Home Hacks You Might Wish You Knew About Earlier
Owning or renting a home can indeed present its fair share of challenges, but it doesn't have to be a constant struggle. In fact, there's a wealth of ingenious solutions that can simplify the process of tidying up and keeping your home in tip-top shape.
While home maintenance can sometimes feel like an endless chore, these clever home hacks can revolutionize your approach to keeping your living space clean, fresh, and organized. By incorporating these quick and easy fixes into your routine, you can make your life as a homeowner or renter considerably more manageable, allowing you to enjoy your home with greater ease and comfort. So, dive into these home hacks, and discover how they can simplify and improve your daily life.
Use Essential Oils In The Bathroom
The bathroom comes with its fair share of odors and we often use aerosol sprays to take care of it. This is hardly a long-lasting solution, so if you want something a little stronger, why not try essential oils.
Just a few drops of your favorite essential oil soaked into the cardboard of your toilet paper roll will do the trick! Every time someone grabs for more TP, the essential oil scent will be released into the air.
A Hiding Spot For Your Spare Key
Having a spare key always comes in handy when you accidentally lock yourself out of the house. Most people hide a key somewhere near their front door but you wouldn't want to hide it anywhere obvious so that a burglar can find it!
Try putting the key into an empty pill bottle. Then glue a pine cone or other piece of foliage natural to your front lawn to the end of the bottle. This way, you can bury it by a bush or some rocks near your door!
Use Tongs To Clean The Blinds
Your window shades and blinds can be some of the dustiest places in your home. Cleaning them can be tedious, but it doesn't need to be. You can clean the dust off your blinds easily with some kitchen tongs.
Simply fasten some microfiber cloths of an old t-shirt to the ends of the tongs with rubber bands. That way, you'll have an easy too that'll catch dust off both sides of the blinds in no time!
Use Pool Noodles As Bumpers In Your Garage
Not all garages are created equally and some people unfortunately have to fit their cars into such narrow spaces. For those who have a small garage, try slicing a pool noodle in half and attaching the pieces to either side of the garage walls.
Next time you get out of your car, the doors will nudge softly against the noodles instead of hitting the wall. No more scuff marks on the wall and no more dings on your car door!
Old Desk Organizers Can Serve Other Parts Of Your Home
Pantries are often the first spaces in our homes that start getting disorganized. Before you know it, you'll have spices hidden between boxes and bags of food that'll just overwhelm you.
If you have some extra desk organizers lying around your house, you can actually use those to organize the smaller items in your pantry. If you can, try pinning them onto the wall so that you have more shelf space for bulkier items!
Shoe Organizers Aren't Limited To Footwear
We've all seen those shoe organizers that hang on the back of closet doors and have a pocket for every pair of flat shoes that you own. But did you ever think of storing anything else in these bad boys?
Shoe organizers can work well in your pantry to store smaller items and make them easier to see at once. They also work great for organizing all the stray cords and power outlets lying around your house!
Check To See If Your Ceiling Fan Has This
If you know anything about science, then you know that hot air rises because it is less dense than cool air. This isn't exactly helpful during those chilly winter months, but there is likely a switch on your ceiling fan that will help that!
Most ceiling fans are equipped with a small switch that changes the direction of the fan blades. In the winter, use this switch to get the blades moving in a clockwise direction so that the warm air will be pushed from the ceiling to the floor.
Put Salt Down The Drain To Unclog The Sink Overnight
Salt can be used as an anti-clogging agent for your kitchen sink. In order to help it work its magic, mix 1/2 a cup of salt with a cup of baking soda. You'll want to give it 4-6 hours to sit, so it's easier if you pour the mixture down the sink before you go to bed.
Once it's had time to sit in the sink for a few hours, or overnight, run hot water down the sink to flush it out. Repeat as needed.
Put This In Your Toilet To Conserve Water
Conserving water is one of the top concerns for eco-friendly households. In addition to taking shorter showers, you could also reduce the amount of water you flush every time you hit the toilet.
One way to do this (without having to not flush at all, which is gross) is to put a brick or a jar full of water in the back of your toilet. After a flush, less water will go back into the tank due to the volume the brick takes up.
Command Hooks Can Be Used To Hang A Wreath
If you're reading this article, then you're likely a home-hack enthusiast who is well aware of the wondrous capabilities of Command hooks. These little guys can hang up almost anything and come off of your wall without leaving a trace!
