One thing nobody tells you about home ownership is that you’re going to have to live in a place for a while after buying it to really figure out all of its shortcomings and all the things you need to do to make it better. It’s really one of the more frustrating parts of life that you can’t give a home a test drive like you can for a car, even though it’s such a huge purchase.
The good news, though is that lots of people have been there before us and have shared little tips and tricks and cool ideas that make life in general, not just home ownership, that much better.
Smart house.
Or at least smart homeowners, who figured out a subtle way to differentiate what each light switch is for: simple color coding, with the white for lights, gray for fans, and black for the garbage disposal.
Much nicer than using labels.
Tidy.
This feels like it has been a long time coming: built-in cord management for your TV. And not just a little zip tie, either.
This is legit cord management that leaves nothing dangling.
It’s about time.
For the jigsaw puzzle fans out there, you can finally rejoice that there’s a company out there that built little cardboard stands for the box lids.
Makes you wonder why it took so long, doesn’t it?
Bright!
While off camping, someone realized that they could shine more light into the night if they just put a water bottle on top of their phone’s flashlight. It’s a makeshift lantern, basically.
Handy.
![Image credit: [deleted]](https://static.diply.com/eqUJ0jxWyNBL0J4gVyUC.jpg)
Because you never seem to have one handy — or at least I know I don’t — this ruler comes with a little pen built right into it.
It might not be ideal for precision work but in a pinch, this would be a decent little combo.
Surprise!
It’s a clever bit of promotion, making the customers who open the box from the bottom feel special, while at the same time probably not having to give up too many 10% discounts.
Not sure it really makes you creative to open a box upside down but I guess it might pay off to try.
Finally.
Usually, you only find out your dry erase markers need to be replaced when they’re literally running out of ink as you’re writing, which is obviously too late.
These show quite clearly how much ink they have left, giving much more warning that they’ll need replacing. Who knows, maybe they’ll even be refillable one day.
Uh, yum?
Not only is the Necronomicon from the Evil Dead movies excellent fodder for a cake at a Halloween party, but this one was pulled off to perfection.
It’s done so well — including the little teeth — that you’d kind of think twice about eating it.
Fresh!
Hey, we all need some more fun in our lives and this shampoo recognizes that fact.
To be fair, instructions for use of shampoo really shouldn’t be necessary anyway. So why not have some cheeky fun with it?
Clever girl.
“My sister just pulled this out to stop the big spoon from falling into the bowl,” the uploader of this pic explained.
And we all know there’s little worse than having to pull a spoon out of a pot after it falls in.
Cool!
The publisher of this edition made the cover glow in the dark. It’s hard to imagine a more appropriate usage of glow-in-the-dark covers than on some science fiction classics, either.
So elegant.
Make anything travel-size and you come close to ruining it every time, right? Not so much with this travel toothbrush that folds up such that it protects the bristles.
This seems to be a common item in some areas of the world but definitely not my neck of the woods.
Warming up to it.
There was a time in my life when I would have wondered what good a shower head that lets you program a water temperature would be.
You just hold your hand under the faucet until you get to the right temperature, right? That was pre-back-pain me. Now I want this so I don’t have to stand around.
Can’t beat that.
Upcycling is always a good idea but good ways to do so aren’t always apparent.
Kudos to the person who turned an old snare drum into a lamp shade, though. It’s a classy look that’s easy to work into a theme.
Never out of style.
Here’s one I think we could bring back: an old fridge with a radio built into it. Who doesn’t love to put on some tunes while they cook?
Maybe some of the internet-connected appliances would work as well but personally, I’d rather just the radio.
That spells it out.
Spotted in an electric VW Golf, these custom pedals are a nice touch, getting their message across playfully and appropriately.
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I guess some folks might want a stop button instead of a pause button, but both work when you think about it.
Easy fix.
That’s knowing your clientele: This ski shop cut a little notch out of its counter that might seem out of place until you lean your skis or your board against it.
With that notch, your gear won’t clatter to the floor anymore.
The perfect couch doesn’t exi—
“My friend’s couch has a secret wine compartment,” the uploader of this pic wrote.
As if we don’t all want more secret compartments in our lives, and this one is built specifically for wine? Talk about taking date nights up a level.
Much better.
Styrofoam packing peanuts are one of those necessary evils, or so we thought.
Sure, they keep stuff safe during shipping but they’re also styrofoam. However, these perform the same task and they’re made out of nice, recyclable cardboard. Good call.
Now it’s clear.
It’s always a bit of a pain to mix up cleaning fluids at different concentrations.
This spray bottle takes a lot of the guess work out, however, with markings on the side that show you where the water level should be for different concentrations. So, so much easier.
