1. Use a pool noodle as a garage barrier
Chances are your garage is a tightly packed storage zone leaving little room for your car, right? But we all know that sickening sound when we misjudge by a few inches and our precious car comes into contact with the unforgiving brick wall. Well, we’ve found a nifty solution to this problem. The pool noodle! Cut a few in half and drill them to the sides of your garage walls to make a safe buffer zone to prevent future collisions.
2. Install a timer on your geyser
Did you know that your geyser switches on and off 24 to 30 times a day, even when you’re not at home? Saving energy is important for our pocket and the environment, yet every time your geyser switches on it uses the equivalent power of 50 light bulbs! Yes, you can just switch your geyser off in the morning and on again in the evening, but who wants to risk a cold shower after a long day? With a timer you can set your geyser to turn on and off automatically. The best part? The amount you save on your electricity bill each month (up to 600 hours of hot water) can go straight into your holiday/shoe/sports car fund.
3. Make your own household cleaner
If you’re not the DIY type, you might be rolling your eyes at this suggestion, but think about it. How often are you having to pop to the store to buy kitchen or bathroom cleaner? And how many of the ingredients in your store-bought cleaners can you actually recognise, if not pronounce? Make 2015 the year you go green and impress your friends with this simple recipe for all-purpose household cleaner. Mix a half cup of vinegar with a quarter cup of baking soda into three and a half litres of water. Et voila! Use it to clean sinks, countertops and any other surfaces. For a fresh citrus scent, add a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice.
4. Get rid of pet hair with a squeegee
You love your pooch but you’re not so in love with his hair on the carpet, the couch and, well, everywhere! No matter how many times you go over it with a vacuum, pet hair has a habit of sticking. But we’ve discovered a magical device which gets rid of pet hair in just a few sweeps. The window squeegee. OK, so it’s not ‘magic’ but, trust us, it does the trick. Use a squeegee with a long handle so you can get a good grip, then run it backwards and forwards along the area. The rubber will loosen the embedded hair so you can easily pick it up in clumps.
5. Use nail varnish to colour code your keys
We’ve all felt the frustration of having to try every key on the bunch only to have the correct key be the last one! But there’s a relatively easy way to make your bunch of keys more manageable this year. All you’ll need is a couple of bottles of nail varnish and a steady hand. Paint the top half of each key in a bright colour, jot down on a piece of paper which colour is for which key. Before long you’ll have memorised the different colours and finding the right one will become a breeze.
6. Find small items with a vacuum
The next time you drop an earring or a screw, may we suggest this handy tip? Tie a stocking to the end of your vacuum hose with a rubber band, and then carefully vacuum over the area. The stocking will prevent the item from being sucked up into the vacuum cleaner, and it’ll save you the frustration of having to crawl around on the floor. This is a great trick to try down the sides of couches and in hard to reach areas, you’ll be surprised at what you’ll discover.
7. Give dirty sponges a second lease
As though having to do the dishes isn’t bad enough, you then have to contend with a dirty, overused sponge. Gross. But instead of tossing it in the bin and grabbing a new one, give it a good rinse and zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds. This will kill any bacteria lurking in the sponge making it safe and hygienic for further use. And it’ll save you a couple of bucks. Win, win.
What clever house hacks do you use? We’d love to hear them. Share your tips on our Facebook page, or leave a comment below. Here’s to us all helping one another have an easier, breezier 2015!
