Knowing a few life hacks can obviously save you a lot of time and money, but some household items can be used in a surprising amount of ways. So, we’ve compiled a list of some of the household items that could save your day. Check out them now!
1. Baking soda
Baking soda has a variety of uses around the house. It can work as a deodorant, an exfoliant, a shampoo, and a tooth polish. It can also be used to treat a variety of health issues, ranging from insect bites to heartburn. It can help clean around your house, removing odors or grease stains. It’s even used in various recipes. Baking soda can even be used to help your nails.
2. Aluminum foil
Aluminum foil is especially helpful in keeping leftovers, but it also has other benefits. Scrunched-up foil can be used to scour dirty dishes, a layer of foil under your ironing board can help speed up ironing your clothes, and hanging pieces of foil around your trees can help ward off birds. A rolled-up ball of foil, as seen in the above photo on the left, can also be used in place of dryer sheets to prevent static cling. When wet, the foil can also be used to clean rust off of chrome.
3. Nail polish
Nail polish can help you in various ways around the house. It can help seal envelopes when the glue doesn’t work. It can help harden thread, allowing it to more easily go through needles. It can be used as a simple glue, to keep threads from unraveling on your buttons. And, colored nail polish can be used to color-code your keys, which can help you better identify them.
4. Olive oil
Not only is olive oil marvelous in recipes, but it can also be used in different ways around the house. For a quick moisturizer, apply a small amount of olive oil to your dry skin. Famed actress Sophia Loren swore by putting virgin olive oil in her bathwater as a beauty treatment. Olive oil can also be used as a furniture polish, just place a small amount on a duster.
5. Uncooked spaghetti
Spaghetti is a popular dish, but it can even be useful before it’s cooked. If you want to keep a frosted cake safe from the elements, all you need to do is stick strands of pasta around the sides and top of the cake, and then cover it with foil or wrap. That way, the cake is kept safe without messing up the frosting. The dried noodles also can be used to make a long match when you are in need of one.
6. Empty glass bottles
Old glass bottles can be put to use in many ways. They can be used as a handy rolling pin and, when chilled, they can also help the dough stay flaky since it will prevent the fat from melting. The bottle can also be used to hang noodles. Outside of the kitchen, they can be used to hold plants — just fill one with water and marbles and place the bottle upside down in the plant’s soil. Larger bottles can also be used to make cute aquariums or terrariums.
7. Dental floss
It’s especially important to floss your teeth to protect them from cavities. However, floss can have other practical purposes. It can be used to cut up cakes or cheeses in a straight line, in lieu of a knife. It can replace kitchen twine. Floss can even be used to tie up and air-dry herbs and peppers.
8. Chopsticks
Even if you don’t regularly use chopsticks as utensils, they can still help you around the kitchen. They can be used to pick up food while sautéing, grilling, deep-frying, or stir-frying. They can be used to toss salads, scrambled eggs, and even dry noodles and they can even be used to make kebabs. Aside from that, they can help you get close to anything you don’t want to touch, whether it be a cactus or hot food.
9. Metal spoons
Utensils are always important and metal spoons can be used as a surprising beauty hack. Just place a chilled spoon over your eyes in the morning and you can reduce puffiness. They can also be used as plant markers. You can even make your own dipped spoons by melting chocolate, dipping in the base of the spoon, and freezing the spoon overnight. You’ll end up with a nice chocolate infusion for your drinks!
10. Toothbrushes
Using toothbrushes to clean is a common punishment in cartoons, but in reality, they’re actually super useful. They can be used to clean tricky, hard-to-reach areas. They can also be used on small hairs, like your eyebrows, or to groom your cat.
Do you know any other household items that have a surprising amount of use? Let us know!