Homekeeping Hacks

The magic of IKEA pieces is not only in their well-thought-out, small-space-maximizing design, but in the numerous ways each versatile piece can be repurposed and hacked. I dreamt up a handful of new ways to put this affordable one to work.

I love coming up with inventive methods for repurposing the things most of us usually throw away. Here are several ways you can use coffee grounds, even after you’ve run water through them for your morning brew.

Believe it or not, those suction-cup sponge holders can work wonders for over-cluttered and storage-deprived areas throughout your home—all it takes is a little imagination. I came up with four creative ideas to bring this post to life.

Most of our readers didn’t know that you can squeeze a paper towel roll onto the end of the hose of most vacuum cleaners, then use your hack-tachment to fit into tight spaces that even the narrow nozzle attachment can’t handle. 

Any tool that multitasks in the kitchen means less wasted space and more bang for your buck. We put together a list of creative hacks that just need one tool—your microwave.

Your most on-top-of-it friends? I’ll let you in on their secret for staying organized: Write everything down. I clued readers in on my personal penchant for keeping dry erase markers in every room to note reminders on mirrors, washing machines, and even inside the fridge.

It turns out that drying your brushes upside down, instead of laying them flat, is the secret to drying them fast without damaging the bristles. So I discovered this hair tie trick, then made it easy for readers to copy at home.

When a vacuum cleaner’s roller brush doesn’t seem to be picking up effectively (or stops rolling altogether), the culprit is quite often a mess of hair strands that get tangled up around the brush. So we uncovered and illustrated a tip for using a seam ripper to clear the brush of debris.

If you’re young, you’ve likely never given much thought and certainly never purchased denture tablets before. But I figured out that they do a great job of cleaning clogged drains, stained coffee mugs, narrow-necked bottles, and more.

If you have a basket of scarves, then you know that the struggle is real when it comes to organizing them. We showcased a creative way to use inexpensive shower curtain rings to fashion an instant scarf hanger.

Next time you grab a bunch of avocados, onions, potatoes, or lemons in bulk, don’t be so quick to throw the accompanying bag out. We tested and illustrated a hack that turns the mesh net produce bags from those veggie hauls into a DIY pot scrubber that rivals any store-bought option