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Ice Cubes De Luxe

26 Life Hacks That Make Everyday Life Easier

White wine drinkers know this: ice cubes dilute the wine, which affects the taste.

Nice alternative: freeze grapes and pour them into the glass like ice cubes.

 

Hang Pictures Accurately

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If a frame needs more than two holes in the wall for hanging, it can be a bit tedious to measure and transfer these exactly. Much easier: stick masking tape to the upper frame on the back of the frame, mark the distances, peel off the tape, stick it on the wall, align with the spirit level and - zack - you have the right distances for drilling or hammering.

 

Decumble Keyboard

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Any more (children's) clay in the house? This is great for picking up fluff and crumbs that have fallen between the keys.

 

Adhesive Tape Instead Of A Lint Brush

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No lint roller within reach? A piece of gaffa tape or packing tape can just as effectively remove lint. Simply go with the sticky side over the appropriate places.

 

This is How Nail Polish Dries Faster

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Why blow (is useless anyway) or wait forever? Simply hold the painted fingernails in a bowl of ice water and the paint will harden immediately. Definitely try it out!

 

Save Leftover Sauce

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Is there any sauce left over from pasta or roulade food? Then you can use a little trick to easily preserve the leftovers and keep them for future meals. Pour the leftover sauce into an ice cube mold - and then put it in the freezer.

So you can thaw a suitable amount of it as needed and don't have to throw away the leftovers. This kitchen hack works just as well with soup, which can be thawed more quickly in portions in the pot.

Eliminate Bad Smells With Baking Soda

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In order to get cigarette smell or the smell of food from textiles, furniture or carpets, no expensive special agents or cleaners are required, but simply baking soda. Sprinkle the white powder on the affected material, ideally leave it on overnight and then vacuum it off. Even stubborn stubborn smells are swept away.

By the way: In combination with water, baking soda can also remove discolouration from curtains or joints.

 

Clean The Oven With Salt

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Getting a frequently used oven clean again usually not only requires a lot of scrubbing power, but also a lot of chemical cleaning agents. There is also a simpler and more environmentally friendly way to ensure that the oven, grate and baking trays are like new again: Simply sprinkle generous amounts of salt and heat the oven to around 50 degrees.

Turn off the oven and remove the salt as soon as it has turned lightly brown. Scrub with water and encrusted and burned-in areas are gone.

 

Descale Fittings With Vinegar

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Calcified faucets or shower heads from which the water only drips irregularly: This problem is likely to be familiar to many, especially in regions with highly calcareous tap water. If you regularly tie a plastic bag with a mixture of vinegar essence and water around the tap and let it work overnight, you can look forward to a shiny and lime-free tap the next day without any effort.

 

Descale The Kettle Without Vinegar

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If you don't have any household remedies such as vinegar, lemon juice or baking powder on hand, you can remove limescale deposits in the kettle with the help of a soft drink: Add enough cola to the kettle so that the liquid completely covers the calcified areas and leave it for a few hours or usually Act at night.

The phosphoric and carbonic acid contained in it decomposes the lime - and leaves no pungent smell like vinegar cleaning agents.

 

Hammer and Nails Always Ready

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Ingenious life hack for all craftsmen among us: A small magnet at the end of the hammer handle can hold the nails - so you have your hands (and mouth) free.

 

Peel The Mango

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Peeling mangoes is very easy with this trick and a little dexterity: cut off the core to the right and left, place the halves between the peel and pulp on the edge of the glass and pull them down - the peel is off and the fruit lands in the glass.

 

Core The Pomegranate

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Pomegranate seeds can be removed without a mess by halving the fruit, holding the cut in a bowl of water, lively knocking on the bowl with a wooden spoon and dissolving the seeds in the water. Drain, voilà.

 

Matches Against Unpleasant Smells

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Works faster and better than any room spray: if there are unpleasant smells in the toilet, let a few matches burn.

 

Clean Microwave Thanks To Lemon

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Microwaves are actually supposed to save time: Put the food on a plate, heat it up briefly, done. Soups, stews or sauces, however, tend to splash straight through the microwave oven when they are heated if they are not covered with a plate or a plastic hood.

Fortunately, there is a simple trick to save yourself the hassle of cleaning afterwards: If you put a glass of water with a sliced lemon in the microwave and briefly switch on the device to heat the liquid, you can (almost) save yourself the annoying cleaning work.

Because the steam dissolves the dirt, so you only have to wipe the bottom of the microwave briefly to clean it. In addition, everything then smells wonderfully fresh of lemon.

 

Dust Off Old Radiators

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Hang a damp cloth between the heater and the wall, "blow" the blow dryer on the highest setting and the dust will stick to the cloth.

 

Core The Avocado and Ripen Quickly

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If the avocado is still firm, the core becomes a stubborn enemy if it does not want to leave the surrounding pulp. The coring is done in no time if you follow these tricks:

Take a corkscrew and drill it in the middle of the fruit. Then cut the avocado lengthways in half: the core is then stuck in the corkscrew and you can easily remove the pulp from the skin.

If the avocado you want to prepare is still too hard, there is also a simple trick: wrap it in aluminum foil and place it in the oven for around ten minutes at 90 degrees. The heat artificially accelerates the ripening of the pulp, so to speak, without overheating the avocado.

Although the avocado does not magically become buttery soft with this mince, it is easier to remove from the peel and process afterwards.

 

Socks As Dust Catchers

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Cleaning devils know: The best way to "trap" dust is dry. If you don't have dust cloths at hand, you can use dryer cloths (smells even better!) Or put a discarded cozy sock over the broom head or handle.

 

Tea and Coffee Filters For Dust-Free Screens

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Because screens can only be cleaned with expensive special microfiber cloths: This also works with a standard tea or coffee filter from a drugstore or supermarket. The material attracts the dust particles and lets the screen shine without lint or annoying streaks.

 

Streak-Free Windows With Newspaper

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As annoying as cleaning windows is, at the latest when a clear view is no longer possible through the panes, it's time to do it again. But how do you get the glass clean and streak-free? Very simple: add half a cup of vinegar and a little lemon juice to the cleaning water and clean the windows as usual.

The acid it contains ensures shine. If you want to look forward to particularly clean windows, polish the pane with newspaper instead of a microfiber cloth - the leaves absorb the remaining moisture and do not fluff.

 

Simply Clean Vases

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Long-handled and bulbous vases with small openings are difficult to clean. Potatoes are the helpers here in an emergency: Cut the peel into small pieces, place in the vase, add water, shake and leave to work.

The starch contained in the potatoes loosens the toppings without much effort. If you don't have any potatoes in the house, you can also use denture cleaners, which also remove limescale and dirt residues.

 

Snow Chains For Bicycles

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Cycling in winter is not for everyone, but if you have to: Tighten cable ties around the tires at regular intervals so that they do not slip away easily in the snow.

 

Window Wiper Against Animal Hair

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As indispensable as our pets are, many pet owners could certainly do without the hair that dogs or cats lose. A classic window squeegee with a silicone or rubber wiper lip is ideal for removing the hairs of animal roommates from furniture quickly and easily.

The material attracts the animal hair, which can then simply be disposed of with household waste.

 

Iron Away Marks on Carpets

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Anyone who redecorates their home often knows the problem: Coffee tables, shelves or other heavy furnishings leave unsightly marks on the carpet. Simply put a damp towel on the affected area and walk over it with a hot iron. The evaporating water straightens the fibers and the carpet looks like new again.