One innovative use for these hooks is to hang wreaths or other decorations on your front door. Just place the hook upside down on the inside of the door and using a string, your decor can hang on from the other side.
Freeze Liquid Dish Soap For A Tiny And Mighty Cleaning Tool
People have been taking to Tik Tok to share their home cleaning hacks and this is one of the most popular hacks making the rounds. Tanyahomeinspo shared that she fills an ice tray with liquid dish soap to create a tiny and mighty cleaning tool!
One the soap freezes, she puts on gloves and uses the cube to scrub away the grime on her oven rack. "It just slides off" she shares. Try the hack on your oven rack and other dirty surfaces in your kitchen.
A Better Way To Utilize Ceiling Outlets
While it's always nice to have more outlets around a room, the electric outlets located on the ceiling aren't the easiest to access. You'll often see a ceiling outlet in a garage or in a space that used to have a ceiling lamp or fan.
Even if you're not installing a lamp or ceiling fan, you can use that plug with this wire basket hack! Install four small hooks to the ceiling, measured to the spacing of the wire basket. Plug in a power bar, set it in the basket, then use an extension cord from there.
Kills Pesky Weeds Naturally
Apple cider vinegar is often used in organic gardens as a natural weed killer. The acetic acid is strong enough to kill weeds on contact, making them wither up within a matter of days.
However, some horticulturists say that this isn't as effective as pulling out the weeds by hand early on. They argue that while ACV kills weeds on contact, it doesn’t necessarily kill the roots.
Keep Your Shower Floor, And Your Feet, Clean
Dish soap is meant for cleaning tough stains and food from your dishes, but it's also great as an all-purpose cleaner for tiles. You definitely don’t do it as often as you should, but if you’re looking to clean your shower floor grab a bottle of dish soap.
Spray a layer of soap over the floor of your shower or your tub, leave it overnight, then scrub away all the grime that built up overnight. It will be satisfying when you see how much grime comes off.
Leaving A Lemon Next To Your Bed Can Help You Sleep
Try this hack if you have trouble breathing while you're sleeping, or have trouble falling asleep because of your nose being clogged. Make cuts in a lemon and place it on your nightstand next to your bed.
Lemons help remove toxins from the air and can help improve your breathing. The lovely citrus smell can help you fall asleep faster and breathe easier.
Label Your Cords Before Plugging In
If you use a power strip or an extension cord for multiple items in your home, it can get a bit confusing as all those cords get tangled up together. When you need to unplug something, you'll spend too much time making sure it goes to the device you're trying to unplug.
One way to avoid this mess is to label the cords that are plugged in using bread bag tags or washi tape and notating which device it leads to.
Use A Dishwasher Tablet To Clean The Shower
A cleaning hack initially recommended by an Australian mom went viral on Facebook after those who tried it couldn't believe how well it works. Dishwasher tablets are abrasive and packed with cleaning power, making them a great tool to clean more than your dishes.
After putting gloves on, dip a dishwasher tablet in cold water, then scrub it on the shower door, or any soap or grime-stained area. Or if you want your shower sparkling clean, scrub it all! The tablet will begin to disintegrate (again, make sure you're wearing gloves). Then, rinse the area clean and wipe it down.
A Rubber Band Will Keep Your Door From Latching
Bringing the groceries into the house is a pretty big chore, and it's annoying having to try to open the door with your hands full. If leaving the door wide open is simply not an option where you live, you can try to make it easier by tying a rubber band around the doorknob like so.
This will prevent the door from latching so you can just push it open when you pass through. Just don’t forget to remove it when you’re done
There Is A Lid Lock On The Back Of French's Mustard
Going to put mustard on a sandwich, or even in a bowl for dipping can be frustrating. The lid pops off easily enough, but when it is turned upside down it tends to fall back into place.
The thing is, French's Mustard actually has a lock located on the back of the lid! Just push the lid far back enough to hear a "click." The lid will then stay in place!
Banana Peels Make Great Compost
Banana peels add calcium, magnesium, sulfur, phosphates, potassium, and sodium to the soil when it is mixed with compost, which can help your plants flourish.
Because banana peels break down quickly, compost absorbs these nutrients faster than other materials. Cutting up the peels into small pieces will accelerate this process even more. Just be sure to add the peels to a compost pile since burying them directly in the soil can actually slow down the break-down process.
Open A Can Easily Without A Can Opener
This essential survival tip comes from OVRLXND on YouTube. If you find yourself stuck in a situation without a can opener, just walk outside and find yourself a flat swathe of concrete.
In the video, he places the can upside down and begins to forcefully rub the surface back and forth on the concrete. The goal is to create enough friction to wear down the rolled seam on the top of the can. Once you see the edges begin to fray, flip the can right-side up and easily (and carefully) pry the can open with a knife.
Use A Staple Remover To Slide Your Keys On And Off
Have you ever broken a nail trying to place a key on a key ring? Not only is it a frustrating task, but it can damage your nails, too! Take this hack to make your life easier.
Use a staple remover to wedge open the keyring, and easily slide your keys on and off without having to rush or worry about pinching your fingers.
Try This Space-Saving Hanger Hack
Another problem we often run into when it comes to getting new clothes is running out of space in the closet. When you don't want to purge whatever clothes you don't need anymore, you can try saving space by doubling up on hangers!
Take a tab from a soda can and place the neck of one hanger through one of the holes. Then, simply hang another hanger from the bottom hole and voila, two articles of clothing for the space of one!
Use A Rubber Band For Stripped Screws
Hardware chores are a breeze until you come across that one stripped screw that makes it impossible to finish your task. Screwdrivers are barely helpful in these cases, yet some people still try to use them for a few minutes before finding another solution.
Next time you're in this predicament, try placing a rubber band between the screw head and the screwdriver! The grip from the rubber should help the screw ease out. Then you can say you at least loosened it.
Use Binder Clips In Your Freezer
People who make smoothies at home regularly know that it's all too easy for your frozen fruits to take up space in the freezer. One way to not only keep them fresh, but also keep them out of the way is to use binder clips.
Simply clip the folded open end of your frozen fruits or veggies to the middle rack of your freezer. They will hang out of the way and open up more freezer space.
Hide The Eyesore That Is Your Router
WiFi has become an everyday necessity in our homes but sometimes the router doesn't always add to the motif of whatever room it's installed in. If your router is looking particularly unsightly in your home, try hiding it with some innovative decorations!
Store the router in a decorative box with a hole cut out for the cords. Or you can make a case of fake books to store it standing up!
Turn Your Beverage Dispenser Into A Detergent Dispenser
Do you have a beverage dispenser in your home? If so, we're willing to bet that it's just adding to the clutter somewhere in your house. Unless you're an avid party host, your beverage dispenser probably gets used once a year, if at all.
If this is the case, you can get your money's worth out of it by re-purposing it into a laundry soap dispenser. Fill it up with liquid detergent and you can pour the perfect amount every time!
Keep Your Door Knobs Paint-Free
When painting anything, one of the main goals is to not get paint on anything except for what you intend to finish. If you don't want to go through the process of taking a doorknob off when painting a door, not getting paint on it can be tricky.
Yet, using aluminum foil, you can wrap the knob tightly, running a utility knife around the base of the knob so you can paint as close as possible. You can also do this to any knobs that you may end up touching with paint on your hands.
Shower Curtain Hooks Can Hang Clothes Too
We've all had those moments where we come home from the mall some new items to add to our wardrobe, only to realize we don't have enough hangers! This can be annoying, especially since at that point you'd be too tired to go back out and buy some.
One easy fix for this would be to use shower curtain hooks! They take up less space and are especially ideal for hanging clothes with a loop, like jeans or jackets.
Putting Aspirin In The Laundry Helps Remove Stains
People have found that Aspirin helps remove clothing stains and can help brighten the appearance of clothes, bringing them back to their former glory. So if you have clothing that has seen brighter days, lighten them up using this trick!
Put the laundry in the washing machine and throw in around five tablets of Aspirin along with it. Fill with hot water and set it to soak for 1-2 hours. Make sure all of the Aspirin tablets dissolve. Then, drain and run the laundry through a wash cycle as you normally would.
DIY A Non-Slip Hanger With Hot Glue
Maybe your closet issue lies not in the availability of space or hangers, but rather in the fact that all your nice blouses keep slipping off their hangers! Turns out there's an easy fix for this that doesn't require buying special hangers.
