Is your coffee grinder in need of a cleaning? If you have some stale bread on hand, it's the perfect ingredient for a grinder quick-clean. All you have to do is tear up stale bread into chunks and throw them in the coffee grinder. Grind it for a few seconds, open it, and you'll see coffee bits sticking to the bread, which you can then dump out.
There's nothing more unsightly than piles of mail in your home, so try to find a better way to organize them that serve a dual purpose — make your home look neater, but more stylish at the same time. Take a look at some mail organization ideas that might inspire you. They'll make you want to tackle your letters as soon as possible!
Club soda is yet another common household item with a variety of uncommon uses. If you have some left over and don't know what to do with it, don't throw it away. Here are some clever uses for this popular drink mixer:
Even when you have a limited amount of space, certain living essentials help make life easier. And these pint-size versions of their bigger counterparts are perfect for those with cozy living quarters.
Along with helping out around the house, most of these picks are budget-friendly and cute in any decor. Click through for a collection of the cutest mini essentials for your small living space.
If you have random photos littered around your place, you need to find a home for them, or they'll end up as clutter. Be smart about storing your photos by turning them into decorative pieces for your residence. Read on for 12 ideas to organize your photos in a stylish way.
Can your yearly waste fit in a quart-size jar? Check out this amazing story from LearnVest about how a woman transformed her home into a zero-waste household.
Five years ago Bea Johnson and her husband and two sons were looking for a home closer to the restaurants, shops and school in their coastal California town.
Related: 6 Ways to Save Money–by Going Green
During the year they spent house hunting, the family of four moved into a small apartment, took only the possessions that were absolutely necessary and left the rest in storage.
“After living with just the necessities, we realized that we had much more time to spend with our family when we weren’t spending it caring for a large house and lots of belongings,” says Johnson.
Then, when they did decide on a house, they chose one half the size of their previous home and simplified by selling most of their old stuff.
Around that time, Johnson and her husband began investigating environmental issues. “We read books, watched documentaries, and what we learned worried us and made us sad for our kids’ futures,” she says. “So we decided to do something about it. My husband quit his job to start a sustainability consulting company, and I tackled greening our house.”
The first step to saving on groceries is to be more conscious of your spending and the ways you can save. Extreme couponing may overwhelm you, but there are plenty of other strategies you can take that will cut your grocery bill. Here is a list of every way you can possibly save in a grocery store:
It's always a waste when you can't finish the fresh produce you bought at the grocery store and end up throwing away the wilting remains. Here's a solution that will save you money and avoid unnecessary waste: grow your own greens. There are many fruits and vegetables you can grow in your home — yes, even if you live in a cramped studio. I've picked a couple of foods that you most likely use in your kitchen:
Tomatoes
You probably use tomatoes in all types of food — soup, sandwiches, salads, and more — so it only makes sense to grow your own. Pick tomato plants that do well indoors. You'll have higher chances of success with the smaller variety such as cherry tomatoes. Find more instructions on how to grow them here.
Herbs
Herbs are a must to add fragrance to your dishes, but when you buy them from the grocery store, they are not always fresh, and they may wilt way before you're done with them. Many herbs can be grown indoors and are perfect for small spaces, so do your research before deciding to grow them. Some herbs that don't take up much space and don't require as much sunlight include parsley and chives.
Mushrooms
You've probably seen lots of mushroom growing kits around, which goes to show how easy it is to grow them yourself. And they are perfect for apartment dwellers because they need to be grown in the dark. You can always start with a kit to get the basics of mushroom growing down before venturing out on your own.
What fruits and vegetables have you successfully grown indoors?
Cleaning out clutter can be a tough task, especially if you have been letting it build up for a while. Instead of setting aside a huge block of time to take care of months' or years' worth of clutter, take baby steps by throwing away only one type of item a day. And by throwing away, I mean recycling, selling, donating, or — as the last resort — trashing. Here's a list of 116 types of items that will take you about four months to dispose of:
