An easy way to clean your garden tools with recycled oil

“Lazy man always works hardest.” My father’s voice rings in my ears every time I guiltily slide my mud-smeared spade back into the shed.

But here's an idea for keeping tools clean, rust-free and well oiled. In the video below, American gardening expert Joe Lamp’l shows you how to clean your shovel by ramming it repeatedly into a bucket of oil-soaked sand. Keep the bucket just inside the shed door and you can clean it after every use. The abrasiveness of the sand should help keep your tools sharp, too.

All you need are a large bucket in which you mix builders' sand and a couple of pints of oil. Joe uses old motor oil, which is arguably a good idea, as it gives a bit more life to oil that would otherwise be thrown away. However, I’m going to try this using old cooking oil (does anyone know any reason why not?). I think I’d prefer to add traces of an oil of vegetable origin to the soil rather than one that's mineral-based.