The Best Home Hacks You Always Wanted To Know
1 Scatter Soap
Sometimes hungry rabbits or deer unfortunately assume that your garden is their personal feeding ground. They’ll nibble away at your greenery, ruining all your hard work in one meal. Thankfully, soap provides a solution to this problem. Shred some soap in your food processor and scatter it among your plants. Don’t cover the entire ground, but leave a healthy supply of shavings interspersed with your mulch.
The smell of the soap will keep hungry animals away, but the soap itself won’t damage your plants. You’ll have to replenish your shreddings if they wash away, but other than that it takes very little effort for you to keep your plants safe.
2 Clean and De-Fog Eyeglasses
Eyeglasses are an essential element of every outfit for those not naturally blessed with perfect eyesight. But as you go through your day, your eyeglasses tend to accumulate dirt and smudges that fog up your vision. While cleaning them with a soft cloth is the preferred method, sometimes a little piece of fabric isn’t enough to fully clear up your lenses.
If your glasses could use a deep cleaning, use a little dish soap. Simply put a drop of dish soap on the outside and inside of each lens and gently wash it with your fingers. When you’re done, dry the glasses with your trusty soft cloth. Your glasses will be smudge and fog-free, promising perfect vision.
3 Keep Insects Away
Household insects like to hide in dark, creepy places. If you search long enough in your kitchen cabinets, you’ll probably find a few unwelcome visitors. While using shelf liners is a common practice to keep your cabinets clean, aluminum foil is the best shelf liner of all.
Aluminum foil reflects light, which in turn drives away all the creepy-crawly creatures. By lining your cabinets with aluminum foil, you’re creating an environment where no insect wants to live. You’ll keep your kitchen safe from scavenging critters and you’ll keep your cabinets tidy and dust-free.
4 Start A Fire Easily Using Doritos
When it comes to snacking, Doritos are often the snack of choice. After all, these chips are absolutely delicious! Not only are they great for satisfying that afternoon or late night hunger, but Doritos are also extremely useful when it’s time to start a fire!
The next time you need to start a fire out of the blue and don’t necessarily have the best possible ingredients, if you have Doritos on hand, grab a few and take advantage of their ease of catching on fire to give you a hand! The chips will ignite in no time.
5 Use Your Old Sponges
Too much water can be just as damaging as too little water for the plants in your garden, so it’s important to get the dosage right. If water settles at the bottom of your pot, it can rot your roots, causing your precious plants to die.
To maintain a healthy balance of water for your plants, put old sponges at the bottom of your pot. The sponges will soak up the excess liquid that could damage your plants, while simultaneously maintaining enough moisture to keep your plants healthy.
6 Shield Your Doorknobs
If you’re into DIY projects in your home, you may find that you want to paint a few doors to add a splash of color to your space. But while you’re painting your door, you’re faced with the issue of protecting the doorknob from your new color. Painting tape is an okay solution, but it’s also time-consuming and difficult to wrap each strip around your circular doorknob.
Instead of wasting your precious time on that strategy, simply wrap a piece of aluminum foil tightly around the door handle. Then, use a knife to cut a perfect circle around the handle, ensuring that you get clean lines when you remove the foil. Once you’re done painting, you simply have to take the foil off to finish your project—it’s that easy.
7 Clean Your Toilet Tank
While your toilet bowl is one obvious area of the bathroom that needs a good clean fairly regularly, your toilet tank is often forgotten about. But much like the bowl, the tank can also get very dirty. Over time, dirt, grime, and water stains build-up, which can impact the overall function of your toilet if not addressed. Thankfully, vinegar provides a solution.
To keep your toilet tank clean and running smoothly, you simply have to add vinegar to the water. The vinegar will help to clear out mineral deposits from the inner components, keeping your toilet in pristine condition. Plus, it won’t damage any of the components and it requires very little effort on your part. Add a little vinegar every now and then, and you’ll never have to worry about your toilet tank.
8 Keep Fitted Sheets On Your Bed
What could be more unpleasant than having to constantly replace your fitted sheet on your mattress because a corner has decided to give way? It’s as if you always have to take a fitted sheet that is bigger than your mattress to make sure it stays in place, and yet, if you move around too much in your sleep, there is no guarantee that it will hold. Fortunately, there is a very ingenious trick to remedy this unpleasant situation.
A pair of suspenders is collecting dust in your closet because the fashion has passed, or the special event requiring a clean outfit is over? Use them to hold your fitted sheet! Simply place the suspenders under your mattress and attach the four corners of your fitted sheet to the four straps, and you’re done!
