Simple Home Hacks That Will Make Your Life Infinitely Easier!

Clean the AC Vents in the Dishwasher

Your home may seem spotless, but one thing that is probably filthy is your air conditioning vents. They are easy to overlook, but if not cleaned regularly they are prone to collecting massive amounts of dust and then recirculating them into your house.

A simple and fast method of getting those vents sparkling is to put them in the dishwasher. Just make sure to blow dry the excess water off them (on the cool setting) before putting them back in place.

The Perfect Hiding Spot for Your Spare Key

Most people have locked themselves out of their house accidentally, which is why keeping a spare key around is always a good idea. The usual hiding places are under a potted plant or somewhere else near the front door, but burglars already know about those spots.

Instead, you can put your key into an empty bottle of pills and then glue a pinecone or something else which won’t look out of place on your front lawn. Then, you bury the bottle in a place you are sure to remember near the door and you are all set.

Use Binder Clips in the Freezer

Frozen fruits for smoothies take up a lot of room in your freezer, and so do leftover vegetables from the new stir fry recipe you tried. It is hard to keep those bags sealed and organized, but a few binder clips can solve the problem.

Just clip the folded open end of your frozen vegetables or fruits to the middle rack of the freezer. They will be left hanging, free up extra space and let you easily see what you already have and what you need to buy.

Organize Your Closet with Pot Lid Racks

Storage solutions may have been designed for your kitchen but that doesn’t mean they have to stay there. A pot lid rack is the storage solution your cluttered closet didn’t know it needed.

You can use one of these racks to organize your clutches, wallets, and even small purses that used to take up space and create a big mess in your closet. This way when you are getting dressed, you have all your choices laid out for you and all you need to do is pick one.

Fresh Herbs Can Be Stored in the Freezer

If you love to cook then you probably purchase fresh herbs fairly often. The problem is that it seems almost impossible to use the entire amount you buy at the supermarket before it goes bad. Instead of throwing them in the trash, you can put them in the freezer!

As soon as you get home from the farmer’s market or pick your favorite herbs from your own garden, simply chop them up, put them in an ice cube tray with some olive oil and you have some seasoning ready for every occasion.

A Rubber Band Door Opener

Unloading the groceries from your car is heavy and difficult to handle even without you trying to open the front door with your hands full. If your door just won’t stay open, you can make your trips to the trunk a little easier by tying a rubber band to the doorknobs as shown below.

This hack will keep the door from latching, all you have to do is push it open to get through. An important safety tip when using this one, don’t forget to take the rubber band off when you’re done!

Shoe Organizers Aren’t Just for Shoes

Everybody knows those plastic shoe organizers that hang on the back of closet doors with pockets for all your pairs of flat shoes. Here’s a groundbreaking thought, you can use them for storing things that are not shoes!

A shoe organizer can help you get your pantry in order. You can use it to store the smaller items and to see everything you have in a single glance. They can also be a great place to store all the different cords and plugs that can be found everywhere around the house.

Use a Pringles Can to Store Spaghetti

Spaghetti noodles usually come in plastic bags that are almost impossible to reclose once you have opened them. If you only cook some of the noodles, the noodles that are left in the bag become a bit stale and also have a tendency to start falling out into your pantry.

Next time you are snacking on some Pringles, keep the empty can, clean it out, and it becomes the perfect container for noodles. It is just the right size, has a lid and will save you the trouble and expense of getting a special container.

Flatten Your Ground Beef Before Storing

Ground beef is a great thing to have around for a last-minute dinner fix, but if you are in a hurry, it may feel like forever while waiting for the beef to thaw out. You can speed up the process by flattening your ground beef in a gallon-sized freezer bag before putting it in the freezer.

The flat surface area of the beef will cause it to thaw out faster and it will also take up less room and be easier to stack in your freezer!

An Old Bottle Can Help Store Jewelry

Jewelry can sometimes be a hard thing to store and often ends up as a mess on the bedside table. If you haven’t found a good way to store your bracelet collection, not only can you never find the one you want to wear, you may even lose some pieces underneath the furniture.

The neck of an empty bottle can be the perfect storage space. It will not only keep your bracelets and hair ties organized and accessible but will also give new purpose to the empty drink receptacle you have enjoyed but not discarded.

Use Labels to Identify Your Cords

When you use an extension cord or a power strip to power several things in your home, it can become confusing. Figuring out which cord belongs to which item is hard, especially when they all get tangled up over time. If you need to unplug something, you have to start following cords to find out which belongs to the device you’re trying to find. Ain't nobody got time for that.

