WIMBLEDON starts on Monday, sending lots of us running to the tennis courts. But when the sudden burst of enthusiasm wears off, don't throw those balls in the bin - they could come in useful if your partner can't stop snoring.

Sleeping on your side rather than your back really helps stop the night-time noises, so just sew a little pouch onto your partner's pyjamas (assuming he wears them!) and tuck a tennis ball inside. Then if he starts to roll onto his back during the night, he'll get a nudge from the ball, prompting him back onto his side. Seems a little drastic, but if you haven't slept well for weeks, you'll probably try anything, and hopefully it will reprogramme him into sleeping silently on his side.

This is just one of the age-old remedies in the Reader's Digest 1,001 Home Remedies, which includes 12 ways to ease anxiety, ten ways to beat an asthma attack, 27 cold and flu beaters, 15 ways to tackle back pain, 16 cures for hiccups and 17 ways to lower blood pressure.

Many are much more practical than the tennis ball cure, and they cost a lot less than over the counter drugs. There are time-tested techniques, herbal cures and advice from doctors and health experts which explain how to treat common ailments, from warts to wrinkles, safely at home. For those wary of the side effects of drugs or wanting to save a few pounds, 1,001 Home Remedies could become an essential handbook.

Some other tips:

Banish dandruff with cider vinegar

Cider vinegar, which kills a variety of fungi and bacteria, is frequently recommednded as a home remedy for dandruff. Mix one part water with one part apple cider vinegar. Apply as a rinse after you shampoo.

Ginger to soothe arthritis pain

Take teaspoon of powdered ginger or up to six teaspoons of fresh ginger once a day. Research shows that ginger root helps to relieve arthritis pain, probably because of its ability to increase blood circulation, and thus ferry inflammatory chemicals away from painful joints.

Mustard footbath to ease a headache

Soaking your feet in hot water will help your head to feel better. By drawing blood to your feet, the hot water footbath will ease pressure on the blood vessels in our head. For a really bad headache, add a bit of mustard powder to the water.

Peanut butter to halt hiccups

Offer a big teaspoon of peanut butter to children with persistent hiccups. In the process of chewing and getting it off the tongue and teeth, swallowing and breathing patterns are interrupted. It all adds up to calming the diaphragm.