Household Hacks to Help You Get By
This week I thought I would try to make your life a little calmer and more settled by providing you with little hacks around your house. We all can get a little crazy and frazzled at times, and sometimes you need things to just. Be… Easier. Plus, it’s always kind of fun when you see a clever idea and you have that “Why didn’t I think of that?” moment. These were a few of my favorites, but you can find lots more fun and super helpful ideas on my Pinterest board.
1. Take soap scum off of glass with dryer sheets.
I remember when Josh and I moved out of our last house and how much of a pain in the rear-end it was to try to get our glass shower clean. I think I used a mix of many different chemicals that I probably shouldn’t have been mixing, and it all came down to scrubbing and scrubbing and scrubbing with a magic eraser. Well, gone are those days now, and yay for great ideas!
2. Organize your freezer with binder clips.
I love this one. Freeing up space on the shelves for anything boxy is great, and on top of that, you know your bagged goods remain sealed after being opened. It’s a two-for-one!
3. Make paint touch-ups easier to clean up with a large Ziploc bag.
This is one of those *duh* ones, but it made the list because seriously. It’s. So. Easy. Anybody else dread paint touch-ups because of how much work it is to repair one little spot or area? You have to get the paint can out, open it, stir it, and pour it into another container, making sure to leave a little trail of drips in your wake. You touch-up whatever little miniscule spot you’re working on, which takes a grand total of about four seconds. Then the leftovers go back in the can where they belong, five minutes of cleaning the brush and container, then sits there to dry for three days (weeks) on the edge of the laundry tub until you finally get tired of looking at it, where it then makes it back to its original home. No? Just me? Ok, then you can move on to the next one. But if this related to you, then how nice is it to just throw a Ziploc away when you’re done? Voila! That’s it! You still have to clean the brush, though. I can’t help you with that part. I’ll try to do some research though to see if there are any elves for hire for chores like that. (Cue: kids)
4. Hold trash bags in place with command strips.
I love this one! But of course I do, I love them all. That’s why I picked them. But seriously. Nobody likes having to reach into nasty trash to try to rescue the top of the bag from falling into the forever depths of itself. I never knew how that worked, but I swear, trash bags like to eat themselves. Then when you reach in and it’s all gross, smelly, sticky, and whatever else it is, it gets the can all disgusting and you have to wash and dry it before another bag can go in there and that’s just totally not ideal. What’s ideal is to have some sort of mechanism to hold the bag in place in the can so this is all avoided in the first place, so here you go. You’re welcome. 😉
5. Sharpen your knives with a coffee mug.
I saved my favorite one for last to reward you for holding on this long and reading the *whole* post. Pretty fancy, eh? Anyway, here you have it. You can use that ceramic ring on the bottom of your coffee mugs or bowls (or really any ceramic piece that has that grainy ring that is kind of like nails on a chalkboard to touch) to sharpen your knives. Similar to the idea of using concrete as a nail file, (Yes, I actually have used this method in a pinch.) you can use this method and never have a dull knife again!
Well, that’s all I have for you this time. I hope you find these tips useful, and please let me know if you use any of them, I want to hear what your thoughts are! How did they stack up? Is there a specific topic you would like covered? Shoot me an email with your ideas, because I know how smart you are! Another way you could help me is to think of me when you hear anyone talking about an upcoming move. As always, your referrals are greatly appreciated, and I would be so happy to provide your friends and family with the best care and advocacy. Don’t be a stranger!
-Raechel Taylor