You can avoid this confusion by labeling the different cords with bread tags. You can also use washi tape and a permanent marker to create your own tabs and identify the devices which they belong to.

Your Boots Will Stay Upright With Pool Noodles

As soon as the first leaves fall, women can’t wait to pull out their beloved winter boots, but in warmer weather, they are typically put away for the season and their storage conditions are less than ideal. If the tall part is left flopping all summer, creases can spoil the footwear’s nice lines.

In order to keep your boots standing tall all year long, just put pool noodles inside them. Simply cut the noodles into the appropriate length and place them into the boots.

Command Hooks Are Also Good for the Holidays

If you are a fan of DIY, you probably already have your share of home hacks and know that Command hooks are the greatest. These small and sticky friends can help hang almost anything on the wall without drilling holes or leaving a trace.

You may not have considered using these hooks for hanging holiday wreaths and other decorations on the front door. All you have to do is place the hook on the inside of your door upside down, use a string and your decoration can hang on the other side.

Cure Carpet Dents with Ice Cubes

If you have wall to wall carpeting then you are definitely familiar with the problem of carpet dents. You know, when you move the furniture and the dents in the carpet just won’t go away. If you have guests coming over and you want everything to look nice, you can put some ice cubes in the dents.

After the ice has melted completely, the dent will be gone, but you have to make sure that you wipe off the excess water and fluff out the carpet. Take into account that this may take up to 12 hours to work completely.

A Rubber Band Can Help with Stripped Screws

Sometimes you are working on something, and everything is going great until you encounter one stripped screw and it keeps you from finishing the entire project. Your screwdriver can hardly get it moving, and you just sit there to keep trying while getting more and more frustrated.

If this happens to you again, try putting a rubber band in between the screw head and the screwdriver. The rubber band lets the screwdriver get a better grip and you can at least ease the screw out. If anyone asks, you definitely loosened it up a little.

Hiding Your Router

These days it is hard to live without Wi-Fi, making a router a must-have item in every home. Unfortunately, most routers are not as appealing to the eye as they are functional. If you can’t stand that eyesore anymore, you can hide it with some innovative decorating ideas.

You can place your router in a pretty box and cut out a hole for the cords. Or you could make yourself look smarter by building a fake bookcase to store it upright.

All You Need for This Hack Is an Empty Bottle

People who are enthusiastic about home décor may have large vases full of ornamental items like glass beads or wine corks placed strategically around their house. But what happens when you are not a big wine drinker?

You could of chug down some more wine, invite over people you don’t like for a drink, or running up a tab at the local craft store buying more and more glass beads. But you can also simply put an empty bottle into the vase first! It will take up space, meaning you will need fewer beads or corks to fill it up, while still maintaining the illusion of a full vase.

A Wine Cork Can Also Serve as a Chip Clip

Whenever you need to close an open bag of chips or some other half-eaten snack, you never seem to be able to find any of your chip clips around. If you don’t feel like searching your entire house again, there is a way to make your own clip from an old wine cork.

All you have to do is slice half the cork down the middle and use the slit you created to close your folded bag of chips.

Desk Organizers Can Be Used in Other Parts of Your Home

Despite your best efforts, pantries can quickly become cluttered and messy. Open bags and boxes of food become mixed with various spices and soon you can’t find anything, or even worse — have everything topple when you reach for something.

Old and unused desk organizers can actually solve this problem. You can use them to organize some of the smaller items inside your pantry. If you have the room and a little technical skill, you can even attach them to your wall, freeing up more shelf space to accommodate larger items.

Use Your Beverage Dispenser as a Detergent Dispenser

Is there a beverage dispenser somewhere in your house? If there is, it’s most likely dusty, unused, and doesn't do much but taking up space around your house. If you are not the kind of person who hosts parties all the time, you probably barely use that old thing.

You can repurpose your unused dispenser and turn it into a laundry soap dispenser. Fill it with liquid detergent and you can make sure you use the right amount for every wash. Your laundry area will even look better.

An Egg Carton Is the Perfect Holder for Near-Empty Condiments

There are few things more annoying in life than trying to squeeze the last few squirts of ketchup or mustard from the bottom of the bottle. You know there is plenty left in there and you don’t want to be wasteful and simply throw it out.

We have all tried to balance the nearly empty bottles upside down just to have them fall over time and time again. An egg carton will help you keep the condiments with the lid down and hold them steady so that you can squeeze out every last drop.

