week one asked how hygienic a wooden chopping board is, particularly in this hot weather. Of course it depends on how well you clean your board. Wood is fine as long as it's scrubbed thoroughly after every use with very hot soapy water, then rinsed with hot running water. Never leave it to soak - it'll swell and crack. Dry with paper towels to avoid germs from a used tea towel. Then leave it to air, resting on its edge (it can warp if it's left to dry flat). To get rid of strong smells, squeeze lemon juice (or sprinkle a bit of mustard powder) on the board and wipe with a sheet of kitchen paper. A plastic board of course can go in the dishwasher, but otherwise treat in exactly the same way as wood. Take care always to use separate boards for raw meat and veg, and replace a cracked or badly scored board, whatever it's made from. As for these awful glass chopping surfaces, never give one house room - they'll ruin your knives.
Chopping boards are very handy when preparing cut flowers for an arrangement. Roses or foliage with thicker/wooden stems need a bit of a bash with a hammer to help them absorb water better so use a chopping board to save your kitchen surfaces. For softer stems I use a sharp knife and a chopping board to make sure I have a clean angled cut which protects the delicate stems so they last a bit longer. Lilies are so lovely (and a bit cheaper) at this time of year, but those stamens are a nightmare if you accidentally brush past and get your clothes caught against them. Remember this: whatever you do, do NOT try to rub off the pollen! All that happens is you'll be pushing the strong dye into the fibres of your clothes (and it's always your smartest white cotton blouse or linen suit, isn't it?). The ONLY answer is to take a piece of sticky tape, keep pressing very lightly over the stain and renewing the tape until every last particle is gone from the surface. Works brilliantly, trust me.
I like to keep a vase of flowers in my bedroom - I love waking up to sunshine and the smell of fresh flowers. Since we're talking about the boudoir I'm going to ask you a personal question...when did you last wash your pillows? Think about it: although estimates vary wildly, you can be sure that a fair proportion of a pillow's weight is made up of skin scales, dandruff, sweat, saliva and...goodness knows what else. While the sun's shining at the moment, take advantage and get those pillows (two at a time) in the washing machine (check the care label first) and out on the line. Feather-filled pillows need to dry quickly, otherwise if they hang about damp for a few days the feathers will develop mould and all your good efforts will be undone. If the rain's back on, stick in the tumble dryer with a few white tennis balls to stop the filling clumping. And it's always better to cover them with pillow protectors to protect from soiling. You'll sleep a lot sounder now...
To make sure the morning after the night before is just as good, we need to have a chat about bedmaking... You were brought up to make yours neatly every morning, right? Well, it's not the best idea because with all the night-time sweating (each of us loses around a pint a night, more on these summer nights) and in the warm, moist atmosphere, dust mites will happily breed in their millions. And if you're wheezy or asthmatic, their faeces could easily trigger a nasty asthma attack. Much healthier to freeze them out, so pull the covers right back, open the windows and allow the bed to air.