Add a Magnet to Your Hammer to More Easily Grab Nails from Bags [Clever Uses]

Regardless of how you store your nails, it's likely you've poked yourself at least once when grabbing one out of a bag or off a table. To prevent this, home improvement show host Ron Hazelton suggests placing a magnet in the handle for an easy way to grab nails without using your hands.

All you need to do is drill a shallow hole in the bottom of your hammer, drip a little hot glue in, and place a magnet inside the hole. This way, you can stop dipping your fingers blindly into a bag of pointed nails and let the magnet do the work. Check out the video on Ron Hazelton's website for more details.

How to Turn Your Hammer Handle into a Nail Pick Up | Ron Hazelton

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Use Pantyhose as a Food Strainer in a Pinch [Clever Uses]

By Adam Dachis Oct 17, 2011 12:30 PM 3,057 27

While perhaps not the most appetizing option, if your food strainer has gone missing and you need an alternative according to Instructables user Carleyy you can use pantyhose:

To prevent food from getting down your sinks drain cover your bowl with a pair of pantyhose before pouring it in the sink. This is useful when you are having soup and you don't want to throw away the liquid in the trash.

While you could technically use this method for food you're actually going to eat, such as straining the water from pasta, that's probably not the best option. But when you're without a garbage disposal and don't want to pick food out of the sink later this can get the job done.

Pantyhose: Food Strainer | Instructables

You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.  Twitter's the best way to contact him, too. Related Stories

Make a Quick and Easy Batch of Breakfast Sandwiches with a Muffin Tin [Clever Uses]

By Whitson Gordon Oct 17, 2011 4:30 PM 16,888 17

You don't need to waste time poaching your own eggs for a McMuffin-like experience at home. Weblog All Things Homie shows us how to bake your own breakfast sandwich in the oven using a muffin tin.

The really great thing about this method is not only how easy it is, but its ability to make many breakfast sandwiches in one go and then freeze them for the rest of the week. That way, you don't need to waste time in the morning worrying about breakfast—just pop it in the microwave or a toaster oven and you're out the door.

The muffin tins do pretty much everything for you—each slice of Canadian bacon makes a nice cup for you to crack an egg into, sprinkle some cheese on top, and you're done. After a few minutes in the oven you'll have a ready-to-freeze batch of breakfast sandwiches for the week. Hit the link to see more on how its done.

Easy Breakfast Sandwiches | All Things Homie

You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
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Relieve Mild Burns with Yellow Mustard [Clever Uses]

By Adam Dachis Oct 18, 2011 12:30 PM 5,024 10

Generally you'd put mustard on a grilled hotdog, but if you happen to grill your hand or some other part of your body you'll want to slather on the spicy condiment as well. Why? As Instructables user kazmataz notes, it's suitable for relieving mild burns. Here's what you need to do:

Put the burned part of your body part under cool, running water. This will relieve some of the pain right away and will help to stop the progression of the burning. [Next,] spread a nice and thick layer of mustard over the area and go about your Iron Cheffing. You'll find that the pain goes away almost immediately.

We're not entirely sure what it is about mustard that blocks the burning pain, but many mustard-users have claimed it also helps reduce discoloration and blisters as well. While you don't want to rely on mustard for more severe burns, it can be a big help for the little ones.

Mustard Burn Relief | Instructables

You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.  Twitter's the best way to contact him, too. Related Stories

Apply Masking Tape to Prevent Paint Can Lids from Sticking [Clever Uses]

By Melanie Pinola Oct 18, 2011 6:30 AM 7,735 8

If you find your paint cans are always a mess after you're done painting and hard to open again the next time you need to use them, try this preventative trick for your next painting job: apply masking tape first.

After opening a can of paint, apply the tape (you could use transparent or painter's tape too) around the entire rim, and then pour it into the tray or use your brushes as usual. When you're done painting, remove the tape and the rim should be clean.

While you're at it hacking away at your paint can, you can alsoadd some plastic wrap to prevent dried paint "skin" from forming. Photo by Image After. [via Household Magic Daily Tips email newsletter]

You can follow or contact Melanie Pinola, the author of this post, on Twitter or Google+. Related Stories

Store Appliances in Old Pillowcases to Avoid Dust Buildup [Clever Uses]

By Whitson Gordon Oct 18, 2011 3:30 PM 1,752 4

Dust is bad for any machine, whether its your computer's insides or a simple stand mixer. To avoid dust buildup on your seldom-used appliances, weblog Unplggd recommends storing them in protective pillowcases.

