Dec12

25 clever ideas to make life easier

Why didn’t I think of that?! We guarrantee you’ll be uttering those words more than once at these ingenious little tips, tricks and ideas that solve everyday problems … some you never knew you had! (Above: hull strawberries easily using a straw).

Via: apartmenttherapy.com

Rubbing a walnut over scratches in your furniture will disguise dings and scrapes.

Via: unplggd.com

Remove crayon masterpieces from your TV or computer screen with WD40 (also works on walls).

Via: athomewithrealfood.blogspot.com

Stop cut apples browning in your child’s lunch box by securing with a rubber band.

Via: marthastewart.com

Overhaul your linen cupboard – store bedlinen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will be no more hunting through piles for a match.

Via: realsimple.com

Pump up the volume by placing your iPhone / iPod in a bowl – the concave shape amplifies the music.

Via: savvyhousekeeping.com

Re-use a wet-wipes container to store plastic bags.

Via: iheartnaptime.net

Add this item to your beach bag. Baby powder gets sand off your skin easily – who knew?!

Via: realsimple.com

Attach a velcro strip to the wall to store soft toys.

Via: flickr.com

Look up! Use wire to make a space to store gift wrap rolls against the ceiling, rather than cluttering up the floor.

Via: instructables.com

Gotcha! Find tiny lost items like earrings by putting a stocking over the vacuum hose.

Via: realsimple.com

Make an instant cupcake carrier by cutting crosses into a box lid.

Via: stephmodo.com

For those who can’t stand the scrunching and bunching: how to perfectly fold a fitted sheet.

Via: sprwmn.blogspot.com

Forever losing your bathroom essentials? Use magnetic strips to store bobby pins (and tweezers and clippers) behind a vanity door

Via: realsimple.com

A tip for holiday packing. Store shoes inside shower caps to stop dirty soles rubbing on your clothes. And you can find them in just about every hotel!

Via: familyfun.go.com

A muffin pan becomes a craft caddy. Magnets hold the plastic cups down to make them tip-resistant.

Via: unplggd.com

Bread tags make the perfect-sized cord labels.

Via: kiboomu.com

Bake cupcakes directly in ice-cream cones – so much more fun and easier for kids to eat. Definitely doing this!

Via: squawkfox.com

Microwave your own popcorn in a plain brown paper bag. Much healthier and cheaper than the packet stuff.

Via: jengrantmorris.blogspot.com

Brilliant space-saver: install a tension rod to hang your spray bottles. Genius!

Via: 9gag.com

Win friends at breakfast with this heart-shaped egg tutorial. Aww shucks!

Via: wilton.com

Turn your muffin pan upside down, bake cookie-dough over the top and voila – you have cookie bowls for fruit or ice-cream. Click here for recipe.

Via: realsimple.com

Freeze Aloe Vera in ice-cube trays for soothing sunburn relief.

Via: lifehacker.com.au

Gutter garden: Create a window-box veggie patch using guttering.

Via: re-nest.com

Use egg cartons to separate and store your Christmas decorations.

62 Responses »

Susie Hudgins on December 19, 2011 at 9:54 AM said:

Brillant

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- sharon trujillo on January 4, 2012 at 2:57 PM said:
  
  Very clever!
  
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- ted on October 2, 2012 at 2:03 AM said:
  
  use wd 40 to help stop ice buildup in the fridge also spray on bait to attract fish
  
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nan @ lbddiaries on December 21, 2011 at 1:57 PM said:

Now THESE are some ideas I can really use – that gutter garden is awesome! We have more rocks than dirt in our yard so this will be something I do next year! And the heart egg! And so many of the others.

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- BAL on January 26, 2012 at 7:20 PM said:
  
  There is a YouTube video of a man in a Northern State that uses gutter to water his plants that are in 1-5 gallon containers. He seals up the ends of the gutters, keeps them upright with 1×4′s on each side of the gutter, puts a ‘float’ like a toilet has, cuts a hole in the bottom of the buckets, inserts some kind of a thingy that has holes in it, fills the buckets with soil, then sits them on top of the gutter. When he attaches a water source to the gutter, the float keeps water in it at all times, thus watering the buckets. he never has to water them again…Grows TONS OF VEGGIES, strawberries, etc. Just look up the subject on YT….Great info!
  
