86
votes
Accepted
Where to put used-but-usable clothes (a.k.a. alternative to "The Chair")?
I use an IVAR side panel from IKEA (any similar thing, for example a small ladder, or screwing together a few wooden bars yourself will do as well). Lean it agains a wall at a slight angle and throw ...
- 984
42
votes
I lost my closet key, how to open it?
Very few if any closets open inward -- which means the hinges will have their pins on the accessible side. Just drive the pins out of the hinges, and the entire door can be pulled out of the frame (...
- 9,790
41
votes
Where to put used-but-usable clothes (a.k.a. alternative to "The Chair")?
I always install a hanging rod or hook in the laundry area for just this occasion. They're great for hanging those damp towels you'd use again if the occasion arises, or that out-and-about shirt you ...
- 6,655
39
votes
How can I humidify a room without a humidifier?
Hang out your laundry to line dry in your house rather than putting it in the dryer. This will release a lot of moisture into the air. Depending on how often you wash your clothes, this may be enough.
...
- 7,480
39
votes
Accepted
How can I tell if there was a power cut while I was out?
Set the time on an electric clock that uses household current
Most households today have a microwave. This has a clock you can set. On nearly all of these the clock rolls back to 12:00 and flashes ...
- 2,718
38
votes
How can I humidify a room without a humidifier?
'Traditional' humidifiers look like this:
It's just a ceramic container with a hook that hangs over the radiator. Fill it with water, and the water evaporates as the radiator heats it.
You can ...
- 481
34
votes
Where to put used-but-usable clothes (a.k.a. alternative to "The Chair")?
You can use clothes hanging wall mount inside your wardrobe door. I do the same thing with my two wardrobe. You can use both the doors according to your need.
You can buy this kind of wall mount ...
- 489
33
votes
How can I apply and maintain pressure when mounting a mirror on a door?
I'm assuming this is an interior door....
Take the door off the hinges.
Lay the door on the floor.
Place the mirror on the door.
Place old books/newspapers/weights/cans of soup/etc... so that you don'...
- 431
29
votes
What is a good way to organise and identify keys on a keyring?
I have added notches to the side of the key head in the past. One of the advantages to using this method is that you can find the correct key in the dark.
Start with this:
Take a file to the edge of ...
- 4,338
29
votes
Best way to know if somebody has broken into my room without camera
I've seen some people close little slips of paper in the doorframe (hinge and/or handle sides) that would fall when the door is opened, and/or stack boxes against the outside of the door in what ...
- 834
26
votes
How can I humidify a room without a humidifier?
You can put many houseplants in the room, they will increase the humidity naturally. Take some pots with plants which have big leaves.
Some examples:
Fern
Spathiphyllum (Peace Lily)
Additional ...
- 5,653
24
votes
How can I humidify a room without a humidifier?
If the room is small, you can create a solution using a bucket of water and a few kg of table salt (sodium chloride or potassium chloride).
Dump a large amount of salt into the bucket, and add water ...
- 441
21
votes
Accepted
What is a good way to organise and identify keys on a keyring?
Since I have lots of different color permanent markers, but not lots of different colors of nail polish, I use my wife's clear nail polish.
Mark the key up with the sharpie - I usually put a dot on ...
- 326
21
votes
Where to put used-but-usable clothes (a.k.a. alternative to "The Chair")?
I use a clothes tree in the corner of my bedroom. It might also be called a coat tree or coat rack.
I guess that it is still as ugly as "the chair", but it takes up less room.
- 1,884
21
votes
Accepted
How to level a picture frame hung on a single nail?
The hook marked in green has a ribbed top edge.
Adjust the position of the picture so the nail is located at one of the indentations, so it hangs level.
If it droops one way on a particular groove, ...
- 4,495
19
votes
What is a good way to organise and identify keys on a keyring?
I've often seen people solving this problem by using colored key caps.
But if you are like me and want to avoid extra weight/volume, you can use dot stickers. Stick one on each side for faster lookup....
- 391
19
votes
Best way to know if somebody has broken into my room without camera
In Dr. No James Bond placed a hair across his door closures which would fall off as soon as somebody opened it.
Of course you have to test if the hair will stay stuck for the time you are on leave. ...
- 4,726
17
votes
How can I tell if there was a power cut while I was out?
Get a mechanical mains timer - they are very cheap and set it for your 8 hr cycle.
It only progresses while there is power, so set it to the beginning of the cycle, plug it in and forget about it.
...
- 271
16
votes
I lost my closet key, how to open it?
Vintage locks employed two concepts, sometimes individually and sometimes together.
A warded lock has structures within the lock, called warding, which are designed to fit in notches carved into the ...
- 261
16
votes
How can I tell if there was a power cut while I was out?
Visit antique shops and second hand stores to find an old style electromechanical clock -- the kind with a motor and gears. Put this near the battery charger, plugged into the same outlet. When you ...
- 9,790
15
votes
How to shred papers/letters without using a shredder machine
Use a 5 gallon bucket half filled with water; add enough paper to absorb most of the water and let sit for 24 hours; attach a paint mixing drill attachment to your power drill and power stir the ...
- 151
15
votes
What is a good way to organise and identify keys on a keyring?
Coloring the keys is a good way to go.
For coloring I would suggest nail polish, which is quite durable. Other spray paint might be tried as well, but nail polish is really accessible and easy to ...
- 6,984
15
votes
Accepted
Stained fridge from dry-erase markers
Isopropyl Alcohol
If the typical 70% rubbing alcohol isn't removing everything, try the higher concentrations (90%+ solution). The 70% solution works, but not quite as well as the higher ...
- 6,655
15
votes
I lost my closet key, how to open it?
I should suggest trying a bobbypin or a smaller flathead screwdriver if you'd like to save it. From my experience, these types of locks are very easily opened, even with almost no skill in ...
14
votes
Accepted
How to clean floor if there is cooking-oil spilled on it?
First, you should cover the cooking oil in either kitty litter (I've found this works best, but you may not always have it) or baking soda. After waiting about 15 minutes, you can use paper towels to ...
- 11.3k
14
votes
Where to put used-but-usable clothes (a.k.a. alternative to "The Chair")?
Door hooks
I use door hooks. They are similar to the wall mounted ones, but require no drilling and can hold more weight than the sticky version.
They come in a variety of shapes and sizes ranging ...
- 271
14
votes
Where to put used-but-usable clothes (a.k.a. alternative to "The Chair")?
I put worn-once-but-not-dirty back in the wardrobe but change the direction of the hanger hooks so that they can be immediately identified as "half-way." Facing forward vs. facing backward.
In ...
- 14.1k
14
votes
Accepted
How can I work around to high doorway thresholds to get a robot vacuum to get access to more rooms?
Two methods:
By placing a ramp (which reaches the height of the doorway threshold)
By placing a doormat (of height 2 cm or less which falls in the range of Xiaomi robot vacuum)
Method 1 - Ramp
...
- 993
14
votes
Demagnetize a tool
There are a few ways to destroy a magnet.
By impact
Rough handling (dropping, hitting, etc.) a magnetized item can weaken it as well as creating one from iron bearing metal. That's how tools become ...
- 14.1k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible