Painting is an exhausting task and anything that can make it easier is well worth some consideration.

If you’re touching up items or corners with a paintbrush and don’t want to create a mess by brushing paint off on the side of the can, consider a large rubber band (the kind that comes wrapped around your newspaper, perhaps) to wipe off excess paint.

You’ll eliminate dripping, oversaturating the area, and make clean up a whole lot easier.

While you don’t want to risk it with fine jewelry (most jewelry stores are more than happy to give you a free clean while you’re browsing), if you have tarnished silver jewelry you might consider cracking out the condiments.

Try dunking your silver into a bowl of ketchup for 5 minutes (any longer and you risk letting the tomato’s acids work a little too hard on your metal) and then gently rub with a soft toothbrush. Follow with a warm water rinse and watch the shine return to your favorite pieces.

Here are some other tricks to clean your precious metals.

Paper towels and even certain kinds of rags can leave tiny fibers on your nice clean windows. While you can usually buff them off when it’s all dry, why not skip the extra step?

Coffee filters not only leave you with a streak-free shine, but they won’t leave anything behind that you have to wipe off later.

Better yet, they’re cheap!

Getting a clean cut for things like cakes and soft cheeses can be difficult, even if you have a sharp knife.

Thick knives can drag layers down as you cut, ruining your presentation.

Next time, grab your unwaxed and unflavored dental floss out of the bathroom and carefully slide it down your dessert for a perfect cut.

This also works great for butter, goat cheese, and the like.

Have some leftover Alka-Seltzer? Don’t want to put harsh chemicals found in some toilet cleaners into the water supply?

Drop two of those tablets into your toilet bowl for 20 minutes and let the effervescence do its work on residue.

Then scrub, flush, and enjoy your sparkling clean porcelain.

Even if you don’t snack while you work, you’re bound to get some dust or residue on your keyboard from time to time.

When you don’t have time to shut down your machine or install a keyboard cleaning app that keeps you from pressing all the wrong buttons while you wipe it down, consider breaking out a makeup brush.

Of course, you’ll need to grab a clean one unless you want to do more damage by getting powder in there, but the soft bristles will help you gently clean between keys to get rid of dust and crumbs.

Even if you don’t paint your nails, clear nail polish is a great thing to have around the house.

Not as strong as super glue but just strong enough to hold small things in place invisibly, a coat of clear polish can solve a variety of problems, such as keeping small screws in place on your glasses.

Rubber bands have so many uses and we usually have more than one hanging around the house.

Our favorite trick is using a thick rubber band to keep doors from accidentally locking.

Whether it’s a child’s room or one that needs a nudge from a pet to get in, this trick will keep doors from closing or locking when you need them to move easily.

This trick is great for traveling or for those with lots of small earrings who don’t want to get them mixed up. (If you’ve ever tried to find a match for a small stud while you’re in a hurry, you know the struggle is real.)

Spare buttons (large or small) are a great way to keep pairs together in your suitcase or even in your jewelry box. And they’re great for keeping pearls from rubbing up against things and wearing down the nacre.

Not a fan of fancy money clips or need to keep your money and keys in a small place that won’t fit a wallet?

Try using a binder clip to hold your bills as well as your key ring.

We love this solution for concerts, workouts, or other situations in which you need to keep things light.

Cold treats are great on hot days, but we all know how fast things start dripping.

To avoid having to clean up a sticky mess, try poking a hole in the bottom of a muffin liner (decorative or not) and sticking the end of your popsicle stick into it.

It’s helpful for children AND adults!

Shower caps are a great option for packing shoes without getting the rest of your clothing dirty. And if you need to wear your shoes back into the house after being outside, putting one on each foot will help keep your floors clean for kids and pets (we’re now learning there are plenty of reasons not to wear shoes in the house!).

If you’re not a fan of using and throwing away more plastic, you can get washable cloth caps to use as well.

Speaking of shower accessories, the hooks that hold up your shower curtains have a clever double use for organizing your closet.