9 Get Rid Of Odor
We’ve all dealt with odd odors in our house from time to time. Even if your home doesn’t smell particularly bad, it might exude an unpleasant, musty scent that’s hard to fully get rid of. But no matter what odors you’re dealing with in your home, vinegar provides a solution.
For this hack, you’ll simply need a bit of vinegar and a slice of white bread. Place the white bread in a bowl and fully immerse it in vinegar. We know it sounds odd, but just give it a try! Once the bread is soaked, place the bowl in the smelly area of your home for 24 hours. The acid in the vinegar will combine with the yeast in the bread, absorbing any odors and leaving your home smelling clean and fresh.
10 Get Rid Of Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are a real nuisance, but even with all the precautions you can take, sometimes you can’t get away with it. And once they’ve made their way into your bed, it can be really hard to get rid of them. However, there is a simple and effective way that will help you deal with this problem.
If you are unfortunate enough to have bed bugs in your home, arm yourself with rubbing alcohol! Pour some of it into a spray bottle, then generously spray your bed—mattress, blankets, pillows and pillowcases—and that’s it! Of course, this process must be repeated several times; since bed bugs lay eggs, it is impossible to eliminate them all at once.
11 Soak Dirty Pots And Pans With A Dryer Sheet
It’s challenging to clean dirty pots and pans when they’re covered with caked-on food. What are you to do if it seems like no amount of soapy water will remove those stubborn stains? This next tip will have your casserole dishes and skillets looking clean as a whistle.
Soak your dirty dishes with a dryer sheet. Just pour warm water into the bottom of the dish, place a dryer sheet on top of the water, and allow it to soak for 15 minutes. The longer the better, so you can even leave it soaking overnight. Finally. clean the dish with a wet sponge and rinse.
12 Rid Bathrooms of Mildew
By the time mildew forms in your shower, it won’t come off with a simple once-over with a sponge. In order to truly clean your shower, you need something a little stronger. Thankfully, one of our baking soda hacks will do the trick.
Next time you clean your shower, scrub the floors and walls with a sponge covered in baking soda. The powder will help to dissolve all that stubborn mildew, cleaning your shower easily and effectively without the need for strong chemicals.
13 Fix Your Phone Screen
There are few things more frustrating than cracking your phone screen. With how expensive phones are nowadays, cracking the screen is often a real disaster. But instead of shelling out hundreds of dollars to fix your cracked phone, cure the problem with a little WD-40.
When your screen is cracked, simply spray a little WD-40 onto the surface and wipe it off with a clean, dry cloth. While the WD-40 won’t fix the crack, it will improve the appearance of the screen, allowing you to at least see your phone clearly until you can afford to get it fully fixed.
14 Clean Your Houseplants
There’s nothing more beautiful and enjoyable than having plants inside your home, is there? However, it is important to take good care of them to keep them healthy, and that is not always easy. Contrary to what you might think, taking care of them is more than just watering them properly!
Like everything else in your home, plants collect dust and other particles on their leaves. Since plants use their leaves to breathe, they need to be clean! To clean your plants’ leaves and restore their natural beauty, simply dilute one part rubbing alcohol with 12 parts water. Then, take a piece of cotton, dip it in the mixture, and gently wipe the dust off your plant’s leaves.
15 Remove Soap Scum From Your Bathroom Fixtures
While cooking spray is the first thing you reach for in the kitchen, it can also present the solution you need for a clean bathroom. Chemical cleaning compounds are certainly necessary to remove bacteria and grime in your bathroom, but they’re not always the best solution for that stubborn soap scum.
Next time you clean your bathroom, spray your faucets and showerheads with a bit of cooking spray. The spray will help to remove that stubborn soap scum, leaving bright, shining fixtures behind. Who would have believed it?
16 Use As Weed Killer
If you’re trying to keep your home garden alive and thriving, getting rid of weeds is your first priority. But chemical weed killers can not only damage the plants you’re trying to grow, they can also have harmful effects on your family and pets.
To keep your home a chemical-free zone, use vinegar as a weed killer. Look for a high acidity vinegar and pop it in a spray bottle to rid yourself of the pests in your garden. Use the vinegar on its own, or combine one gallon of white vinegar with a tablespoon of dish soap and a cup of salt for an even more effective mixture. Using this method, your garden will be both weed and chemical-free.
