25 Genius Home Hacks That Changed Our Lives in 2015
We'll never cook, clean, decorate, or organize the same way again.
We'll never cook, clean, decorate, or organize the same way again.
Try the Duvet Burrito
Don't avoid washing your duvet just because you don't want to deal with the hassle of putting it on again — try this hack that involves rolling your duvet with your comforter like (you guessed it) a burrito to make it way easier.
Prevent Cake Batter From Splattering
Use a paper plate as a shield for your shirt, counter, and all the other usual suspects that end up with covered in batter before your cake is even ready to be baked.
Remove Annoying Deodorant Stains
It turns out the colorful foam that wraps around most dry cleaning hangers is helpful for more than just keeping your shirt from slipping — to remove that stark white mark, just rub the foam directly on the spot and voila! No water required.
Check If Eggs are Fresh
It's almost too easy to figure out if eggs are okay to scramble and eat. Just drop 'em in a glass of water: Fresh eggs sink, while bad ones float.
Make Your Vacuum Work Harder
The plastic crevice tool that comes with your vacuum isn't bendable, but if you want a flexible attachment, it's as easy as holding a toilet paper tube over the nozzle and squishing the cardboard to fit your space.
Expand Your Kitchen Counters
A pull-out cutting board — with a trash chute that makes it super easy to toss gross food scraps — adds counter space for chopping and dinner prep without, but tucks away when not in use.
Extend the Life of Strawberries
Sure, they can't stay fresh forever, but if you wash your berries in 1 cup of vinegar and 3 cups of water before you put them in the fridge you'll kill the bacteria that makes them go moldy so quickly — just make sure you dry them thoroughly before storing.
Upgrade an IKEA Bed for Kids
The genius behind this IKEA-hacked bed with a slide definitely won the award for Best Parent Ever this year. What you can't see? A secret clubhouse and color-changing lights.
Optimize Your Suitcase Space
Apparently we've all been packing wrong our entire lives. HGTV star Davin Bromstad dissects how a suitcase shouldlook. Try rolling clothes to save space, stacking bras to keep them in shape, and shower caps to keep dirty shoes away from your clean shirts.
Fold Your Paper Towels Better
Sometimes it feels like you need a million paper towels to clean up one simple mess, right? Well, the shake and fold trick ensures you only need one paper towel per mess (or trip to the bathroom).
Try a Flower Grid
It's super annoying when flowers droop to the side in a vases with wide openings. But if you can use tape to create a grid across the opening, stems slip inside and stand at attention.
Reimagine Your Office Supplies
As it turns out, the accessories you use in your office space (magazine holders, paper clips, even file sorters) are useful for organizing your entire home.
Squeeze More Shoes on the Shelf
Apparently, we've been organizing our shoes wrong all along, because if you store them facing opposite directions (heel to toe!) then you can squeeze in more pairs (and then buy more shoes to fill up the space, right?).
Rethink Picture Ledges
The beauty of IKEA's picture ledges is that they can be used to hold way more than just art. Here, the slender piece add missing sink storage to a small bathroom.
Switch Up the Way You Fold Towels
Whether you have a narrow or deep shelf determines the way you should fold your towels (really!). If you fold properly, your fresh linens won't topple onto the floor when the stack gets too heavy.
Use a RASKOG Cart in Every Room
Sewing room? Kitchen? Bathroom? Check, check, check. Seriously, this nifty IKEA purchase is probably the most versatile one we've stumbled across yet (and that's saying something).
Use the Back of Your Door
If you want to gain valuable storage space in any (!) room in your home, just look on the other side of your door. Here, a spice rack takes advantage of a pantry door and makes it way easier to find the cumin when in a rush.
Fix Scuff Marks on Patent Shoes
Remove that dark black mark on your nude (white or any light color) patent shoe by rubbing the spot with a cotton swap with petroleum jelly on it.
Hide Clothes Under Your Bed
This savvy platform sits under your mattress and allows you to literally lift your bed off of the storage unit and store your out-of-season clothes underneath.
Never Rake Leaves Again
There's a reason the video showcasing this low-tech, but genius way to corral fall leaves went viral. All you need is a giant piece of cardboard and a quick and nimble young person to push all your leaves to the edge of the yard.
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