The Amazing Stuff: #hacks

Showing posts with label #hacks. Show all posts

Keeping your home at a comfortable temperature during the winter can be a struggle…for every day that you’re warm, you’re paying out the nose through it. Thankfully, there are some ways that you can be toasty on frigid days without breaking the bank. Here’s how.

1. You could actually service your furnace.

Flickr / justinbaeder

Look, your furnace has been sitting unused for about eight or nine months. It’s a good idea to get it serviced before the worst weather hits, that way you know it’s heating your house efficiently.

2. Slap some bubble wrap onto your windows.

Flickr / ejk

It sounds crazy, but a cheap roll of bubble wrap from a local packing / shipping store could save you some dough this winter. The plastic lets sunlight in and keeps the cold out. Cut bubble wrap sheets to fit your windows, then spray a thin film of water on the glass. The water will make the plastic stick to your windows (without leaving any residue behind).

3. Yep, that’s right: turn your fans ON.

Wikipedia

Well, your ceiling fan that is. Warm air rises, so by turning on a ceiling fan in reverse, you can create an updraft that pushes the warm air to the walls and back to the floor. (The blades should be moving clockwise.)

4. Make your radiator more efficient by using foil.

Wikimedia Commons

If you use radiators, you can make them more efficient by placing a panel of aluminum foil behind each unit (and against the wall). Instead of heating the wall, your unit will heat the foil, which will reflect the warmth back into the room.

5. Stop running your exhaust fans in the bathroom.

Wikimedia Commons

Sure, the fan will remove all of the steamy air and will prevent mold from forming, wallpaper from peeling, and all that. However, it will pull cold air into your living space…which you will then need to warm up with your heater.

6. Get rid of drafts the best you can.

Flickr

You can keep warm air from escaping under the door by using foam tubing, DIY draft eliminators made from socks, rugs, large fuzzy dogs, and basically anything else you can leave in front of your door. Keep your home cozy!

7. Make your water heater all warm and toasty.

Wikipedia

If you insulate your water heater, you could reduce heat loss (about $20 a month, according to the U.S. Department of Energy). Touch your water heater — if it feels warm, you could cover it. However, just check your heater’s manual to ensure it can be covered. Otherwise, you may burn your house down.

8. Don’t abuse your thermostat, guys.

Wikimedia Commons

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, for each degree you lower the temperature on the thermostat for a period of at least eight hours can cut your bill by 1 percent. So, if you don’t go hog wild with the heat, you should be able to save yourself some money.

9. Seal off weak areas with caulking or weather stripping.

Flickr

Find a place that air could get in (windows, ducts, doors) and seal it off the best you can. The less you let cold air in and warm air out, the more money you’ll save.

These tips might seem like common sense…

(via Yahoo)

…but you won’t be scoffing at them when you see how much money you save this winter.

Originally, sheets of paper were bound together by punching holes in them and then sewing them together. Because of this, it proved incredibly annoying if you wanted to remove one sheet from your stack. Binder clips were invented to hold papers together without permanently locking them in place. Since their original inception, their design has changed a few times, but they remain largely the same.

While you may only use them for paper organization, the little tools are actually way smarter than that.

Just because these tricks aren’t what the inventors intended, doesn’t mean they are any less valid! So, if you have a couple of extra clips lying around your house or office, give some of these hacks a try.

Whether it’s to be thrifty or use what’s on hand, plenty of creative hack techniques exist that allows us to use our household items in ways other than they were intended. From an egg-based anti-aging cream to better baking by using cheap vodka, this list features creative ways items which stock nearly all of our kitchen shelves can be re-purposed. If you have some left over baking soda or some old banana peels lying around before tossing them out, you’ll find ways to use them to help out around the house. So dig out the back of the cupboard and apply some of these 25 Creative hacks To Re-Purpose Common Household Items.

Fighting sugar with cinnamon

Source: Anniesremedy.com, Image: Wikipedia

Sugar ants are a common sight in most of our kitchens. Rather than buying ant traps or spraying harsh chemical pesticides, sprinkle powdered cinnamon wherever you find the critters. (A bonus is that your kitchen and house will smell like fresh cookies.)

Another use for household foil

Source: Frugal Village, Image: Wikimedia

If you want a cheap alternative to dryer sheets, wrap a tennis ball in aluminum foil and toss it in with your next drying cycle.