Instead, if you have a hot glue gun, try squeezing out a thin layer on the shoulders of the hanger. When it dries, it should prove the perfect grip for your cute tanks and silk blouses.
Use An Old Bottle As Decorative Storage
When it comes to jewelry, we don't always have the best storage solutions on hand. When we don't have the perfect place to store our bracelet collection, it ends up being a cluttered mess or worse, we even lose some of them.
You can avoid this by storing them on the neck of a bottle. Not only will you have a place for bracelets and scrunchies, but you will also have upcycled that cute wine, beer, or soda bottle you enjoyed so much.
Use A Magnet To Keep Your Hammer And Nails Together
Many of us don't use a hammer and nails too often. You likely have both in your house, but when you finally need to use them, you can't find one or the other. This is not only annoying but it is also dangerous to have unused nails lying around.
To avoid this mess and keep everything in one place, you can attach a small magnet to the bottom of your hammer. This will keep your nails attached to it when you need it most!
A Tension Rod Can Add More To Your Storage Space
We often store our household cleaning supplies safely under the kitchen or bathroom sink. But all those bulky boxes and oddly-shaped spray bottles can cause us to run out of space and clutter up the cabinet.
In order to avoid this, try a tension rod! They're inexpensive and can be found at any hardware store. This way, you can hang the spray bottles form the rod and open up more space underneath!
Use An Empty Bottle For This Decor Hack
Home decor optimists might be privy to have large vases filled with ornamental items such as used wine corks or glass beads. But what if you don't drink enough wine to collect enough corks?
Instead of taking on more wine than you can handle, or having to constantly return to the craft store for more glass beads, try putting an empty wine bottle in the vase first! The bottle will take up more volume in the vase and the corks or beads will fill in the space on the sides, giving the illusion that the vase is fuller.
Save A Little After Your Next Paint Job
There's no other feeling quite like stepping into a freshly painted room. Changing the wall color can transform a space entirely but it is never fun to see all that hard work go to waste when furniture nicks the wall.
To avoid this, save some of the paint you used in a baby food jar before you properly dispose of your extra paint. This way, you'll have just enough paint on hand for touch-ups without having to store a big can of paint.
Clean Your Vents In The Dishwasher
You may think that you have a spotless home but one item that's often forgotten are your air-conditioning vents. These little guys don't always get the TLC treatment and end up collecting tons of dust that gets recirculated into your home.
For a quick, efficient clean-up, put your vents in the dishwasher and be sure to close the vents for a thorough clean. Blow dry the excess water off on the cool setting before reinstalling them.
Use A Wine Cork As A Chip Clip
Just when you need a clip to secure an open bag of chips or nuts, it seems there is never one to be found in any of your kitchen drawers. Instead of turning your house upside down looking for one, you can fashion a makeshift clip out of a wine cork.
Just slice the cork halfway up one end and slide the open slit over your folded bag of snacks.
Store Water Bottles In Magazine Holders
If you have an endless supply of water bottles in your home, you're not alone. Somehow you've collected so many water bottles over the years, but even though you don't use all of them, you're not to keen on getting rid of them.
If they're taking up too much space in your kitchen, try storing them on their sides using magazine holders. This will save space and keep everything organized.
Make A Plastic Bag Tissue Box
Most of us have a cabinet in our kitchen stuffed with old plastic bags we never seem to run out of. These make excellent waste bin liners, but look like a mess themselves when they're not in use.
Up-cycle an empty tissue box by putting your plastic bags inside. Stuff the bags into the box with the loops sticking up. Fold the end of each new bag into the loops, so that every time you grab a bag, a new one will be ready for you!
Did You Know A Squeegee Could Do This?
One of the biggest drawbacks of having a cat or a dog is the amount of fur that can accumulate on your floors, especially if you have carpet throughout your home. Regular vacuuming usually does the trick but sometimes vacuums aren't strong enough to pick up everything!
Next time, try using a squeegee to loosen all the hair off of the carpet. The hardest clumps will come out before you run over your carpet with the vacuum again.
Attach A Car Freshener To A Fan
One way to get your home smelling fresh when you're pinched for time is to attach a car air freshener to a house fan. Find the kind that clip onto a vent and attach it to your fan, making sure that it won't interfere with the blades.
