# What's your best practical tip for around the house? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 18, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899 "2010-05-18T16:26:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/21 "2010-05-18T21:29:21Z")
Keep nothing in your home that you don’t know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. (If you don’t bring crap into your home, then you don’t need to store it, clean it, move it, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/22 "2010-05-18T21:36:10Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > If there’s a lot of dried-on crud in your microwave, take a decent-sized absorbent hand/kitchen towel, get it nice and wet (not pouring-down wet, just dripping some and evenly wet), then throw it in your microwave and nuke it for 90 seconds to two minutes. Open the microwave, let the towel cool down a little (pull it out by a corner if you want to spread it out to help speed the process), then take the warm damp towel and use it to wipe down the crudded-up surfaces, which should now be not so dried on after that steam treatment. Rewet and repeat if it’s more dried on than that. > > . If you have any smells hanging around in the microwave, add some lemon juice to the towel before microwaving, it cleans the gunk and makes it smell nice! ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/23 "2010-05-18T21:37:17Z")
We found that hiring someone to come into our house and clean weekly for about 3 hours keeps our house clean, neat and organized. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/24 "2010-05-18T21:48:10Z")
> [@MissTake](#): > > Use coffee filters between your fine china place settings to prevent scratches. And put paper towels or dish towels between nonstick frying pans to keep the bottom of one from ruining the top of the next. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/25 "2010-05-18T21:49:36Z")
I posted this once before: If you have a ceiling fan above your bed and it needs dusting, wait until it’s time to change the sheets. Pull back the top sheet, but leave it attached. Leave the fitted sheet in place. Now get out your Webster or fan-dusting-device and dust the tops of the fan blades. The dislodged aerial dust bunnies will float down and land all over the dirty sheets. When you’re done, carefully bundle up the dusty sheets and haul them away to the washing machine. When you’re done painting a room, store a little of the paint in a small, tightly-lidded jar (like a baby food jar, if they still make them). Stash the jar in a drawer somewhere in the room. Now, if the paint gets little dings or scuffs, you can retrieve the jar and shake it up and touch up the walls using a Q-tip. It’s much easier than rummaging for the crusty old paint can out in the garage. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/26 "2010-05-18T22:01:04Z")
For parents with multiple children or anyone else with a lot of people whose laundry you do: Forget about carefully color-sorting. Sure, do whites separately, but everything else, divide by person. Each person gets their own laundry load. That way when it’s dried and ready to be folded, there’s only one pile you need to deal with. Also for parents of small children: You probably have an assortment of plastic cups, plastic plates, etc., that are for the kids to use. Designate a special drawer as the “kids’ stuff drawer” and keep all that plastic stuff in there. Make sure it is reachable by the kids so they can get themselves their own glasses of water, etc. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/27 "2010-05-18T22:17:50Z")
> [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](#): > > Plastic bags from the grocery store make nifty waste-basket liners. You can lift the trash out of the waste-basket with the handles, and the waste-basket stays clean! > > And a personal fave, every recipe that calls for raisins will be improved by using dried cherries instead. I use only plastic shopping bags as trash bags. I live alone and like to take out the trash just about every day, so I don’t like those big bags that you buy. But what on earth am I going to do when the stores stop giving out plastic bags? Will they stop selling trash bags like Hefty bags too? Because if they don’t, doesn’t that cancel out the elimination of plastic shopping bags? Anyway, I don’t know if I have any hints except simple stuff such as when I walk from one room to another, I look around to see if there’s anything I can take with me. And sometimes I play a game with myself called “8 things” or “11 things,” which means I have to walk around and find that many things to put away, and when I’m done I can do something else for a while. I have to do this because while I don’t mind actual cleaning, I hate dealing with clutter. Even though I practice these two things all the time, there’s still too much clutter around. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/28 "2010-05-18T22:19:46Z")
> [@Karen\_Lingel](#): > > Keep nothing in your home that you don’t know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. A-freakin’-men! If you are not using it: sell it, donate it, recycle it. Sitting in your house it is being wasted surely as if it were in a landfill. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/29 "2010-05-18T23:12:10Z")
> [@Karen\_Lingel](#): > > Keep nothing in your home that you don’t know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. Yes yes yes. Let’s see: I do laundry differently than most people. I separate clothes into types. Jeans go into one hamper. Underthings and night clothes into another. Dark shirts into another. Light shirts into another. Miscellaneous into yet another. It takes a lot of hamper space, but it means if I’m running low on something, I just need to grab what’s in that particular hamper and go. It works for me, but I don’t advise it for everyone. Automatic shower cleaner. It’s brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/30 "2010-05-19T00:16:37Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I do laundry differently than most people. I separate clothes into types. Jeans go into one hamper. Underthings and night clothes into another. Dark shirts into another. Light shirts into another. Miscellaneous into yet another. It takes a lot of hamper space, but it means if I’m running low on something, I just need to grab what’s in that particular hamper and go. It works for me, but I don’t advise it for everyone. Our system is similar. Whites, lights, darks and reds. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/31 "2010-05-19T00:30:19Z")
