Lifehacks for the home: interesting tips to make life easier

In the kitchen

In an effort to feed your family deliciously, you have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. To make the task easier and save at least a couple of minutes for more enjoyable activities, remember a few new tricks.

To get more juice from citrus fruits, try microwaving them for 15 to 20 seconds. The amount of liquid obtained is almost twice as large, and it is much easier to obtain.
In the summer heat, you really want to refresh yourself with cool water, but a problem arises: you have to wait a long time for cooling. To solve the problem, fill a couple of bottles ¼ full with water and put them in the freezer to freeze. Now, when you want to drink, take out the preparation, add the remaining ¾ of it with water and shake. Ready!
Advice for moms who have leftover breast milk freezer bags. They have fasteners, and therefore they are convenient to use for storing berries ground with sugar. Distribute the mixture into bags, write the date - and put it in the freezer. Such containers do not take up much space and allow you to pack the freezer compactly. In addition, you will not doubt how long the blanks are stored, because the date is written in a special field on the package.
To speed up the ripening process of unripe fruits and vegetables, add an apple or banana to them overnight. They release ethylene gas, which promotes ripening.

Surely many people are familiar with the inconveniences that arise when working with cling film: it comes off unevenly, the edges stick to each other. The solution is simple: store the roll in the refrigerator. Yes, don’t be surprised, it’s much easier to work with chilled film. It doesn't stick and breaks better.

Lifehacks for the bathroom

The bathroom space should be as functional as possible. How to arrange it so that all the necessary items are always at hand, do not take up much space and look organic? And how to make the bathroom more comfortable?

Anti-fog mirrors.

Are you annoyed by foggy bathroom mirrors? Use a car window defogger and you will forget about this problem for about a week. An alternative to liquid is regular shampoo: apply it to the mirror using a dry, smooth cloth and enjoy the cleanliness.

Cabinet for cosmetics.

Don't have enough shelves for all your cosmetics in your bathroom? A cabinet for cosmetics will help you, ideally with a mirrored door: it will not only help you place all the necessary products, but also optimize the space in the bathroom.

Shelf for shampoo and gels.

In a shower stall or above a regular bathtub, a special shelf for gel, shampoo, washcloths and hygiene products necessary for washing will not be superfluous. It is often extremely inconvenient to take them during procedures - and therefore they should always be at hand.

Bath mat.

Non-slip coating is a must for the bathroom. Buy a rubber or jute mat that will allow you to easily get out of the bath and move around the room without risking your health. The covering can also be wooden - but the material must be smooth and well processed.

Shelf for cosmetics.

Many women prefer to style their hair in the bathroom. If this applies to you, organize stands or a special shelf in the room for all the necessary items: comb, hair dryer, straightener, various attachments. But remember that gadgets must be reliably protected from water getting on them.

Soap sponge.

If you're used to using hard soap, place it on a sponge with a special groove - this way you won't have to wash the plastic stand or sink surface every day. The sponge also needs to be washed periodically - but you can replace it with another one as soon as it becomes unusable.

Towel holder.

The most convenient towel holder may be a regular wine rack - its shape will allow the rolls not to fall or hang down, and will not take up much space. Place the rack next to the sink or divide it into several sections and hang it in strategic places.

Plastic pockets.

Volumetric plastic pockets for stands can be used as a stand for toothbrushes, tubes and cosmetics. Place them inside a cabinet or directly next to the sink.

Large mirrors.

The bathroom is one of the most compact rooms in a standard apartment. To visually expand the space, the mirrors in it should be large - but proportional to the area of the room. If there is not enough space for a large mirror, make a mirrored ceiling or a completely mirrored wall.

Proper storage of laundry.

Clothes that are waiting their turn in the washing machine are best stored in an elegant wicker basket or soft fabric box. Avoid plastic baskets - they are not as aesthetically pleasing and take up more space than a compact box that can be placed directly on the washing machine.

Cleaning

Another tedious task is cleaning. There are interesting tricks that make cleaning easier.

In addition to beauty, long hair adds one problem: a couple of hairs will definitely fall where their owner has been. Especially a lot of them accumulate on the carpet. But collecting them is difficult, because a vacuum cleaner cannot remove them.

If your equipment does not come with a turbo brush and you don’t want to crawl on your knees with a regular brush, a rolling pin will save you. Just not wooden or plastic, but silicone with a rotating base. It can be used as a roller and rolled on the floor. Hair will stick to the silicone. Things will go quickly and without serious labor costs.

