Tip: Quiet that dripping faucet

Drip. Drip. Drip.

A dripping faucet can be a real pain. Not only is it a waste of water (and money), but, unless you're an adept late-night handyperson, that dripping noise is almost guaranteed to keep you up all night long

This clever trick from Homelife offers a great temporary solution - so you can catch your ZZZs in quiet and wake up, refreshed, to actually fix the problem.

Grab a long piece of dental floss.

Tie one end of the floss around the tap and put the other end down the drain.

The drips travel along the thread - and silently down the drain - instead of dripping into the sink.

Sweet dreams!

Read more tips from "Make life easier" March (and please share your own tips in the comments, too!)

- Speed wallpaper removal

- Remove stickers and price tags

- Keep your bathroom mirror from fogging up

- Cut down on painting cleanup

- Banish tea (or coffee) stained mugs

(SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTO)

Tip: Banish those tea (or coffee) stained mugs

My love of tea is no secret (more than one person has asked me if my tweets are sponsored by Tetley!). So, it should be no surprise that tea-stained mugs are a common challenge at Casa Speedy.

Luckily, my mom taught me this simple, but surprisingly effective trick: A pinch of baking soda scrubbed over the stains erases them in seconds - even on white mugs where the tea has had a day or two to set!

For particularly stubborn stains (which I've come to expect from my all-white serving and casserole dishes), making up a paste with baking soda and a little bit of water and leaving it to sit for a few minutes seems to help lift the stains away with minimal elbow grease.

Read more tips from "Make life easier" March (and please share your own tips in the comments, too!)

- Speed wallpaper removal

- Remove stickers and price tags

- Keep your bathroom mirror from fogging up

- Cut down on painting cleanup

(SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTO)

Weekend roundup

We're taking a short break from "Make life easier March" (if you need to catch up, here are my tips for speeding wallpaper removal, removing stickers and tags, de-fogging the bathroom mirror and paint cleanup) to look forward to spring.

According to last week's poll, I'm not the only one dreaming of warmer weather - a whopping 79 per cent of Yourhomers are already thinking about getting back into the garden this spring! (Find some warm weather inspiration on our Outdoor Living page.)

This week, we're turning our attention to the new federal budget. I want to know whether you, like the new homeowners we profiled yesterday, would have liked to see the Home Renovation Tax Credit renewed? Read the story, and let me know in the front page poll. 

And, for some more weekend reading:

-Get the scoop on the new season of Sarah's House

- Check out this "juicy" kitchen from Colin and Justin

- The latest instalment in our Birth of a Condo series

- What's happening on the St. Clair W. strip

- How to set your own trendy table

- What they got March 6

Tip: Cut down on painting cleanup

The only thing worse than the actual painting process is having to clean up your brushes and rollers after a long day's work, knowing full well that you'll be doing it all over again the following day (or next weekend) after your second coat.

Now, at least I can limit my cleanups to just once per paint job. I learned this tip from my in-laws, who in turn learned it from their contractor.

Instead of cleaning up between coats, wrap your brushes and rollers tightly with cling wrap. As double insurance against drying out (especially if you're like me, and sometimes have a week between coats), pop your carefully wrapped tools in the fridge.

When your next painting day arrives, just pull out your rollers and brushes, while keeping the cling wrap on, and let them heat back up to room temperature before dipping in.

Voila - clean up time cut in half! Though, your guests may wonder why you've got a stack of rollers hanging out next to your milk and eggs.

Read more tips from "Make life easier" March (and please share your own tips in the comments, too!)

- Speed wallpaper removal

- Remove stickers and price tags

- Keep your bathroom mirror from fogging up

(SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTO)

Tip: Keep your bathroom mirror from fogging up

I don't know about you, but my morning routine has been crammed into the shortest amount of time possible. Which means there's no time to spare between showering and eye-makeup application to wait for my bathroom mirror to clear.

Luckily, I happened to find this easy and cheap tip -- seen recently again on Apartment Therapy -- to keep my mirror clear (and my eye-makeup evenly applied)!

Clean your mirror in the normal fashion, and dry thoroughly. Then, in a medium sized bowl (or your sink with the stopper in), mix hot water with a splash of vinegar (AT recommends two tablespoons of vinegar to a quart of water). Wipe this mixture over the parts of the mirror you want defogged, and let dry. You're done!

The de-fogging effect isn't permanent. It lasts about two weeks in my house, so I've added it to my regular cleaning regimen to help keep everything clear.

Read more tips from "Make life easier" March (and please share your own tips in the comments, too!)

- Speed wallpaper removal

- Remove stickers and price tags

Tip: Removing stickers and price tags

There's nothing worse than bringing home a pretty new picture frame, tray or vase only to spend the next hour slowly pulling, peeling and begging the manufacturer's stickers or price tags to come free without leaving a sticky mess.

I'm not sure where I first found this idea - much thanks to whatever blog or friend shared it - but giving tags a blast with a hair dryer makes a huge difference!

The heat from the hair dryer melts away the glue, allowing the tag to come off cleanly.

And, if you do end up with some residue (or have a few sticky pieces from before you learned this trick) products like Goo Gone are a real lifesaver, though I've also had some luck with an elbow grease and olive oil combo. 

Read more tips from "Make life easier" March (and please share your own tips in the comments, too!)

- Speed wallpaper removal

Tip: Speed wallpaper removal

After my stint working on thestar.com's Olympic coverage, it's nice to be back at work on Yourhome!

All those late nights watching sports, and pretending I know something about curling, have left me with a pretty long to-do list around my house for the month of March - everything from cleaning and grocery shopping to painting and installing new shelves. 

With this in mind, I've decided to make March about sharing some of the best time-saving tips I've gathered during my time as an editor - and hopefully learning a few new ones along the way - in an effort I'm calling "Make life easier March."

Today, we're talking wallpaper removal. Whether it's the previous owners' floral borders or a tired accent wall, most homeowners are going to end up stripping wallpaper at some point in their DIY careers.

And, while there are loads of products on the market that claim to make removing paper easier, the best find so far: fabric softener.

Yep, the same stuff you use on your laundry. Dilute it with a little water, douse your walls and the stuff will (hopefully) peel right off. And don't worry about springing for the good stuff - it doesn't seem to make a difference.

(Read more about one DIY'ers wallpaper removing experience here.)