Lisa Turner
Columnist
Here are the top six tricks you can use to make life easier in your home. I’ve mentioned some of them in past articles, but thought I’d pull them together in one place for your use now.
Service your lawn equipment in the fall, not the spring. I understand you’re busy now with holidays coming up and making plans for family visits. As you do the last mowing of the season, make time to service the mower and other yard equipment now. You may not feel like doing it now, but you’ll be feeling less excited about doing it in the spring. You know well that the inactivity over the winter may bring starting problems in the spring. If you do the maintenance now, it’s highly likely that all of the equipment will start right up, especially if you drain tanks and carburetors.
The garbage freeze trick. Especially with the holidays arriving, we may find that we have more food leftovers we have to throw out. Instead of throwing them in the trash can, place them in a plastic bag and place in your freezer. So that people don’t accidentally re-heat what you put in the bag, designate a corner of the freezer for “garbage.” This trick will keep your trash from smelling until you’re ready to take the trash to the dump or have it picked up. The best solution is to have a compost pile, but not all of us have one.
Invest in atomic clocks. It’s unfortunate that not all appliances have atomic clocks that automatically set to the correct time for our zone. But we can do the next best thing, which is to invest in atomic wall clocks that keep time automatically. You’ll still have to reset your old grandfather clock, but it won’t be like years ago when we spent hours setting all the clocks in the home after a time change. I too wish they could just leave the time as it is.
Switch to LED bulbs. Yes, it’s time. I’ve talked about the coming of energy-efficient LED bulbs for ten years; now the prices have come down so much that it’s definitely the time to switch. They will save you electricity and last longer than the incandescents. You’ll be able to find them in that “warm white” color which mimics the old bulbs.
Level laundry machines. Does your washer move to the other side of the room during a big load? It’s not designed to do that. You can do two things. Check the leveling with a carpenter’s level and adjust the feet, which screw in or out depending on what you see. You might need a special wrench – it came with the machine. But if you can’t find it, go down to the hardware store and they will know what to provide. The other thing you can do is invest in rubber pad feet.
Keep toothbrush heads clean and sanitized. Fill a small cup one-quarter full with mouthwash. Drop the brush or brush head into it when you’re not using it.
Every little bit of trickery to save time during your busy day will allow you to relax more and ease stress.