17 Unclog Your Toilet
Clogged toilets are the worst! But with just a little dish soap, you can solve the problem of your backed-up lavatory. Rather than going at your porcelain throne with a plunger, simply pour half a cup of dish soap into the toilet.
Allow the dish soap to sit in the toilet for roughly 15-20 minutes. Then use a hot bucket of water to flush the refuse down the drain. Thanks to the dish soap, your pipes should be free from all the yucky debris that first caused the clog.
18 Reducing Joints Pain
Joint pain can be downright unpleasant and, above all, painful. Of course, there are different ways to relieve them, with medication, among other things, but once again, aluminum foil could help. In fact, wrapping your toes-or any part of your body that suffers from joint pain-will go a long way towards relieving the pain.
This technique is believed to have been used for a hundred years. Apparently, human organisms contain special stem cells that constantly interact with the Earth’s energy field. Aluminum foil helps to reflect this energy field, and thus, to restore the possible disrupted interaction that could occur in the stem cells and cause the pain.
19 Clean Your Baking Tray
Cooking is great, but when it comes time to do the dishes, we often regret having to fight with our dirty baking trays that are impossible to wash. Fortunately, there is a foolproof and ultra-efficient way to get your baking trays clean again.
All it takes is dish soap. Yes, as banal as that. However, instead of using it mixed with water and scrubbing with a sponge, freeze your dish soap in an ice cube tray, then rub your baking tray directly with your soap cube. You’ll see, the result will leave you speechless!
20 Eliminate Weed
Weeds are never welcome on our property, no matter where they grow. They are invasive and not very pretty! If you have weeds growing in between the bricks of your terrace, salt can be quite practical in eliminating them.
To benefit from this ingredient, all you need to do is sprinkle some between the bricks and make sure the salt goes into the soil by pressing it in with your hands so the weeds can’t grow. They should disappear quite rapidly.
21 Banana Peels
Many fertilizers sold in stores may contain some questionable products, and we’ll tell you, sometimes it’s just very expensive to buy, anyway. Fortunately, you probably have natural fertilizers on hand without even knowing it!
If you’re used to eating bananas, it’s time to stop getting rid of their peels. Instead, save them to make your own homemade fertilizer for your garden. It’s extremely simple, and very effective! This is a great way to be environmentally friendly and save money at the same time.
22 Remove Scratches On Stainless Appliances
It’s inevitable, at some point, some scratches will appear on your stainless steel appliances. Although this is normal, it is always a little annoying and disturbing. The good news is that there is a way to eliminate these unwanted scratches, and you already have what you need in your bathroom! In fact, a simple toothbrush and a little toothpaste will get rid of the scratches that have appeared on your stainless steel appliances.
All you have to do is apply a small amount of whitening toothpaste on an old toothbrush that you no longer use, then rub gently in circular motion, following the grain of the stainless, on the scratches to be removed. Then, clean the whole with a damp microfiber towel, and you’re done!
23 Keep Your Garden Healthy
If you have some cornstarch in your kitchen cabinet, you should definitely consider using it in your garden. Indeed, as surprising as it may seem, its uses in your garden are even more various than in your kitchen!
You can sprinkle a little cornstarch on the leaves of your plants to keep the worms away, but you can also dip the seeds of your future corn, tomato or bean plants so that the seeds sprout more quickly. Cornstarch will also improve the sandy coastal soil, reduce the need to water your plants, control Nitrogen pollution and repel ants.
24 Make Your Stainless Steel Shine
It is essential to clean your stainless steel appliances regularly, otherwise their beauty will fade quickly, and generally, when we own stainless steel appliances, it is because we like the look. However, if you want to restore their shine, consider using a little flour!
After cleaning your stainless steel as you normally do, sprinkle a little bit of flour on a clean, dry cloth. Then, gently buff your stainless steel appliances until they shine again! That’s pretty simple, right? And what’s more, it’s very effective!
25 Make Your Avocado Rippen Faster
It’s a running gag that every avocado lover can relate to. When you buy this food, it is never ripe enough, but when you finally want to eat it a few days later, that’s it, it is now too ripe! Fortunately, flour can help you in the ripening process of your avocados.
When you come across an underripe avocado that you want to eat in a relatively short period of time, place it in a paper bag, then in a bowl where you cover it with flour, then leave it on your counter for the next 24 hours. After that, your avocado should be good to eat!
26 Freeze A Bottle Of Water For A Colder Drink
When it’s hot, everyone appreciates a good cold thirst-quenching beverage. However, with the heat comes the difficulty of keeping the said beverage cold long enough, unless you use a thermos, which is not always practical. However, there is an effective way to keep your water cold longer, even in your favorite water bottle!
