home life

Although the idea of Spring-cleaning seems great — after all, who wouldn't want a fresh start? — the implementation takes a lot of hard work. Luckily, when I did a search on Reddit, I found plenty of cleaning hacks that will help make the task easier and more effective:

• Clean your shower while you're showering. User insertcitationhere says you can kill two birds with one stone when you "clean your shower while you take a shower . . . likewise, dry out your showers with one of those squeegie things after every bath (you will never get soapscum or mildew, making monthly cleaning easy)."
• Target one room at a time. insertcitationhere recommends to "clean one room a week instead of your whole house once a month. For example, I clean once a week every Sunday night."
• Listen to music. Turkishgamer says, "listening to music while cleaning helps."
• Let hunger motivate you. "Wash just after you finish cooking, because you are really hungry for the food you just cooked, [so] you blast through those pots and pans like a madman," says theresaviking.
• Store the sheet set in a pillowcase. One redditor says, "After putting a sheet set through the laundry, store the sheets (and one pillowcase) inside the other pillowcase. You'll never search for the matching sheet/pillowcase again."

Read on for more.

If you haven't cleaned your microwave in a while, then you might notice a buildup of gunk. And if it's been sitting in there for a while, then the bits of food may have hardened to the point of making it almost impossible to remove. Thankfully, steam-cleaning the inside of the appliance with a vinegar-water solution will remedy the mess without much effort. Here's what you need to do.

First, gather your materials:

• Microwave-safe bowl
• Toothpick or stir stick
• Vinegar
• Water
• Sponge

Read on for what you should do next.

Now that it's Spring, many of you are eager to start afresh and give your home a face-lift. But renovating your home can end up racking up a huge bill, which you may not be able to afford. Although HGTV makes home improvements look so easy, we all know they're anything but. Here are some simple things you can do to improve your home on a budget.

Declutter. You don't need an interior designer to make your home look better. What would make a world of difference is to rid your home of clutter. Resolve to throw away, donate, or sell at least a bag full of stuff every weekend this season, and you'll find your home looking much more spacious.

Add a closet system. Your closet may not be making the most of its space. If you haven't installed anything in your wardrobe, it's a good idea to start. Add shelves you can buy from companies like Container Store to make the most of your space.

Read on for more.

A good way to cut down on your spending is to gradually target different expenditures. Lowering your energy bill is a nice option — not only is it a monthly expenditure, but you can also do some good for the environment while saving money. Here are some suggestions for reducing your electricity usage and costs:

• Unplug when not in use. Even when they're not in use, your electronics can still eat up electricity as long as they're plugged in — yes, even chargers that aren't connected to anything. There are many items we don't think about unplugging, including microwaves, digital picture frames, and more. Even though the power lost by these "vampire" electronics may not be much, everything adds up.
• Use a power strip. Get a power strip and try to plug as many electronics as you can into it. That way, it won't be as arduous to individually shut off or unplug each appliance. You can turn them all off with one flick of the switch or unplug the power strip from its outlet to completely stonewall the "vampire" electronics.
• Energy audit. An energy audit may be helpful in figuring out the problem areas in your home that you may be unaware of. The auditor will help advise you on how you can reduce energy consumption and how to ramp up efficiency when heating and cooling houses.

Read on for more.

Follow these easy steps from Business Insider and you could be saving tons of money!

These days, people are willing to go to any extreme to save a few bucks. But we're not going to tell you to eat beans and rice or wash your hair with eggs. There are ways to save that are sitting right under our noses –– and our roofs. Here are some simple household savings tips that could save you hundreds of dollars a year.

RELATED: Save Hundreds on Your Next Vacation

• Install low-flow water faucets and save up to 60 percent on your water bill. Do you really need a faucet with fire hydrant strength flow to do the dishes? Chances are the answer is no, and by simply replacing your faucets with low-flow models, you could cut your water bill by 25 to 60 percent. They cost around $10 to $20 a piece, which is well worth the investment.
• Update your light bulbs and save up to 75 percent on your electricity bill. Switching out old light bulbs for compact fluorescent could save up to 75 percent on your electric bill. Yes, they cost a bit more than traditional bulbs, but they last 10 to 25 times longer and use power more efficiently. Only 6 percent of the electricity sucked up by traditional bulbs (those older than 14 or 15 years) is turned into light –– the rest becomes very inefficiently used heat. 
• Unplug your electronics at night and save $100 per year. The typical American home has 40 electronics powered up at any given moment –– TV, cell phone chargers, blenders, etc. What people don't realize is they are using electricity even when they're powered off. U.S. households spend as much as $100 per year powering these "vampire" electronics. Simple fix: Plug your devices into power strips and switch them off at once at the end of the day.