From the “why didn’t we ever think of this” file comes the use of shower hooks to hang your handbags and belts in your spare closet space.

We like the display in this photo as well – especially if you’re proud of your handbag collection but need to keep it out of the way and off the floor.

Have a plastic bag stash that you need to hide away?

Before those bags take up too much space, try packing them into an empty tissue box. A pretty, decorative box means you can keep them out on the counter if you need to.

This makes it perfect for keeping next to the door when you take your dog for a walk!

Your to-go drink may be too hot to handle, but grabbing another piece of cardboard isn’t very environmentally friendly.

Instead of creating more trash (no matter how recyclable), consider grabbing a wristband or even an old sock with the toes cut off to keep in your car to use over and over again.

Flowers with big heads tend to droop quickly and if they’re the centerpiece of your bouquet, you’ll want to keep them upright as long as possible.

Consider grabbing a straw (particularly the reusable type) to keep next to your vases so you can prop up those gerbera daisies and sunflowers and keep your flowers looking fresh even longer.

On nights when you’ve done a lot of cooking and have multiple cutting boards, cookie sheets, and/or pans to stack for drying, you might consider another option besides trying to balance them on your other dishes.

If you have a file rack, try placing it next to your sink for easy drying. Many of the wire ones will let water drip out the bottom.

Earrings, rings, and necklaces easily roll around your luggage and get lost or tangled together.

While you can buy a dedicated jewelry organizer, why spend the money when a pillbox will work just as well?

You can separate things out, keep earrings together, and close them up tight so nothing gets accidentally mixed together.

When you’re cooking – especially in winter when hands are dry – try rubbing any spare olive oil onto your skin for instant moisture. Let it sink in while you cook and wash whatever residue remains off when you’re done.

You can use it on knees and elbows as well, but we find it’s best for cuticles and the backs of hands.

The same way coffee filters are helpful for cleaning windows, they can also be great for cleaning computer and phone screens.

Use some glass cleaner (or antibacterial spray for your phone) and easily shine up your glass without leaving streaks or fibers behind.

If you have shiny rubber boots, you know they don’t stay that way forever. Some of them can even develop a white coating that’s hard to get rid of.

When soap and water just won’t cut it, try adding a few drops of olive oil to a dry rag and rubbing them down.

You’ll have them shining like new in no time.

If you don’t like getting your hands dirty (or worry about getting food under your nails), try using a Ziplock bag for kneading.

You might have to experiment by adding a layer of oil first so it doesn’t stick to the bag, but that’ll depend on your recipe.

They’re easy to turn inside out when you’re done to get your dough out.

Need to chill a bottle of champagne quickly? You can always stick it in the freezer, but that can easily lead to disaster if you forget about it a minute too long (we know from experience!).

Next time, try an ice water bath. Just dump a bunch of table salt into a bucket of ice water, stir, and pop in your bottle. It’ll take less than 10 minutes to chill to drinking temperature.

If you’re saving those old jam jars because you don’t like adding more trash to landfills, it turns out they can be decorative as well as practical.

Once you soak off the labels, they make great votive or tealight holders that keep your melting wax from dribbling everywhere.

You don’t even need to decoate them – just be careful about picking them up or setting them on delicate surfaces when they’re hot.

Get those heirlooms clean by using a lemon.

Simply squeeze the juice into a bowl and add enough salt or baking soda to form a paste. Then rub over your copper with a soft cloth, rinse with warm water, and put a little elbow grease in while you dry off your item.

Here are some more ideas involving household items that clean copper.

If you’ve chopped garlic or worked with fragrant foods like fish, you know that scent can stay on your hands all day.

But, believe it or not, a little toothpaste rubbed on your hands will usually get rid of that scent when soap and water just aren’t strong enough.

If you’ve run out of shaving cream, your next best bet is using a bit of your hair conditioner.

It’ll leave you legs softer than soap or shampoo, even though it doesn’t lather as well.

From filling up an old sock or finding a classier way to make a sachet, coffee grounds have the ability to reset your scent receptors when things have gotten a little too “fragrant” (in the bad way).

