Not to be confused with Pop Rocks, rock candy, which is large chunks of crystallized sugar, is a wonderfully simple snack in and of itself, and can be used to dissolve in tea or coffee as well as on top of other desserts.
For pretty much any commercial cleaning product you can think of, you can probably make your own DIY, non-toxic version for a small fraction of the retail price. As an example, you can whip up your own all-purpose surface cleaning solution by simply mixing together one part water and one part white vinegar in a spray bottle.
While candy-making can seem like an intimidating task, making your own homemade Tootsie Rolls is actually surprisingly easy. For a super-easy, no heat version, you can simply gather all your ingredients, mix and knead them together until everything reaches a Play-Doh-like consistency, and cut the resulting sticky ball into bite-sized pieces.
How do you clean the blades of a ceiling fan without potentially hurting yourself? For an easy solution, simply use a stepladder and a pillowcase. Encase one blade of a ceiling fan with a clean pillowcase, and then pull the pillowcase towards you, which removes dust from the top of the blade and brings dust down into the pillowcase. Turn fan and repeat for every blade until the entire ceiling fan is clean.
Pretty much all of your cleaning supplies can be found in your kitchen or medicine cabinet for dirt cheap. White vinegar can be used to clean shower head deposits and your dishwasher on an empty cycle. Ammonia can be used to clean the gunk off your stove burner grates. And citrus fruits can be used to clean bathtub rings and dull sink faucets.
How important is it to have healthy and strong nails? Strong nails are better for manicures and are also more pleasing to present in public. Regular nail growth is also an overall indicator of good health, while discolorations and indentations on your nail beds, or even just slow nail growth, can be a sign of underlying health problems.
How often should you clean things in your home? Washing dishes and doing the laundry are no-brainers because they have their own self-imposed cleaning schedule, but what about the other items in your home that don't have such an obvious indicator of when it is time to clean them again?
Just because you live in a rented space where you aren't allowed to nail stuff into the wall does not mean that your walls have to be completely bare for the rest of your rental agreement.
While blackheads are a little different from your run-of-the-mill acne and zits, they are still annoying when they appear on your face and, thankfully, can be banished with a number of DIY home remedies incorporating common household products.
Bored of your living room furniture? As a weekend DIY project, one easy way to give new life to old wooden furniture is to add a new coat of paint. All you need are a drop cloth to cover the floor, sandpaper and sanding sponges, primer, latex paint, a foam roller, synthetic bristle brushes, and a well-ventilated room to paint the furniture in.
While they may make your clothes smell fresh after a cycle in the dryer, commercial dryer sheets contain many harmful and toxic chemicals that have been linked to causing cancer.
Other than displaying your favorite take-out menus on your refrigerator, magnets can be used in a number of surprisingly useful ways around the home.
Shower curtains and shower curtain liners are great for making sure that your bathroom floor doesn't collect water, but eventually you'll want to replace them. When you do, the old one can be repurposed for a number of practical uses around the house and outdoors.
For a low-maintenance houseplant with infinite decorating possibilities, look no further than Tillandsia, an epiphytic genus commonly known as air plants. Air plants absorb moisture and nutrients through their leaves and do not need to be planted in soil to stay alive.
More and more studies prove that sitting for long hours at your desk job is detrimental to your health in the long run. To decrease the health risks of chronic sitting, you need to learn how to sit properly so that you aren't setting yourself up for long-term back pain and other serious health problems.
Inflammation in your body is not a bad thing if it is localized and temporary, as it is your body's natural healing response to an injury or illness. When the inflammatory response does not turn off and becomes chronic, that is when your body's healthy cells and tissues are in danger of long-term damage.
Smell some mint leaves or drink peppermint tea the next time you feel the urge to snack on unhealthy junk food or overindulge during a meal. Studies have shown that the scent and flavor of mint and peppermint leaves are known for suppressing your appetite and making you feel less hungry.
Are you experiencing difficulties falling asleep? Brew yourself a cup of chamomile tea. Or if you have difficulty feeling hungry when you should be eating, stimulate your appetite with a cup of dandelion tea.
While having multiple cable cords in your home is basically unavoidable in this day and age, having to deal with the eyesore of looking at them doesn't have to be.
If you have very little counter space in your tiny kitchen, invest in an over-the-sink cutting board, which leaves your counter space open for bowls and ingredients while cooking.