Another way to get rid of hair and dust in the house: an inflatable ball. It must first be electrified. If you throw a couple of these balls around the room, then you don’t even need a robot vacuum cleaner!

You can remove glue from adhesive tape or adhesive tape using vegetable or cosmetic oil. Apply a few drops to a cotton pad and rub the affected area. The oil itself can be removed without leaving a trace using a solution of dishwashing detergent.
A little trick will help you wipe dust on horizontal surfaces less often. Before dusting, dampen a cloth with fabric softener. This way, much less dust particles will settle on the furniture.
Fans of hot water procedures will find this trick useful: to prevent the bathroom mirror from fogging up, apply a little shaving foam to it and remove it with a soft cloth.
An eraser will help you out when you need to remove drops of frozen fat from any smooth surfaces. Rub the frozen drop vigorously with a rubber band and it will disappear. And no household chemicals are needed.

Tips to make cleaning, ironing and washing easier

You should definitely familiarize yourself with these life hacks to keep your home cozy and tidy. Surely you will find something useful that will simplify your life.

Shiny windows without streaks - an old method, but it works perfectly. You should wash the glass with detergents and then rub it with dry newspaper.
Stains of any origin on fabric can be removed with laundry soap, just wash in cool water.
How to stop ironing - things should be wrung out delicately so that there are no creases. Or you can just hang them on hangers to let the water run off. If you have wrung out items, you should shake the item several times - this will straighten the fibers and avoid creases. Shirts and blouses should be hung immediately on hangers, buttons fastened, collars straightened and given the desired shape. The item will dry as required even without a single touch of the iron.
A hair dryer is a replacement for an iron - use it as a steamer (another life hack for home and everyday life). This option is not suitable only for thick fabrics, but for everything else it will work perfectly. Advantages of the method - it will help you out in a couple of minutes when things are creased and you are in a hurry. This will also not spoil delicate fabrics made of wool and silk, you can quickly dry clothes and linens, and it also simplifies steaming clothes with complex draperies and folds. If you really don’t have time or are too lazy, hang things up while taking a bath or shower (or while water is running into the bath), and they will straighten out under the steam.
A miniature trash can is at hand - you should have it for yourself, and you will no longer need to run to the kitchen for every little thing. So, tubes, napkins and pieces of paper can be thrown there.
Cleaning small, hard-to-reach places - there are plenty of them in the house, and professional maids in this case use ordinary cotton swabs.
Vinegar and baking soda against the yellowness of the bathroom and dirt on it - you should apply this mixture for a few minutes, then brush it with a brush and you can rinse it off. In addition, the mixture perfectly cleans tile grout, but you will also need an old toothbrush.
Hydrogen peroxide to fight for cleanliness - a 3% solution of peroxide and water in equal measures helps to update the bathroom curtain. You should soak it in it, brush it and rinse it - this way you will have a curtain without yellowness and dirt. Peroxide also helps fight limescale. To do this, spray it on the bath, wait ½ hour and rinse.
To save your washing machine from scale – pour 70 grams of citric acid into the powder receptacle, and then set the “cotton” washing mode, which heats the water to +90 degrees.
To prevent the mirror from fogging up, you should rub it with a bar of soap or shaving foam, and then rub it with a rag. The effect lasts for 1-2 weeks.
To remove stains from microfiber furniture - spray alcohol onto the dirt from a spray bottle, and then wipe with a sponge.
“Scent bombs” for the toilet - you can make them yourself by mixing 3 tbsp. l. soda and 1 tbsp. l. citric acid. Also combine ½ tbsp. l. vinegar and 1 tbsp. l. 3% peroxide. Next, gradually add the solution to the mixture and add 10 to 20 drops of your favorite essential oil. All that remains is to roll balls with a diameter of 2-3 cm and dry them; if you throw 1 piece into the toilet, it will start to hiss, clean everything and smell nice.

Storage

Admit it, do you also have a lot of things and accessories in your apartment, stuffed into cabinets and shelves in disarray? It's time to fight clutter and organize storage.

