Hot Housekeeping How-Tos

How To: Remove blueberry stains from fabric

Many people love those delicious, low-calorie and nutrient-packed blueberries... until they get them on their clothes. Blueberry stains are a pain to remove but with these tips, your clothes will be as good as new.

How To: No Iron, No Problem! A Stupid-Easy Way to Get Rid of Wrinkles

We've all done it—you're rushing out the door when all of a sudden you notice your shirt is embarrassingly wrinkled. Sure you could break out the ironing table, wait about 100 years for your iron to heat up, then carefully go over every last inch of fabric. But you're lazy, terrible at ironing, or, if you're like me, both. So don't work harder, work smarter!

How To: 5 Simple Ways to Keep Your Bathroom Mirror from Fogging Up

Getting hot and steamy can be awesome, as illustrated in the 1997 smash hit Titanic. But having the bathroom mirrors fog up during a nice hot shower can be very annoying. Getting ready in the morning can already be rush, and having to wipe down your mirrors after your shower is time wasted. Since most people like to shave or clean up after a shower, the need for a clear mirror is prime.

How To: Separate two glasses that are stuck together

Learn how to separate two glasses that are stuck together with this Howcast video tutorial. You nested two glasses when you put them away – and now they’re stuck! Gently pry them apart with this system.

How To: Remove Almost Any Stain Using Alcohol

There are countless methods and cleaners aimed at eliminating stubborn stains from everything to clothing, carpet, and furniture. But completely removing every last trace of a stain doesn't require an arsenal of chemical cleaners and repeated cycles in the washing machine. Most stains can disappear in a matter of minutes with a dose of alcohol.

How To: Remove A Very Tight Lid

How to... Remove A Very Tight Lid? Use Items You Have Around The House! Step 1Want to remove a very tight lid? Do you have a weak grip or arthritic pain in your hands? Have you already tried tapping the lid with a spoon? Thumping the bottom of the jar with the palm of your hand, and it still won‘t come off? An easy, quick way to remove a very tight lid is to put on rubber gloves! Yes. Ordinary household rubber gloves. Hold the jar in one hand, then use the other hand to twist the lid off. Thi...

How To: Make your own vacuum space bags for extra storage

Have you seen commercials on TV for vacuum sealed storage bags? They can be expensive, but you can replicate this space age technology in your own home! All you need is a water bottle, some trash bags, a box cutter... and a vacuum!

How To: Unlock A Privacy Door Handle

When owning a home one type of lever set you may have in your home is a privacy lever. In a privacy lever set, the main feature is that the door can only be locked from the inside. Sometimes a kid might get locked in or someone may accidentally lock the door behind them. It's really easy to unlock it in an emergency.

How To: Make a Homemade Cat Repellent - Home Remedies for Repelling Cats

Are you searching for a homemade cat repellent solution? This article will cover natural indoor and outdoor deterrents for every scenario where cats are causing trouble. The first part will cover home remedies for training cats to stay away from furniture and other restricted areas inside your house. The second part will cover outdoor repellents for keeping cats away from your garden, plants and yard. Step 1: Indoor Repellents for Training Cats

How To: 10 Ways to Whiten Clothes Without Using Any Bleach

Whites are the hardest color to keep looking bright and new after just a few months' time. Your sweat and oils quickly become stains, and colors from other clothes will eventually bleed into the fabric, discoloring your bright whites into something merely whitish. But before you reach for the bleach, the ultimate chemical cleaner, try some a few of these safer, less-toxic DIY solutions out instead.

How To: Remove water spots from chrome

In this video, we learn how to remove water spots from chrome. This is one of the hardest surfaces to get water stains off of, but it can be done easily. First, grab an empty spray bottle, vinegar, water, a rag, and a paper towel. Now, mix two parts of vinegar to one part of water and spray it onto the chrome item. Use the rag to wipe off the mixture, then continue to spray on once more. Do this around five times total, then use a paper towel at the end for the finishing look! You can use thi...

How To: 10 Reasons Why Your Freezer Is Perfect for Doing Laundry

Your freezer is no one-trick pony. While it does excel at keeping your food fresh for as long as possible, it has a few secret talents it doesn't want you to know about. Like making soda slushies and pyro-friendly smoke mix, as well as reviving dead hard drives. Even better—it can help you do laundry.

