Seven home hacks to make a busy person's life easier

You’re busy. We’re all busy. Whether you’re a parent, married to your career, a restless jetsetter or all of the above, you know all too well the meaning of “not enough hours in a day.” You will never find the time to color-code your books, and DIY projects give you the chills.

If “move-in ready” is your motto, if you need Marie Kondo to come organise your life, or if you secretly wish you could decorate your home at the snap of a finger, these home hacks are the next best thing.

Forget the electrician

Don’t have time to be home for the electrician? No problem – plug-in sconces are fantastic to hang in a flash. All you need is a drill or a screwdriver to secure them to the wall; then you can simply plug them into a regular outlet. They’re also easily removable, so you can take them with you when you move.

What you need: Plug-in sconces

Photo: Tessa Neustadt, Design by Amber Interiors

Product: Workstead Wall Sconce ($775)

Stick and peel

If you’ve ever had to steam and scrape old wallpaper off a wall, you know how insanely frustrating it can be. But with today’s more advanced technology, it shouldn’t be such a big concern. Removable wallpapers come in an increasingly wide array of fun colours, patterns and textures, so you can make your 300-square-foot studio feel cozier with pink tufted wallpaper like Mischa Lampert did, and you can also change your mind a year later.

What you need: Removable wallpaper

Hang curtains in a snap

In a tiny Manhattan apartment, Megan Pflug wanted to add a sense of intimacy around the bed, but instead of wallpaper, she cleverly used tension curtain rods. Not only were the curtains up in no time (and with no need for a tool set or handyman), they can come down just as quickly.

What you need: Tension rods

Photo: Megan Pflug

Product: Anthropologie Bamboo Flicker Curtain ($98)

Tidy up in a flash

If you’re a busy lady, you know what we mean when we say sometimes you just need to shove everything in a drawer and be done with it. Maybe your friends showed up at your house unannounced, or you have to leave in such a hurry but you know that your partner/roommate will be furious that you left a mess again…

Enter furniture with hidden storage that allow you to make things disappear. Kondo would probably not approve, but sometimes there’s no way around it.

What you need: Hidden storage

Stop sifting through drawers

Are you one of those people with a thousand kitchen utensils jumbled in a single drawer? How painful is it to try and find the wine opener when you need it? We feel you. A utensil rail will change your life. Everything is exposed, so you never have to dread searching for a can opener again. And for anything that can’t be hung up, get a drawer organiser. With a emptier drawer, you’ll be able to organise everything efficiently.

What you need: A utensil rail

Photo: Emma Hos

Product: Williams-Sonoma Enclume Wall-Mounted Utensil Bar ($80)

Find a place for everything

This is not a new invention by any stretch of the imagination, but if you can get your hands on a library catalogue file, we promise it will revolutionise your life. Not only does it look insanely stylish, but all those mismatched random items you have no real place for? Consider them filed and organised for good. If you label every drawer, you’ll never have to search for anything again.

What you need: A library catalogue file

Leave the house at any moment

Your entryway should be the central station where everything you need to quickly get in and out of the house is stored: keys, wallet, phone charger, mail, umbrellas, shoes, hats… If you don’t have these things contained in one space, you’ll find yourself running around the house every time you need to head out. Just imagine how much more punctual you’ll be!

What you need: An entryway station

Photo: Muuto

Product: CB2 Sterling Wall Mounted Shelf ($45)

– Domaine Home