Want ingenious DIY hacks that will make your life so much easier? Sign us up! We’ve selected our favourite tips for you to try, with items that you might have already lying around your home. Read on to discover our top 21 home, cleaning and organisation hacks.
DIY Hacks
1. Try using leftover door knobs as hooks
Do you have extra door knobs at home that you have no need for? Maybe you recently refurbished your cupboards or doors and haven’t thrown away the metalware yet? Use them in place of hooks for a hack that’s stylish and practical. Mount them in your hallway for a way to store your coats, or use them in your bathroom to hang your towels. If you have patterned door knobs, this can be a great way to add small style touches to your home.
2. Repurpose an old wine rack as towel holder
Transform a wall-mounted wine rack into a handy piece of bathroom. Mount it in your bathroom and fill the holder with rolled-up towels in lieu of bottles. This way, you can keep your towels neatly organised and out of the way. This is the perfect solution if you have a small bathroom or lack storage space.
3. Keep leftover paint in a small jar for touch ups
So you’ve done some painting in your home, but before you throw away the leftover paint, think again. Transfer the rest of the paint into a mason jar, or any jar with a sealable lid, and keep it somewhere safe. This way, if disaster in the form of accidental marks and rogue smudges occurs, you have the exact shade of paint you need to restore your walls without having to purchase a new tin.
4. Hang some eucalyptus in your shower
Eucalyptus has long been known as a popular remedy for colds due to its decongestant properties. So what if we told you that there’s a super easy way to reap the benefits of this magical plant? Hang eucalyptus leaves in your shower for a soothing bathroom trick. You can tie a bunch of them to your shower head for maximum impact. The hot steam from your shower works to release the plant’s natural fragrance, creating a calming oasis of sweet, woodsy and earthy aroma. Who doesn’t want an at-home spa experience when they shower?
5. Paint your keys different colours to identify them easily
If you struggle to differentiate your keys from one another, a simple way to cut the confusion is to paint them different colours. This way you’ll be able to easily identify exactly which one is which. You’ll never be left reaching for the wrong one ever again.
6. Keep old drawers and use as under bed storage
Got an old chest of drawers that you don’t need anymore? Remove the drawers from the unit and use them as under bed storage instead. They’ll be the perfect height for tucking away your belongings out of sight, and they’ll already have a handle on them for easy access. If you really want to get crafty, you can even upcycle the rest of your chest of drawers unit into another storage solution for your home.
7. Fill your home with plants to keep bugs at bay naturally
Indoor plants are a beautiful way to bring nature into your home, and they serve a practical purpose too. The aroma that certain plants produce can be great for keeping insects at bay. Basil, lavender, marigolds and petunias are naturally fragrant and have been proven to help deter flies, mosquitos and other insects. And not a trace of chemical pesticide in sight.
8. Half-painted walls give the illusion of higher ceilings
Create the illusion of having high ceilings by painting halfway up your wall. It’ll help to open up your room and make it look like you have more space than you really do. For this on-trend, two tone look, opt for a darker colour for the bottom half of your wall and a lighter shade for the top. This simple but effective hack works for all homes and every décor style.
9. Use liquid starch as a removable wallpaper paste
Living in rented accommodation but still want to make your room feel like, well, you? Try this temporary décor hack for a genius way to bring your style to your home. Liquid starch is an excellent adhesive that you can use with wallpaper and fabrics. Just apply it to your chosen wallpaper like any regular wallpaper paste. And to remove it? Simply peel your paper or fabric away from the wall, and watch in awe as there’s no messy residue left behind!
Organisation Hacks
Whether it’s a cluster of electronic wires, tangled jewellery or a bunch of paperwork that’s waiting to be sorted, we all have those areas in our lives where we could do with an extra touch of organisation. Discover our list of organisation hacks to bring some order and tidiness to your home.
10. A hanging shoe organiser for multipurpose storage
In need of a way to store your things and keep them nicely ordered? Try using a hanging shoe organiser in your pantry to separate your pasta and your spaghetti, your tinned tomatoes from the sweetcorn or whatever else you have in there. Or hang one in the cupboard under your stairs for a neat way to store you cleaning supplies. We’ve even seen people pop theirs into a playroom to organise children’s toys, or in the bathroom to store toiletries.