The trick? Fill your water bottle halfway with water, then put it in the freezer. Allow the water to freeze, then fill the rest of the bottle with cold water.The half frozen water will take longer to thaw than just ice cubes, keeping your water fresh for much longer!
27 Clean Shower Doors
Beyond cleaning the fixtures in your bathroom, cooking spray is also a useful compound for creating clean, pristine shower doors. If you’re dealing with a clear shower door, then you know that removing all the bits of soap scum, hard water stains, and general grime is difficult. But cooking spray makes it a lot easier.
Next time you clean your shower, start by spraying the doors with a healthy amount of cooking spray. Allow the spray to sit for a few minutes, then wipe it off. After that, you can proceed with your cleaning as normal. When you’re finished, you’ll notice your shower doors are significantly brighter and clearer.
28 Whiten Your Fingernails
If you’re trying to save cash by giving yourself a manicure at home, then you’ll be happy to know that whitening toothpaste can clean your fingernails. Get rid of that yellowish tint by selecting a tube that includes baking soda.
First, remove any old nail polish, then put a layer of toothpaste on top and under your nails and allow it to sit for 15 minutes or so. Next, scrub your fingernails with a toothbrush under a stream of warm water. Your nails will look like you just had a professional manicure for a fraction of the cost.
29 Take Care Of Your Garbage Disposal
When you have a garbage disposal in your sink, it is very common to call a plumber when it comes time to clean it. However, calling a plumber for such a task is expensive. It is much more economical to clean your garbage disposal and drain yourself, especially when you already have the key ingredients at home!
All it takes is dish soap and ice cubes. If you have a few cubes of frozen dish soap, that’s even better! First, remove the rubber seal and clean it by soaking it in hot water with dish soap. Then, place several ice cubes in your sink and pour dish soap over them. Next, put on your stopper, then turn on your garbage disposal. Not only will this process clean your garbage disposal, but it will also sharpen its blades! It is recommended to repeat this about 3 times a year.
30 Remove Red Stains From Tupperware
Have you ever kept leftover spaghetti only to discover a red stain on your Tupperware? It seems like no amount of scrubbing will get rid of that stubborn stain. Don’t give up and throw away your Tupperware because we have a tip for you.
The next time you want to remove leftover red sauce from a plastic container, try washing it with a Magic Eraser. It will be good as new with a few simple steps. Just sprinkle a bit of baking soda into the container, apply water, and rub it with a Magic Eraser. Finally, rinse any residue from the container.
31 Clean Your Oven With Shaving Cream For A Perfect Result
Few places are dirtier than the inside of an oven. Through cooking and making a few messes that we don’t necessarily clean thoroughly every time, our oven traps some stubborn stains that are then extremely difficult to remove. But there is one product that you never thought would help you in such cases: your shaving cream!
All you need to remove the toughest stains in your oven are your shaving cream and a scouring pad. Apply a generous amount of shaving cream to the stain, then rub it with the scouring pad. Then remove the cream with a paper towel, and you’re done!
32 Make Powdered Or Crushed Toppings With Your Coffee Grinder
Oat flour is healthier than regular white flour. However, it costs much more. If you still want to opt for oat flour, why not make it yourself? Quick oats are much less expensive than oat flour, and if you have a coffee grinder at home, you won’t have to put in any effort!
Just pour your quick oats into the coffee grinder, turn it on, and you’re done! If you don’t have a coffee grinder, a blender or food processor can also do the trick. The texture will not be as smooth as real oat flour, but the result will still be similar.
33 Steam Towels With Your Rice Cooker
Why wait for a rare visit to the spa to enjoy some of the greatest benefits of such a visit? Taking good care of yourself is important, and you can easily replicate the warm, steamed towels that are so enjoyable at the spa at home. It’s free, and so relaxing!
All you have to do is wet a few hand towels with hot water, roll them up, and place them in your rice cooker. Turn it on, and after a couple of minutes, you’ll have warm and steamy towels to place on your face! Yes, it is that easy.
34 Clean Your Patio Furniture With Bleach
Over time, a white plastic patio set will tend to yellow and lose its luster. At this point, you may want to get rid of it and buy a new one, but you should know that it is possible to easily restore it to its former whiteness!
All you need is water and bleach. In a large bucket filled with hot water, pour 1/4 cup of bleach. Making sure to protect your hands with rubber gloves, dip a scrub brush into the water and then brush your patio set with the cleaning liquid. In no time at all, you’ll have a patio set white as before!