A Magnetic Way of Keeping Your Hammer and Nails Together

Most people don’t use a hammer and nails all that often. You know you have both somewhere in your house, but when the need arises, you often can’t find one or the other. This is not only irritating but can also be dangerous because it is never a good idea to have nails just lying around.

If you want to avoid this mess and keep them together and organized, you can attach a small magnet to the bottom of your hammer. That will make sure that the nails stick around for when you want to use them.

Old Tubes Make a Good Home for Cables

If there is a drawer in your house that you prefer not to open because it is full of unused cords and cables, this is the hack for you. Obviously, what you want is to be able to find the cable you need in an organized and efficient manner, but how can you tell which cords are which?

Fold your cords neatly and place them inside an empty tube of toilet paper or paper towels cut down to size. Don’t forget to write which kind of cord is in which tube or else you will be back at square one.

The Secret Switch Your Ceiling Fan May Have

Most people have at some point in their lives noticed that warm air rises. That is because it is less dense than cool air. That means that in the winter months you are missing out on the nice warm air your heating produces, but there may just be a switch on your ceiling fan that can help with that.

Many ceiling fans come equipped with a small switch that can change the direction of the fan blades. During the winter you can flick that switch to get the blades to move in a clockwise direction, causing the warm air to be pushed from the ceiling towards the floor.

Pool Noodles Bumpers

Pool noodles have many different uses. This time they come to the rescue of people with small garages, big cars, or both. If you have either of these problems, just slice a pool noodle in half and stick the pieces on the walls on both sides of your garage.

When you park your car and open the doors, they will softly open against the noodle instead of scraping the walls. This simple act will help you keep your car dent free and your walls free of scuff marks.

Essential Oils in the Bathroom

Let’s face it, bathrooms don’t smell like roses all the time and most people use aerosol sprays when they need to be freshened up. Those are usually a momentary solution, for longer-lasting results try using essential oils.

Simply place a few drops of your favorite essential oil on the cardboard of the toilet paper roll. Whenever someone pulls some out, the essential oil will be released into the air and freshen things right up!

Use a Garment Bag to Store Wrapping Paper

After the holiday season ends, you always find yourself with all kinds of leftover wrapping paper rolls that take up space in a closet or the garage. The worst part is that they keep falling over and become crinkled over time, meaning that by the time next Christmas rolls around, they won’t be in the best shape.

You can fix this problem by storing your extra wrapping paper in a garment bag. It is long enough for the entire roll and can also be hung up to conserve floor space that may be needed for other holiday leftovers.

A Squeegee Is Not Just for Squeegeeing

Having a pet is a wonderful experience, but what isn’t wonderful is the sheer mass of fur that can collect on your floor, especially your wall to wall carpeting. You can try and keep up with it by vacuuming regularly but sometimes even that isn’t enough to get rid of it all!

The next time you are planning to vacuum, you can try using a squeegee first to loosen the pet hair from the carpet. That way you can get out the toughest clumps before beginning to vacuum.

Tongs Can Help Clean Your Blinds

Window shades and blinds are great dust collectors, but cleaning them is one of the most boring household chores. You can make it go by faster and more efficiently by dusting them with a pair of kitchen tongs.

All you have to do is fasten some microfiber cloths or an old t-shirt to the tongs with some rubber bands and you’ll create a tool that can remove dust from the bottom and the top of the blinds all at once!

Use Magazine Holders to Hold Water Bottles

If you feel like you have more water bottles than you know what to do with, welcome to the club. Everyone somehow seems to accumulate numerous water bottles as the years go by, but somehow, it’s still hard to just throw them away.

If an entire cabinet in your kitchen is unavailable due to water bottle storage, try keeping them in magazine holders instead. You save space and at least then your unused water bottles will be neat and organized.

Create Your Own Non-Slip Hanger With Hot Glue

The problem you are facing with your closet could have nothing to do with a lack of space or hangers. What's really bothering you is the fact that all your pretty tops have a tendency to slip off their hangers and end up as a puddle on the floor. You don’t have to buy special hangers to fix this problem, there is a solution that you can do all on your own.

Use a hot glue gun to squeeze a thin layer of glue on the “shoulders” of your hanger. After it dries, it should provide a good grip for all your silk blouses and fashionable tank tops.

Use a Tissue Box As a Holder for Plastic Bags

It seems like every household has their own secret stash of never-ending plastic bags. They are good for picking up after your dog, lining garbage cans and a million other things, but are usually an unsightly mess in and of themselves.

You can up-cycle an empty tissue box by putting plastic bags inside and turning it into a bag holder. You put the bags in with the loops sticking up and fold the end of each new bag into the loops. That way, each time you take out a bag, another one will already be waiting for you!