How To: Tie a slip knot in a plastic grocery bag

Have you ever wondered how to tie a slip knot on your grocery bags? When we go to the grocery store, the clerks always tie the bags in a carrying knot. With this easy to follow video, tying these knots is made easy. Knots always seem perplexing, but now they are easy to do. This is a must watch video for anyone who goes shopping.

How To: The Secret to Washing Your "Dry Clean" Clothes—Without Going to the Dry Cleaner

Unless your work clothes require dry cleaning, you probably only go to the cleaner a few times a year. And for those few items in your closet for which you do, you have to then find the time and extra budget to make a trip all the way to the cleaners and back again. In the end, it can be quite the hassle.

How To: Fold sweatpants

In this how to video, the Beverly Hills Organizer, Linda Koopersmith demonstrates how to fold a pair of sweatpants for neat and compact storage. The way you store your clothes makes a huge difference in the appearance and longevity of your garments. Watch this organizing tutorial and you will be properly folding and storing your sweats in no time.

How To: Remove Oil Stains from Fabric

Remove oil stains from fabric. Oil and grease stains in fabric can cause ugly marks. Fortunately, they don't need to be very difficult to get out of your clothes. Oils respond well to most soaps and can often be easily lifted if you catch them in time. First, try dabbing at the stain with some liquid laundry or dish detergent.

How To: Fold a T-Shirt Quickly

This video shows how to fold a T-shirt in under fifteen seconds, quick and easy (though, you probably wouldn't be folding the shirt you're actually wearing, but then this video would be pretty boring).

How To: Make Your Own Febreze (And Save Up to 97% Per Bottle)

If you're a Febreze fanatic, you're well aware that the "odor eliminator" can be pretty pricey, and that's reason enough to stop buying it.

How To: Clean wretched vomit smells from carpet with baking soda, water and a vacuum

No sane person likes the smell of vomit. Vomit is especially annoying when the smell lingers and wont leave your carpet. Fortunately, there is a way to get rid of disgusting carpet aromas. It involves the use of baking soda, a vacuum, and a flat tool.

How To: Clean a Butcher Block Table

A butcher block table (or counter) is a solid, wooden table. Originating in butcher shops (hence the name), this has become a popular household item. Butcher block tables and counters are durable and attractive looking. The downside of butcher block is that the wood is so porous it can stain easily. Butcher block can be sanded and refinished to get rid of stains, but that drastic step isn't always necessary.

How To: Detect bed bugs with tape

Rick Steinow shows how to detect bedbugs using tape. Rick shows that obvious signs would be fecal matter and blood stains. If you're still unable to detect bed bugs, you can purchase a roll of double-sided carpet tape. You're also going to need a roll of painters tape. Apply a strip of the double-sided tape all the way around the mattress. Place another strip of tape around the head board. Make sure to add a strip of painters tape first when doing the headboard. You'll do this because the dou...

How To: Clean a glass coffee pot with salt, ice and vinegar

Properly clean the glass coffee pot part of your coffee maker using environmentally friendly household ingredients. It is a housekeeping trick that everyone will love. Use salt, ice and vinegar as an eco-friendly safe way of cleaning a glass pot.

How To: Fold a pair of shorts

In this how to video, the Beverly Hills Organizer, Linda Koopersmith demonstrates how to fold a pair of shorts for neat and compact storage. The way you store your clothes makes a huge difference in the appearance and longevity of your garments. Watch this organizing tutorial and you will be properly folding and storing your shorts in no time.

How To: Fold a bra for compact storage

In this how to video, the Beverly Hills Organizer, Linda Koopersmith demonstrates how to fold a bra for compact storage. The storage of your clothes and underwear makes a huge difference in the appearance and longevity of your garments. Watch this organizing tutorial and you will be properly folding and storing your bras in no time.

How To: Use Dryer Sheets to Clean Soap Scum Off Shower Doors

How often do you fight with your shower doors? Maybe not literally (although my elbow has smacked the hard glass many times), but when it's time to clean the bathroom, getting a few weeks' worth of soap scum and grime off the shiny, clear surface becomes an insurmountable task. Whether you use a special cleaner and squeegee or a carefully selected wipe, chances are you still battle the streaks and grit left behind. Although it might not make sense to steal cleaning supplies from the laundry r...

How To: Get grease stains out of fabric

Don’t panic if you spill grease on your clothes or the couch. Start tackling it instead. Learn how to get grease stains out of fabric with this how to video.

