18 under-$50 fixes for everyday household problems

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Unless you’ve designed your dream home, or you already did but you dreamed that you needed less storage space than you do, it can be challenging making the most of a living space that you more or less inherited.

But a benefit to that generic truth is that many of the most annoying household problems — lack of space, organization, or convenience — are also exceedingly common.

Since many of my most valuable purchases have come from recommendations, I asked my colleagues to share the affordable fixes they’ve found and swear by in their own lives.

Find the best and most affordable fixes to all our most common household problems below.

A TubShroom hair catcher for the drain.

TubShroom Tub Drain Protector Hair Catcher, $12.99, available at Amazon

Hair clogging up the tub drain is a problem that people with long or thick hair know all too well. The easy and clean fix is this hair catcher, which fits standard tub and sink drains and neatly collects hairs around it. You can avoid wrestling with a plastic drain snake and dealing with disgusting hair clumps, and it will only set you back $13. —Connie Chen, Insider Picks reporter

A splatter screen for trapping grease.

Williams-Sonoma Silicone Splatter Screen, $19.96, available at Williams-Sonoma

I recently bought this silicone splatter screen from Williams-Sonoma to use while I'm cooking, and it's helped crack down on kitchen grease big time. The screen's small perforations let steam escape so that my food never gets soggy, but they keep in all the grease that would have otherwise ended up all over my stove and the areas that immediately surround it. —Ellen Hoffman, Insider Picks senior editor

A picture ledge for spices.

IKEA MOSSLANDA Picture Ledge, $29.90, available at Amazon

Our kitchen is actually pretty large by Brooklyn standards, but I have a spice collection so big that it would take up an entire counter or shelf worth of space. I found these picture-frame ledges at IKEA that are the perfect size for spice bottles, so I set up three of them on my kitchen wall. Each one holds about 15 to 20 bottles, and puts my entire spice collection right at my fingertips while I'm cooking. —Sally Kaplan, Insider Picks editor

A 4-Port USB charger to add more outlets.

Rocketfish 4-Port USB Charger, $29.99, available at Best Buy

While our apartment is actually outfitted with a decent number of outlets, none are close to the couch/futon, which is where everyone hangs out and where all our guests sleep. This power port, which has a six-foot-long cord, is a small but convenient solution to charging up multiple devices at once and keeping them close at hand, so no one ever has to fight over an outlet.  —Connie Chen, Insider Picks reporter 

A pot lid organizer.

Ikea VARIERA Pot Lid Organizer in Stainless Steel, $13.99, available at Amazon

Nothing gives me greater satisfaction than seeing plates, pot lids, pans, and other cooking supplies tidily lined up and organized. It's no exaggeration to say that of the many things I've bought at Ikea, the Variera pot lid organizer is one of my favorites. It is adjustable, so the spaces in between the stainless-steel pegs become as wide or as narrow as you want. That means you can organize anything from thin plates and lids to thicker pans and cutting boards.—Malarie Gokey, Insider Picks guides editor

A mildew-resistant shower curtain liner.

LiBa Mildew Resistant Anti-Bacterial Shower Curtain Liner, $9.99, available at Amazon

This shower-curtain liner keeps your bathroom looking and feeling clean, rather than having to re-up on a liner every few months because your own has succumbed to grime and the mildew that comes from a damp room. —Mara Leighton, Insider Picks reporter

A pluggable UV-C sanitizer and deodorizer to make dead zones feel fresh.

Guardian Technologies GermGuardian Pluggable UV-C Sanitizer and Deodorizer, $34.64, available at Amazon

Our bathroom has an air vent on the ceiling, but no switch with which to turn it on. Because of this, all the moisture and steam was getting trapped, and our shower curtains were growing mold faster than we could replace them.

We got this little air purifier/sanitizer that plugs into the wall, and it has fixed our problem. The shower curtain never gets mold on it anymore and the air feels and smells fresher in the bathroom. It does have a slight humming sound that can be a little annoying at first, but it’s easy to get used to. We don’t even notice it anymore. —Sally Kaplan, Insider Picks editor

A cat litter mat.