Use a Tension Rod for More Storage

Household cleaning supplies are usually stored separately under the sink in the kitchen or bathroom. But all the different kinds of products, plus the oddly shaped spray bottles, can take up a lot of space and cause cabinet clutter.

A tension rod can really help with this problem. You can find them at any hardware store, and they don’t cost much. Hang one high at the front of the cabinet and you can line up your spray bottles on it, making them more accessible and creating more space underneath.

Sharpen Your Knives Using Ceramic

Dull knives are a real no-no in the kitchen. They make it much harder to chop food and are actually more likely to cause injury than sharp knives. If you don’t own a knife sharpener or can’t find one when you need it, you can instead use a household item that you already have in your cupboard.

The bottom of a ceramic bowl or mug is a good surface to sharpen your blade on, but if you are going to try this hack at home, please do so with caution!

Conserve Water by Doing This to Your Toilet

Saving water is more important than ever. Environmentally conscious households can do more than just shorten the lengths of their showers. They can also make sure that less is water is used every time they flush the toilet.

Instead of flushing less, which is kind of gross, all you have to do is put a jar full of water or a couple of bricks in the back of your toilet tank. When you flush, the tank will fill up with less water because of the space that the bricks take up.

Command Hooks Help Keep Bin Liners in Place

Your old plastic bags, which we assume are now in a neat tissue box, can be used as bin liners. But the downside to doing that is that heavy items can cause the bag to go in the trash along with them. You can keep them in place by using Command hooks.

You stick the hooks on the outside of the trashcan on either side and put the bag’s loops around them. This will ensure that your liner stays in place and your hands can stay garbage free!

Use Shower Curtain Hooks as Hangers

We’ve all had the experience of coming back from shopping with some great new clothes, only to discover that we don’t have any free hangers to put them on. This can be aggravating, especially when you take into account that you just came in and don’t want to go out again just to buy some more.

Instead, you can just use some shower curtain hooks! They don’t take up a lot of space in your closet and are perfect for clothes that have loops, such as jackets or jeans.

Save Some Paint for a Rainy Day

A freshly painted room can make you feel warm and fuzzy all over. Just changing the color of the wall can completely transform the way a room looks and feels, but it is really aggravating to see your hard work marred when a piece of furniture bumps into the walls and leaves an ugly mark.

You don’t need to save a big messy paint can to solve this problem, all you have to do is take an empty baby food jar and save a small amount of paint in it. That way you can dispose of the paint properly, but still, have enough left over to do some touch-ups and keep everything looking great.

Store Plastic Bags in Wet Wipes Container

Accumulative plastic bags can really get in the way. You can bunch it up and stuff it in a drawer, but that is never very pleasing to the eyes. What can one do with all these excess bags? For starters, you can start recycling, or you can also stop taking store bags back with you. But if you already have them, there is a better solution.

If you have a bunch of bags that you don't know where to put, you can take an old container of disinfecting wipes and place them in there. The pull and grab system is super convenient and you can store it wherever you like.

Use Ice Cubes Remove To Remove Candle Wax

It sounds like a stretch, but dripping candle wax can get anywhere, and it can certainly get into your furniture. If this ever happens to you, the first thing you should know is to never, under any circumstances, scrape it off your couch. That can only make things worse.

What you should do, however, is take a plastic bag, fill it up with some ice-cubes, and gently dab it over the wax. Let it sit for a few minutes until the wax has cooled and hardened. Once that has happened, you can easily peel it off any surface.

Clean Scratches with Toothpaste

Our household goods and furniture are subject to a lot of wear and tear. Kids' feet, animals, accidents, spills, and more. You name it. When you stop to take a look around, you can start noticing a lot of scratches here and there. But before you start panicking and splurge on a new living room, you can simply go to your bathroom.

Toothpaste can take care of a lot of scratches. You can just rub it on those unsightly marks until they smooth out. Put just a dollop of toothpaste on the scratch and slowly buff it out in a circular motion. Clean up the rest with a damp towel.

Get Rid of Sticky Residue With Oil

It's great to re-use old jars and bottles. Those things can be really useful, but what happens when you re-label it or at least scrape off the last one and all that old sticky residue is still there from the last label.

Just use cooking oil, it's as easy as...pie. Rub some oil on the stickiness with some cotton and just watch how easily it comes off when you wipe it. Now you can repurpose old jars and stick whatever you want on them, or just leaves them clean and use them as decorative pieces on your window sill. It's great in front of the light.

