12 Kitchen Tips That Save Money, Time, and Effort at Home
Twelve small kitchen and home habits — from rolling two rotis at once to sharpening scissors with salt — can save you serious time and money without buying anything new.
This post collects every tip from the video in the order Jasmine demonstrates them, so you can try the ones that fit your kitchen first.
How can I hang multiple items on a single hook?
Take any spare rope or string you already have at home and cut it into different lengths. Tie each piece around the item you want to hang — short pieces for items you want close to the hook, longer pieces for items that should hang lower. Loop all the strings onto one hook. You get a tiered arrangement of tools or utensils on a single nail instead of drilling new holes for every item, which is especially useful in rentals.
How do I keep socks from getting lost in the laundry?
Most of us dump every dirty garment into one laundry bag, which is why socks and handkerchiefs go missing or take forever to pair on washing day. Attach a small basket to the inside or outside of your laundry bag and train the family to drop only socks and handkerchiefs into it. On wash day, segregating takes seconds.
How can I make rotis twice as fast?
This is the standout hack of the video.
- Take two dough balls instead of one.
- Lightly dust both with atta.
- Spread a generous layer of oil between the two balls and press them together.
- Roll them out as a single roti on your chakla with a belan.
- Cook on a hot tawa exactly like a normal roti, flipping both sides.
- As the heat goes through, the two rotis separate on their own.
- Pull them apart, flip each one, and finish cooking individually.
In the time it usually takes to make one roti, you’ve made two. Over a week of cooking, the saved minutes add up.
How do I stop dal from overflowing in the pressure cooker?
When dal boils, foam rises through the whistle and sprays over your stove — leaving a sticky mess to clean. Two small changes prevent this completely:
- Add a small spoon of oil to the dal before sealing the cooker.
- Drop a clean steel spoon or fork inside the cooker.
The oil suppresses foam and the metal spoon breaks bubble columns. Your dal cooks fully without a single drop escaping.
What should I do with leftover cold drinks and sherbet?
Summer leftovers — half-finished colas, sherbet, nimbu pani, orange juice — lose their fizz and taste flat the next day. Don’t pour them down the drain.
Pour the leftover liquid into silicone ice-cube molds and freeze. Next time you make a fresh drink, use these flavored cubes instead of plain water ice. They chill the glass without watering it down, and in some cases (like cola in nimbu pani) actually deepen the flavor.
The same trick works beautifully for coffee. Mix coffee with water, freeze into cubes, and drop them into your cold coffee — the drink stays strong from the first sip to the last.
How should I store winter clothes during summer?
The moment summer starts, your wardrobe is carrying months of dead weight. Wash every sweater, jacket, shawl, and thermal, fold them properly, group similar items together, and pack each group into its own labeled bag. Store the bags on a top shelf or under the bed. Your everyday wardrobe instantly becomes clutter-free, and next winter you’ll just pull out a bag instead of hunting.
Which bedsheets and curtains work best in Indian summer?
Dress your room for the season the same way you dress yourself. Switch to light-colored cotton bedsheets, cotton pillow covers, and light cotton curtains during summer. Light shades reflect rather than absorb heat, and cotton breathes — so the room feels noticeably cooler without touching the AC.
How do I organize all those grocery bags and paper bags?
Grocery bags and paper bags are genuinely useful, which is why we keep collecting them — and why they take over a drawer.
- Fold every bag flat, like you’d fold a napkin.
- Stack the folded bags by size.
- Drop the entire stack into one larger carry bag.
- Hang that carry bag on a hook in the kitchen or utility area.
They stay compact, dust-free, and findable.
How do I sharpen dull scissors without buying anything?
Fill a small bowl with salt. Open your scissors, dip the blades into the salt, and work them open-shut, open-shut for one to two minutes. Wipe clean. The salt grinds back a usable edge — perfect when your kitchen scissors stop cutting cleanly through packets and herbs.
What kitchen spots do most people forget to clean?
Three spots get consistently neglected:
- Switchboards. Once a week, take a small towel, dampen it lightly, and wipe down every switchboard. Stains and finger marks come off easily.
- Bottoms of storage bowls. Before putting any leftover-food bowl in the fridge, wipe its underside. This single habit keeps fridge racks clean for weeks instead of days.
- The pressure cooker whistle. Scrub the whistle with a little soap, then soak it in hot water for about thirty minutes to an hour. The grime built up inside the whistle softens and rinses out, restoring proper steam release.
📺 About this video. This post draws on Jasmine Choudhari’s YouTube video 12 किचन Tips जो बचाए आपके पैसे और समय और करें काम आसान | Brilliant Kitchen Organization Ideas & Hacks. Watch the full video for visual demonstrations of every tip.
Pick three tips from this list — ideally one cooking, one organizing, one cleaning — and try them this week. The double-roti method and the dal-overflow fix alone will pay for themselves in saved minutes by Sunday.
Watch the video
Frequently asked questions
How can I make rotis faster in the morning?
Roll two dough balls together with a layer of oil between them, then cook on the *tawa* like a normal roti. As both sides cook, the two rotis separate naturally — giving you two rotis in the time it usually takes to make one. It's the single biggest time-saver in this video for anyone who makes fresh rotis daily.
How do I stop dal from spilling out of the pressure cooker?
Add a little oil to the dal before pressure cooking and drop a steel spoon or fork into the cooker along with it. The oil reduces foaming and the spoon disrupts the bubble buildup, so the *dal* won't froth out of the whistle. This works for thick dals that typically overflow.
What should I do with leftover cold drinks and juices?
Pour leftover cold drinks, sherbet, or coffee into silicone ice-cube molds and freeze them. Drop these flavored cubes into your next glass of *sherbet*, lemon juice, or cold coffee instead of plain ice. They cool the drink without diluting the flavor — in fact, they intensify it.
How can I sharpen dull kitchen scissors at home?
Fill a bowl with salt, dip the open scissor blades into the salt, and work them open and shut for one to two minutes. The salt crystals re-edge the blades enough to restore everyday cutting sharpness. It costs nothing and takes under two minutes — useful before replacing scissors that feel dull.
How do I keep grocery bags and paper bags from cluttering the kitchen?
Fold every plastic grocery bag and paper bag flat so they take minimal space, then collect all of them inside one larger carry bag. Hang that carry bag on a hook in the kitchen or utility area. Everything stays in one known place and the cabinet stops looking messy.
Why should I wipe the bottom of bowls before putting them in the fridge?
When you transfer leftover food into smaller bowls, food residue often sticks to the outside and base. Placing those bowls directly into the fridge transfers that residue onto the racks, which then need deep cleaning. A quick wipe of the bowl's underside before storage keeps fridge shelves clean for weeks.
How often should I clean switchboards and the pressure cooker whistle?
Clean switchboards at least once a week with a slightly damp cloth — they collect grime gradually and get neglected during regular cleaning. For the pressure cooker whistle, scrub with a little soap and then soak it in hot water for about half an hour to dissolve the build-up trapped inside.
How can I store winter clothes during summer to keep my wardrobe organized?
Wash all woolens and winter wear, fold them neatly, segregate them by type, and pack them into separate bags before storing. When winter returns, you simply pull out the bags instead of digging through a mixed wardrobe. The off-season wardrobe stays clutter-free and the clothes stay clean.
About Jasmine Choudhari
Jasmine Choudhari shares practical, no-frills ideas for organising small Indian kitchens and homes. Follow her on YouTube (600K+ subscribers · Silver Play Button), Instagram and Facebook. For collaborations: collab@jasminechoudhari.com.