Sarah Rae Smith

These laundry systems are a small-space dream.

I’ve spent many years of my life living in and loving the city of Chicago, where interior spaces are relatively small and people can’t wait for the warmer months (40 below, no thank you). As soon as summer hits, folks flood the parks, beaches, and rooftops to host picnic after picnic. Picnic baskets aren’t hard to assemble—in fact, they’re pretty straightforward despite their loosey-goosey nature. You just have to think about what you may need in a pinch.

There are two kinds of junk drawers. There’s the kind that you open with one hand and, with the other hand, sweep the contents of the kitchen countertop into and shove shut. Then there’s the properly curated, random junk stashing spot. Here’s how to keep your drawer of chaos in check and looking like the latter. There will be things you always find in a junk drawer, like a burnt-out lighter and three sets of old, mysterious keys.

A few years ago, I learned a trick that changed my life. No, seriously, it was a complete game-changer in the care of my kitchen sink. This is a tip you’ll shrug off and then eventually grudgingly try. And then you’ll say, “Oh man, that was so easy and awesome! Why didn’t I do that sooner?” The key, my friends, to the most shiny and luxuriously polished stainless steel sink, is very cheap, very simple, and very weird: flour. Why would you want to polish your sink?

Steel wool isn’t exactly a jack-of-all-trades item. It’s bristle-y, scratchy, and abrasive, and that’s what most of its uses involve: sanding wood and cleaning your pots and pans chief among them. But there are more uses that you should have on your radar for easy life hacks that will help you out around the house. 1.

Growing up I lived with two very different kinds of parents. My father was the “right tool for the job” type man and my mother was the kind that would use a brass animal figurine to hammer in a nail, instead of taking the time to find a an actual hammer. Because of this combination, I’m always thinking of different ways to use regular household items. Take a tube of caulk for instance, which is handy for bunch of things around the house.

Maxing out every inch of living room space isn’t a new idea, but these days that can mean working to turn a rarely used space into a cool new Airbnb to rent out for extra income. Redditor monkeegod recently shared his recent basement conversion, which included turning a small laundry area into a fully functioning kitchen. He turned a space that’s smaller than most sofas into a rental rockstar. The laundry area was a perfect spot for this transformation.

Hi, my name is Sarah Smith and I am a ridiculously devoted Menards shopper. Now, please understand: this doesn’t just mean that I like the store and shop there often. At this point, I may as well have my own cot in the lumber yard so I can just spend the night and be there when it opens again in the morning. Why you ask? Oh child, you just don’t even know, but let me enlighten you. Then maybe you can get a cot too —or wait — bunk beds!

Is there anything more gratifying than a reset button? When your cell phone is acting finicky, you reset it and suddenly the world returns to normal, right? Turns out there are a bunch of household items that have one, and knowing a problem can be fixed by pushing a button — instead of shouting and swearing, or worse, calling customer service or a repair service —might just save your sanity. Some of these will be quite familiar, but there are a few that you might not know about.

Some things are just plain old hard to remember, especially when it comes to ongoing home maintenance. I’m not talking about doing the dishes or laundry regularly, but the stuff that only needs doing every once in awhile, like cleaning your ceiling fan blades or washing windows. Which is why I love the idea of an air filter that tells you exactly when it’s time to swap it out. My air filter gets a workout.

More often than not, our animals are completely unimpressed by all our hard work around the house. Sure, some like the chaos of playing chase with bits of scrap wood, or exploring new items that magically arrive at home, but, for the most part, they want nothing to do with noise and commotion. As long as their food appears at the right time, and their bed is comfy, they’re good. What a bunch of bums!

When it comes to your home, you get what you pay for. It’s why, when you want your countertops to last for decades, you choose a material like quartz. That said, you don’t always need a $1,000 chop saw to reframe a picture. Which is when stores like Harbor Freight — the discount hardware store known for its affordable prices —come in handy. Here are a few of our favorite picks and best buys when it’s perfectly fine to go the cheap route.

Popular Mechanics first launched on January 11th in 1902. Over the past century they’ve written about just about everything that involves home projects: tools, how-tos, and advice. They recently took a look back at some of their household handyman tips, and let’s just say that there were a few rather unorthodox ideas. When it comes to the world of DIY and home repair, people try a lot of stuff out: some stick and become useful and some are just plain clunky and weird.

We often update our homes to make ourselves more comfortable or happy. We switch up paint, change out hardware and maybe even tear down a wall or two. But, when it comes to resale value, not all of those things are worth it. So, before you retile the bathroom or paint your kitchen cabinets, there’s one thing that you should consider doing first. It’s one of the only projects that will actually pay you more than what you put in. Each year Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs.

In my adult life, I’ve moved almost twenty times. No seriously, I have. It’s not a badge of honor by any means, but, because of this, I’m now awesome at packing everything I own in quick order, and knowing exactly how many and what size boxes I’ll need. It’s a super power. So color me surprised when I saw this tip about a new (to me) method of box packing that makes unpacking even easier.

There is nothing better than a good family food tradition. For some, it means eating Chinese food on New Year’s, for others it could be the preparation of a time-honored classic recipe. In my own home it’s poppy seed cake for my birthday. But I’ve never seen something quite like this hilarious food tradition before. We ran across these giggle-worthy creations over on Redditt from user lottiiee, whose Mom makes her these amazing cakes each year for her birthday.

Painter’s tape is a modern miracle isn’t it? I mean, sure, the Great Pyramids are cooler, but when it comes right down to it, there isn’t much the blue tape can’t do. We’ve used it to spruce up furniture, for child safety, and to pull off quick and easy design projects. But there’s another genius use for the stuff, and we wish we’d known about it sooner. There are a few things in life that make me cringe.

