Home Life Hacks You'll Wish You Knew Sooner

The More You Know

• Use your vacuum cleaner to find tiny items you've lost, such as earrings. Just cover the end of a vacuum cleaner with a stocking or pantyhose, and start your search.
• Those tea cups you inherited from your great aunt have seen better days, but you don't feel good about throwing them away—so what should you do? Drill a drainage hole in the bottom, fill them with dirt, and use them to plant succulents.
• The stickiness of duct tape makes it perfect for a makeshift pet hair remover and this method is faster than vacuuming. It also works on seats in vehicles. A sponge or cloth wrapped with duct tape works great for getting into corners. Wrap duct tape around a paint roller cover, sticky side out.
• Spray squeaky door hinges in place with a little all-purpose lube, silicone spray or dry Teflon spray.