With many of us back in the office and spending more time out and about with friends and family, we have much less time to spend around the house chipping away at daily chores. So, if we didn’t love cleaning hacks already, we now love them even more.
Ahead, we asked several Australian organising influencers to share their top hacks for cooking and cleaning around the house. Try any (or all) of these, and you’ll be well on your way to a sparkling house and fabulous meals without skimping on your social life.
Stripping Herbs With a Grater
If you’re having people over for a nice meal, it’s likely you’ll be using herbs within the dish you’re cooking, or as a pretty garnish. Either way, stripping herbs from their stalky stem takes time that everyone would like to have back. To speed up the process, follow @fromgreatbeginnings’ wonderful suggestion of using a grater. Take a few pieces of your chosen herb, putting the stems directly into the hole of a box grater, then forcefully pull the stems through the inside. As if by magic, the leaves are quickly separated from the stems, remaining on the outside of the grater.
Peeling Garlic Hack
Garlic is the key to flavour and deliciousness in most instances, but a nightmare to peel, often getting under your nails and leaving you smelling like it for days. Another cooking hack from @fromgreatbeginnings, a genius for speed and cleanliness, is to grab your cloves, squash them a bit with a small Tupperware container then pop them inside and shake around. The garlic skins come off straight away.
Use Baking Soda for Crunchy Potatoes
There’s a variety of ways to make delicious crunchy and fluffy roasted potatoes, but this way by influencer @mama_mila_au is by far the fastest and easiest. Chop and boil potatoes as normal but add a teaspoon of baking soda while they’re boiling. When you chuck them into the oven to roast up, this small extra step will ensure they will turn out toasty and fluffy every single time.
Wash Vases in the Dishwasher
As much as you try and handwash them, vases can get grubby. And, if you’re hosting people, it’s nice to have a sparkly vase to showcase any beautiful floral arrangement. To easily get your vases grot-free, influencers @the_real_dads_of_melbourne suggest chucking them into the dishwasher so they come out crystal-clear.
Place Small Items in a Laundry Bag for the Dishwasher
Ever wasted time cleaning small fiddley items that are too little to put in the dishwasher? Another crazy clever dishwasher hack from @the_real_dads_of_melbourne is to pop all these tiny items, like jar lids and teaspoons, into a laundry bag so everything can get washed without having things slide around or get lost.
Save Time Not Pre-Washing by Using All-in-One Dishwashing Capsules
The lingering thought of washing up after whipping up a storm in the kitchen can be a buzzkill towards the end of an enjoyable dinner party. To cut down massively on time spent cleaning, MasterChef cooking whiz Connor Curran suggests using all-in-one dishwashing capsules (his preferred is Fairy Platinum Plus Expert All-In-One Dishwashing Capsules) so you don’t need to pre-rinse anything before putting it in the dishwater. The powerful capsules will even work on dishes that need to be soaked.
Placing Coffee Grounds in the Fridge to Repel Odours
If your fridge is emitting an odour every time you open its door, try @mama_mila_au‘s trick of filling a bowl with leftover coffee grounds and then placing that into the back of the fridge. The coffee will repel any unwanted odours in between cleans to ensure everything is smelling tip-top.
Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.