To avoid losing small hairpins and bobby pins, attach magnetic tape under the mirror or in a drawer. All accessories will be visible. You can buy such a tape, for example, on Aliexpress.
Thin scarves are very inconvenient to store: they take up an entire shelf and also wrinkle. There is a great way out. Attach the shower curtain rings to the hanger and place the scarves on them, threading each into its own ring.
The CD holder will become an indispensable storage for container lids.
Mesh organizers have proven themselves to be excellent containers for potatoes and onions. They are compact, and thanks to the perforated walls, air access to the root crops is ensured, thereby reducing the likelihood of rot.
Dividers that you can make yourself from cardboard or buy ready-made ones will help you maintain order in your drawer. The cells are convenient for storing small items of clothing: underwear, socks, handkerchiefs. They will always be in their departments and in search of the right thing you won’t have to turn over all the contents.

Repair

Repair is not an easy task. Not only is it expensive, it's also a hassle. When the renovation is completed, you feel like a victorious hero. To get this feeling as soon as possible, use these recommendations.

Any construction begins with dismantling, and one of its stages is removing the wallpaper. Mix warm water, vinegar and fabric softener and apply this mixture to the old flooring. Leave for 15 minutes. Afterwards you can start removing the wallpaper: it will come off easily and in large pieces.

If you need to attach something and at the same time pre-mark the points for drilling holes, then the problem arises: how to mark the places where you need to drill. It is not always possible to reach the wall with a pencil and pen; besides, there is a high risk of moving the object in the process, and then the markings will turn out incorrect. Masking tape will help.

We stick it on the object where the holes for fastening are located. We mark these points with a marker, remove the tape and glue it to the wall in the desired place. Next, drill holes directly on top of the tape. All that remains is to remove the tape and secure the item.

It will be much easier to wash off the paint from your hands if you first apply a rich cream to them.

A fine-tooth comb, clothespin, or bobby pin will keep your fingers from getting hit by the hammer when driving nails.

You can cut a tile without damaging it if you place it in water for a couple of hours. After this, carefully cut off the excess with a glass cutter. There will be no cracks or chips.

Lifehacks for home and cleaning

Some of them you may not have thought about.

The right way to clean a cast iron skillet

To prevent your cast iron skillet from rusting over time, do not use dish soap to clean it. For example, try table salt instead. This method will also rid the pan of lingering odors from spices used during cooking.

How to get rid of unpleasant odors on your hands

To remove lingering garlic or onion odors that linger on your hands, use table salt or lemon. First, rub your hands with them. Secondly, rinse your hands with water.

Also interesting: How to easily clean a carpet? The price of the issue is pennies, but the effect is obvious!

How to restore metal kitchenware to its previous shine

To restore the shine of stainless steel cookware, rinse it in a mixture of vinegar and water. If there are no iron parts, the dishes can be soaked overnight in the same mixture. This way you will achieve the best effect.

Restoring wooden spoons

Over time, wooden spoons and spatulas lose their appearance and acquire an unpleasant odor. It would seem that the only thing to do is throw them away. But if you don’t want to part with your favorite kitchen helper, there is another way out. Boil a wooden spoon in plain water and leave it to dry in the sun. This way you will remove unpleasant odors and give it new life.

Also interesting: A washing method that only a few people know about. The linen will be snow-white and fragrant!

The Proper Way to Clean Wooden Cutting Boards

To remove odors and food residue from wooden cutting boards, rub them with coarse salt and let them sit for 10-15 minutes. Then rub with half a lemon and wipe dry. This procedure is guaranteed to rid the boards of unpleasant odors.

For the dacha

Lucky are those who have a dacha. You can escape from the city, and natural fruits grown with your own hands cannot but delight you. You can make your stay outside the city as comfortable as possible if you approach the matter wisely.

Gardeners plant many varieties of plants and often by the time they receive the harvest they already forget where and what was planted. In order not to confuse the varieties, you can use homemade signs. To make them you will need wine corks, long skewers and a permanent marker. We write the name of the plant on the cork with a marker, stick one end of the skewer into the cork and the other into the ground. Beauty!
Egg cartons make excellent sowing markers. The tray can be attached to a thin board with a handle on top. Now you don’t have to make each hole manually, and the seedlings will delight you with slender and even rows.
After working in the garden, rarely does anyone manage to avoid getting dirty. You can avoid spreading dirt and wash your feet thanks to an improvised stand. Take a low tray with a lattice bottom and place large stones in it. The same floor can be built in a summer shower. This way you can not only wash your feet, but also get a light foot massage, look at the photo.

