Summer Life Hacks
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Okay, Denise O'Donoghue, hello to you in Cork. Hello. And Denise, you are, of course, the Life Hacks columnist with the Irish Examiner, the Hacks Hack, and you have some summer hacks for us. Denise, can we start with flies? They're everywhere all of a sudden. What am I doing with a disco ball or an old CD?
This one did surprise me. So a disco ball, it reflects the light, as we all know, so you get quite the nice spectacle. But flies' eyes are so sensitive to any change in light patterns. So if you have one hanging outside and it's kind of bouncing a bit of light around, they're too confused and they won't land. So you might have a fly pop along, maybe you're outside for a barbecue or a drink or anything. And if there's one, you know, twirling nearby and casting a few bits of light around...
What summer hacks can help keep flies away?
It's just going to avoid it completely. It hates them. So it's a great one. And, you know, maybe disco ball's your thing anyway, so you might have one in the house. But definitely you can DIY the same thing. So a CD on a string, if you're not listening to your CDs anymore and they're just in a pile in the corner and you're kind of sick of it, you can maybe make a little project with the kids and make a few little, you know, hangers and sun catchers from them and hang those outside. So it's a nice one to do.
Okay, now they will often congregate around the wheelie bins at this time of year as well and the wheelie bins will often get a bit stinky. You have some hacks for keeping the wheelie bins from stinking. Starting with positioning.
Yeah, so I suppose a lot of us kind of make use of whatever space we have outside to store them anyway. But if they're in the direct sunlight, they're usually dark colours anyway, so they just kind of absorb the heat a little bit more. And if it's your household waste or your food waste, that's just going to make it extra stinky. So if you have them a bit more in the shade, you're already doing a good deal more to just prevent any pongs coming out of it.
And how do we wash our wheelie bins and how often?
Well, they say about every two months. Now, I'm not that diligent with it, but I think in the summer it's probably worth keeping a bit more on top of it. So maybe if you did it at the start of the summer to get rid of any of those kind of winter residue and then the end of the summer or maybe during, if we are lucky enough to get a bit of a heatwave, So a few times, but definitely when the heat comes up. But it's simple enough. If you just pop in a cup of vinegar and a bit of dish soap and then fill it with some warm water and let it sit. Maybe give it a stir with a stick if you have one every now and again. Tip it out and give it a bit of a rinse. And if you have maybe an old sweeping brush, You can use that to scrub it out as well, just in case there is anything after maybe embedding a little bit on the inside.
So just turn the wheelie bin on the side, lie it down and scrub it out and give it a bit of a rinse. And you can kind of twirl the wheelie bin as well, so you're not rattling it around the place. You can just kind of use the bit that's on the flat and scrub that.
Of course, so simple, but I hadn't thought of it. Now, to prevent the bin smells from forming in the first place, you're recommending bicarbonate of soda?
Yeah, it's a great one to have in the house. So it's baking soda as well. So some of the packaging might call it a bit differently. But that basically soaks up smells. So wheelie bins, it's great. You can toss a little bit into it and it just prevents it. It kind of soaks it up. And it's a great one for doing similar even in your own bin in the kitchen. It just keeps it nice and fresh.
Okay, now insect bites are starting to become an issue as well this time of year. You have some hacks on how to avoid them and how to treat them.
Yeah, so if you notice a bite, I suppose the main thing is if you do get bitten, is it serious? So for the most part, it's probably just your average fly bite or any of the usual bits buzzing around. So obviously you'll keep it clean, you'll give it a wash with soap and you'll just keep an eye on it.
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