Favorite Things Friday: Clever Ideas I've Found Online

Sometimes I see an idea and I wonder, "Wow, why didn't I think of that?"  Well, let's be honest, I see these ideas quite often and am sometimes embarrassed that I've been doing it another way that makes much less sense.

Here are a few things I've found online that I've actually used and I'd recommend.

from Real Simple

Okay, so having long hair means shedding.  Shedding means hair all over the floor.  Embarrassing amounts of it.  (And why is it that hair is so gross once it's fallen out of your head?)  So my vacuum ends up getting tons of hair wrapped around the roller.  When I saw this idea I was like, "No way!" and then I immediately tried it.  No joke.  Immediately.  And it works like a charm.

from Real Simple

Lamp shades get dusty.  Using a feather duster or paper towel on a lamp shade is for the birds.  It totally doesn't work.  But a sticky lint roller... yes, it wins.  Granted, it doesn't make the shade look brand new or anything, but it does take off the majority of the dust and fuzz off of it.

from Life Hacker

I always end up with either a ripped fingernail or frustration when I have to add a key to a keyring.  But almost everyone has one of these staple removers and using that bad boy to open up a keyring is genius.  

from Life Hacker

When I have a cold I always tend to have a pile of icky Kleenexes surrounding me, so this is so smart.  We almost always have an empty box somewhere in the house and it makes it much less icky and germy if they all end up shoved in a box rather than floating around the house or sitting on the couch.

from Real Simple

I've had a paper clip cup at work that's been empty for like 4 years.  I've had bobby pins floating around on my desk and in the drawers for longer than that.  It's like the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups commercial... "You got peanut butter in my chocolate!"  "You got chocolate in my peanut butter!"  Anyway, the bobby pins met the paperclip cup and it's been butterflies and roses ever since.  I also have a travel Advil container (you know, the ones that are about the size of a chap stick?) that's filled with bobby pins in my purse.  In case you need a bobby pin ever... I'm your girl.

Well, that's my list of things.  I've seen tons more, but some don't really have an impact on me at this point - lots of them about when you own your house and we don't.  

Do you have any little cheats that you've been doing that you'd like to share?

-Kara