Keep Your Flowers Upright with Straws

Everybody loves a big vase of flowers but it's sad when they start to wilt away and get all floppy. We can't make flowers last longer, but at least we can keep them stand for a little longer than they do normally.

To do this, you can just place plastic straws around the stem of the flower so that they don't start dropping. It doesn't affect the health of the flowers and it makes them look a little more pleasing to the eye.

Patch up Windowscreen Holes with Nail Polish

Be aware that this is for smaller holes and cracks. If you have a massive hole in your window screen, you might need to replace it, but for minor ones, you can just use clear nail polish.

Just paint the crack with some transparent nail polish and it will be as good as new in no time. Just like you do with runny nylon stockings.

Messy Ceramic Top? Use a Magic Eraser

Cooktops made of ceramic are really neat and a great alternative to other types of stovetops, but unfortunately they're not great to clean. While there should be specialty made type sponges for these types of stoves, technology isn't quite there. But there is an alternative.

Just use a Magic Eraser. The texture of the sponge is perfect for tough grease stains and oil build-up. Just a few swipes and your ceramic stover top will be spick and span.

Light Up Dark Cabinets with LED Lights

Unfortunately, not all of us can afford fancy cabinet lighting that comes with our kitchen units. Some of us mere mortals have to put up with the shame dark cabinets. This can be rather annoying when you're trying to rummage around for some cereal or a jar of peanut butter.

You don't need to walk through kitchen supplies with a flashlight or candle. You can just install some LED lights in the shelves so that you see everything clearly. They are pretty cheap and look pretty sleek if you ask us.

Throw Dishwashing Liquid into Your Blender

Cleaning a blender can be a real headache. Not only that, but it can be potentially pretty dangerous. Sticking your hand into blades can cut your hand up into ribbons. No one wants that. There are safer ways though. You can try dishwashing liquid.

Add the dish soap to your blender, two cups of warm water, and blend it together until the food residue washes away. It's super safe and totally efficient.

Avoid a Cluttered Kitchen Cabinet By Hanging Up Pots and Pans

No space for an overhead rack in your kitchen space? No problem. The best way to make space in small places is to stop stacking and start hanging. Simply place some corkboard on the inside of the cabinet and stick on adhesive hooks. You can hang all your pots and pans and have tons of space.

No need to drill holes or knock-in nails. Sticking on wood is just as good and is completely hassle-free.

Hang Up Heavy Utensils Too

Once you've started sticking up hooks, you will find that you will have endless space. You can hang up bigger utensils like spatulas, strainers, larger spoons and ladles even larger hanging knives like cleavers and chef knives.

This can really take away the frustration of a messy kitchen. It's also much easier to find. Just make sure you don't hang anything sharp in places children can reach.

Peg Down Your Toothbrush

Bathroom surfaces are a breeding ground for bacteria. It's best not to leave your things strewn on the counter, especially your toothbrush. That is one item you don't want to get infected with unwanted bacteria.

The best way to avoid this is simple. Stick a clothespeg on the counter and clip your toothbrush in there. This will hold your toothbrush in place and elevate it above the counter.

Wrap an Elastic Band Around a Soap Dispenser

Why? You might ask yourselves. Well, this is a great way to be careful with your soap usage. It's a good way to not be wasteful. Just wrap a rubber band around your soap dispenser so you don't squeeze all your soap away.

This will also save you some good money because you won't be running to the store every week for a new bottle.

Keep a Fitted Sheet in Place with Suspenders

Sometimes fitted sheets can just slip right off the corners of the bed. It's no use keeping them down yourself and nobody enjoys sleeping on a bare mattress! There is a reason the bed sheet was invented! To avoid this problem, just dig out a pair of suspenders.

Simply clip them on each side of the bed on each corner with the suspenders and your sheet will stay put for sure. You will never have to worry about keeping them down again (until you change your bedding, that is).

Trash Bags Sticking to the Trash Can? Just Drill a Hole

Nothing is more frustrating than removing a sticky and garbage bag from the bin, only to discover that the poor bag is holding on to dear life. It's messy and it's kind of gross too. Thankfully, with a little help from some household tools, you can solve this in a jiffy.

All you have to do is drill a hole into the bottom of the trash can and there you go. This gets rid of the vacuum-like seal that makes the bag stick to the floor of the can.

The Tennis Ball Protected Door Knob

Sharing a home with someone who has trouble keeping the noise levels down can be tiresome. Shushing someone day in and day out is not an ideal way to control the noise, especially when they seem to convey that they don't care. This usually manifests itself in the loud opening and shutting of doors.

