Let’s face it. Life could be easier. We all have about a million things going on at once: term papers, finals, parenting, that huge make or break project at work right now. It’s hard to keep on top of the little things at home. As things pile up, it becomes easier and easier to neglect chores like laundry, dishes, or—dare I say it—dusting. But they must be done.
It would be cool if we all had magical little fairy godmothers that kept our homes spotless with the wave of her magic wand. But this is the real world. And you’re better than that anyways. We believe in you—you can handle it all! We promise. It’s easier if you have a few secrets up your sleeve though, so here are some apartment hacks that will blow your mind and upgrade your life:
Cleaning Hacks
Chores are the worst, so we’ll start with some basic cleaning hacks.
- Use Grapefruit to clean up soap scum
The citrus-y acid from grapefruit will lift soap scum right off your faucets and bathtub. Added bonus: your bathroom will smell like fresh fruit.
- Use a squeegee to remove pet hair
Does your beloved furry friend shed like crazy? Good luck trying to get it all up with a vacuum. Instead, try using a rubber squeegee. It’ll pull the hair right out of your carpets, and we’re thinking it’ll do the job on your furniture as well.
- Use baking soda and peroxide to clean baking sheets
Ok, attempting to scrape the grease off of baking sheets can be a special kind of infuriating. Skip the elbow grease (pun intended) and try this: with gloves, mix together ¼ cup baking soda and just enough peroxide to form a paste. Then scrub, let sit for about 45 minutes, and rinse clean. Voila!
- Un-shrink shrunken clothing
Woah. So, this isn’t necessarily a cleaning hack, but it definitely falls under the list of chores (see: laundry.) Shrunken clothing is a huge bummer. But there’s a way to reverse the damage! This is cutting edge stuff. Simply soak your garment in a mixture of water and conditioner for 5 minutes, lay it on a towel, and carefully stretch it back to its original size. We wish we had discovered this hack sooner…
Organization Hacks
Organization makes your life simpler. We swear.
- Bed sheet storage made simple
Here’s a good one. Messy linen closet? When you fold your bed sheets, put them inside one of the matching pillow cases and stack. The best part? This eliminates the struggle of attempting to fold that obnoxious fitted sheet.
- Making use of bread tags
You didn’t even know you needed this hack until now. Skip the part where you have to follow the wire from the source to the power strip and simply label your wires with old bread tags and a sharpie. It’s the little things.
- Tension rod shower organization
So many shower products, so little space. But wait! There’s a clever solution. Install a tension rod and use hooks to hang your products. It’ll keep them off the surface of your tub, eliminating unfortunate rust and mildew.
- Clever shelving
Just when you think you’ve run out of space on your TV stand or bookshelf, someone came up with this brilliant hack. When you’re lining up narrow items like DVDs, place a phone book or a small shelf in the back of your storage space to create an extra level of storage.
Want to know the best storage hack? We’ll let you in on a little secret: with the click of a button, urBin Storage will come to your home, pick up your overflow items, and store them in a convenient, secure location. And when you’re ready, they’ll bring them right back! Better than a fairy godmother.
