Clever Household Tricks

I’m usually making fun of the tips I find in the do-it-yourself magazines. I think they run out of clever ideas and then just make strange ideas up for fun. But recently I hauled out a stack of old magazines (pre-spring cleaning), and actually found some handy things. Here they are.

Remember a combination lock code. I mentioned this a few years ago in an article, and I’m bringing it up again because I’m using it and it really works. Never wrack your brain again looking for the three-digit combination to a lock. Have your kids use this trick for their at-school combination locks. Even young brains can forget. Take the lock number and add a secret number to it. So a code such as 8-12-22 with, say, 4 added to each gives you 12-16-26. Inscribe (rotary tool or marker that won’t come off) that on the lock somewhere, and then just remember to deduct your secret number from each number when you open it.

I’ve read a lot of not-so-smart tips for where to stack a few bills in case you need some cash, but this is a good one. Most of us carry a cell phone around with us, and most of us have a heavy-duty case on our phone. Split the case as if you were going to remove it put a new one on, and then place a ten, twenty, or whatever, folded between the phone and the case and reassemble. Just in case. Don’t forget it’s there, though.

Is your wood cutting board looking beat up and stained? Sprinkle coarse salt over the surface, and then scrub it with half a lemon or a lime. Then rinse it and look how much nicer it appears. Wear gloves for this trick, because the combination of acid and salt will dry out your hands. Let the board dry and then coat it with some oil. Let that sit for a few hours and then finally wipe the oil off. This will protect the board and bring out the grain. The board should look much nicer.

Gnat trap. Are gnats driving you natty? Wash out a plastic soda or water bottle and slice off the top about a quarter of the way down. Leave the plastic bottle cap off. Mark the bottle with a horizontal line one third the way up from the bottom. This will serve as a “fill to” line. Dissolve 3 tablespoons of sugar in 1/4 cup of vinegar and pour it into the bottle. Add water up to the fill line. Place the cutoff top upside down in the bottle. The gnats can easily get into the wide opening and down through the small top opening, but it’s difficult for them to get back out. Place this on your kitchen counter or any area where you’ve seen a lot of gnats congregating.

Kitchen trash bag keepers. Do your 13-gallon tall kitchen drawstring plastic bags fall into the bin when you place things in the trash? If your trash bin isn’t the size that the bags “hug” with an outside lip, no problem. Just get a few adhesive-backed hooks and place them a few inches down from the top of the bin and loop the drawstring over them when you put a new bag in.