They also act as a deodorizer to neutralize smells, so people often use them in their cars.

Next time you make your coffee, grind a little extra to make an air freshener for your car, or anywhere else that can start to smell a little ripe (like next to the trash can).

If you’ve ever tried to rearrange your furniture, you know it’s hard to get those dents out of your carpet where the legs used to be.

You can wait it out, but if you need a quicker solution, try the ice cube trick.

Just place an ice cube on top of the indented fibers and let it melt. Once it becomes a little puddle, fluff up the area with your fingers or a spoon and it’ll be indent-free in no time.

If your spaghetti straps or wide-necked shirts slip off your hangers easily, try wrapping pipe cleaners around the spots where those sleeves go.

Raiding your craft stash is an easy way to keep your clothing from ending up on the floor of your closet.

No one likes trying to get rid of water spots and soap scum.

Next time you’re cleaning your bathroom, head to the laundry room first and grab a couple of dryer sheets – used ones work best, which is great!

Moisten the sheet a bit and put some pressure on it to rid yourself of troublesome bathroom buildup. They’ll even help remove mineral deposits from your sink.

Who knew?

IStop dragging around cords for small devices and getting them tangled up in your storage space by using a hair clip to contain each individual cord.

This also helps keep them out of sight of animals and kids.

At the very least, you’ll know where to find your hair clips when you need them!

Who needs a pin cushion when you have a cork left over from your most recent bottle of wine?

Maybe you even have more than one and can fit even more sewing materials or safety pins in the same place.

Elastic hair ties manage to end up all over your house and car (that is, if they don’t altogether disappear).

Instead of throwing them in a drawer, try putting them around an old toilet paper tube so you can keep them together without digging around every time you need one.

Pool noodles might seem pointless to those of us who don’t have a kid we need to take swimming, but it turns out they have many uses.

The Family Handyman has simple instructions (if you even need them) on how to cut a pool noodle into a wrist rest.

For those of us who type a lot, it can really help save your hands and wrists from pain at the end of the day – and this version is much cheaper than the gel mats. Even better, you can custom cut it to exactly the height you need it!

When your vacuum suddenly stops working and you’ve already cleaned out the canister, the next thing to investigate is the brush roll underneath. Hair and string can easily get caught up in there, bringing it to a grinding halt.

A seam ripper is an easy way to cut through that hassle and get back to the task at hand.

If you notice a razor nick after you’ve already gotten ready or get a paper cut during the day, plain lip balm is a great way to keep that little wound from bleeding while also keeping germs from getting in.

Just make sure to always wash a wound and rub off the top layer of the product before putting it on.

We don’t recommend bringing vodka into the shower (that seems like a recipe for disaster), but if you want to keep your razors (or even microneedlers) nice and clean (as well as sharp) and you don’t know what else to soak them in, try a bit of vodka. Alcohol will kill those germs right away.

Just don’t be tempted to drink it afterward!

Do you have a favorite perfume that slowly dissipates throughout the day? Don’t torture your officemates or public transportation seatmates by putting on extra and hoping it lasts.

Instead, try tabbing some Vasoline wherever you spray perfume. The oils “hold” the scent much longer. Plus, it’s moisturizing!

You can also use your leftover pool noodles for this one, but our favorite trick – for those of us who are still old school and get a newspaper once in a while – is to roll them up and prop up our boots.

We’ve tried it, and they last forever (providing you don’t have moisture inside your boots). And it’s kind of fun to unroll the papers after a while and see what was on the front page the day you first put them in once it’s time to replace them.

Sometimes eye bags are genetic (sorry!). But if you wake up after a rough night of sleep and see your eyes looking a little worse for the wear, anything cold will do the trick to bring down that swelling.

Spoons are the easiest and cheapest solution – and if you’re in a rush you can always stick them in the freezer for a minute.

Sure, there are pricier, specialized options, but a good old spoon also has the perfect contour for that area of your face.

