A new year brings new promises and a new commitment to maximizing your life. As you’re improving your mind, body, and soul, be sure your home gets a little resolution loving too. No matter what your resolutions, adjustments, or life tweaks may be, they’re sure to be easier to stick to when your house is in good order. Use these life hacks to pave the way to success, peace of mind, and domestic bliss.
Save Time on Ironing
When you’re about to hurry out the door, you may not have as much time as you’d like to get those wrinkles out of your clothes. Maybe you’ve got plenty of time and just aren’t feeling the whole ironing thing. Either way, there’s a quick way to press your shirts and pants out without plugging in the iron.
Toss a few ice cubes and your wrinkled clothes into the dryer and set the appliance to its hottest setting for about 10 minutes. The ice cubes churn up some nice steam as they’re melting inside which eases out the wrinkles. One thing to bear in mind with this tip is that it doesn’t do much good with heavy clothing or fabric.
Stock up on Vinegar
You can do a lot more with vinegar than cook with it. Glasses with an unsightly cloudy film coating them come clean with a diluted white vinegar soak. This trick is also great for grimy faucets and coffee carafes. Dusty and dirty blinds don’t have to be taken down to get a thorough cleaning. Fill a bowl with vinegar, slide your hand into a sock, and dip your hand into the vinegar before giving your blinds a horizontal wipe down. (You’re also free to have a sock puppet show if the spirit compels you!)
Is your showerhead faucet looking a little crusty? Fill a sturdy plastic bag with vinegar and use a few twist ties or rubber bands to wrap it around your shower head. Leave it overnight, unwrap the bag in the morning, and wipe down the shower head.
Make Drying Dishes Easy
If you’ve been meaning to remodel the cabinets in your kitchen, consider installing a new, hassle-free way to dry dishes. Instead of having actual shelves, you can instead install slotted dish racks in the cabinets over your sink. That way, when you’re done with your washing and rinsing, you can store them in the racks and let them drip dry over the sink.
A New Way to Polish Mama’s Brass
If you’ve got brass that hasn’t been polished in years, here’s an interesting way to restore that brassy shine. Both lemon juice and the tomatoes in ketchup have a mild acid that breaks through grime to help brass gleam. Rather than use the two individually, you can double your fun (and the cleaning/polishing) by combining the two.
Squeeze out some ketchup onto a soft cloth, drizzle the juice from a sliced lemon onto the ketchup, and sprinkle some salt on
the mixture. Rub the condiment-concoction onto your brass and buff before rinsing with warm water.
Zap Your Microwave with a Lemon Zest
When life hands you lemons, clean your microwave! No matter how careful you are, making a mess inside your microwave seems as inevitable. When the inside of your microwave looks like a vampire tried to heat a blood bag, reach for a lemon.
Pour half cup of water into a microwave-safe container, and squeeze the lemon juice inside, dropping the pulped lemon remains in with the water. Let the lemons and water heat up for three minutes, just long enough for it to start boiling. Now, let the lemon steam sift and drift inside the microwave for about five minutes. Next, open the microwave, remove the bowl, and get to wiping.
I’ve always found that a living space that’s clean and organized does wonders for my mood but can put me at odds with some sloppy roommates. (I’m looking at you, Marcus!) In any case, hopefully, these tips make taking proper care of your home less of a hassle, and less time-consuming. Best of luck, and have a Happy, clean New Year!