50 DIY SOLUTIONS FOR LIFE'S LITTLE DILEMMAS

CLEANING

- Brett Walther 

1. INSTANT BOTTLE BRUSH If you have an ordinary kitchen sponge and a fork, then you have everything you need for a DIY bottle brush. Spear the narrowest edge of the sponge with the fork and slide the sponge down until the tines of the fork are fully covered. You can now scrub out the skinniest vessel with ease, whether it's a cylinder vase or a thin-necked carafe.

2. CLEANER GLASS Want a streak-free shine on your glass? Reach for a coffee filter instead of paper towel. The lint-free paper is perfect for wiping down everything from windows to wine glasses.

3. HOOKS THAT HELP There's nothing worse than throwing something into the trash bin and watching the garbage bag fall in with it. This often happens when you use plastic grocery bags as bin liners, as they tend to be a bit too short for standard-sized trash receptacles. To prevent this, stick two adhesive wall hooks onto the outside of your bin (one on either side), positioned so the hooks face downward. The next time you replace the grocery bag, loop its handles through the hooks-and no matter how full the bag gets, it'll never drop to the bottom of the bin again.

4. CLEANER VASES Fresh flowers are such a lovely treat that it's often hard to bring yourself to toss them out once they've passed their prime. If you let them sit too long, though, you're left with a stubborn ring around the inside of your vase. Before you tackle the unsightly stain with your fork scrub brush (see Hack 1), fill the vase with water and add a few denture-cleaning tablets (those fizzy anti-heartburn tablets also work). Overnight, the residue will loosen, and may even dissolve altogether.