Cleaning the writings on the wall, WD-40 to the rescue

child with crayon next to wall child with crayon next to wall

Source: Woman’s Day, Image: juhansonin via Flickr

One of parents’ worst nightmares is coming home only to find their crayon-inclined child has chosen a new canvas: the walls. To clean a wall of crayon markings, spray WD-40 on the spot and lightly rub it down. Wipe the wall down with a soapy towel afterwards to pull off the oily residue from the WD-40.

Uses for your old yoga mat

Source: Frugal Village, Image: Wikimedia

Big-time yoga devotees will find their mats wearing out with time and Warrior-Two’s. Rather than tossing it in the bin, put your old yoga mat under heavy items to prevent damage to your wood or tile flooring. Since they absorb pretty well, you can also use them as a mat to wipe wet or dirty feet when entering the house.

Shave your legs with a pantry staple

Source: Woman’s Day, Image: Wikipedia

As the world becomes a bit more metrosexual and shaving every out-of-place hair has become the name of the game, shaving creams are becoming more varied and more expensive. For a cheap alternative (which likely has more nutrients for your skin than shaving creams), use olive oil instead of shaving cream.

A sweet remedy

Texas_State_Fair_honey Texas State Fair honey

Source: U.S. News & World Report, Image: Wikipedia

Endorsed by Aristotle and used as far back as Ancient Egyptian times, honey is a powerful ally when it comes to healing wounds. Just rub a bit on your next cut for a powerful and sweet disinfectant. Where the honey comes from greatly affects its healing power, but overall this bee-product does an excellent job at killing bacteria due to its high acid content and ability to dehydrate bacteria.

Homemade kindling after a cuppa

Source: Frugal Village, Image: Wikimedia

Tea bags are multi-functional items which can be used as anything from a deodorizer to a fire-starter. To use them as kindling, stuff dry (used or unused) teabags into the cardboard tube from a finished roll of toilet paper. The lint from your dryer also makes great kindling and can be stuffed in before lighting the tube ablaze.

Curbing the smell of cigarettes

Source: Frugal Village, Image: Pixabay

If you don’t like the smell of cigarettes but will be having some smokers to your place for a shindig, this creative use of a household item is for you. Simply fill an ashtray or an old can with kitty litter. The particles will pick up any smell of an extinguished cigarette, keeping it from lingering in your house.

A remedy for a soaked phone

Source: Frugal Village, Image: Wikimedia

The most common folk remedy for a phone which has taken an unexpected liquid dip is a blow-dryer and uncooked rice. For a more effective solution, plunge your phone in some far-more-absorbent kitty litter instead.

Not everyone likes beer

Source: Wisebread, Image: git via Flickr

To stop a slug infestation, fill a plate or small container with beer and place it on the ground near the slugs – check back the next day for the intoxicated critters.

A banana makes everything feel and look better

Source: Lifehacker, Image: Pixabay

Before you throw away that banana peel, pull any tarnished silver cutlery out of the cabinet. Chemicals present on the inside of banana peels make it a great silver polish. Blend the peels with a little water to create a paste which will bring back the shine on your cutlery with just a bit of rubbing.

Nature’s original face mask

corn dog with mustard corn dog with mustard

Source: Instructables, Image: via Flickr

Nature’s original face mask, plain mustard (don’t go for a harsher variety like Dijon or English mustard!) can smooth out your skin and give you an oh-so-beautiful glow. Rub a thin layer of plain mustard over your face (try a little on your arm first to make sure you’re not allergic) and wash it off after a few minutes.

Goggle defoggers

Source: Frugal Village Image: Ilse Reijs and Jan-Noud Hutten via Flickr

Swimmers and scuba divers often find their goggles fogging up part-way through their session. Avoid the fog by mixing together one tablespoon of baby shampoo and two tablespoons of water. Rub it on the lenses then only lightly rinse to keep the goggles fog-free.

A post-college party baking session

Flaky_Vegan_Pie_Crust Flaky Vegan Pie Crust

Source: Instructables, Image: Wikimedia

Have a cheap bottle of vodka left-over from an old party? Put this potato-product to use in your home in a creative way! When making a pie crust, switch out the water with cold vodka. The vodka makes dough easier to manage and will evaporate during baking, resulting in a light and flaky crust!

Cheap but effective pet shampoo

Australian_Cattle_Dog_puppy_mascot Australian Cattle Dog puppy mascot

Source: Frugal Village, Image: Wikipedia

Pet shampoos (anything pet-related, really) can get pretty pricey. For a low-cost and effective solution made with household items, mix together four cups of hydrogen peroxide, half a cup of baking soda, and two teaspoons of dishwashing soap. Lather Fido up then leave this homemade shampoo in for at least 10 minutes before rinsing – you’ll find your pet has cleaner fur than ever.

