Julie Raffensperger
Associate Features Editor
What do stockings, nail polish, staple removers, soda can tabs, bread clips, and toilet paper rolls have in common? They all provide small, unexpected ways to eliminate stress from your everyday life. Whether you live in a dorm, an apartment, or commute from home, you are sure to discover how resourceful you can be with these simple items. The best part is that you probably already have most of these items lying around your house.
For the women on campus, you are probably constantly losing earrings, bobby pins, and so forth. This can be frustrating, but there is a quick fix. Simply take a pair of stockings (any pair will suffice), tightly place them around your vacuum hose, and secure it with a rubber-band. You can now hunt around your room without the vacuum threatening to suck up your favorite, lost pair of earrings. Simple as that!
Another unexpected item which will save you time and money is all of your old nail polish bottles. After you have found a few different colors, you can use them to paint the heads of your keys so they are easier to identify. It is easy and costs less than buying a bunch of different identification tabs.
Once you have done this and need to put the keys back on their ring, you probably are not looking forward to the inevitable chipped polish on your actual nails which goes along with trying to open your key ring. There is a fix for that too! By taking a staple remover, you are able to easily maneuver the claws in order to spread the key ring apart. It is much easier to put items on your key ring this way, plus it saves your nails.
For those of you who never seem to have enough space in your closet (especially in the dorms), soda can tabs are going to become your new best friend. By placing one hanger through the top of the tab and a second through the other, you can offset your hangers effortlessly, offering twice as much space in your closet. With all that money saved and space available, you may even treat yourself to a harmless shopping trip.
Another useful item which you can find in your kitchen is a bread clip. At some point, everyone has broken a flip flop or two. By feeding the thong back through the shoe, you can now use a bread clip to secure it in place. In two seconds, your flip flop is good as new. These clips may prove to be especially useful when at an amusement park or out with friends. Bottom line, nobody wants to walk around halfshoeless, and bread clips take up very little space.
Lastly, with the holidays coming up many of you will be painstakingly wrapping tons of presents. This can be especially irritating when your wrapping paper rolls keep unrolling. The situation can be resolved by taking an empty toilet paper roll and cutting a line down the middle. Now you can place the wrapping paper roll inside, keeping it tightly rolled and in place.
“My favorite helpful tip is the vacuum one, because I always lose earrings. It’s inevitable. I am always losing them and then I waste so much time trying to find them and am always afraid to vacuum. I have always lost so many good earrings to the vacuum. This one was a really good idea. I also like the nail polish idea to identify keys,” commented senior Kelly Kerr.
When asked about her favorite tip, senior Lindsay Wilson’s responded, “I love the soda can tab idea. I have a small closet and always run out of room for clothes.”
Next time you think of throwing away a bread clip, recycling a can, or tossing away an empty toilet paper roll, maybe you will think twice! For more tips like this, check out Pinterest or other helpful websites.