If you don't think you are a creative person or you balk at the idea of taking art class, you can find ways to exercise your right brain in indirect ways, which will ultimately make you a more creative, intuitive person and help you come up with unexpected solutions for your problems.
If you need to relieve an itch in your throat, you can try getting rid of it by scratching your ear. Or if you accidentally give yourself brain freeze while eating ice cream, you can press your tongue against the roof of your mouth and cover as much as surface area as possible to make the pain go away.
Feeling anxious? First things first, take a deep breath. Breathe in slowly for four counts, hold it for four counts, and exhale for four counts. Repeat several times until you feel more anchored in a calmer state of mind.
If you ever need extra storage space in your small living area, adhesive hooks are great for pretty much everything.
You can certainly exercise at a fancy gym with a personal trainer and state-of-the-art equipment if you have the money and time to do so. However, if you are on a budget and don't want to waste extra time getting into your best gym clothes and driving, you can give yourself an intensive workout at home using only one dumbbell.
Want to make your own doughnut? You just need a large skillet, some frying oil, and some basic cooking ingredients that can easily be obtained in your cupboard or the local supermarket.
To add a splash of unexpected color to your living space, paint the side of your door a vibrant color, or repaint an old piece of furniture to a bright new hue. Sometimes interior decorating, especially if you want to do it on a budget, is simply a matter of elevating what you already have or adding a single piece that changes the ambiance of the entire space.
Need a quick and dirt-cheap way to make your running shoes smell less? Fill old nylon tights with baking soda, enough so that they would fit inside the shoes. Then, tie the open ends and stuff them into your offending shoes overnight. Or, if you have fabric softener dryer sheets, you can simply make a point of placing them inside your shoes every night.
If you ever want to make your own bouncy ball, all you need are basic white glue, borax, food coloring, cornstarch, and water.
If you ever need to carry multiple plastic bags of heavy groceries from your car to your home, but don't want to strain your fingers or take multiple trips, use a shower curtain ring to carry all of them at once.
Having trouble falling asleep? Using coconut oil, olive oil, beeswax, and essential oils, you can easily concoct your own DIY, nice-smelling sleep salve that will help you drift off to slumber with minimal effort.
Want to prevent future wrinkles with minimal effort? Sleep on your back. Studies show that sleeping on your side increases wrinkles on your cheek and chin, and sleeping facedown gives you a furrowed brow.
Need to add more space in your small closet? For a simple organizational hack, simply connect two clothes hangers with a metal soda tab so that you can hang two articles of clothing on a closet rod slot instead of just one.
Are you dreading a big, tedious task on your to-do list? Commit to only doing 10 minutes of it or only the very first minimal step. By lowering the hurdle for getting the task started, it is very likely that once you start doing it, you won't feel so bad about getting the rest of the task completed.
If baking soda can be used to deodorize your refrigerator, it can also be used to keep your general living space smelling nice. Simply fill a glass mason jar about one-third of the way full with baking soda and add 5 to 10 drops of your favorite essential oils. Cover the jar opening with a lid that has holes poked through it, and set it somewhere in your home.
If you miss the weirdly satisfying sensation of peeling dried Elmer's glue from the surface of your skin, you can relive this childhood tactile memory by using it to remove splinters from your skin. Simply apply a thin layer of glue to the affected area, wait for it to dry, then peel it off, which will also pull the splinter out.
Creating giant, reusable bubbles at home is easy, and it's a fun project for children. Just dump a whole bottle of non-toxic Elmer's Clear School Glue into a bowl, add fine glitter and watercolors (or food coloring), and slowly mix together Sta-Flo Liquid Starch to form a pliable concoction.
Ayurvedic medicine is a 5,000-year-old system of Hindu traditional medicine of Vedic tradition and is now a widespread form of alternative medicine and natural holistic healing.
Statistics show that only 8% of New Year's resolutions on January 1st actually get fulfilled. While you can certainly take advantage of some mind hacks to increase the probability of succeeding at your January resolutions for the rest of the year, setting killjoy goals and signing up for a gym membership are not the only ways to ring in the new year.
If you ever accidentally drop pieces of cork into your newly opened wine bottle, you can use a plastic drinking straw to fish them out. Simply place the straw over the cork piece and close the other end of the straw with your finger to create a suction that sucks the cork out of the wine.