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  - Michelle on March 1, 2012 at 5:03 AM said:
    
    Would love a link to the youtube video please. Had a search and can’t find it.
hector sanvictores on December 23, 2011 at 3:58 AM said:

Great practical ideas

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kathleen varin on December 26, 2011 at 1:19 PM said:

love love love this so awesome these are things i should have thought of but didnt thankyou so much waiting for more please

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Diana on December 30, 2011 at 1:05 PM said:

Awesome////each one a gem!!

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celticircle on January 2, 2012 at 11:33 PM said:

slick…

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Ev on January 2, 2012 at 11:54 PM said:

I love these kind of things, it just makes my heart sing, when I can save money, and still get the things i need done. I want to do the gutter garden in the spring.

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SYLVIA M BAILEY on January 3, 2012 at 2:56 AM said:

Love it!!!

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Kate larson on January 3, 2012 at 11:16 PM said:

I’ve tried the pillow slip idea and, while it’s a great idea, my linen cupboard does NOT look like this one! LOL

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Linda Buehler on January 4, 2012 at 2:13 AM said:

I learned to fold my fitted sheets like that a long time ago. A lady working in a laundramat (spelling/sorry)showed me how to fold them. There are so many good ideas here. I want to try so many of them. I’m just not creative. I saved this in my favorites. Thank you!

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Linda Buehler on January 4, 2012 at 2:17 AM said:

WD-40 also takes up tar and black shoe skuffs off your kitchen floor. It also takes the goo off of things that stickers leave. I need storage ideas. I live in a one bedroom apartment and I just can’t find room to put everything. I moved from a three bedroom home and although I got rid of alot of stuff, there is still things I don’t want to get rid of.

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- Katt Kosarko on January 5, 2012 at 2:25 AM said:
  
  You can get a bunch of them 3 drawer cart things and a label maker. They stack on top of eachother and with a label on the front you’ll know whats exactly in them
  
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- Rosa Magnusson on January 5, 2012 at 1:59 PM said:
  
  You don’t need to spend money on WF-40 to take off the black shoe scuff marks. If you are wearing slippers or sandals just use the soles by rubbing your foot over the scuff mark, should rub right off.
  
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Tess Stewart on January 5, 2012 at 1:32 AM said:

So many awesome ideas! I’m totally starting a gutter garden this summer!

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dmp on January 5, 2012 at 3:33 AM said:

Before you go spraying WD-40 onto your HDTV, please note that nearly every flat-panel comes with a warning about harsh chemicals damaging the screen. Depending on the panel’s coating(s) and the chemical used, you can remove the coating or mar/dull the panel surface, resulting in a permanent dim or blurry spot.

To safely remove crayon from a plastic flat-panel, rub ice on the crayon to make the wax brittle, then rub it off with a dry cloth or pick it off with finger nail or the end of a drinking straw. You can use windex or diluted rubbing alcohol sprayed onto a damp cloth to remove the remaining residue. This also works for computer flat panels.

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southerninspiration on January 5, 2012 at 11:42 AM said:

LOVE reading great ideas like this!!! Thanks for compiling and sharing!
Suzanne

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Althea Jacobsen on January 5, 2012 at 7:20 PM said:

I need storage ideas also. I have a ton of Christmas stuff that I refuse to let go of.

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- Tamar Tessler on January 18, 2012 at 11:30 AM said:
  
  I use ‘fancy’ chocolate boxes to store little items – jewelery, sewing stuff etc. The small pockets are ideal, even smaller than egg boxes
  
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Debbie on January 6, 2012 at 8:48 AM said:

These are just wonderful. I saw this link on Southern Inspirations and had to come. I pinned more than one of them!

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Brenda Novak on January 6, 2012 at 4:42 PM said:

Love these ideas. Thanks for sharing!

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Joanne Farley-Remite on January 7, 2012 at 12:20 PM said:

Great ideas!

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Debra on January 9, 2012 at 11:53 PM said:

Simple yet creative, innovative and not so obvious!!! Thank you

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Sharon - Tamborine Mtn, Qld Australia on January 11, 2012 at 4:29 PM said:

I just love this site! As I find gardening difficult, I’m in for the guttering veggie patch – fantastic idea for my boring walls. T H A N K Y O U

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Pretty Girls Rock Dresses™ on January 12, 2012 at 2:52 PM said:

Awesome tips. I look for tips for my readers everyday and I was able to use one of yours. THANKS

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Stephanie Morris on January 19, 2012 at 3:26 AM said:

wonderful tips! Brillant!