> [@SecondJudith](#): > > Not an everyday tip, but last weekend we hosted an all-day barbecue party, and we stuck our heads into the kitchen every two hours or so to do a load of washing-up or clear out empty bottles. It was amazing how little cleaning we had to do at the end of the night when we’d been doing it in little pieces all day. When I had my housewarming party my dad gave me a great tip. “Get your AC turned on early” That helped a ton. Basically, if you like the house to be, say, 68 (this was in late July BTW), about two hours before people show up get it down to about 60. Once all those people and their body heat are in the house, and people are going in and out, and you’re cooking, you’ll never catch up and the house will just get hotter and hotter. If you get a jump start on things it’ll stay much more comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/32 "2010-05-19T00:43:38Z")
Most laundry items really only take 15-20 minutes to dry if you remove the wet jeans and towels to air-dry on a hanger overnight. This is a good way to save some energy without the hassle and space needed to hang the entire load on a clothesline. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/33 "2010-05-19T00:45:35Z")
I keep a Sharpie in the kitchen. Whenever I open something that is “refrigerate after opening” I put the date on it. No more wondering how old that sundried tomato-pesto spread is! Also handy for cereal or anything else. It’s good for stuff that might go bad before expiration date once it’s opened. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/34 "2010-05-19T05:12:04Z")
Buy a proper toilet plunger (not one of those sink plungers) for each toilet and keep it right beside the throne. It’s one of those things that you don’t need often but when you do if it isn’t immediately available you may have a horrible mess to clean up. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/35 "2010-05-19T05:20:14Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > Buy a proper toilet plunger (not one of those sink plungers) for each toilet and keep it right beside the throne. It’s one of those things that you don’t need often but when you do if it isn’t immediately available you may have a horrible mess to clean up. I was going to add that you should also know how to shut the water to the toilet off (and make sure that the valve works), but I’m going to be broader then that. Everyone, EVERYONE should know how to shut off the water to their entire house. Yes, knowing where individual valves are is great, but all you really need to know is where the main valve is (right next to your meter). Anytime you have water going somewhere unexpected (overflowing toilet, broken solenoid on the washing machine, frozen/ruptured hose bib, water coming out of the ceiling/walls for an unexplained reason, water heater spewing water all over the place etc etc) shutting off the main valve is the quickest, easiest and most surefire way to get it to stop. Knowing how to turn off the main circuit breaker and gas is good too, but if you’re only going to learn one of them, know how to turn off the water. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/36 "2010-05-19T05:28:47Z")
If you have two sponges in your kitchen - one for dishes and one for cleaning - take the cleaning one and cut a corner off. That way, you can always know which one is for cleaning without having to remember what color it is, and anyone in the house who knows the scheme isn’t thrown off when you change sponge colors. Also, sponges are super cheap. I personally don’t worry about nuking them to keep them germ-free - I just make sure they dry out in the dish strainer and toss them as soon as they look anywhere near dirty. I keep a lot of sponges on hand! ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/37 "2010-05-19T06:16:05Z")
If you’re the type of person who cooks a lot, go buy a lot of inexpensive kitchen towels & rags, and don’t be afraid to use them. Washing a load of laundry after you cook a chicken and vegetables is WAY easier than getting sick because you wiped the counter and the chicken with the same towel. Having a lot of towels also allows you to use them instead of paper towels to do things like dry vegetables, so you’re saving a tree, too. And they’re good for using under bowls/cutting boards/etc to steady them while you whisk or cut. Heck, once you have a huge stack of towels in the kitchen while cooking, you’ll find a gazillion uses for them. Towels are your friend. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/38 "2010-05-19T06:31:13Z")
> [@kapri](#): > > Anyway, I don’t know if I have any hints except simple stuff such as when I walk from one room to another, I look around to see if there’s anything I can take with me. And sometimes I play a game with myself called “8 things” or “11 things,” which means I have to walk around and find that many things to put away, and when I’m done I can do something else for a while. I have to do this because while I don’t mind actual cleaning, I hate dealing with clutter. That’s freaky. My number is 27. I thought I was the only person who did this. But I do think that 27 things put away makes a difference in the clutter level around our place. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/39 "2010-05-19T07:08:31Z")
> [@Heckity](#): > > I’ve told a few people of my practice of taping a product receipt under the product itself - in case it needs to be returned. I taped a receipt to a “life time warranty” office chair many years ago. When it fell apart 10 years after purchase - there was my receipt - and the store replaced it with an upgrade as the model had changed. > > So what practical every day thing do you do that others might benefit from copying? that’s a good idea. I have a file for appliance receipts and a file for manuals. If I was doing it over I would staple the receipt to the manual and eliminate a file. My houshold tip is the use of a single Excel file to keep track of important information. One file with many sheets. Anything I think is important goes into the file. As an example, I have a sheet with important websites and a sheet with emergency numbers and contacts. That sheet has all the contacts and drug information that a hospital would need. I keep a printout in my wallet. I write in dentist and doctor appointments on that sheet. I do this to avoid a bunch of files with names I would forget. My next tip is car related. I always carry a 12V compressor in case of a flat tire. I have used this sooooo many times both for myself and for others. If a tire is really low I can pump it up to get it to a service station. If (like 2 weeks ago) I change a tire and the spare is flat, I’m still in business. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899/40 "2010-05-19T08:06:34Z")
When I come home from the store I wash all of my produce and “prepare” it for use and then store them with my [FoodSaver](http://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-Advanced-Design-Vacuum-Sealer/dp/B000AANXDG). I find that if I break it down (cutting off stems, washing, peeling, etc) when I first bring it home then it saves me time when I’m actually ready to use it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-practical-tip-for-around-the-house/539899.md?page=3)