Make Life Easier | 15 Handy Life Hacks

What’s the point in struggling when you don’t have to? Here are some of the best life hacks around to help you make things easier for yourself…

1. Mount towel racks on the inside of your kitchen cabinets. Use them to store your lids and save space.

2. Put old newspapers in the bottom of your bin bag. This will help to absorb any food juices and leaks, so your bin bag won’t drip all over the floor when you remove it.

3. Use paper clips to find the end of a sellotape roll easily. Simply stick it to the loose end of the roll when you’re done using it.

4. Remove a splinter easily and with minimal pain by applying a paste of baking soda and water to the affected area. The baking soda will help to draw the splinter out of the skin. Once you’ve removed the splinter, cover the area with some antiseptic cream and a plaster until fully healed.

5. Clean your microwave by filling a bowl with water and microwaving it for two to three minutes. The steam will loosen any dried food particles. Simply wipe down your microwave with a damp cloth to remove any dirt.

6. Flat cushions? Instead of plumping them by hand, place them directly in the sun for 30 minutes to an hour. The sun will absorb any moisture in the cushion and plump it back up. Try it, it works!

7. Using a fork, prick some holes into the lid of a plastic milk bottle. Fill it with water, replace the lid. You now have a handy watering can.

8. Attach velcro strips to your floor mats to stop them from moving on slippy surfaces like wooden floors or tiles.

9. Use different colour nail varnish to paint your house keys. This will help you to identify different keys when you’re in a hurry (for example, red = front door, blue = back door).

10. Remove stems from strawberries by piercing the strawberry with a drinking straw.

11. Use address labels to label your plugs. This means you’ll easily be able to see what device you’re plugging out, especially if you have lots of plugs in your home (for example lamp, television, phone, video games console, printer etc).

12. Take the sliver of soap from an almost used up bar and stick it onto a new bar. It will eventually bind with the new bar meaning that you won’t waste any.

13. When reheating food in a microwave, space out the food so there is a hole in the centre of the dish. This will help it to reheat more evenly and faster.

14. If you’ve lost an earring, secure a pop sock over the end of a hoover. Hoover the floor. The pop sock will catch your earring.

15. If you run out of matches, light a stick of spaghetti (carefully of course!). It will hold the flame for a few seconds, allowing you to light the fire or birthday candles.