Now that all of us are forced to spend so much time at home due to the global pandemic, we have to make do with what we have. To make this time a bit more enjoyable, we thought of sharing some nifty tips and tricks to make your time at home better. Without further ado, we’re about to give you a juicy rundown of some great tips and tricks to make your days at home productive. Welcome to Hello Cleaner’s DIY and here are Everyday Hacks for When You’re Cooped Up at Home.
1. Wooden floors or kitchen tiles can get messy and be really difficult to clean at times. Both have the tendency to look dirty even after copious amounts of cleaning. Step forward, ever-reliable tennis ball! All you have to do is rub the surface of the ball on any scuff marks and voila! They’ll disappear. To make life even easier for yourself, cut an X mark into the ball and stick a broom into it so you won’t even have to bend down to clean.
2. Instead of spending tons of money on Swiffer dry sheets to clean and pick-up hair, dirt and random bits of fuzz, just slip fuzzy socks onto your sweeper and use them instead. They’re not only reusable but also something you probably already have around the house, and they work just as well.
3. All you have to do to avoid pesky scrubbing when you’re cleaning your microwave is to just fill a microwave-safe bowl with water and add a large amount of vinegar and one sliced lemon. Microwave this on high for about minutes so that steam is built up. After this, you can easily wipe down the surfaces inside the microwave, and it will not only be clean but also smell really nice.
4. Lemons sealed in plastic bags and stored in the fridge last a whopping four times longer than lemons kept at room temperature. Store lemons in the fridge to make them last longer. The plastic Ziploc bag is key for this to work – don’t overlook this step!
5. Clean beauty blenders using cheap soap. There is absolutely no need to spend way too much on expensive cleansers anymore. Just use a cheap bar of soap and scrub the beauty sponge, and it will work just as well!
6. Reuse wall planters to store produce and make your walls look so much more colorful and brighter. Not only will this declutter your kitchen countertops, it will also give you a visible reminder to eat your fruits and veggies.
7. Create a makeshift whiteboard. All you need is an empty picture frame, some paper and a sheet of laminate! A blank piece of paper or even one with a pattern will work. This DIY whiteboard can be used for writing grocery lists, a calendar or a to-do list.
8. Make DIY Windex. All you need is some alcohol, vinegar and water. It will work just as well as, if not even better than, Windex to polish up your windows, mirrors and any sort of glass! From tough stains such as toothpaste splatters on bathroom mirrors to dust, fingerprints, etc., all can easily be cleaned with one spray and wipe! This is a fantastic and cheap solution, definitely worth trying.
9. Desk cables always tangled and messy? Simply use binder clips to organize them – it really is that simple!
10. Over time, charger cables can get broken and stop working, which is obviously quite frustrating! But all you need to do to prevent them from bending and breaking is using the spring from an old pen and put it on top of the wire. This is a game-changer and will seriously help cut down costs, especially since all of us are using our devices more than ever, which means they have to be charged more regularly.
11. Make a DIY fruit fly trap. All you need is apple cider, dish soap and a piece of paper. The fruity scent will lure the fruit flies, the paper will prevent them from leaving, and you won’t have to deal with pesky fruit flies anymore!
12. Easily clean your shower head. Just fill a plastic bag with vinegar and some baking soda and place it over the shower head, secured with a rubber band. Come back after an hour, take it off and simply rinse the shower head – it will be good as new!
13. Use Vaseline for foolproof manicures. Yes, we know it sounds very strange, but this works like a charm! Use a cotton swab to outline your nails with Vaseline. Paint them as you usually do and let them dry. Then wash your hands and the stray polish will simply come off with the Vaseline.
14. Use an old t-shirt as reusable wipes. This is especially good for the pandemic. Simply soak old t-shirts in a cleaning solution, and you’ll have an easy way to clean and disinfect different areas of the house.
15. Since all of us are spending time in our homes for so long, it’s natural to want to spruce up the decorations inside your abode. If you ever feel like hanging up some new paintings or art, this will make it easier to position the frame on the wall. The toothpaste leaves an easy mark to guide you in placing the artwork. On top of that, cleaning the mark later if needed is easier than cleaning a mark left with a pencil or something else.
16. Use soap to prevent post shower fog. This is a scientifically proven trick. Rub soap all over your mirror and buff the glass with a clean cloth, and you’ll never have to deal with the pesky fog that shows up after a nice relaxing warm shower or bath.
17. Everyone has extra ice cube trays lying around. Use them to store your jewelry and make it easy to find different pieces when you need them.
18. Untangle your earphones. This is a universal pet peeve! How many times have you put your earphones into your pocket and they become so tangled that it’s almost impossible to untangle them? Well, all you need to do is simply wrap them neatly and then put a hair-clip on top. They will never get tangled again!
19. Always stressing about breaking shirt buttons while ironing? Simply turn the shirt inside out and easily iron over the buttons!
20. Carabiners are very cheap, and they allow you to keep all your hair ties in one place. Because carabiners are so easy to use, you can clip them anywhere you need them.
21. Cover up scratch marks on wooden furniture. Simply get a walnut and rub it on any damaged wood furniture that you have. You’ll be amazed by how easily all the scuffs and dings are covered up. It works like magic!
22. Trying to save an unnecessary trip to the supermarket and don’t want your remote to die while you’re watching Netflix? Well, an easy way to test if your batteries have any life left in them is to simply drop them on a table from about inches up. If they bounce once and fall over, they’re good to go, but if they keep bouncing around, they’re definitely either dead or about to be drained!
That’s a wrap for everyday hacks for when you’re cooped up at home! Which one did you think was the most helpful tip? Let us know in the comments below. Make sure to like this article. See you in the next one!
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