To avoid the jarring sound of an offensive door handle, you can simply place a tennis ball over it. Slit the ball open and wrap it around the doorknob so that when the door hits the wall, it'll gently bounce right off.

Foam Noodle For Your Car Door

This can be especially useful in the cities where traffic is busy or you're often parking near walls and buildings. Opening car doors in confined spaces can be particularly hazardous and you certainly don't want to damage someone else's car either.

The good news is that you can just use an old foam pool noodle that you have lying around the basement. Just cut it and attach it to the door handle. This way you won't ever accidentally scratch your car again. You can even tape it along your garage walls.

Cover Your Alarm System with a Painting

Alarms keep us safe from potential danger. But they don't look so pretty doing it. In fact, alarm systems can look rather unsightly. It would be inadvisable to remove these devices just because they don't look good. You can, however, do some alarm redecorating.

Take a piece of art and just decorate your alarm system. You can use some hinges and simply cover the alarm with your beautiful design. It's easy and it looks great.

Use Masking Tape Before Nailing the Walls

If you want to hang up a painting, here's a tip. Before you go hammering into your plaster walls, be sure to use masking tape or painter's tape over the desired area. This prevents flaking and cracking in the walls.

Now you can have crack-free walls. While the painting might cover it up, it's still important to look after your house.

Make Your Own Travel Cup with Cellophane

In this modern, rush-and-go world, anything that can make our existence easier is a plus. To be honest, this hack is so great, and so obvious, that you might slap your forehead wondering why you hadn’t thought of it before. You do not have to buy one of those fancy car cups or $65 metal brand name cylinders when traveling with your favorite smoothie or protein shake.

Now you can enlist a simple product that you already have in your pantry. Just fill up your cup with your favorite protein shake, smoothie or cup of joe, and cover the top with some Glad Press N Seal (or generic cellophane wrap). Then, pop a straw through it, and you have a DIY on-the-go beverage. Want a little extra seal? Tighten a rubber band right around the rim. Boom, done.

Purify Air and Remove Odor With Charcoal

We’re not talking about those heavy white and blue bags of BBQ charcoal you would pick up at Home Depot. Well, maybe we kind of are. Activated bamboo charcoal, in particular, can be found in most home goods stores (and might already be accidentally stored in your garage or shed!). It can be used in place of baking soda to remove odors, and in place of expensive air-purifiers to purify the air.

Unlike baking soda or chemical sprays, this charcoal can purify air, and remove bacteria and a lot of allergens. Simply load some activated charcoal into mesh bags, and put them around the house wherever you have odors. The best part? Every month, put the charcoal bags out in the sun and the bag “reactivates” and recharges itself.

Use Bottles for Home Made Cloches

This one is for those of you with a green thumb and a garden to enjoy it. Use scissors or a knife to remove the bottom of your old milk jugs or bottles and use them in the garden to protect vulnerable seedlings from harsh weather and frost. Leave the top as is but remove the cap to give the plant the air it needs.

Cloches are only meant to protect seedlings during cold nights, so they shouldn’t be used in the warmer months when temperatures remain high overnight. Recycling AND taking care of your garden? Yes, please.

Redecorate With Painted Rocks

Literally, just like the heading says – all you need for this hack are some large rocks, acrylic paint, and brushes. Get a game plan in the works and imagine a theme, the way that you want your decorations to look, and where you want to place them (we recommend the garden). Then, paint the large rocks and let them dry for a night or two before placing them strategically. If you chose the garden, use them to frame your most photogenic plants.

No garden? no problem. This little hack can also brighten up a gray room. Simply place the rocks in a glass bowl to add a touch of color to whatever room you desire. You can get as creative as you want here and go as simple or as complicated as you like. For instance, you can use simple colors and designs, or you can go for your favorite film characters for something more entertaining. The possibilities are endless!

Scrub Produce With Baking Soda

Chemicals, huh? You can't live without them, but you also can't live with the vegan PTA mom going on and on about how your shampoo is basically poisoning you. Well, thanks to this hack, she will have one less thing to nag about. For years, baking soda has been touted as one of the most versatile must-have items for your kitchen.

By just adding a couple of teaspoons of baking soda to 1-2 cups of water, you will have yourself an all-natural produce scrub. Combine the mixture in a large mixing bowl, or add the ingredients into a spray bottle and shake well. Once mixed, you will have the perfect all-natural solution for ridding your produce of pesticides, dirt, and unwanted yuck from every nook and cranny. Once cleaned, make sure to rinse your produce thoroughly.