35 Rinse Your Grain Using Your French Press Coffee Maker
Many people don’t know this, but before cooking certain grains, such as quinoa or rice, for example, it is essential to rinse them first with water. This extra step removes dust and the thin layer of starch that covers the grain.
First, pour your grains into the press pot. Fill the rest with water, then stir and press down to the bottom. Pour out the cloudy, starch-infused water, then repeat these same steps until the water you pour out is clear.
36 Shred Your Meat In Your Stand Mixer
Shredded meat can be used in many different ways, and it is always delicious! However, the shredding process can sometimes be long and laborious. As a result, you probably often give up on the idea of eating shredded meat just to save yourself the trouble. But what if we told you that there is a simple and effortless way to achieve it?
After cooking your meat, separate the pieces you want to use and place them in the bowl of your stand mixer. Then, just turn on your stand mixer, and your meat will be shredded in an instant! It is also possible to do this in a bowl using a hand mixer.
37 Cook Your Fish And Veggies In The Dishwasher
Once you have a dishwasher in your home, you can’t live without it. Unfortunately, most people only use it to wash their dishes, when it can be very useful before you even get your dishes dirty while eating! When running, the inside of a dishwasher becomes extremely hot. The hot water and steam are perfect for removing stubborn stains, but also for steaming foods!
For example, to cook vegetables, simply place them in a mason jar with a cup of water and your spices. Then, close the lid of your mason jar tightly, and place it on the top rack of your dishwasher. Turn on your dishwasher, then run it through a normal cycle for about an hour and a half! Bon appétit!
38 Clean Your Plastic Shower Curtain With Bleach
If there’s anything that gets absolutely disgusting over time, it’s a clear plastic shower curtain. It yellows, traps mildew and becomes slimy. Yikes! But when that happens, you don’t have to change your curtain, you can just wash it!
Take your curtain and put it in your bath, which you will have filled with hot water. Add a little bleach, then let your shower curtain soak for at least an hour. Then place it in your washing machine and give it a rinse cycle with warm, but not hot, water.
39 Use Tabs To Create Extra Hanging Space
Rare are those who never end up running out of space in their closet, especially if it is not very big! In these cases, you have to learn how to maximize space in a smart way, and we have just the perfect solution for you, effective and free!
The next time you have cans at home, before you recycle them, take the time to remove the tabs. These will allow you to hang multiple racks together without having to buy an extra accessory at the store to get the same result. A practical, smart, economical and eco-friendly tip that will save you a ton of space!
40 Use Your Sunglasses As A Stand For Your Smartphone
Whether it’s during a break at work, when we’re waiting for someone or when we’re preparing dinner, there’s no shortage of opportunities to settle down in front of our phone to stare at the screen for a while. However, over time, it can become tiring to hold your phone in front of you.
But instead of buying a stand, know that the solution is already at hand! The next time you want to look at your phone without holding it, grab your sunglasses, place them on a flat surface with the temples folded up with the end upwards, and then rest your cell phone on them. And there you have it, a homemade holder!
41 Keep Your Bathroom Mirror From Fogging With Shaving Cream
A bathroom mirror that doesn’t fog up is practically impossible. Unless you have a really powerful fan—and still!—it takes several minutes after each shower to be able to see our reflection in the mirror again. However, an unexpected product in your bathroom is the solution to this problem!
Before you shower again, take your shaving cream and apply a thin layer to your mirror. Then, simply remove the cream and buff your mirror until it is clean and pristine. You’ll see, when you get out of the shower, your mirror won’t be fogged up!
42 Make Your Own Cooking Spray
Cooking spray is an indispensable ingredient in the kitchen. Although it is not expensive and it is possible to find healthy cooking sprays, many of those found in stores contain chemical propellants and preservatives that are harmful to your health. To make sure you only consume what is best for you, here is a very easy DIY cooking spray!
There is really nothing easier to prepare than this cooking spray. All you need is 1 part of the oil of your choice (olive, coconut, macadamia, avocado, etc.) and 4-5 parts of boiled, distilled or filtered water. Once the two ingredients are mixed, pour the mixture into a spray bottle, and voilà! Your oil will last for a little over a week in the refrigerator. Don’t forget to shake it well before using it!
43 Clean Your AC Vents In The Dishwasher
When you are constantly blasting your AC, the vents can begin to look somewhat grungy. Many people tend to neglect this part when they do their typical cleaning process, but the truth is, cleaning this piece can help when someone in your household is prone to allergies.