When life gives you lemons, try other things than just lemonade

Lemons,_limes_and_pomelos_at_the_market Lemons limes and pomelos at the market

Source: Couponsherpa.com, Image: Wikimedia

Humans naturally love the smell of citrus. The freshness of it (and more importantly the citric acid it holds) should occupy a welcome spot in our cleaning arsenals. Buzz up some lemon peels in your sink’s garbage disposal to get rid of funky smells or give an old cutting board a lemon rub down to sanitize deep into the cracks.

Knocking out foot odor

Source: Frugal Village Image: Mike Czyzewski via Flickr

For persistent foot odor, turn to a creative household item remedy in the form of tea. Boil four cups of water with three plain black tea bags and soak your feet in the liquid (once it cools off a bit) for 30 minutes to deodorize your feet.

Lifting off pesky stickers

Source: Instructables, Image: Wikipedia

Stickers are meant to, well, stick to whatever they’re placed on. Some do such a good job that when we try to take them off, they flake and come off in pieces, leaving behind residue all over the surface. Avoid this from happening by blasting the sticker with a hair dryer. The heat will loosen the adhesive and the sticker will lift off easily.

Cleaning the throne

Source: Curbly, Image: epsos via Flickr

For a quick toilet cleaning, try the same product used for keeping dentures clean. (Teeth and toilets feel a bit gross being in the same sentence…) Drop some Alka-Seltzer tablets in the bowl and let them fizz away to clean your porcelain throne.

Clean your teeth and your faucet

Source: Good Housekeeping, Image: Pixabay

If you see the faucet looking less-than-clean while brushing your teeth, grab some of the toothpaste and rub down the tap – the paste will clear up the grime and leave you with both a shiny faucet and sparkling teeth by the time you’re done.

Other uses for nail polish

various nailpolishes various nailpolishes

Source: Instructables, Image: Skaggs via Flickr

Do you need to send a letter via snail mail but hate the thought of licking those envelopes? Try clear nail polish. Seal the edges with a dab of clear nail polish and voila, licking grossness avoided. (Bonus: Clear nail polish can also be used to dip a thread into before sticking it through a needle.)

Use diapers to nurture your plants

Source: Instructables, Image: Hard Working Hippy via Flickr

To increase the yield of your home garden or to keep plants better hydrated when you go away for the weekend, grab a diaper and cut open the middle section to reveal sodium polyacrylate: the fluffy substance in diapers which does most of the absorption. Include the sodium polyacrylate when planting or dig it into the soil to retain more water for your plants. (Make sure to still water the plant regularly. If the soil gets too dry, the material will pull water from the plant!)

Homemade drain declogger

Source: Real Simple, Image: Wikipedia

Sink and shower drain decloggers are expensive and (hopefully) rarely used – so why not try your own homemade drain declogger first? Clear out what you can from the drain then pour in up to a cup of baking soda. Add the same amount of plain white vinegar and wait five minutes. Pour a few quarts of boiling water down the drain to flush it out.

An eggsellent anti-aging rub

Source: Instructables, Image: Frank Monnerjahn via Flickr

For an anti-aging cream that comes from an animal’s backside, pull an egg out of the carton and beat its white with a small bit of water. Rinse your face in the solution, washing it off afterwards, to find your skin looking less puffy and your pores less enlarged.

Paula Dean was right – butter is good

paula dean riding butter paula dean riding butter

Source: Instructables, Image: Susie Cagle via Flickr

The composition of butter makes it a great combatant against anything sticky. Next time you get gum in your hair (hopefully it doesn’t happen often) or you’re doing arts and crafts and have glue residue on your hands, rub your hair or hands with softened butter before washing the sticky substance out.

Everyone loves a good life hack. I mean, life gets hectic. That’s just the way it is, so anything that makes getting through the day a little easier is always welcome.

These 22 life hacks, however, straddle the line between being the most ingenious ideas of all time, and the most pointless tricks that this world has ever seen. In other words, they’re completely awesome.