Clean With Essential Oils

Essential oils have recently been enjoying great PR. The popularity is due to their natural sources and limited impact on the environment. There are more and more companies and individuals who find new and useful means to incorporate them into their everyday products and lives. One such way is to use them in the cleaning of our homes and living areas.

The most beneficial aspect of essential oils is that they are natural, not harsh like man-made chemicals, and have much fewer side effects. By combining essential oils with other natural products, such as baking soda or vinegar, a whole new world is opened up to a more natural method of cleaning.

Put Onions and Garlic in Paper Bags

You don’t have to be a top chef to know the flavorful benefits of cooking and sautéing with onions and garlic. By simply adding these two staples, you can totally change the game when it comes to the taste of some of your favorite foods or dishes.

Veggies like onions, garlic, and even shallots last much longer than their counterparts, such as bananas, apples, and oranges (and don't even get us started on avocados). Still, there is a simple hack to further their longevity by as many as three more months. Just take a paper bag — a standard lunch bag will do — and punch holes all in the bag using a paper punch. Once you have that done, fold the bag top down a couple of turns and secure it with a paper clip.

Get Rid of Garlic Smell With a Spoon

Garlic is great. It smells great, it tastes great, it is the supreme leader of the kitchen, ruling from its throne of the little basket on top of the microwave. The only thing keeping garlic from being the best thing that has ever existed is how it leaves your hands smelling spicey for three days after you're done using it.

Luckily, there is a way around it that doesn't involve using surgical gloves. Once you're done handling your garlic, rub your fingertips on the back of a silver spoon for a few seconds. Then, wash your hands with soap and enjoy not smelling like the fish you just cooked.

Stinky Sneakers No More

The plague of smelly sneakers has been around since, well, the invention of sneakers probably. The odor is one that can not be mistaken, and once it is in the lining of the sneaker — you're doomed. The smell seems to be the most daunting problem to rid oneself of. Not only is it a nuisance, particularly in potentially embarrassing social situations, It feels like something you can't get away from.

Don't worry! There is a way to get that persistent funk out, but it requires a four-step process in order to work. First, wash the sneakers and allow them to air dry. Once that is done, sprinkle them with deodorizing power, preferably a homemade version. Next, stuff them with newspaper and allow them to sit overnight. Finally, place them into your deep freezer for several hours.

Use Baby Food Jars for Spices

Anyone who has an infant or a toddler in the house can tell you that they are in no way having a shortage of baby food jars. If you find you do not like the idea of throwing away a perfectly good jar, let alone the fact of how they just sit in the landfills for all of eternity, then this hack is perfect for you.

Take those clean baby food jars, and use them as a storage container for your spices in your spice rack. By using the same jars for different spices, you will have a nice and uniform look, plus you will be able to see what jar contains which spice. We would also recommend labeling each jar with the name of the spice inside it. For that you can use blank stickers or a permanent marker.

Keeps the Critters Away With Plastic Forks

Okay, so maybe it takes a bunch of plastic forks, and there’s no guarantee that they’ll actually keep critters out of your garden or potted plants, but some people still insist it works for smaller pests. The thing about inserting a bunch of plastic forks upside down in the ground in your front lawn is this: it looks super tacky. But hey, if you’re determined to try anything to keep the pests from crawling around in your plants, you can give it a shot!

If you think about it, the forks actually do make some sense. After all, they serve the same purpose as chicken wire – to deter and block pests from certain areas. They won’t keep everything away, but they’ll make it less likely for snails and some small animals from harming your plants. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t have a drawer full of extra forks from takeout restaurants just rearing to go for this project?

All-Natural Mosquito Repellent

No one wants mosquitoes hanging around their house or garden. No one says, “Hey, let’s set up these plants so we attract as many of those little bloodsuckers as possible!” Quite the opposite, in fact. But so many mosquito repellants rely on chemicals to deter the itchy little bastards. Luckily, there’s a way to keep them away from your garden without spending too much money or risking your health.

If you haven’t noticed when you’re buying candles or sprays that are anti-mosquito, one of the main ingredients is usually citronella – which is one of the reasons why this hack works so brilliantly! This particular grouping of plants is enough to keep the bugs away on their own – no spray needed. All you need to do is plant some citronella geranium with marigold, lemongrass, thyme, and catnip in your garden or in pots around your house. Bonus: your cats will love you for planting catnip – seriously.

Keep Your Sponge Fresh With a Binder Clip

Holding your dish sponges with binder clips is a great way to keep them on your sink without taking up so much space. And, as an added bonus, this method of storage helps air-dry them quickly—which is more sanitary and keeps bacteria from building up on the sponge.

