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Made a secret medicine cabinet with a framed mirror and drawer slides.
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Smart light switches that have dimmers. Outlets with USBs as well. I also have a smart outlet. so like I could plug something in and then I can control whatever item it is via app
22
Not really DIY hack, but the moment we bought our house I started keeping a running list of every home improvement we did indoors and out. When we go to sell, I will have a list of 50 plus improvements that we made. Everything from rewiring electrical sockets to upgrading appliances and redoing landscaping. You forget what improvements you’ve made if you don’t keep track of them real time.
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bidet toilet seat. all my toilets have a bidet seat that warms, cleans and dries my butt.
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Storing things where they’re needed.
That sounds so obvious, but sometimes it’s really not. Like bath towels in a hall closet. Sure, that might be the only closet available, but there are always shelves you can buy that will fit your bath room. And you don’t need bath towels in a hall…you need them in the bath. My files were a big one. I had a filing cabinet, but it was behind my desk and was a 4-drawer one I had to be standing to see into. I paid bills while sitting AT my desk, not behind my desk. So I rearranged, got a horizontal file that allowed me to reach the drawers while seated, and now I can pay a bill, spin around, and file it. Kitchen utensils don’t go in the drawer with the other utensils like it (cooking/serving vs eating, for example), they go in the drawer – or on the wall – right next to the spot in the kitchen that I normally need it. Can openers might be in the silverware drawer, but that’s because when I open a can, that’s the spot on the counter I am usually using. And so on.
Basically, as you go through your day, just make an effort to notice when you have to ‘go find’ something instead of having it right at hand…and see if you can figure out a way to have it right at hand next time, while still being put neatly away.
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I’ve worked large hidden storage locations into every area of the house. All are in plain sight and easily accessible, but nobody has ever found one. Every remodeling project I undertake includes at least one new clever hiding place.
18
es!!! I had a whole emotional moment when I finally figured this out, like “I can store the shit I need where I need it in my own home?!” It’s a game changer after years of living with other people’s weirdly inconvenient storage choices. Towels and toilet paper can be stored where they’re used and not in some closet across the dang hall. Cat litter goes where the cat shit boxes are. Cutting boards and knives get stored where I do my food prep instead of on the other side of the kitchen. And so on.
This led to the possibly obvious (but if it was that obvious then why doesn’t everybody do it?) decision to simply keep sets of applicable supplies in each room where they’re used — so for example, now the bathrooms and kitchen all have their own cleaning supplies and trash bags. I use scissors, pens, paper, etc. in different rooms so I have several sets that live in each of the rooms where I use them. If I realize I carried something between spaces more than once, I’ll get another. The only real exceptions are electronics lol but I do have three different vacuums so 🤷
AND…I put chargers, tissues, and little trash cans in each room where we sit the most.
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Something small like having my computer on a sensing power strip, where it cuts power to my monitors and speakers whenever it shuts down or sleeps. Then when it wakes up, bam, everything else comes on too.
Primarily did it because my less-than-primo speakers had the tiniest buzzing sound at all times even when it’s built-in power switch was off. But hey, also saving some power by not having 3 monitors on standby constantly.
