40 Clever Hacks and Shortcuts for the Home
If, like us, you’re constantly on the search for more creative ways to do everyday things, you’ve probably come across a fair number of hacks for the home on the good old Internetz. Well, we took it upon ourselves to try each and every one of these supposed hacks, and found 40 that totally rule.
Send your favorite decor, beauty, and kitchen hacks our way via the comments section at the end of this post!
1. Use a Staple Remover to Add Keys to a Keychain: As simple as this is, this might be our favorite hack on the list. It totally saves your fingernails from imminent death by keychain.
2. Store Pasta in a Pringles Container: Yes! We covered our Pringles can with white tape for a less flashy look.
3. Carry Bagels in a CD Tower: You knew you saved all those CD towers for a reason… ;)
4. Use a Bowl as an iPhone Sound Amplifier: If you’re prone to impromptu dance parties, you’ve probably tried something similar to this. We found that glazed ceramic bowls work best.
5. Display Bangles on a Paper Towel Holder: Are your bangles in a pile that doesn’t ever stay upright? Use a paper towel holder to keep them in check.
6. Wash Sponges in the Dishwasher: Think before you toss that sponge – you can easily breathe new life into your tired sponges with help from your dishwasher.
7. Use a Lazy Susan to Frost a Cake: Stumped on how to get to every part of your latest cake creation without messing up the frosting? Park your cake on a lazy susan and rotate as you frost.
8. Place a Rubber Band on a Paint Can to Catch Drips: Okay maybe we changed our mind. This might be our favorite hack on the list. Stretch a rubber band up over a paint can and use it to wipe off excess paint from your brush.
9. Use Cupcake Liners to Catch Popsicle Drips: Popsicles are awesome. Sticky fingers are not. Cupcake liners to the rescue!
10. Turn a Tennis Racket into an Earring Caddy: Andre Agassi would definitely not approve.
11. Store Beauty Gadgets in an Over-the-Door Shoe Organizer: How genius is this? Use one of those over-the-door shoe organizers to keep all your beauty gadgets organized.
12. Use a Can Opener to Deal with the Dreaded Plastic Seal: We hate when we order a brand new something and can’t for the life of us get through the packaging. Not even a kitchen knife will do the trick. But you know what will? A can opener!
Use Balloons as Icepacks in a Cooler
We love this summer-ready hack. When ice melts, place balloons back in the freezer, or turn them into water balloons – just make sure they’re fully melted!
14. Attach Adhesive Hooks to Your Dresser: Need more space for all your accessories? Throw a couple adhesive hooks onto the side of your dresser for necklaces, scarves, and more.
15. Use a Magnetic Strip to Store Tweezers + Nail Clippers: We can almost never find a pair of tweezers when we need them so this magnetic hack is pretty darn handy.
16. Cut Herbs in a Shot Glass with Scissors: We realize that herbs in a shot glass look a little bit weird, but it is seriously such an easy to chop herbs quickly and with less mess.
Use Beeswax to Waterproof Canvas Shoes
Did you know that you can use beeswax to waterproof your shoes? Rub the wax onto your shoes, blow-dry to seal, and you’re done.
18. Use a Straw to Hull Small Strawberries: If you need to hull strawberries in a pinch, use a straw!
19. Turn an Egg Carton into a Drawer Organizer: This is an oldie but a goodie, and great for keeping your junk drawer in check.
Use Shower Caps as Travel Bags for Shoes
See? All those shower caps your mom’s been hoarding in the linen closet do have a purpose.
21. Wrap Cords in Embroidery Floss to Keep Them Tangle-Free: Sick of getting your cords all tangled up? Or keep mixing up your cord with your roommate? Wrap them in embroidery floss!
22. Use Non-Stick Spray in Jars to Keep Candles from Sticking: If you’re creating a tablescape with jars or glasses and want to keep the wax free, simply cover the inside in cooking spray before placing candles inside.
23. Use a Hair Straightener to Iron Collars: Such a great hack for those super-rushed mornings.
24. Place Your Phone in Rice to Absorb Moisture: It doesn’t always work, but rice has been known to revive even ocean-soaked iPhones.
25. Use Shower Curtain Rings as Hooks: If you live in a city, you probably have some random nooks that serve no purpose. Get a curtain rod and use shower rings to create a spot for storing anything with a handle.
Add Eyeshadow to Vaseline for Custom Lip Gloss
Desperate to find that perfect shade? Make it yourself with our simple tutorial on creating custom lip gloss.
27. Use Ziploc Bags as Frosting Piping Bags: So you frosted the cake on your lazy susan but now you want to add a little flair. Fill a Ziploc bag with frosting and snip off one corner – then frost!
28. Revive Mascara with Eye Drops: We can’t believe how well this one works! We added drops to a tube of mascara that had been dried out for months and now it totally works.
29. Use a Comb to Hold Nails in Place: Save your fingers from getting all busted up by using a comb to hold nails in place.
30. Store Extra Sheets Inside Pillow Cases: This is a great move no matter how many sets of sheets you have – it’s easy to keep them all in one place.
31. Use an Ice Cream Scoop to Ball Watermelon: Ice cream scoops are most definitely not for just ice cream. Use one to scoop watermelon, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, and more.
32. Tie a Hose in a Knot to Keep in Place: Sick of the hose jumping out the bucket whenever you turn the water on? Tie a loose knot at the top to keep it from trying to bust a move.
Use Binder Clips to Organize Accessories
Who knew that binder clips doubled as accessory organizers?
34. Use a Paper Towel Holder to Store Tape: And now another use for paper towel holders! Keep all those rolls of painters tape, duct tape, washi tape, and stickers in order.
35. Tie the Top of Frozen Food Bags with the Piece You Cut Off: Next time you heat up half a bag of broccoli, save the top piece of the bag you cut off and use it to tie around the top of the bag. So simple.
36. Use Dental Floss to Slice Cake and Cheese: Depending on the cake, you might not get a perfect cut so we recommend using the dental floss to section off as many pieces as you like, then follow it up with a knife.
37. Use Spaghetti as a Match to Light Hard-to-Reach Candles: This is such a great hack on getting to hard-to-reach candles. Simply light one end of a piece of spaghetti and it will stay lit as long as you need it!
38. Turn Solo Cups into Laptop Speaker Amplifiers: Another hack on rocking out, cut a solo cup in half to create a pair of makeshift amps. This is especially useful on those nights before a big launch :)
39. Mark Water Consumption with a Sharpie: Drink. More. Water!
40. Put a Wet Sponge in a Ziploc and Freeze as an Icepack: And last, a clever hack perfect for summertime. Instead of filling a Ziploc with ice, wet a sponge and put it into a plastic bag. Freeze and you’ve got a reusable icepack for all your summer adventures.