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Kari on January 19, 2012 at 10:36 PM said:

Oooh, these are good ideas and a few of them are the ‘why didn’t I think of that?’ sort! Thanks for sharing!

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Misty on January 20, 2012 at 12:46 AM said:

i think i saw most of these on lifehacker.com

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Christine Dulak on January 20, 2012 at 8:30 AM said:

These are pretty cool!

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Christine Dulak on January 20, 2012 at 8:31 AM said:

Great ideas!

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Jaimee Adams on January 20, 2012 at 3:50 PM said:

I love these ideas!

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kooljiggy on January 21, 2012 at 1:25 PM said:

Reblogged this on Kooljiggy and commented:
very cool stuff

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Charlotte Joy on January 21, 2012 at 2:13 PM said:

Wonderful. The apple one is great! A healthy snack that still looks nice when it gets unpacked! The gutter garden is also a nice idea.

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Kat on January 29, 2012 at 10:29 PM said:

Its cool

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Pedro Steinmann on February 7, 2012 at 1:27 PM said:

Perfect…

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Cynira Froes Fassarella on February 7, 2012 at 3:47 PM said:

great ideas

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Rita Braga on February 7, 2012 at 6:11 PM said:

Olha que bacana isso!

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Rodrigo Mendes on February 7, 2012 at 9:15 PM said:

Excellent ideas. Thank you. Congratulations for the great post. Now my day is still my life easier and more fun.

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Claude Gignac on February 8, 2012 at 7:15 PM said:

oups

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Lara on February 11, 2012 at 2:50 PM said:

Building our new house and the idea of the garden is wonderful!!!

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Flávia Mello on February 12, 2012 at 10:16 PM said:

This post is amazing! Love it!! My blog is in portuguese, but I put this link there, on my “week links”. XOXO
http://conversasdamesaaolado.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/indicacoes-da-mesa-ao-lado-1/

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Creations Jessy on March 1, 2012 at 10:08 PM said:

Amazing!

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Creations Jessy on March 1, 2012 at 10:09 PM said:

Reblogged this on Créations Jessy and commented:
Ingenious ideas to make your life easier!

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Vicki on March 5, 2012 at 1:12 PM said:

I thought all these were great, except for the popcorn in a brown bag. Here’s what the USDA says about brown bag cooking: Here’s what the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says about this practice:

“Do not use brown paper bags from grocery or other stores for cooking. They are not sanitary, may cause a fire, and can emit toxic fumes. Intense heat may cause a bag to ignite, causing a fire in the oven… . The ink, glue, and recycled materials in paper bags can emit toxic fumes when they are exposed to heat. Instead, use purchased oven cooking bags.”

USDA also advises, “These bags may not necessarily be sanitary, particularly since they may be stored under a variety of conditions.”
Just get a microwave popcorn bowl for $10 or $12, and you will still save money over time.

I have done the cupcake in an ice cream cone trick for an upside down/ backwards birthday party. Put softened ice cream in a springform pan, then “iced” it with whipped cream. Backwards ice cream and cake!

Definitely trying the cookie bowl idea!

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Nena Arena on March 7, 2012 at 11:23 AM said:

I love your ideas! Thank you!

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Graciele on March 13, 2012 at 5:34 PM said:

I am from Brazil , i am thinks amzing !
I love it .

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sharon on January 5, 2013 at 10:57 AM said:

I love these, thanks.

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Ramonita on January 15, 2013 at 11:11 PM said:

My partner and I absolutely love your blog and find the
majority of your post’s to be just what I’m looking for.
can you offer guest writers to write content for yourself?
I wouldn’t mind composing a post or elaborating on many of the subjects you write regarding here. Again, awesome website!

Reply ↓
- Ang on January 18, 2013 at 4:08 PM said:
  
  Thank you very much I mostly just post things that I enjoy/find around the internet.That’s a good question- I’m not really sure how but I would definitely be open to it!
  
  Reply ↓

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25 clever ideas to make life easier