Friday Fun: Put Cheap Vodka to Good Use

Looks like she brought us a bottle of anti-dandruff rinse! Photo by Betsssssy and licensed under CC BY 2.0You probably have a $15 plastic bottle of vodka hiding in your dorm room sock drawer. Since that stuff tastes like gasoline, why not put it to greater use?

Instructables has a great tutorial with 15 less-than-obvious ways to use that vodka. For example, if you wear glasses, vodka and water in a spray bottle makes for a great lens cleaning solution. The same combination would also make for a great glass cleaner to clean up your bathroom mirror and windows without shelling out for Windex. You can even use the mix to clean up any sticky gunk left by spilled drinks. 

This is all great, but vodka is good for more than just household cleaning. If your shoes or clothes are a little rank, a spritz of vodka between wears acts as a great deodorizer. You can even take a bottle of vodka into the shower for a great anti-dandruff rinse.

Yes, the uses for cheap vodka seem nearly limitless, but if you're intent on drinking it, Instructables also shows you how to filter it with a standard Brita pitcher, or infuse it with the fruity flavors of your choice.

Make sure you head over to Instructables to see the whole list, because if vodka is going to be part of your weekend, you should know the awesome power that exists in that plastic bottle. 

Decorate Your Room on the Cheap

Postcards are a cheap, interesting way to decorate a dorm. Image courtesy of Flickr user Arlette. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

It's hard to make a new apartment or dorm (whether for the summer or the rest of the year) feel like a home. Even worse, art is frequently expensive and photos taped to the wall can look collegiate in a bad way. With that in mind, here are some ways to decorate your dorm or apartment on the cheap.

Postcards: Postcards, whether purchased while traveling or through Etsy, are cheap and easy to arrange. Buy a set of five or six (I'm a fan of woodcut-style art) and tape them to your wall in an organized fashion. Because the financial investment is so small, postcards allow you to go beyond Klimt posters and put up art from lesser-known (or at least less-cliché) artists.

Thrift Store Art: If you are looking for an actual framed painting, hit up the nearest Goodwill or estate sale. You can usually find something not-terrible, and even if you can't thrift store canvases can provide a base for you to make your own art. If your own thrift stores aren't turning up anything interesting, try the Goodwill auction site. So long as the painting isn't too large, you're probably safe hanging the canvas from a Command hook.

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How to Build a Hanging Desk in Your Dorm

You could be the envy of your dorm with this awesome hanging desk. Photo by Thomas Frank.Our good friend Thomas Frank just put up a great tutorial on building a dorm-friendly hanging desk over at College Info Geek. Combined with a loft bed, this is a great way to free up space in your inhumanely-sized living quarters.

[How to Build a Hanging Desk in 15 Minutes]