Nifty Household Tip #2 - Rolls of Toilet Paper Holder

Credit for this idea should go to my boss's mum. During my NZ trip with my company, we dropped by her place for a visit. She's a really pretty vintage-style bucket that holds a few rolls of toilet paper in her equally beautifully decorated washroom.

I was really inspired by her brilliant idea, and thought that's the perfect solution for my really tiny toilet that has almost no space for any extra shelving. Hence, I decided to bring this idea back home.

Knowing that Singapore's a terribly humid country, and there's a shower in my toilet, having a vintage-style metal bucket is a big no-no. So, my thought was to get a plastic version that won't rust.

However, the plastic pails that the provision shops sell are kind of an eyesore (tacky!)... But neither do I want to spend loads on something that's going to be hidden in our master bedroom toilet.. Luck was on my side when I made a trip down to Daiso @ Ion Orchard to get something for the Ninni swap.

As I made my way through the entrance, rows of pretty colored bucket-like containers caught my eyes. They are made of soft plastic and are malleable (You can use them as small shopping bags!). The matte texture and simple lines give them a modern and minimalistic look. There were a few colors that I liked but I chose brown in the end.

I would have liked them to be a little bigger so that I could contain a few more rolls of toilet paper. But I guess for S$2, this is a great steal! In case you're wondering, there are 2 rolls of toilet paper inside. Which is pretty okay.

Nifty Household Tip #1 - Keeping Ants Away

Living away from parents really does wonders to the amount of knowledge you'll gain to keep your house spick and span. Having been married and staying with my husband for slightly more than half a year, both of us have learnt and found ways to solve some annoying problems in the house.

I thought it would be useful to note down these tips for future reference as well as helping others with similar problems!

For the very first post of Nifty Household Tips, I would like to recommend this safe method of keeping ants away from sugary ingredients.. Yes, those pesky little things! And since we're dealing with food here, we wouldn't want to spray insecticide over what we are going to put into our mouths! The magical things that we need here are these:

Rubber Bands!

This is something taught by my mum. All you have to do is to put each rubber band round the container or bottle of sugar or any sweet food like so:

I've also tried it on bags of sweet buns and so far, this method hasn't failed me!

In case you're wondering, yes, this is scientifically backed. According to the Encyclopedia of Entomology, plastic or rubber rings retard ants. And indeed, some beekeepers use rubber latex to prevent ants from infesting the honey-filled hives!