1. Pure genius. Someone get her an award.

and in case anyone wants to know Chinese takeout floats pic.twitter.com/A53b0mltNh

— tina (@tinatbh) December 7, 2014

2. He’s here to provide the essentials to his community. He is a star.

Ravenswood ArtWalk. This guy is awesome. pic.twitter.com/Fau94aIepC

— tyler lansdown (@tylerlansdown) September 19, 2015

3. No slice left behind.

No slice left behind. desktop 1444061967

Distractify

4. Not even sure what the point of this is, but it’s a valiant effort.

A photo posted by Andrea Miller (@andrea.lillian) on Sep 24, 2015 at 8:28am PDT

5. Keep whipping up lumpy batter? Never again!

Keep whipping up lumpy batter? Never again! desktop 1444066661

Imgur / MinnesotaMathew

6. When boredom and zero concern for safety collide!

The Weasley twins fucking approve pic.twitter.com/l5SD79Mrf6

— Tumblr Laughs (@TumblrLaughs) February 27, 2014

7. Thank you.

Reddit / Bierrr

8. Never let anything stand between you and your favorite shows.

Never let anything stand between you and your favorite shows. desktop 1444063696

Pinterest / Rav

9. Not even a little bit right.

Not only am I the worst rice cooker ever, for lots of dumb reasons, I now have four phones. #lifehack pic.twitter.com/JT6h93FDha

— Bekki Vaden (@RyokoBebe) September 10, 2015

10. You know what? This is the best idea ever. Those things are a pain.

A photo posted by Jeff Dague (@jeffdague) on Sep 23, 2015 at 2:39pm PDT

11. No dirty dishes? #CookieWin

No dirty dishes? #CookieWin desktop 1444066475

Reddit / yesimagirlwithboobs

12. This speaks to me on a spiritual level.

Soup too hot? Try this elegant solution. http://t.co/mpF5udSFKG pic.twitter.com/qgnLSmaLU5

— The Poke (@ThePoke) November 14, 2014

13. Look at how far we’ve come, humanity.

Daily Fail Center

14. This is a great idea…until someone sees you trying to scroll to the next page.

This is a great idea...until someone sees you trying to scroll to the next page. desktop 1444065064

Memes

15. And this looks great, until it doesn’t.

Twenty Two Words

16. Not dangerous at all!

Worst life hack I’ve ever seen pic.twitter.com/wO5x3WZRlm

— -bryony- (@bryonysarah97) August 8, 2014

17. Again, these people just get me.

Again, these people just get me. desktop 1444065654

Blaze Press

18. Put your faith in that skateboard.

A photo posted by Shabeeh Ahmed (@king.chucker) on Sep 24, 2015 at 8:49am PDT

19. This, my friends, is a hero.

This, my friends, is a hero. desktop 1444065874

Imgur / MinnesotaMathew

20. Pretty sure you can still get a ticket in this situation.

A photo posted by Harsehaj Singh (@harsehaj123) on Sep 24, 2015 at 1:48am PDT

21. Again? Just read a book!

Again? Just read a book! desktop 1444066286

Reddit / arvzg

22. Can’t spare less than a minute to change your socks? This will do.

Imgur / vladrichdemaclant

(via Distractify)

Completely ridiculous, or the best tips ever? I guess it depends on your outlook on life…and whether you’re willing to sacrifice safety and quality for the sake of saving a few seconds of your time. Either way, you’ll approach the world differently knowing that there’s a way to make just about anything better.

No one ever said that being a parent was easy. It’s quite the opposite, in fact. And there’s so much conflicting information out there that looking for answers can be just as confusing as having no information at all. And don’t get me started on the well-meaning friends and relatives who insist that their way is the right way.

We can’t promise that they’ll solve all of your problems, but here are 18 clever tricks that might make parenting feel a little less daunting.

1. A laundry basket keeps toys — and kids — contained in the bath.

A laundry basket keeps toys -- and kids -- contained in the bath. desktop 1442948662

Reddit / ThirdFloorNorth

2. Attaching a hook to the back of the high chair will make mealtime so much easier.

Attaching a hook to the back of the high chair will make mealtime so much easier. desktop 1442948664

Definitely Jennifer

It’s the perfect place to hang things like rags and bibs.

3. “Monster Spray” helps frightened children calm down before bed.

HappyGoLucky

Simply place stickers on a spray bottle and let them take it to bed. Don’t fill it with anything. Just tell them that monster spray is a gas that humans can’t detect. They can spray their bedrooms with reckless abandon, and they’ll never make a mess.

4. Stretching a crib sheet over the play pen keeps insects from biting your baby.

Stretching a crib sheet over the play pen keeps insects from biting your baby. desktop 1442948666

Little Baby Watson

It provides some nice shade, too.

5. Freeze a pacifier in milk or formula to soothe a teething baby.

Freeze a pacifier in milk or formula to soothe a teething baby. desktop 1442948667

The Johnston’s

Fill a small ice cube tray with milk or formula, insert pacifiers into each cup, and freeze. All you have to do after that is pop one out, hand it to your little one, and let them take care of the rest.