Top 10 Products You Don't Need to Buy (Because You Already Have Them In Your Home) [Lifehacker Top 10]
I have made a few of the household cleaning agents before, including the homemade LCD/screen cleaner, but the drain de-cloggers are a good addition to my arsenal.
Catch Fruitflies with Vinegar
Now that summer is almost over, you’ll probably be traveling a lot more to get in that last minute vacation time. Hopefully, you won’t leave out any fruits or vegetables while you’re gone. If you do, you’ll probably end up with fruit flies. Those little pesky bugs can stick around for weeks while you try to smash, squish, and obliterate them all. It can be become pretty frustrating.
If you want to get rid of fruit flies — and get rid of them quick — all you need is some apple cider vinegar, an empty plastic bottle, and a piece of notebook paper.
All you have to do is fill an empty plastic bottle (a 16oz bottle will do) about 1/3 of the way full with the apple cider vinegar. Then, roll the paper into a tube that has a significantly bigger opening on one end than the other. Take the smaller end and put it in the open end of the bottle and set it near the spot where the flies are circulating most. Note: You don’t need to put the paper in the vinegar. Just use it as a funnel.
The fruit flies are attracted to the vinegar and land on the large end of the notebook paper. They crawl down inside the bottle, through the smaller end, and are then stuck. They cannot fly back out of the small hole they crawled in through.
Usually the flies will all be gone overnight, but it is a good idea to leave out the vinegar an additional day or two, just to be sure.
Hack Your Wallet for Note Taking
Ever find yourself out and about and need to take a quick note, but don’t want to lug around a notepad all the time? Just stick a post-it note or two to the inside of your wallet. Then you will always have the ability to jot down a quick note no matter where you are.
You can even layer post-it notes on top of each other to create a traveling post-it pad right inside your wallet.
And yes, girls, if you don’t want to carry around a purse all the time, you can do this, too.
How to Properly Clean a Computer
Cleaning your computer is a simple task. Actually doing it right can increase the life of your monitor and polished shine of your case.
First, turn off the equipment you want to clean and make sure the display (i.e. screen) and bottom of the computer is cool to the touch.
Apply whatever cleaning solution you have purchased or made yourself sparingly. Too much can cause streaks and wear down your computer’s screen or protective case.
Polish the entire surface of the computer using a microfiber cloth or other soft materials. Do not use paper towels. They have rough fibers that can damage the screen of your computer.
You should wipe the computer case and screen till it is completely dry. Leaving your cleaning solution on it could damage the structural integrity or protective cover.
Tell everyone what some of the cleaning solutions you use are in the comments.
DIY Screen Cleaner
Guest Writer Josh Tucker (@itninja)
Almost everything has a screen these days. Mobile phones, laptops, TVs, portable DVD players… the list goes on an on. If you want to keep all of these screens clean, you could end up spending a small fortune on “screen cleaner” from your local drug store.
So why not make your own?
All you need is:
- Distilled water
- Isopropyl alcohol (91% or higher)
- A spray bottle with a “mist” or “spray” setting
It is important to use isopropyl alcohol with as high of an alcohol content as possible, a minimum of 91% should be used. Most grocery stores may only carry 75% - but any drug store (CVS, Walgreens, etc) should carry at least 91%. The higher percentage reduces “streaking” when it dries on your screen.
Also, use distilled water. Do not think that you can simply use tap water, or even “filtered” or bottled water. Distilled water has the minerals and chemicals removed from it, preventing spots from occurring when the screen dries.
Mix the isopropyl alcohol and distilled water in a 3:1 mixture. That is, 75% isopropyl alcohol, 25% water. To make math easy, I purchased a large 24oz. spray bottle. The isopropyl alcohol came in a 16oz. bottle. I poured the entire isopropyl bottle into the spray bottle, then filled the remainder of the spray bottle (8oz left) with distilled water.
Make sure the spray bottle is set to “spray” or “mist”. “Stream” will not work.
To wipe the screen, use either a good quality/thick paper towel, or if you can find them, lint free electronics cloths.