If you notice, you can easily remove these vents with a screwdriver. Just remove them from the wall or ceiling, wherever they are placed, and dust them off. To make sure that they get an even better clean, just pop them in the dishwasher. They’ll be cleaner than ever and it won’t take you any effort!
44 Use A Shower Cap As A Portable Dog Bowl
Dog owners know that when you take your dog on a walk or to the park, it’s inevitable that they’re going to become thirsty quickly. Not every dog park has the resources to place a dog watering bowl somewhere inside, so it’s up to the dog owners to bring their own. But the good news is, all you need is a shower cap!
It’s easy to use since all you need to do is fill it up with water. Plus, you can tie it around your leash for easy access. Sure, you can find items online that will do the same thing, but they typically cost more. Since many people have shower caps laying around their house, this is an inexpensive and easy way to give your dog water on the go.
45 Use An Old Cardboard Box As A Drawer Divider
Do you ever get frustrated when you open your drawer to find a pair of socks and you have to dig to find them? Maybe your drawer just doesn’t have enough space, or maybe it’s too difficult to keep them in the place that you want them to be.
If you have an old cardboard box sitting around your house, now is the time to use it! Just cut it up into sections to place into your drawer. You can make the sections as large or as small as you want to be able to fit your items. Now you won’t have to worry about digging through your drawer to find what you’re looking for, because the box will help keep everything neat and organized.
46 Store Your Water Bottles In A Magazine Container
Water bottles can be big and bulky, which makes them tend to take up a lot of space in your cabinets. For many people, it’s hard to find room to store them, so they just shove them wherever they can find space. This isn’t ideal because then your water bottles won’t be in the same place and they’ll take up room for other things that actually need to go there.
Instead, you can find magazine holders at any office supply store, or you might already have them somewhere in your home. You can clear out a space in your cabinets or place them somewhere new to store the water bottles. This helps keep them organized and all in the same place!
47 Remove Permanent Marker With Toothpaste
If you have children, you know how frustrating it can be when they get their hands on a permanent marker. They will draw on literally anything they can reach, such as walls, counters, cabinets, and many other things. Plus, you might be aware of how difficult it may be to remove said permanent marker from those surfaces.
But did you know the toothpaste you have in your bathroom can be used to remove the marker? Just squeeze a little out of the tube onto whatever surface your little one drew on. Give it a few seconds to soak in, then buff it out. And voilà! Good as new.
48 Get The Perfect Edge With Painters Tape
If you tend to tackle remodeling projects yourself, this is a hack that you won’t be able to live without. Since you’re already remodeling, chances are you have purchased painter’s tape to repaint those walls that were once colored bright orange, or whatever color it was that you hated. You can use painter’s tape for more than painting, though!
If you are about to re-caulk your shower or sinks, grab some painter’s tape and run it along the top and bottom of where you are going to use the caulk. This ensures that you will have straight edges and that the caulk won’t be placed anywhere that it doesn’t need to be. You won’t have to use your fingers to wipe off the rest anymore!
49 Expired Yogurt Creates The Best Finger Paints
We know that it’s hard sometimes to eat everything in your refrigerator before it expires, but it doesn’t always have to go to waste! If you have little ones at home that like to get messy, this is the perfect project for them to dig their hands into. Recovering and reusing instead of throwing and wasting, we love it!
All you need is any expired yogurt from the refrigerator, ideally ones without any fruit or granola inside of it, and add some food coloring to it. Now your kids can use it as finger paint! And even if they happen to get it on something other than what you intended for, it’ll be easier to wipe off, so there is nothing left.
50 Scent Beads Can Help Remove Odor
Have you ever pulled out your vacuum and noticed an odd smell coming from it? Sometimes a vacuum will suck something up that doesn’t smell right, or old dust and debris will start to have an odor. But if you have scent beads that you use for your laundry, you can easily fix this problem.
Go ahead and grab your scent beads, which are probably stored in your laundry room, and pour some into your hand or onto another surface. Then, just vacuum them up! The vacuum will pull these beads into the dust bin and release their scent instead of whatever is already inside. Now, your home will smell better!
51 Create A Dam On Your Garage Floor
Do you get tired of stepping into puddles when you pull into the garage? Your car will pick up snow and other things that will cause your garage floor to become wet and slippery after you’ve been driving outside. Isn’t that the advantage of having a garage? To avoid exactly this, among other things? Fortunately, there’s an easy solution to fix this problem!