Continuing the theme of cleanliness, let's build a country washbasin. To do this, you need to make a hole in a five-liter bottle at a distance of 3–5 cm from the bottom. Its diameter should be approximately 5 mm. Close the slot with your finger and fill the container with water. Screw the lid tightly and remove your finger. Due to the lack of pressure, liquid will not flow out through the hole.

When you need to wash your hands, you need to open the lid slightly and a thin stream will run out of the hole. To stop the flow, you need to tighten the lid again.

This advice will be useful for those who have flower beds in large pots and flowerpots. The soil in such containers dries out faster than in open ground, and watering is required more often. A baby diaper will help retain moisture in the soil. It should be placed at the bottom of the pot before planting. Absorbing granules will retain liquid and gradually release it to the plants.

Other useful things

Here are some more useful tips that will surely come in handy in everyday life.

Roll two very tight balls of foil and throw them into the washing machine drum when washing. This way you will get rid of the problem of electrified clothes, and stains will be washed off more efficiently.

Foil is generally a very versatile thing. You can use it to clean your iron if you accidentally burn something and a mark forms on the soleplate.

It is enough to lay a metallized film and iron it with a hot iron. Melted particles will end up on the foil. You need to “iron” until the sole becomes clean, changing the foil as it gets dirty.

Foam logs from the pool will protect your car doors in the garage from accidental impacts. If you fix them at the level of the doors on the walls, then even when opened wide, there will be no scratches.
To hide a hole from a nail or screw that spoils the interior, you can use soap and wax chalk to match. First, grate the soap and fill the hole as much as possible. “Color over” everything on top with chalk. This method works best on white surfaces.
Finely ground coffee grounds will help prevent scratches on dark furniture. You need to thoroughly rub it into the damage, and then carefully remove the residue with a soft cloth.

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Details

How to decorate from scrap materials

Simply gluing wallpaper - for most people this option is no longer suitable and they want something unusual. And if the wallpaper is hung, you can decorate it, preferably in a fresh and original way.

Paintings

Buying a painting in a store - no way! Paintings made with your own hands are much better, and there are various options.

Pictures by numbers are ideal for those who think that they will not master basic painting lessons. There's not a lot of true creativity in this, but it's also great art therapy with incredible results.
Cross-stitched paintings - you can be inspired by examples of the works of artist from Russia Ekaterina Marchenko or simply search for such projects by tag - ranging from ordinary cross-stitch to other, more complex projects. It is worthy to decorate the walls of your home.
Paintings made from natural materials are an option for DIY home decor using scrap materials. You can use branches, shells, cones, as well as dried plants. It doesn't require spending any money and always looks out of the box. Even the simplest herbarium paintings decorate and enliven the interior, and this will be an unobtrusive and discreet decoration. Yes, plants fade under glass, but not so quickly. Such paintings will delight you for at least 2 years, and after another couple of years you will catch a new impulse, and your favorite composition will be replaced by another.

And you can always open step-by-step video tutorials on painting to learn how to draw. It may not be so simple, but it is certainly accessible to all of us.

Flowerpots

There was a boom in macrame in the USSR, and now this handicraft has become popular again. But there are much more diagrams, materials and examples. A simple flowerpot or macrame panel will make the interior more comfortable. A simple planter can be made in an evening, but it will help transform the space. Or you can make a full-fledged composition that will be the decorative center of the room. You can do without this. By definition, a flowerpot is a decorative vessel, inside of which there is a pot with a plant. This design can be made of plaster or you can decorate an old flower pot with felt fabric.

painting

Even a person without strong drawing abilities can paint a wall painted in one tone. There are stencils for this - just attach the template to the surface and paint over the desired areas. You can paint with acrylic paint according to previously prepared sketches, for example, wings (butterflies, angels). This will be a great photo zone for your home. You can also paint one wall with a special paint and varnish composition for graphite/chalk to change artistic compositions at any time, even every day. All you need is crayons, and these are budget options that everyone can afford.

Options for decorating items inside the room

Creating around the house is fun, and the appetite usually comes with eating. If a creative idea comes, a second one will soon appear, and handmade things have an unusual energy.

Furniture items

The most obvious would be repainting, and although this is a labor-intensive process, it is not the most difficult as it may seem at first. If you're scared but want to try, you can start with a regular wooden stool. There are many options for transforming furniture.