Read on for more.

Oprah once said that "when you invite people to your home, you invite them to yourself." That's because your humble abode is a reflection of who you are. However, it's really hard to decorate and reflect the true "you" if you're living in a rental. You can't make permanent changes or you'll end up losing your security deposit when you move out. Here are some decorating tips for your temporary home:

• Don't knock holes. Yes, you may really want a certain shelf that would look perfect in your living room, but you can't knock holes into your wall. Learning how to patch it up may be more trouble than it's worth, especially if you're not going to live there for a long time. Use adhesive hooks if you want to hang something on your walls and get heavier furniture that won't topple over.
• Don't paint the walls. Your landlord may not let you paint the walls, and even if they do, some colors are really hard to paint over. Instead of painting, get wall decals that peel off easily and some fun wall art that you can hang on adhesive hooks.
• Don't use Blu-Tack: Don't use Blu-Tack on your walls, because it's actually really hard to get it off if you've been using it for a while.
• Get floor protectors. Stick floor protector stickers to the bottom of your furniture to protect your floor from scratches and marks.
• Make sure your furniture fits through the door. Keep your entryway's measurements in mind when you're looking at furniture. You don't want to ruin the paint on your walls trying to move your furniture in.
• Bring your own lighting. Remember, a lot of rentals won't let you install light fixtures, so you'll have to make do with lamps. Make sure you're happy with the amount of lighting the lamps provide, and you can always look for unique ones to add some character.

Photo courtesy of House to Home

Make scrubbing your bathroom easier with the help of a homemade toilet bowl cleaner that really works. And this commode cleanser leaves your powder room nice and fresh and costs just about nothing to make. Vinegar and baking soda mix together creating serious bubbling action, which does all the dirty work for you. Sans harsh chemicals, this eco-friendly natural toilet bowl cleaner will keep your bathroom sparkling.

Read on for the ingredients.

We all wash our clothes to keep ourselves and our clothes smelling so fresh and oh-so-clean, but there is such a thing as too much washing and too little. There are downsides to both extremes: laundering your clothes more than you need to can shorten their lifespan and wear them out quickly, but washing too rarely can be unhygienic and cause a lot of icky bacteria growth. Here's a general guide to follow:

• Bras: After three to four wears.
• Underwear: After every wear.
• Socks and stockings: One to two wears.
• Sportswear and swimwear: After every wear.
• Jeans: Five to six wears. Although there are some that advocate washing as little as possible. In fact, the director of brand concepts and special projects for Levi Strauss & Co. washes his once every six months.
• Tops: One to two wears.
• Dresses: One to two wears.
• Leggings: One to two wears.
• Pants, skirts, and shorts: Three to four wears.
• Jackets and blazers: Five to six wears.
• Coats: Once every two months of wear.
• PJs: Three to four wears.

Of course, this guide doesn't apply to the days when excessive sweating or accidental spills happen, and to those who have different hygiene preferences.

Hydrogen peroxide can be found at just about any grocery store for only a few dollars, and there are so many smart uses for this fizzy oxidizer. What actually is hydrogen peroxide? It's the simplest peroxide, a compound with an oxygen-oxygen bond, and it helps reduce oxidization. You can find hydrogen peroxide in fresh fruit and vegetables and in the body's immune system. But the commercial concoction that you can pick up at the store is a serious powerhouse around the home — and in a few other ways that might surprise you.

• Clean wounds: Most of us know to reach for hydrogen peroxide when we see blood to help clean wounds. This home remedy really works by helping to stop capillary bleeding and safely disinfecting the cut.
• Dissolve ear wax: When ears are feeling a bit plugged, safely clear them up by adding a few drops of olive oil to the ear canal followed with a few drops of hydrogen peroxide. Let sit and then tilt head and allow to release.
• Deskunk your pup: The next time your dog gets in a tussle with a skunk, mix together one-quart hydrogen peroxide, one-teaspoon liquid dish detergent, and two quarts warm water in a big bucket. Use for soaping up your dog and then rinse with water.

• Clean cutting board: Spritz your cutting board with hydrogen peroxide and let it sit for several minutes before wiping clean. And it's safe to use on plastic or wood boards.

Keep reading for more smart uses for hydrogen peroxide.