Once you get that fan going, your home will be fresh in no time! You won't even have to clean anything or risk spraying aerosols into the air.
Use Command Hooks To Keep Liners In Place
If you do reuse plastic bags as waste bin liners, you might be annoyed if every time you throw something away, the bag goes in with it. One way to keep the bag in place is to you Command hooks.
Stick the hooks on either side of the trash can and place the loops of the bag around them. This will keep your liner in place without you having to touch a bag full of trash.
Keep Boots Upright With Pool Noodles
Ladies can't wait to use their tried and trusted boots during the fall and winter seasons. But when it's a little warmer out, those boots are stored away and not always in the best conditions. Letting the tall part of your boots flop over can invite unwelcome creases into your footwear.
Keep your boots upright all year using pool noodles. Just cut the noodles to size and stuff them into your boots.
Use Old Tubes For Your Cables
If you have a drawer full of unused cables and cords that you don't like to think about, there's an easy way to clean up that tangled mess. The key is to store your cords so that they are organized and easily accessible, but how do you keep track of what the cords are used for?
Wrap up the cords neatly and insert them into a toilet paper tube or a paper towel tube cut to size. Just label the tube so you know which cord is which.
Store Wrapping Paper In Garment Bags
When the holiday season comes and goes, you're left with all those tubes of wrapping paper taking up space in your storage closet. Worse yet, they keep falling over and won't all stay in the same spot.
Instead, try storing your unused wrapping paper in a garment bag. Not only is it long enough to hold those tubes, you can also hang it up to open more floor space for something else.
Use An Egg Carton To Store Near-Empty Condiments
Nothing is more annoying than trying to get those last few tablespoons of mustard or ketchup at the bottom of the bottle. You just know there's a significant amount left and would hate to waste your money by tossing the bottle.
You could try storing your condiments lid-side down to get every last drop. Use an empty egg carton to hold the condiments in place without them falling over.
Use Pot Lid Racks In Your Closet
Kitchen storage solutions aren't exclusive to the kitchen. You can find ways to use them in your closet as well! A pot lid rack will clean up the clutter in your closet in no time.
These racks are perfect for organizing small purses, wallets, and clutches that used to take up space in your closet. Now you have a way to store all of them so that you can see everything you have at the same time!
Store Fresh Herbs In The Freezer
If fresh herbs are a regular in your home for cooking, you'll likely want to keep them around for as long as you can. You don't need to worry about using all the fresh herbs at once before they go bad. Instead, try freezing some in the freezer!
Right after you bring the herbs home or pick them from your garden, chop them up and freeze them in olive oil for use whenever you need it.
Pringles Cans Can Store Noodles Too
Spaghetti noodles often come in bags that aren't easy to seal back up after you start using them. This not only allows the dry noodles to lose their freshness but it can also get messy once the noodles start falling out.
If you happen to have an empty Pringles can lying around, clean it out and use it store your unused noodles! These cans are the perfect size, so you don't have to go buy a special container.
Make Your Ground Beef Flat Before Storing
Ground beef is excellent to have on hand for an easy dinner fix but it's not always easy if you have to wait a while for the beef to thaw out. Eliminate this problem from the start by flattening your ground beef in a gallon-sized freezer bag before storing it.
Because it is already flat, the ground beef will thaw out faster when you need it. This will also save space in your freezer!
Use Ceramic To Sharpen Your Knives
Dull knives can cause more problems than necessary in your kitchen. Not only do they make it harder to chop up your food, but handling a dull knife is also a safety hazard. If you don't have a knife sharpener on hand, you can probably sharpen your knives with something you already have in you cupboard.
Use the bottom end of a ceramic bowl or mug to sharpen the blade of your knives. Do so with caution!
Use Ice Cubes For Carpet Dents
When moving furniture around, you're often left with some unsightly dents in your carpet that don't really seem to go away with time. To make them disappear within the day, place some ice cubes over them.
When the ice cubes are melted, the dent will be gone but just be sure to wipe up the excess water and fluff the carpet out. This hack can take up to 12 hours to work successfully.
Remove Permanent Marker Using Toothpaste
Toothpaste is not only great for keeping your teeth nice and bright white. The product is also great for cleaning surfaces that have been hit with a permanent marker.
