We have some awesome hacks to help make your day just a little bit easier. From cleaning to parenting hacks. Including burping your baby and using Alexa to save your sanity.
Sick of spending hours cleaning? Or are you trying to just get through the day the easy way to save your sanity. Then we have some clever little hacks to make life less stressful.
Mama’s cleaning hacks
Freshen the dishwasher with a lemon
Running your dishwasher on a hot cycle without dishes in it does 90% of the cleaning all by itself. To help cut grease and make it smell even fresher, skewer half a lemon inside. For an extra anti-fungal, antibacterial boost sprinkle in a few drops of tea tree oil, too. And don’t forget to frequently clean your filters.
Polish with lemon
Polish your stainless steel taps and sink drains with half a lemon and the added bonus it leaves the kitchen smelling citrus fresh.
Remove stubborn grease with vegetable oil
Try a little vegetable oil on a paper towel to remove nasty buildup from your stove top. Or try some eucalyptus oil or spray on your greasy rangehood, sticky venetian blinds or grimy, dusty ceiling fan blades.
Cleaning hack for the kids drink bottles
Pop some uncooked rice into your drink bottle and add hot water and then shake until clean the rice will help scrub the inside of the bottle and leave it perfectly clean.
Clean with old leftover veggies
CUCUMBER: Use cucumber to remove crayon marks from walls by rubbing the skin on them. You can also clean your bathroom mirror with cucumber juice, it will prevent your mirror from fogging up next time you have a shower.
ONIONS: Heat an onion and gently rub on the surface of your oven to clean the burn marks. Onions contain enzymes that react with oxygen in the air to create an acid that will help dissolve grease and grime.
WALNUTS: Walnuts are actually an excellent natural polish. The oils in the nut bring the wood to a great shine. Simply rub the walnut all over your wood furnishings, concentrating on any marks, then buff the surface.
BANANA: The inside of banana skin is a great natural polish, too. Try it on the leaves of your house plants. It helps moisturise the leaves and makes them shine.
RHUBARB: Rhubarb contains oxalic acid, which will help leave your pans shiny and clean. If your pots and pans look rusty or dull, leave some rhubarb to simmer in them.
Clean with aluminum foil
Make ironing quicker
Placing foil underneath your ironing board cover (shiny side up) will increase the heat and therefore remove stubborn wrinkles faster. This simple hack also means you don’t have to iron both sides of your clothes.
Fix rusted chrome racks
Scrunch some foil into a loose ball and rub it over the rust, your chrome rack will be back to its shiny self in no time.
Sharpen blunt scissors
If the household scissors need re-sharpening simply cut into a sheet of aluminium foil up to 10 times to have cleaner, sharper shears.
Remove static electricity
If your clothes and sheets come out of the dryer full of static electricity, remember to pop a ball of scrunched-up aluminium foil into the dryer when you do the next load. No more static.
Remove stains from your iron
If your iron has developed some stains a gentle rub with aluminium foil should remove them.
Clean silverware
In order to clean silver, put aluminum foil on the bottom of a tray. Then add some baking soda, salt, and boiled water.
Swish it around to dissolve the salt and baking soda. Allow to soak and buff.
Use sodawater to work magic
Clean jewellery
Using sparkling water is a great way to bring the sparkle back to your favourite pieces of jewellery. Soak your sterling silver jewellery in a bowl of SodaStream sparkling water for up to five minutes. This will loosen and remove grime and dirt from your accessories. For an added benefit, you can also lightly scrub your jewelry with a toothbrush to remove any stubborn particles.
Bring plants to life
SodaStream’s sparkling Water is not only the drink of choice for humans, but for plants too!
Carbonated water is filled with a range of minerals that can breed life into your green-leaved friends, including; sodium chloride, potassium sulphate and disodium phosphate. A study done by Colorado University even indicated that plants grew faster with sparkling water. Simply spritz the leaves and soil of your plants with SodaStream’s sparkling water until damp.
Remove rust
Did you know that the carbonation in sparkling water has the ability to reduce or reverse corrosion caused by iron oxidation (rust)? Simply soak the rusty items in sparkling water for a few hours and let the fizz do its magic. Say goodbye to your rusty garden tools!
Clean pots and pans
Nobody wants to spend hours in the kitchen scrubbing grime off of cast-iron pots and pans. Speed up the cleaning process this spring by simply pouring sparkling water over the pan while it’s warm. The carbonation of the water will help keep the leftover mess from sticking to the iron, making it easier and more time-efficient to clean
Use Wax paper to clean taps
One clever hack has gone viral recently with a tip to use wax paper (baking paper) to polish up silver tapware and mirrors.
Mama’s parenting hacks
Sometimes you just have to be sneaky when it comes to getting kids to do what you want!
Clever tricks to get kids to take medicine
Icypole trick
A clever little icypole trick to get kids to take medicine is as simple as letting them suck on an icy pole for a few minutes before administering their medication. It will numb their taste buds and prevent them from tasting the medicine and hopefully make the experience much easier!
Or just add sprinkles!
Another sneaky tip is to sprinkle hundreds and thousands onto the spoonful of liquid. BAM! You now have yourself some delicious and magical unicorn potion. No more arguments!
Simple tricks to get kids to take medicine – MamaMag
Double nappy hack
A Double Nappy is a clever way to stop nappies leaking at night. Popping a second nappy over the top (you might need to go up a size to ensure it completely covers the first nappy) can offer the extra protection needed for a dry night sleep.
Try this double nappy trick asap! – MamaMag
Use Alexa to save your sanity!
“Alexa, where did I put that annoying toy”
Alexa’s memory skill ensures that you never lose your keys, phone or the school shoes again. Simply tell Alexa when you sit the object down and when you can’t find it and you are in a rush, she will remind you exactly where it is! Sanity saver.
Onesie hack
Why didn’t I know this when my kids were younger!? Put the baby onesie on from the feet first… same thing to take it off. Take off from the shoulder area down.
Burp baby
Hold baby upright and pop your hand on their little back to straighten them up and a burp should follow shortly. You can also slightly bounce your leg or rub upwards on your babies back. No more patting their back for hours.
Read more:
Mums cute trick for clingy preschooler – MamaMag
TikTok’s favourite parenting hacks you have to try – MamaMag