How To: Stop odors when a refrigerator is switched off

Fortunately, you do not have to face this horrible smell problem when you turn off the fridge. To easily stop it, simply put some crumbled-up newspaper inside before you have to turn off the fridge, or at least shortly afterward. Watch this video to learn more.

How To: Laundry Symbols Deciphered! Here's What the Care Labels on Your Clothes Really Say

Frankly, I never cared about the care labels on my clothing. They supposedly held some secret key to keeping clothes clean and bright, but who wants to look at little icons and a bunch of fine print for every single garment they wash?

How To: Reheat food correctly

Turn your leftovers into another tasty meal by reheating them the right way. You Will Need

How To: Clean your bong the cheap and easy way

No one wants a dirty bong so make your mother proud and keep your bong spick and span. You will need iodized salt and bottle of rubbing alcohol aka isopropyl alcohol. These items are very inexpensive. Apparently you can really shine up any glass with this stuff. Use half a bottle of the alcohol for the body and the rest to clean out the pieces. This will clean even the grungiest of equipment as this video will attest to, although, we didn’t get to see the before shot.

How To: Start a cozy fire with lava rocks soaked in oil

In this tutorial, we learn how to start a cozy fire with lava rocks soaked in oil. First, grab your lava rocks and place them in a tin can, then fill it up with oil. Now, throw some wood into your fireplace while these are soaking. Use an old pair of metal tongs to take the rocks out of the can, then place them in the fireplace as well. After this, throw a match in with the rocks and wood and then close the fireplace. Let the rocks burn for about 5 minutes the you can take them out and you wi...

How To: Use Diatomaceous Earth to kill bed bugs in your home

There's a new way to kill bed bugs and it's with Diatomaceous Earth - a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. Get those bed bugs out of your home with help from this video presented by Canada Bedbugs on how to get rid of those trespassing pests!

How To: Remove stuck on caramel from a pan

Melt it right off baby! Don’t struggle with scrubbers and soap. This video shows you how to clean up stuck on cooked caramel by boiling it. Remove stuck on caramel from a pan.

How To: Polish copper with ketchup

Don't know how to bring all your copper pieces back to life? Then try this handy dandy housekeeping trick. Watch as this how to video demonstrates how to polish copper with ketchup.

How To: Remove permanent marker from Legos

Lego owners sometimes decide to personalize their Lego pieces by drawing on them with permanent marker. If you've ever needed to remove permanent marker from your Lego pieces, here's a surprisingly easy way: You'll need a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a small bowl of water (only about an inch of water will be needed), and of course your marker-covered Lego piece. First apply toothpaste to the toothbrush. Next dunk the Lego piece in the water. Then place the Lego piece in your hand and lightly s...

How To: Turbo charge a toilet flush

Some toilets just don't have enough flushing power. As in, when you flush the toilet not all of the, er, stuff, goes down. As a result you have to flush the toilet twice, wasting water and your time.

How To: Kill bed bugs by using boric acid

Boric Acid is often used to treat or eradicate bedbugs. However, it doesn't work particularly well. It has to be ingested to kill them, but they don't necessarily consume it. There would need to be a bait that they can ingest that contains boric acid. Unfortunately, people are the bait that they respond to. Cockroaches, on the other hand, ingest it, because they clean themselves. Therefore, it gets ingested in that way.

How To: Get Rid of Spiders Naturally

Spiders are common pests that typically prefer to live outdoors. However, insects and warmth will eventually attract them into our houses. They like to spin their webs in corners, crevices and unused areas of your house. Most species are harmless and even act as a natural repellent for getting rid of other insects. However, in some cases, spiders can be very dangerous. Whichever the case may be, they are scary and people are always looking for natural ways to get rid of them.

How To: Remove permanent marker stains with toothpaste

This shows viewers how to remove permanent marker stains using toothpaste. First, you will want to do this in a bathroom or kitchen. Fill up a cup just barely with water. This should only be about 1 cm deep or full in the cup. Next, you will need to different kinds of toothpaste, preferably one a gel and another the average paste. Now, put the toothpaste into the cup, about quarter size, and use your finger or any tool to mix this with the water. Next, you'll want to put this mixture onto the...

How To: Clean items with bed bugs you can't put in a washer

Do you have bed bugs hiding throughout the home? If they've gone from your blankets and bedding to say, you're child's toys... you might be a tad clueless as to how about cleaning items you can't throw in a washing machine. In this video presented by Bed Bug Central, learn how to clean those items with bed bugs you can't throw in a washer.