As much as we love our multitasking kitchen appliances, there are a few things that just won't see the light of day that often. Luckily, there's an easy solution to that dust they collect:

As [appliances] sit forgotten on top of the fridge or on a closet shelf, they're also collecting massive amounts of dust. Dust that can cause overheating and cut your appliance's lifespan.

You could go buy a specially-manufactured cover for each of your unitaskers-or go the home hack route and grab for the nearest set of linens. A pillowcase will fit over most of your small appliances and does a good job at keeping your tech dust and dirt free.

This can apply to any mechanical device, too, not just kitchen appliances. Got five printers you never use? A sewing machine you only break out when you rip your pants? Stick 'em all in a pillowcase. Hit the link to read more.

Use Pillowcases to Store Small Appliances | Unplggd

You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
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Save Cupboard Space by Hanging Your Pots and Lids Together [Clever Uses]

We've shown you how you can store pot lids in your cabinets with inexpensive hooks, but if you hang your pots on a pot-rack, here's a similarly simple and effective storage trick.

If your pot lids have a loop-handle you can simply invert the lid and insert the pot handle through the loop (the image above says it all). Then hang the pot on the rack as you normally would and your lids and pots will be neatly kept together.

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Store Plants on Pegboard to Save Floor Space [Clever Uses]

By Thorin Klosowski Oct 18, 2011 1:00 PM 3,953 0

One of the biggest problems with moving a garden indoors for winter, or just having plants in general is finding a place to keep them. Gardening blog Beneath the Red Hat's solution is to store them on pegboard, which keeps them visible and off the floor.

While the original suggestion is to use the pegboard as cheap shelving for the pots themselves, you can also use it as a place to keep hanging plants if you don't want to drill a bunch of holes in the ceiling. You'll need a wall close to a window for this to work, but it beats keeping them on the floor.

Pegboard is great for organizing tools and gadgets too, so you should be able to trick it out for year-round usage with a little planning.

Going to New Heights to Maximize Your Garden | Beneath the Red Hat via Apartment Therapy

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Keep Your Windows Frost-Free with a Salt Wash [Clever Uses]

By Melanie Pinola Oct 13, 2011 7:00 AM 22,169 45

Salt has a fantastic number of uses (besides improving dishes). One to keep in mind as some of us look forward to winter is keeping your windows—home or car—frost-free with a saltwater solution.

Food blog Yummly says:

Dip a sponge in saltwater solution, wash the inside of your windows with it, and rub them dry. This keeps the windows from frosting up in cold weather. You can use a similar trick with your car windows. Dampen a small cloth bag and fill it with salt; rubbing this on your car's windshield should keep snow and ice from collecting.

You can even dip candles in saltwater to keep them from dripping. Awesome, right?

For more clever uses of salt, check out the Yummly article below, or share your alternative uses with us in the comments. (We've seen it as part of a homemade metal polish, bathtub cleaner, and rug revitalizer too.)

How to Remove a Wine Stain & Other Awesome Uses for Salt | Yummly

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Repurpose an Old Yoga Mat as a Non-Slip Rug Pad [Clever Uses]

By Thorin Klosowski Oct 17, 2011 7:00 AM 1,008 2

Yoga mats are one of those things you probably don't want to think about reusing since it's covered in your sweat, but if you don't want to toss it out, the writers over at Health recommend repurposing it as a non-slip rug pad.

The nice part about this reuse is you don't need to do anything more than cut the old yoga mat down to size to make use of it. Better still, if your rug is larger than the yoga mat, you just need to throw in underneath and you're good to go. This will only work for thinner, sticky yoga mats, but check out the full post over on Health for a few more ideas to keep the yoga mat out of the dumpster, including cutting it up into mouse pads and more. Photo by A Girl With Tea.

26 Fresh Ways to Reuse an Old Yoga Mat | Health via FitSugar

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Disguise Ugly Thermostats with a Well-Placed Picture Frame [Clever Uses]

By Whitson Gordon Oct 11, 2011 3:30 PM 8,647 20

If your thermostat or door buzzer is an eyesore on an otherwise nice-looking wall, you can "hide" it by putting it inside a nice picture frame.

Lauren over at All Things Homie came up with this solution when she found a metal frame that was the perfect size for her wall thermostat. After a bit of white paint, it blends in much better with the surrounding decor, and you don't need any large hinged mirrors or photo-covered walls to pull it off! Hit the link to see more.

Embellishing Life... | All Things Homie via Unplggd

You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
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