Clever home hacks that will save you time, money, and leave you a little impressed at the ingenuity of hairspray, WD40, lemon and wine!
I was listening to the radio recently and they had a segment with listeners calling in sharing their best home hacks. One of them was that that hairspray can be used to remove ink from clothing! Whilst I am yet to try this clever hack, I do find clever cleaning and time-savings tips like this so fascinating.
There are so many quirky and clever home hints out there, which inspired me to do a call out to my Facebook community to hear what your best home hacks are, and my goodness there were some clever tips! I simply had to share them with all, so sit back and prepare to be duly impressed.
When the kids get a little too creative
The writing is on the wall:
Baby wipes to remove crayon from paintwork. It’s brilliant. – Catherine C.
Use Aerogard (might have the same properties as hairspray) for texta on walls. – Christy S.
and on the glass too:
Magic eraser is fantastic for getting crayon and pencil off paint. Hand sanitiser is terrific for getting permanent marker off glass or laminate. – Meran B.
Chewing gum gone rogue:
Gum on clothing? – place baking paper over gum, iron briefly … gum sticks to paper – repeat a few times and it should all come off. – Jennifer H.
Blu Tack hack
WD40 to get Blu Tack off clothing! My daughter is obsessed with Blu Tack! – Sharon P.
Uniforms like new
Hairspray on a paint-covered school uniform worked for us. After spraying hairspray I dabbed with a slightly damp chux and the shirt was as good as new! – Michelle M.
When hairspray fails
DS wrote in think black marker on his jumper. Hairspray did not work. I used hand sanitiser. Washed and reapplied sanitiser and marks all gone. – Paul-Tammy N.
A tried and tested approach
My mum always used Exit Soap, and now I do too! It gets EVERYTHING out of the kid’s clothes – pen, chocolate, even blood! I swear by it. – Sally K.
Pen-free leather:
Cooking oil removes pen from leather… put a bit on a paper towel & rub. Also we brush our teeth in the shower in the morning lol don’t have to clean the sink. – Carol C.
Sticky icky:
Eucalyptus oil to get off sticky stuff and remove permanent marker. – Sharon A.
For the Kids – Big or Small
Goodbye insect stings:
I guess this is kind of a home hack – hand sanitiser takes the pain and sting out of insect bites! Learnt this camping but could work with kids at home in the backyard. – Eliza W.
Stuck zippers:
Spray windex cleaner on zippers that are stuck. I did this to my sons jacket who got the material stuff in the teeth and it came unstuck instantly. – Amanda K.
House Cleaning Hacks
Goodbye animal hair:
I wear a plastic glove with a little water on it and wipe it along the carpet and the dog or cat hair or even human hair comes up into a ball making it easier to remove. – Robyn B.
No more chemicals:
Half water and half vinegar as a bench top spray and is amazing for cleaning windows and mirrors! – Alexandra T.
Clean cups:
Milton to remove tea stains from mugs. – Kim E.
Clean kettle:
If your kettle is looking a little discoloured inside boil it with some lemon wedges and leave it sit over night. Cleans up like new.- Wendy R.
Wine fixes everything:
White wine poured over red wine makes it disappear on fabric. – Robyn T.
Remove oil and sticky sap:
Dishwashing liquid removes oily marks from clothing (squirt a bit on, rub with your finger to emulsify then wash as per normal). Hand sanitiser removes sticky sap from skin (great for after gardening!). – Viki K.
Clean floors in half the time:
Bissell Crosswave has saved me heaps of time on hard floors as it vacuums & mops at same time. – Colleen B.
Sparkling showers:
I used a lemon cut in half to clean shower screens it works great just rub it all over and rinse. – Elizabeth B.
Tar-less car:
Spray bottle with 1/3 fabric softener and 2/3 water is the best bug and tar remover ever for vehicles. – Susan B.
Hairspray hacks:
Hairspray absolutely works!! I asked about removing texta & marker from clothing on a cleaning facebook page & was told to use hairspray. You need to saturate it with the hairspray & rub it vigorously to get it out. All of my kids school uniforms look like new again! It’s amazing. – Clare T.
Clean car, walls & shower:
WD40 gets spray paint off the car. Hairspray gets ink off hard surfaces (never tried it on fabric so I’m keen to see if that works). I use toilet duck bleach on my shower grout sometimes… easy to apply and works fast. – Ondine L.
Tough cleaning (with natural ingredients!):
I’m a huge fan of products that only require water or ones that have no chemicals in them. I got a few Scrub Daddy sponges a while ago and they’re awesome! I can clean my bathroom, pots and pans, and even my walls with just water! – Sarah S.
Smell like a daisy:
Dryer sheets in drawers to keep clothes smelling fresh. Keep a few in the car too. – Tammy C.
Reach new heights:
I use my spray mop to clean my walls. No climbing up ladders and I can do all of my 9ft walls in my house in under 30mins. – Adele K.
Keep it Simple
Less is more:
Less junk in home, less to clean. Teach the kids to help pack up and put clothes away from a really young age. – Naomi C.
No folding (oh I love this one!):
I’m a single mum. All wardrobes in my house are cube storage and boxes from Bunnings. No folding, just put in the right box, kids boxes are labeled and they put their clean clothes away. Toys box is all cube storage, and the entertainment unit and kitchen pantry. Everything is cube storage, life is simple. – Mariam A.
No more lost socks:
To save losing socks to the dreaded dryer gremlin, I put them through the wash/dry cycle INSIDE a delicates bag! Everyone in the house gets one, they go into the bag in pairs, they come out in pairs! HA, take that dryer gremlin!!! – Sarah L.
Hanging hack:
Hang shirts on hangers to dry then just put them straight into the wardrobe. – Beryl P.
When you don’t feel like cooking:
If you wait long enough to make dinner, everyone will just eat cereal!! – LeLe L.
Think outside the box:
I painted my fridge with blackboard paint, now it gets used as a message board and I write what we are having for dinner on it, stops the “what’s for dinner” whine. – Sarah S.
Kat’s tip: Another option for easy meal planning on the fridge is to use a Meal Planner.
Routine, Routine, Routine
Slow and steady wins the race:
Clean one room/type of room each day. Mondays I clean bathrooms. Tuesdays we do bedrooms. Etc. I also wash, dry, fold and put away one load of laundry each day so it doesn’t have time to pile up. If it takes less than 5 minutes to do, I do it immediately vs waiting to do it. – Chrissy P.
Just do it:
If it takes less than a minute or two … do it straight away eg file paperwork, fold a basket of laundry etc. – Jodie R.
Get motivated:
The scent of Orange essential oil is uplifting and invigorating. If you are feeling unmotivated, put some in your oil burner to kick start you! – Maria W.
Relaxing night:
Do it all in the morning so you have the rest of the day to chill. – Jess M.
Relaxing mornings:
Evening routine, to set you up for a calm start in the morning. Dishes done, lunches made, clothes selected and bags packed. Diary checked.” – Janet B
and… when all else fails
Find a time machine:
Don’t have kids or a husband or a pet… – Leah T.
Get sneaky:
Hide all your husband’s dirty socks that don’t make it into the laundry hamper. He learns real quick to start throwing them in there. – Simply M.
Hire help:
Get a cleaner… that’s the only thing that saves me time! – Katrina E.
