Life Hacks

Put your silver things in an aluminium pot on the stove, or line a pot with aluminum foil. Drop in a dash of baking soda, and simmer it for a few minutes. It absolutely will de-tarnish the silver item. Wash it, and then dry it as if you are polishing.

If you have a tough crease in something, but no iron, turn on a lamp for a while, remove the lampshade, dampen the crease, and rub it back and forth over the hot bulb - it really does work.

When staying in a Hotel or Motel - always check the clock/alarm which comes with the room. A lot of times it’s set to the previous guest’s wake-up time, which seems to often be 4:15 am.

Also when staying in a Hotel or Motel always carry a couple of Zip-loc bags and a few clothespegs. The clothespegs are good to hold the main room curtain closed, as often it doesn't close all the way, and then you get that laser beam of sunlight waking you early in the morning. If you forget the clothespegs there may well be a pants-hanger in the wardrobe - use the clamps on that to hold the curtains closed.

Finally, for health and hygiene reasons put the TV/media remote in one of those zip-lock bags - they are not usually cleaned when guests leave and so carry a host of pretty horrible germs as a result.