Applique using self-adhesive film - in a special program you can make prints, which will then be transferred to the surface, for example, of the facade of a cabinet. Buy the required amount of film, cut everything according to the drawing and the facade will be beautiful and stylish again.
Artificial aging - other technologies are used here (painting, craquelure, etc.). If it matches the style direction, then this is the best option.
New upholstery for upholstered furniture - even this can be done with your own hands, although the process is technologically complex.

But the most interesting option would be to purchase inexpensive furniture boards/boards and make a shelf yourself, or a console, a shelving unit, which you can then paint, varnish, paint, wax, or paint with your own hands. This is complete freedom and an economical solution.

Shelves

The question often arises about what to do with an old shelf that looks terrible, but it’s a pity to throw it away. There are many options.

Remove the finish, strip, sand, sand and apply a new coat of paint, or treat the stripped surface with stain/primer.
Cover it with wallpaper - by the way, this economical option can be very successful. For greater reliability, apply a layer of paint and varnish composition on top.
Upholstery with fabric - from regular cotton to eco-leather, there are many options.
Finishing with mosaics is labor-intensive, but you can end up with something unusual and interesting.

Sometimes, to decorate your home with your own hands, it is enough to simply remove the shelf from the wall, clean it, wash it, cover it with a layer of paint or stain to change the shade and arrange objects on the shelf differently.

Vases

With such objects everything is much simpler, because all vessels can be called vases. There are so many interesting crafts made using the “take a jar and decorate” principle. The simplest solutions are:
Decorating a jar with lace or an openwork knitted strip.
Painting a jar in stained glass style.
Wrap it with rope.
Glue shells on it.
Glue the cones.
Cover the jar with pieces of broken glass.
Knit a “blouse” and put it on the base.
Make inscriptions on it using a stencil.

After, when the product is ready, you need to make an ideal place for it, or put several jars on the shelf from a wooden cut, and next to it an aroma candle that matches the color perfectly.

Lamps

If there is an unnecessary light bulb in the house with a lampshade from the USSR era or a floor lamp from the same era, you should not part with it. It is enough to replace the textile component of the lighting device and paint or clean the wooden/metal base. The new lampshade can be made from the same fabric as the sofa cushions/curtains.

Unusual ideas for different rooms

Choose your own idea for each room. In one week, if you devote ½ to 2 hours a day to transform the space, you will be able to update almost all the decorations in the apartment. We propose to consider the simplest examples.

Hallway - simple eco-boho in a small hallway. You can sew pillow covers, find an ordinary “grandmother’s” rug, nail on a hanger that you put together in an hour with your own hands, and your home will become more comfortable. A basket near the bench will be the final touch for a simple hallway makeover.
Living room - rope, boxes and flower pots. Everything is very simple, but it looks unusual and changes the image of the room. Another option is to create a beautiful and romantic eco-chandelier on a thick branch using candles, jars and green plants, which will delight both you and your guests.
Bedroom - the simplest option would be to create a garland of thick threads and pieces of paper, which will be fixed on a thick branch. As repeating elements, you can use paper cranes or birds, hearts cut out from the yellowed pages of your favorite book.
Children's room - beautiful baskets for storing stationery can be attached in the nursery, and bicycles are painted on the wall using stencils. Children will definitely be delighted, and paper garlands also look great in a nursery.
Kitchen - wood, flowers and glass - a simple, but definitely a win-win DIY home decor idea. Boards and fasteners can be purchased at a hardware store, and instead of flowers, the jars can contain spikelets, willow branches, etc.
Sanitary unit - eco-style decor is suitable for this delicate area of the house. shelves can be easily created by painting or varnishing blanks from the construction market, and everything else can be bought in the store. You can weave your own baskets yourself from thick yarn.

An emphasis on eco-decor is more popular now, and solutions in favor of natural materials are usually simple and inexpensive.

Festive decoration

Store-bought items and letter balloons no longer excite. We invite you to consider DIY 2012 New Year's decor options for your home, as well as decorations for other holidays. Doing everything yourself is much more interesting. The ideas are as follows:

Garlands of fabric flags (cotton and linen are base favorites).
Elegant chair covers, hand-sewn from ideal inexpensive fabric (can be combined with napkins on holiday tables).
Compositions for table serving made from natural materials (cones, wood cuts, chestnuts, moss, flowers, acorns, dried flowers, nuts, berries, etc.).
Candlesticks tied with lace and made in the shape of inverted glasses.
A new textile runner for the festive table and cushion covers for the sofa made from the same fabric are an excellent combination.

This is much better than a plastic tablecloth on the table and template decor items from the store.