The process is simple. Apply a little bit of toothpaste to a cloth or even a toothbrush head. Rub the toothpaste in a circular motion, applying a little bit of pressure and plenty of friction. As the toothpaste disappears, so too should the permanent marker stain. If the process doesn't work the first time through, apply a dab of wet water and then repeat the process with more toothpaste.
Need The Perfect Caulking Edge? Use Painter's Tape
Just because it's called painter's tape doesn't mean the product is only useful when protecting a surface from unwanted paint. In fact, the adhesive can serve as a perfect complement for caulking a bathtub, shower, sink, and various other surfaces.
Just place the tape on both sides of where the caulking will be applied, apply the caulking, and then remove the painter's tape. The nice sharp edging and clean look will amaze you.
Smelly Vacuum? This Solution Will Solve The Problem
If you've owned your vacuum for a while there's a really good chance it's starting to smell, especially when you first turn the vacuum on and start cleaning up dirt from around your house.
Want to solve the stinky vacuum issue? Try sucking up some ground cinnamon. The fine particles work their way into the hose and canister, clearing them out and leaving behind a better smell. If that doesn't work, you can also vacuum up some baking soda.
Pouring Vinegar On A Slice Of Bread And Leaving It In The Garage
This neat hack will help get rid of any lingering odors in the room you place it in. Vinegar is also a natural cleaning agent so you might actually fare better cleaning what you're trying to deodorize.
I hope you like the smell of vinegar though.
Filling A Mop Bucket In A Regular Sink? Try A Pool Noodle
If you have a bucket that won't fit in a sink and you can't fill it with the hose, try using a pool noodle. Simply hold one side of the noodle in the bucket and then pour water through the other end.
Pool noodles only have a certain amount of give, so we recommend using the spray handle from your kitchen sink when possible. It's not elegant but it's way better than filling up dozens of cups with water and then pouring that water into the bucket.
Use Wax Paper To Make Your Shower Curtain Slide Easier
Think wax paper is only good for baking cookies and covering food in the refrigerator? Think again! It turns out this incredibly useful paper can help make your shower curtain glide more easily when it has been getting stuck on the shower rod.
Simply take a piece of wax paper from the box and rub the paper across your shower curtain. Any buildup on the curtain rod will be removed and your shower curtain will start gliding like the day you bought the shower curtain rod.
Use Coffee Grounds To Unclog A Sink
Coffee grounds can be used to unclog a sink, both with new grounds or the ones you just used to make your morning cup of joe. This is a very simple trick that doesn't require a lot of work.
Start by adding some dish soap to your coffee grounds and then pouring the mixture into the drain. Following this step, pour a bunch of boiling water down the drain. You'll need to use a large pot, and maybe several large pots of boiling water. The clog should break up pretty quickly using only those three ingredients.
This Cutting Board Cleaning Hack Is Simple And Effective
A really good cutting board makes food preparation a breeze and it can last a lifetime if proper care is taken during the cleaning process. Making your cutting board look like it's close to new is actually pretty simple. Start by covering the cutting board in salt and then cut a lemon in half. Rub the salt into the board with the lemon. The combination of abrasive salt and cleaning lemon will make the cutting board shine like new.
Just keep in mind that when cutting raw meat on your cutting board, proper disinfectants should be used to avoid contamination issues.
Clean Your Toilet Bowl With Kool-Aid
Cleaning your toilet bowl with Kool-Aid? Sure, it may sound like a really strange choice but it's actually really effective for getting rid of mineral deposits that are often hard to scrub away.
The process for cleaning your toilet bowl is actually simple, just pour a packet into the toilet bowl and scrub it around a little bit with a toilet bowl brush. Let the Kool-Aid sit in the bowl overnight and then flush the bowl the next day. The citric acid in the Kool-Aid packet will break down mineral deposits and remove unwanted bacteria
Use Milk To Quickly Clean Up Red Wine Stains
Spilled wine on your floor might seem like the end of a great rug or carpet but there's a very simple hack that can save the day — milk.
The next time you spill a glass of wine simply head to the refrigerator and grab a glass of milk. Dab up as much of the red wine as possible and then pour the milk directly onto the stain. Let the milk sit for about an hour and then dab up the mess. The milk tricks the wine into absorbing into the dairy product instead of soaking into the carpet or rug.