You can create a dam on your garage floor with spray foam! Chances are you can easily find this at your local home improvement store. Just spray it around where your car is normally parked and this will help keep the items in your garage dry and stop any liquid from flowing somewhere it doesn’t need to go.
52 Use PVC Pipe To Store Curling Irons
Ah, the joys of living with women. You never know where their curling or straightening irons might end up. Sometimes you can find them lying on the bathroom counter, hanging off the toilet, or even on the floor. Those long cords get tangled up and cause a mess when you go to pull them out.
To help make your bathroom a little more organized, measure the length of your curling iron, from the tip to the clamp, and write it down. Take these measurements to any home improvement store and purchase some PVC pipe in that length. Then, just hang them on the wall or on the back of the bathroom cabinet to be able to store your curling irons in a tidy way.
53 Use PVC Pipe To Make A Bike Rack
Many people typically have their bikes stored in their garage or a shed, but these places tend to become too cluttered with items that only come out a few times a year. So, you’re just placing them wherever they can fit, which can cause a bigger mess. And when the time comes to pick up your bike for a nice ride, it’s chaos!
Well, have you ever thought of having your very own bike rack? It’s easy to make and makes your space look organized and like the items are meant to be stored there. You can find PVC pipes to make your bike rack to store them in your garage, outside, or in your shed. This will make your space look intentional and less cluttered.
54 Use Old Tarp As A Trailer
As fall rolls around, so do leaves and other debris. Many people spend hours and hours raking their yard and shoveling it into trash bags or bins. This can become extremely time-consuming and could potentially cause back pain, which nobody wants.
Instead, all you need to do is find an old tarp in your home or at any home improvement store. When you go to clean up your yard, just lay the tarp out flat and rake the leaves and sticks onto the tarp. You can easily drag the tarp to where you need it to go and it makes it easier on your back when it comes time to clean up.
55 Create A Barrier To Stop Losing Socks
We are all aware of the black hole between your dryer and the wall. Socks and other items tend to get lost down there more frequently than we’d like to admit. It’s so easy for them to slip through the cracks! As soon as you pull out your laundry, it’s like there is a magnet pulling your socks down there.
To fix this, just find a foam pool noodle! You can cut them to the length that you need or double them up to make sure they fit in the space between the wall and your dryer. This will help stop whatever monster it is down there from eating all of your socks! Plus, it’ll save you money in the long run from having to buy new pairs of socks since all you seem to have are singles.
56 Help Your Boots Keep Their Shape
Who doesn’t hate when they take their tall boots off just for them to slouch over and become creased? I mean, how are you supposed to put them in your closet when all they do is fall over and begin to look more worn? It makes you want to leave them on for as long as you can to avoid them falling down when you take them off.
To stop your boots from looking worn out and slouchy, just save your old paper towel rolls to place inside of them. When you’re finished with a roll of paper towels, you can use the roll to make sure that your boots stay standing when you take them off! The same thing is also possible with a pool noodle, if you have some on hand.
57 Remove Hard Water With Lemon
Removing hard water on faucets can be difficult, especially with all of the grooves and crevices that they have. And let’s face it, it’s not very tempting to drink the water that comes out of that dirty faucet… But how are you supposed to deep clean them when the hard water is tougher than your cleaning supplies?
Well, with lemons. Lemons are a natural way to make sure your faucet is spotless. Just cut a lemon in half and place it in a plastic bag. Slightly push the lemon into the faucet and secure it with a rubber band. Just let it soak for a few hours and then wipe it clean. It’s easy, fast, efficient, and requires no effort on your part!
58 Get Rid Of Scuffs With A Tennis Ball
Scuff marks may be annoying, but they aren’t exactly detrimental to your floors. If your current method of removal is taking too long or not removing them completely, there is a simple solution. The items that you will need are probably in your home already. Otherwise, it is still a very inexpensive solution.
All you will need is a tennis ball! Take the ball and rub it on the scuff marks until they are gone. It’s easy and you don’t have to spend a lot of time doing it. If you want to get fancy, you can cut the tennis ball to fit onto the end of your broom so you don’t have to bend over when you notice a scuff on your floor.
59 Use Wall Planters In Your Kitchen
Wall planters are fairly easy to find at a craft or plant store. Besides helping your home stay fresh with plants hanging in them, you can also use these for other things around your home. If you tend to just throw fruits or vegetables on the kitchen counter, then this hack is for you!