Just make sure it’s not so cold that it sticks to your skin – consider adding some moisturizer first if things are looking dry. Then hold those babies on as long as it takes for them to get back to room temperature (taking them off if you feel discomfort).

Tea bags work as well (because of the caffeine), but why waste a tea bag if you’re not planning to have a morning cup?

You can even use the spoon over your whole eye, bending back your lashes to give them a little morning perk – though we can’t promise they’ll stay that way for long.

Have you ever heard the phrase “don’t forget your towel” from the late, great Douglas Adams?

Towels are a great thing to take with you on a trip because you can wrap anything breakable (or dirty, for that matter) in them to prevent a mess. And if for some reason your item does get broken, they’ll help contain the broken glass or spillage.

Towels are also great for moving as well – especially when packing glassware, dishes, vases, and picture frames. When you unpack them, you can give them a good dust with the same cloth and then just do a load of laundry to start off clean!

Can you tell we’ve run into a lot of trouble keeping our things organized while traveling?

This hack is a favorite for anyone who needs to keep necklaces from tangling. Even if you try the pill box trick from #18, you know some of the very dainty necklaces that have been trendy for a few years now might still knot easily (and boy are those hard to untangle!).

In these cases, we like to use a plain old straw to keep this from happening. If your chain is shorter, a bendy straw might be best so you don’t stretch the chain (or you can always cut the straw).

We know straws are on their way out sustainability-wise, but you might still have some laying around and this will keep them from winding up in a landfill sooner.

And, of course, there are plenty of paper and even reusable metal straws you can use!

It sounds like a weird idea, but if you’ve ever had to hand wash your delicates then you know it’s not always fun to spend time gently wringing them out.

But a salad spinner can help eliminate some of that moisture after the final soak so that you can lay them flat to dry the rest of the way.

Hey, it’s worth a try!

We love our creatures, but unless you have a fancy non-shedding designer pet, chances are you have to figure out how to successfully get pet hair off your furniture pretty frequently.

While many vacuums have special pet fur attachments, they don’t always work as well as advertised. But a squeegee does!

Run the rubber end (obviously) over your upholstery and watch that fur clump up for much easier disposal.

Cheese graters are such a pain to clean, especially if you’ve let yours sit just a little too long in the sink and things have started to dry.

Keeping a toothbrush in your kitchen might seem like a strange idea, but a hard bristled brush will really help get in those little nooks and crannies.

Here’s one we would have never thought of, but it does work well in limited cases.

Now, if a pen has leaked all over you, that’s a whole new problem, but if you somehow manage to write on yourself (and it happens for whatever reason!), consider asking a colleague if they have any spare hairspray.

Then, spray the stain and wait – don’t rub – while it sinks in. Once you see it fade, it’s safe to rinse with cool water (or dab with a cloth while putting a dry paper towel underneath (if you’re still wearing it). Here’s more info.

It’s the alcohol in hairspray that helps remove the stain. Newer fancier hairspray formulas might not have alcohol in them and won’t work, but it’s still safer to ask for hairspray than wondering aloud if anyone has spare clear liquor in their work desk.

If you have a couple of candles to light or one with a wick deep down in the jar, long candles are a must.

No long matches? No worries. A stick of dry spaghetti will work as well!

Don’t have any adorable homemade potholders or fancy metal trivets to set your hot pan on when your stovetop is already crowded?

You can use a towel, but we’ve had more than one dinner party where we had already used them up on messes.

Keeping an old mouse pad around will save your tabletops and counters from the heat in a pinch.

If you need to travel with a limited amount of medication, an old contact lens case can be a great alternative for storing them in an airtight place that doesn’t take up much space.

Just be careful when traveling internationally. A small number of pills isn’t going to get you in trouble (most of them can be easily looked up by their size, color, and imprinted number) but sometimes it’s easier to avoid getting pulled over in the security line at the airport if you have your prescription bottle with you.

Still, this is a great option for a road trip or overnight stay. It even keeps prying eyes away from your pills!