It should also be noted that this wonderful method of air-drying your sponges, and keeping them easy to access, is dirt cheap. Binder clips cost next to nothing, and, chances are, you already have more than a few of them in your home anyway! If you don’t already, though, they’re definitely worth picking up the next time you’re out at the office supply store. Not only can you use them for the kitchen sink, but they’re always good to keep around just in case you need to, you know, hold a number of different pieces of paper together, right?

Easily Clean Your Microwave

When you cook things like soup in the microwave, pops and splatters can leave the inside looking more than a little messy. To clean it without much scrubbing, just nuke a bowl full of vinegar, then wipe down with a wet sponge!

This is definitely going to be a lot of help for any microwave owner because cleaning it thoroughly can be quite difficult. Plus, many of us live with people who don’t clean up after themselves properly, so the grime and grease can get dry and hard to clean. No longer!

Clean Silverware With Ketchup

This may seem a little bit counter-intuitive, but ketchup actually works as an effective polish for silverware and stainless steel or copper pots and pans. Simply squirt a little on, scrub with a scouring pad, and rinse the residue away with warm water.

Who would have known that a simple condiment like ketchup could actually be such a great cleaning agent? It’s enough to make you wonder who thought of this method in the first place. How many of us see something dirty and think to clean it with the same thing we put on burgers?

Make an Organic Insect Repellant

Do you have pests eating up your herbs and veggies, but you don’t want to use harmful insecticides? Try making your own bug spray with ingredients you’ve probably got lying around your kitchen. All you need for this hack is a spray bottle, a couple of heads of garlic, some mint leaves, dish soap, and a few teaspoons of cayenne pepper. Don’t worry – this spray is for your garden, not your skin.

Toss your garlic and mint leaves into a food processor or chop them as finely as possible if you don’t have access to one. Meanwhile, boil ten cups of water and add your cayenne pepper. Combine everything into one pot and boil for 2-3 minutes. Once your concoction cools completely, strain and pour it into spray bottles along with a few squirts of liquid dish soap. Use the mixture to spray on areas where pests are most prevalent.

Help Your Sink Drain With a Toothbrush

If your kitchen sink doesn’t drain quite as well as it used to, you can scrub it clean with an old toothbrush and then drop sliced lemons in the garbage disposal to freshen everything up.

It should go without saying, of course, that this should only be done with a toothbrush that you don’t plan on ever using again…at least, not on your teeth. Luckily, though, this is a great excuse to get rid of that old brush you needed to replace anyway. Besides, it’s not healthy to go too long using the same toothbrush. Even if you did use a new toothbrush for this method, though, it really wouldn’t be such a big deal. They tend to be pretty cheap, and you definitely don’t need anything fancy for this technique!

Easy Clean for Your Washing Machine

If you want to clean out the barrel of your washing machine, simply run a regular cycle without clothes using a combination of bleach and hot water. The next time you do the wash, your clothes will be fresher than ever!

Much like a vacuum cleaner, it can often be pretty easy to forget the fact that the very things that clean our possessions often need a good, thorough cleaning themselves. This is certainly true when it comes to the washing machines that we use to do our laundry, as the work that they do can seem practically invisible to us humans.

Clean With Slime or Goo

If you were born in the 80s or 90s, you probably remember goo balls or slime. The latter, actually has been making a comeback in the last few years. That weird, slimy, sticky substance has always been popular with the kids. You could mold it, bounce it, squish it, throw it at your friends, drive your parents nuts by sticking it all over the house, and basically anything else you could think of.

The bad part was, that if you got it dirty, even if it was one speck of dust, you knew your slime was doomed – it would never be clean again. But this makes it perfect as a car cleaner. Go to the nearest kid toy store and get a ball of goo, then dab it all over your car and collect every last particle of dirt or dust. You can also make your own slime, just google “DIY cleaning slime” and chose any tutorial.

Avoid a Sticky Mess by Using an Iron

It is unavoidable for sticky messes to happen in your car – your kid drops a gummy bear and the sun melts it into the fabric; a friend drops a piece of gum on the seat; you sit on a bug and it goes all over your seat fabric, etc. The possibilities are endless, and the solution is not so obvious. But don’t worry, next time this happens, and you want to cry because you think your car is doomed, grab an iron, a thick piece of paper, and some patience.

Place the paper over the mess and iron over it for 30 seconds. Whatever it is, it’ll attach straight onto the paper and out of your car.