You can hang these on a wall in your kitchen or dining room. Then, just place whatever fruits or veggies you have inside. This adds decor to the room while also making it functional. You won’t have to take up counter space anymore with these on your walls! It’s really a win/win trick.
60 Make Your Own Reusable Wipes
Many households are doing their part in becoming more eco-friendly by reducing their waste. While there are many ways to do this, there are some that seem to be more useful and easier to do. So, if you have an old t-shirt and jar sitting around, here’s your chance to turn your home green.
Grab your old t-shirt and cut it into wipe-size pieces. It doesn’t matter what the shirt looks like because you will be using it to clean with, so no need to be fancy. Then, place these pieces into an old jar or any other container that they will fit in. All that is left to do is fill the container with a cleaning product of your choice, and get to work!
61 Upcycle Old Containers To Store Plastic Bags
Have you just used all of the Clorox wipes in the container? Don’t throw it away! There are many ways to upcycle that container instead of tossing it in the trash. Plus, it’ll help you save more plastic so it doesn’t end up in waste somewhere.
Once you have used the last wipe, make sure to rinse out the container and let it fully dry out. If you’d like, you can even remove the label and decorate the container however you’d like to. Then, you know that cabinet where you throw all of your plastic bags? Now they will have a designated place to go! Place the plastic bags inside the old wipe container for easy access. No more plastic bags falling everywhere!
62 Create Your Own Non-Slip Hangers
There is nothing worse than going through your closet and items keep falling off the hangers. This causes you to spend more time standing in your closet since you have to repeatedly put the clothes back on the hangers. Plus, you don’t have time to go online and order non-slip hangers, or money to waste, especially when your hangers are brand new.
Instead of ordering new hangers, you can just use some pipe cleaners. Just wrap them around the sides of the hangers to make sure that your clothes won’t fall off when they are hanging in the closet. This will save you time and money so you can get back to doing something more important.
63 Clean Your Plants With Banana Peels
Plants, on some levels, are similar to humans. For example, they must breathe well to live and be healthy. However, if you don’t pay attention to them and don’t clean their leaves from time to time, breathing becomes more difficult for them and they can lose their vitality. Luckily, we have a genius tip for washing them right!
The next time you eat a banana, keep the peel and take the opportunity to give your plants some life! All you have to do is to gently rub the leaves of your plants with the inside of the banana peel to restore their luster and do them good!
64 Create Your Own Burrito Bowls
If you eat at home a lot, you’re probably on the hunt for new, innovative foods that differ from your average dish because it’s boring to always eat the same thing. But do you know what you’ll never get tired of? A delicious and crunchy burrito bowl.
For this trick, all you need is a muffin tin and corn tortillas. Flip the muffin tin upside down and form the corn tortillas into a little bowl between four of the cavities. Then bake your corn tortillas in the oven at 375 degrees for roughly 10 minutes. When they’re done, you’ll have crispy bowls ready to be filled with your favorite burrito fixings.
65 Wring Out Your Clothes With Your Salad Spinner
We all have a few pieces of clothing that need to be hand washed. If there’s one thing that’s unpleasant about washing a piece by hand, however, it’s the drying time. You can’t wring out a garment by hand as well as the washer can, which adds considerably to the drying time. However, a significant aid to this is in your kitchen cabinet!
The next time you need to wash a piece of clothing by hand, get your salad spinner. Once you’ve tried to remove the excess water from your piece yourself, place it in your spinner and give it a few turns. You’ll see, a lot of water will leave your piece of clothing and it will dry much faster!
66 Eliminate The Bad Odor From Your Shoes
You only have to wear a pair of shoes a few times—especially in the summer, when it’s very hot—for them to start smelling bad. Also, if you take too long to remedy the situation, it can get really stinky! However, we understand that you don’t necessarily want to clean your shoes every day.
According to lifehacker.com, when your shoes start to smell, simply use rubbing alcohol to remove the odor. First, wait for your shoes to dry completely after wearing them. Then, spray rubbing alcohol on the inside and let them dry overnight. When you wake up, the bad smell will be gone!
67 Remove Carpet Hair
If you have pets at home, you experience this difficulty regularly. You clean the house, then it’s time to remove all the pet hair from the carpets. And no matter how many times you vacuum the same spot, many hairs remain visible. That’s when you pray for a miracle solution to appear, and we have it for you!
Go get your window squeegee, and use it on your carpets. You’ll see, the rubber blade of the squeegee will trap the hair of your carpets easily, and in just a few strokes, you’ll finally be rid of them! Here’s a simple but very effective trick!
