Home Hacks You Didn’t Know About

We are always on the lookout for tips and tricks to improve our lives by substituting supplies that we might not have to hand, or that we can’t afford to be spending money on. In our day, there’s never been so many ways to DIY and there is still so much left to discover! Below, you can find some great home hacks for decorating, cleaning, organising and more that will save you both time and money.

Aluminium foil to keep heat in

Save money on your gas and electricity bills with foil: one of the most effective home hacks to retain heat. Tape some heavy-duty foil onto some cardboard with the shiny side of the foil facing outward and slide it behind the radiator. This will act as a heat reflector so that the heat waves can bounce back off the foil into your room without it being absorbed by the wall.

Bubble wrap to keep heat in

1. Help salvage every last bit of heat in your room by insulating your windows. Tape the bubble wrap on the inside of the windows for added warmth (perfect for if you only have single-glazed windows!).

2. You can also use this as a bed buffer by placing a large sheet between the bed spread or duvet and the top sheet to keep cold air out.

Cardboard tubes to organise lose items

1. Use them for organising to keep wires tidy and cords tangle free.

2. Use them for storage by rolling up and sliding any documents or posters in to keep them from creasing.

3. Use them as an extension for the vacuum cleaner and squash the end of the cardboard, where needed, to get into those hard to reach places.

Cotton balls to keep the fridge smelling fresh

So your housemates are leaving food open and it’s stinking up the fridge. Get some cotton balls and add a hint of vanilla extract to each of them, then sit them in a few corners in your fridge. Your fridge should be smelling fresh again in no time (that’s if its not too far gone!).

Plastic bags as party decorations

Throwing a party? Cut different colours of plastic bags into stream patterns and hang them up on some string around your house.

Plastic bottles as foot warmers

It’s cold out and you’ve got wooden floors so your feet are freezing. If those thermal socks aren’t doing it then grab a 1 or 2 litre plastic bottle and fill it with hot (not boiling) water to roll back and forth under your feet.

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Salt to clear up stains

As one of the more popular ingredients for home hacks we all know salt can clean just about anything, but did you know that you can use it to remove red wine spills on your carpet? While the red wine is still wet poor over some mineral water of white wine to dilute the colour and clean with a watered sponge. Sprinkle salt over the stain and leave it for 10 minutes, then vacuum up the residue that’s left and leave the carpet to dry. No need to call in for carpet cleaning or get charged by the landlord/lady after all then!

Sparkling mineral water to remove rust

This is great for if you have have any rusty doorknobs, nuts or bolts. Just poor the water over them and carbonation bubbles the rust away.

Soft drinks for a fresh toilet

1. Use soft drinks like cola to get rid any lingering smells. Just pour a can of any soft drink into the toilet and leave it for an hour, then scrub and flush it away.

2. You can also keep drains from blocking by pouring 2 litres of cola down them.

Vodka for cleaning

An unlikely solution for home hacks but a popular product! Use vodka to clean to any kind of glass. In addition, if you are fortunate enough to have a garden then you can also use vodka to kill weeds just by pouring it over them.