11. A magnetic strip to help you organise your hair pins
If you’re like us and you struggle to hang onto your hair pins, try sticking a magnetic strip to your bathroom mirror, cupboard or cabinet to keep them in one place. You can also attach your nail scissors, nail files and tweezers too. This space saving solution is great for small bathrooms lacking storage space.
12.Hang pots and pans from hooks inside your cupboard doors
Low on kitchen storage space? Utilise the space on the back of your cupboard doors by installing hooks to hang up your kitchen utensils. This keeps them out of sight but within easy reaching distance when you need them. You can also try hanging your pots and pans too!
13. Use file holders for extra storage
File holders aren’t just for office use. You’ll be amazed with what you can store in them! Why not use in your kitchen for organising your chopping boards, or keep one in your bedroom for your hair styling tools? You can even place them on their side in your fridge and use them as makeshift shelves. Looking for a way to store your toilet rolls? A file holder!
14. Hollow out a book to use as remote control storage
Remote control, clicker, zapper, whatever you like to call it, you know what we’re talking about. Television controls are easy to misplace and can ruin the look and feel of a living room. So why not hide it in plain sight? Hollow out a book to create a little nook for your remote control, and keep the book as a display piece on your coffee table. Never lose another remote again with this organisation hack.
15. Spice rack for beauty supplies in the bathroom
Storage space in the bathroom can be hard to come by, so why not mount spice racks to your bathroom wall to store all of your beauty essentials. This makes it easy to show off and reach for your face creams, nail polishes, cotton pads and perfumes.
Cleaning Hacks
Don’t let cleaning become a chore, browse our hacks to make cleaning a breeze. Tackle those hard to reach areas and stubborn stains without breaking a sweat.
16. Use tongs wrapped in cloths to clean your blinds
If you’ve ever struggled to dust and clean in between your blinds, and believe us it is a struggle, try this super effective way of beating the dirt. Wrap cleaning or microfibre cloths around the two ends of a pair of tongs secured in place with elastic bands. Then use it to get into the gaps and spaces by closing the tongs between each of your blinds. You can thank us later for this one.
17. Remove scratches from furniture with toothpaste
Forget about furniture polish, try toothpaste instead. Toothpaste is a great way to buff scratches and scuffs from furniture. Traditional toothpaste, not the gel kind, works as an abrasive polish to smooth away lightly damaged furniture. Just apply a small amount, buff in circular motions and wipe clean with a damp cloth. This method also works on shallow scratches on mobile phone screens.
18. Use cooking oil to remove sticky label residue
Is there anything more annoying than peeling back a sticker to be left with stubborn, sticky label residue? Give these two methods a go to never have to worry about it again. Try using a hairdryer to heat the sticky residue for a few seconds until the glue begins to melt. You should then be able to wipe it off. If this doesn’t work, soak a cotton pad in cooking oil, olive, coconut, vegetable, whatever you’ve got in the cupboard, and use it to rub the glue off.
19. Remove pet hair from carpet with a squeegee
This cleaning hack is one for all pet owners. Easily remove stubborn pet hair from your carpets by using a window squeegee. Run the tool over carpet to loosen and pull up any hair that your vacuum cleaner couldn’t remove.
20. Clean your microwave with lemon in water
Microwaves are convenient, but you know what’s not convenient? Cleaning one. Thankfully, we’ve found a way to get rid of those stuck on stains. Fill a microwaveable bowl half full with water, and squeeze the juice of one lemon into it too. Then pop the lemon into the mix as well. Microwave on high power for 3 minutes, and then let the mixture stand for 5 minutes. Do NOT open the door as the steam will escape, and we want the steam to help remove the stains. After 5 minutes, remove the bowl and give the inside of the microwave a wipe clean and watch the grime disappear.
21. Leave a lemon in your fridge to eliminate odours
Lemons aren’t just good for cleaning, they’re the perfect way to eliminate any unwanted fridge odours. Simply slice a lemon in half and place both pieces in various spots in your fridge. The citric acid in the fruit will work to absorb any food smells and leave it feeling refreshed.
For more home organisation tips and styling guides, visit our blog.