Waiting for clothes to dry is akin to waiting for a watched pot of water to boil. Anyone who’s ever done laundry knows all too well the frustration with dryers that take absolutely forever to actually do their job: they’re the worst. Like, worse than black licorice worse and that’s saying something. If you have access to a dryer at home, here’s a genius way to save time, energy, and money. And bonus, it works for both renters and homeowners alike.

You might just be wasting your time.

Maybe you're glad to see it go.

Painting is one of the least expensive ways to give your space a facelift. But it’s not exactly fun. It’s messy and time consuming especially if you have to do multiple coats — say goodbye to your weekend. Enter this $25 buy, which helps you tackle painting like the pros and shave significant time off the job.

When you start demo on a home renovation project, you expect to find some things in your walls: pipes, wires, insulation and other normal construction-type fare. But in one luxury condo building in Weehauken, New Jersey, the homeowners found way more than usual behind the drywall. The story starts innocently enough when a couple hires a contractor to make some upgrades in their condo bathroom. The contractor came over, gave a quote, got hired, and work began shortly thereafter.

It’s a sign of my age that I get crazy excited about the little things at home. Sure, the frivolous things of my youth still hold some sway, but all I really want is a good vacuum that will suck up rogue animal fur, and a sink that cleans itself. I can probably manage the vacuum, but a self-cleaning sink is most likely not in the cards. That’s ok though, because this one from Elkay is the next best thing. I was recently online, drooling over someone’s recent kitchen renovation.

Growing up, I remember hitting up small-town hardware stores for quick needs like electrical tape or a pack of screws. If we wanted something fancier, we would head to the local mall and peruse Sears’ bigger selection of pretty tools and yard machines. Despite my mother’s grumbling comments about the cost of lawn mower parts, the tools still all felt so glamorous under those retail lights.

From the brilliant and clever minds at IKEA.

When you move out of your old apartment or home, it’s always a curious thing to see the changes the new owner or tenant made once you left. That said, if you were lucky enough to move into a property that was previously owned by Martha Stewart, would you have the courage to change things up? This guy did, and when Martha went back to visit, she wasn’t very happy.

Every well-run home is teeming with tricks and shortcuts to keep it humming along. We’re sharing our best quick tips — for cleaning, organizing and repairing stuff at home — to save you time and money. Click through for today’s helpful hint, and links to tons more… Before placing the lid on your can of paint, place a single layer of PLASTIC WRAP on the surface of the paint. Touch the two together so no air gets in.

Every well-run home is teeming with tricks and shortcuts to keep it humming along. We’re sharing our best quick tips — for cleaning, organizing and repairing stuff at home — to save you time and money. Click through for today’s helpful hint, and links to tons more… Crumple up a piece of ALUMINUM FOIL into a ball, and throw it in your dryer.

Every well-run home is teeming with tricks and shortcuts to keep it humming along. We’re sharing our best quick tips — for cleaning, organizing and repairing stuff at home — to save you time and money. Click through for today’s helpful hint, and links to tons more… A quick dusting of TALCUM POWDER will silence those creaks and squeaks. Simply dust it on and help work it into the cracks with an old paint brush.

Every well-run home is teeming with tricks and shortcuts to keep it humming along. We’re sharing our best quick tips — for cleaning, organizing and repairing stuff at home — to save you time and money. Click through for today’s helpful hint, and links to tons more… To help protect your fabrics, try tossing your linens and clothes into the wash with a tablespoon of SALT. The chloride will help seal the color in and keep it looking fresher longer.

Every well-run home is teeming with tricks and shortcuts to keep it humming along. We’re sharing our best quick tips — for cleaning, organizing and repairing stuff at home — to save you time and money. Click through for today’s helpful hint, and links to tons more… Using a pair of SHARP SCISSORS, simply trim back the burnt pile and glue back a few extra fibers trimmed from along a wall board, or even in a closet.

We’ve shared before our opinion of the top most common cleaning tools you should keep around. Though these handy items help you maintain a healthy home, are you doing the best job you can do to keep your tools clean and working efficiently? We’ve rounded up the best ways to clean the most common cleaning tools you have around the house. It could be the perfect task for any extra time you’ve got this weekend! Here are a few of the tools we use on a daily basis.

We’ve learned the hard way that there are some very important things that should be checked before signing the papers to buy a new home. Of course, you’ll have a professional do an inspection and look over the place to make sure the home is termite and flood damage free, but these ten things fall into a different category; the immediate to-do list, which is something you may not want to be adding to right now.

A few years back, we mentioned our slight obsession for real dishware. We’ve never been big on the disposable stuff (even for parties, outdoors or not) and because of it, we have 160 white plates we picked up on Craigslist for a ridiculously low price. Having toted them around for almost 5 years now, we have to say — best decision ever.

I’ve started a new routine of taking 10 minutes each night, to tackle 5 things that have since made a world of difference in the overall upkeep of our home. It makes mornings easier and nights more calming… 1. Do The Dishes – It’s a proven fact that we’re more likely to eat at home and make dinner ourselves if the area in which food preparation happens is clean.

When I first learned to clean my own place, I thought Saturday had to be an all day clean-a-thon. I didn’t really have a concept of how to balance the work load during the week so weekends could be reserved for larger projects or even you know…fun! Now I clean in 20 minutes a day — every day — and things just seem to take care of themselves. Here’s a glimpse at the schedule I use!