Safety pin for a broken chappal
Strap popped out of the sole mid-market? Push a safety pin through the strap and the base and clip it underneath. Gets you home, and honestly some people never fix it properly after that.
Strap popped out of the sole mid-market? Push a safety pin through the strap and the base and clip it underneath. Gets you home, and honestly some people never fix it properly after that.
Jo dabba sirf aapko milta hai woh first aid box nahi hai. Ek hi shelf, kabhi na badle, aur ghar ke sabhi log jaante hon. Saal mein ek baar expiry check kar lo.
One torch and one pair of slippers in the same spot under the bed, always. Getting up in a night power cut with a broken glass or a snake in the room is exactly when you cannot find either.
Bachche ko ghar ka pata aur ek mobile number zabani yaad karao, gaane ki tarah. Phone kho jaane par yahi kaam aata hai.
गरम तेल में गीली सब्ज़ी या पानी डालोगे तो तेल उछलेगा। सब्ज़ी पोंछ कर डालो और कड़ाही का ढक्कन पास रखो — आग लगे तो ढक कर बुझाओ, पानी कभी मत डालो।
Geeli chhat par ghisi chappal sabse bada khatra hai. Nange paon ya achhi grip wale joote — girne ke baad pachhtane se behtar hai.
जिस दिन दवा का पत्ता खोलो, मार्कर से तारीख लिख दो। छह महीने पुरानी खुली दवा फेंक देना बेहतर है — याद रखने के भरोसे मत रहो।
Mele ya bheed mein jaate waqt bachche ki jeb mein naam aur mobile number ka parcha daal do. Bachche ko sikhao ki khone par ek jagah ruk jaaye, dhoondhne mat nikle.
बिस्तर से बाथरूम के रास्ते में एक छोटी नाइट लाइट लगा दो। गिरने से बचाने का इससे सस्ता उपाय कोई नहीं। बिजली भी न के बराबर लगती है।
गैस की बू आए तो रेगुलेटर बंद करो, खिड़कियाँ खोलो और बाहर निकलो। कोई भी स्विच मत दबाओ — न चालू, न बंद। चिंगारी वहीं से बनती है।
Two or three numbers on paper stuck inside a kitchen cupboard door. When a phone is dead, lost, or in the hands of a panicking child, a written number is the one that works.
A first aid box nobody else can find is not a first aid box. Same shelf, never moved, and tell the house where it is. Check the expiry on the ointments every Diwali when you clean anyway.
Half a spoon of salt in warm water, gargled three times a day, genuinely eases a sore throat. If it comes with fever for more than two days, that is a doctor's problem now.
A pinch of haldi on a clean minor cut is the standard household response and it does help stop the bleed. Wash first with clean water. Anything deep, dirty or still bleeding after ten minutes needs a doctor, not a kitchen.
Dry neem leaves smouldered in a steel plate for five minutes clear a room of mosquitoes without a coil. Do it with the windows open and step out while it burns — smoke in a shut room is not the goal.
मिर्ची की जलन पानी से नहीं जाती — वो तेल में घुलती है। हाथ पर सरसों तेल या दूध मलो फिर साबुन से धोओ। आँख मत मलना।
Saaf paani se dho ke chutki bhar haldi — chhoti chot ke liye theek hai. Gehri, gandi ya das minute baad bhi bahti chot par yeh nahi, seedha doctor.
सूखे नीम के पत्ते और थोड़ा कपूर जला के कमरे में दस मिनट रखो, फिर हवा आने दो। जलते हुए कमरे में सोना नहीं है और बच्चों से दूर रखना है।
Photograph Aadhaar, PAN, licence, insurance and the house papers, and keep them in DigiLocker or your own cloud account. The day one is lost is not the day you want to be starting this.
Wipe diluted neem oil on the window mesh at dusk. Mosquitoes avoid the smell and it does not fill the room with vaporiser fumes. Redo it after rain.
Burn a small piece of kapoor in a closed room for a few minutes, then air the room before going in. Never sleep in a room with it burning, and keep it away from children and curtains.
Half the bikes on Indian roads have the mirrors folded in. Set them so you can see the lane behind your shoulder, not your own arm. It is the cheapest safety equipment on the vehicle and it is already fitted.
The magnetic-box-under-the-frame trick is well known to exactly the people you are hiding it from. A spare with a trusted neighbour or in your office drawer is the version that works.
One heavy appliance per board, and never a board plugged into a board. Geysers, irons and heaters pull more than most extension cords are rated for, and the warning sign is the plug feeling warm. If it is warm, stop using it.
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286 jugaads from Indian homes. No shopping list, no subscription — just what people already do with what they already have.