Life·hack (noun) Definition: A strategy or technique adopted in order to manage one's time and daily activities in a more efficient way.
A clean environment is most important especially while juggling work and taking care of the kids. Prepare to never clean or organise the same way ever again! Here's our list of the very best life hacks for your home. We hope you find a few of them useful and that they in turn, help you to save time and energy.
1. Knock on wood
The next time you inadvertently scrape a piece of beloved wooden furniture, head to your pantry. It may sound a little nutty, but the oil in walnuts will hide scratches in wood furniture and on hardwood floors. Just grab any shelled walnut and gently rub it on the scratched area of wood. The oil blends with the colour of the finished wood, and scratches in wood disappear like magic. For small dents in the wood, apply a damp washcloth to the wood, then apply the tip of a hot iron to the damp washcloth for 5-15 seconds. The steam re-swells the wood fibres and makes the dents disappear.
2. Steam clean
Need to clean your microwave? Fill a bowl of water and white vinegar (equal parts of both) and microwave it for five minutes. The steam will loosen any residual food and oil and make it much easier to clean. After letting the bowl cool down a little, use the hot vinegar-water mixture to clean inside your microwave. The grease and dirt should wipe away effortlessly.
3. Nailed it
If you need to hammer a nail into the wall, hold the nail in place with a clothes peg instead of your fragile fingers. And if you’re doing any drilling into the wall, stick a post-it note directly under the place you will be drilling, then bend it so that it catches all the dust while you drill.
4. Revive used toilet rolls
Don’t just throw the empty cardboard roll away… use them to manage all your spare cables and wires (store one rolled cable inside each roll). Also, cut them length ways and they’ll act as a cuff to keep your rolls of wrapping paper from unrolling.
5. Remove unsightly water deposits
If you have water deposits around your taps and faucets, simply leave a vinegar-soaked kitchen towel on the offending areas for about an hour. Then wipe the stains away with ease. To get the unsightly residue off your shower head, tie a small plastic bag of vinegar over the shower head overnight. It will clean it without you having to lift another finger.
6. No more burnt fingers
Do you ever have a hard-to-reach candle wick and no long matches? Light an uncooked stick of spaghetti to light the wick instead of burning your fingers.
7. Who’s the bad egg?
To check if eggs are fresh, drop them in a glass of water – fresh eggs sink, while bad eggs float.
8. Spring clean the skirting boards
Mix one tablespoon of fabric softener with three cups of warm water for the ideal baseboard cleaner. Use a cleaning sponge dipped in your mix to clean the skirting boards. The fabric softener will leave a clean fresh scent while repelling future dust and pet hair with its anti-static properties.
9. Never get locked out of home again
It’s easy to get locked out. And, sometimes, it’s nice to have a hidden key you can direct guests to when you’re not around. Glue a small rock to the bottom of a Medicine bottle or small jar. Avoid metal lids as they tend to corrode over time. Once the glue is dry, simply bury the jar with a spare house key hidden inside for emergencies.
10. Wash the dishwasher
Our dishwashers can take a beating, so it’s no surprise that sometimes they can use a little extra cleaning help for themselves. Pour one cup of white vinegar into the bottom of your empty dishwasher, then run it on its hottest, most intense setting.
Do you have any home hacks that you would like to share with us? Leave your comments below.