So Phresh Flexible Cat Litter Mat, $9.99, available at Petco

The messy roommate in my apartment is my cat. She's super cute and I love her, but she tracks litter everywhere. I picked up this litter mat from Petco that traps the excess litter on her paws when she exits her box, and it has dramatically cut down on how much litter I find on my floors.
—Ellen Hoffman, Insider Picks senior editor

A 10-shelf shoe organizer for organizing sweaters.

Richards Arrow Weave Large 10-Shelf Hanging Shoe Organizer, $15.99, available at Amazon

Although this hanging closet organizer is supposed to be for shoes, I actually use it to hold all my sweaters. I just roll them up and slide them into the compartments. It's much easier than shoring my sweaters on a shelf or in a dresser and they don't wrinkle as much because they're rolled up and tucked away safe in my closet. You can obviously use it for its intended purpose of storing shoes too. —Malarie Gokey, Insider Picks guides editor

Transparent drawers for under-bed storage.

Our Under Bed Box, $12.99, available at The Container Store

If you have free space under your bed and you're not using it, you’re not living your best life. I use a storage container similar to this one to hold knickknacks, cables, and other things I don’t need on a daily basis, and it’s a game changer. My drawers are less cluttered, my desk and kitchen table are cleaner, and the amount of "stuff" I have seems more manageable. Don’t use this container as a way to hoard; instead, think of it as a place to keep things you really need, but not often. —Brandt Ranj, Insider Picks associate editor

An under-bed shoe organizer.

ZizHome Under Bed Shoe Organizer, $14.99, available at Amazon

As Brandt has mentioned, under-bed storage is the best part of a room. You can keep seasonal clothes and surplus items out of view but easily within reach. I have about 20 pairs of shoes (which I do actually wear), and this shoe organizer has made it easier without devoting limited closet space. I got two and stack them on top of each other. The sides are canvas, too, so it's structured but can bend to accommodate bulkier pairs. —Mara Leighton, Insider Picks reporter

The Ubrands copper hanging organizer for surplus items.

Ubrands Copper Hanging Organizer, $15.98, available at Amazon

Since all the storage space in my bathroom is bogarted by cat supplies, beauty products, and a large laundry hamper, there wasn't much room left for things like extra toilet paper. I decided to repurpose this file organizer to hold all of our loose rolls, and it's worked perfectly. I don't have to play Tetris in the under-sink cabinets anymore — I just stack all the rolls neatly into this basket in the corner. —Sally Kaplan, Insider Picks editor

A magnetic knife holder.

ZYLISS Control Kitchen Magnetic Knife Holder, $14.99, available at Amazon

I have a lot of knives and every knife block I've ever had has been annoying. I acquired my knives piecemeal rather than in a set, so the blocks never have the right size slots for my collection. I bought the ZYLISS magnetic knife holder and I've never been happier. You just mount it to the wall in your kitchen and slap your knives on it. The magnets are very strong, so you don't have to worry about your knives falling randomly (yes, I had nightmares about that). Now, it's super easy to grab whatever knife I need while I'm cooking, plus, it just looks cool. —Malarie Gokey, Insider Picks guides editor

A grippy rug pad.

The Original GORILLA GRIP Area Rug Pad, $12.49, available at Amazon

If you don't want your area rug to constantly being moving all over the place, buy a nonslip rug pad for it and solve that problem for good. This one comes in tons of different sizes, from as small as 2' x 3' up to 9' x 12' — you can also cut the pad as needed to fit your rug. —Ellen Hoffman, Insider Picks senior editor

A 4-tier shelving unit.

AmazonBasics 4-Tier Shelving Unit, $42.72, available on Amazon

I own a lot of shoes and neatly storing them has always been a task. In the past, I had shoe boxes lined up and stacked very high along the wall. Pulling one from the bottom of the stack guaranteed a mess every time. I bought the AmazonBasics 4-Tier Shelving unit and it has been the best purchase I've made to help with organization. I can store a lot more boxes without them falling over, and it looks a lot nicer. Although I used mine in my bedroom, the possibilities are endless. It would be a great addition to your kitchen, bathroom, or garage for storage. —Amir Ismael, Insider Picks reporter

Magnetic spice tins.

Hanindy Magnetic Spice Tins (16), $25.99, available at Amazon

Kitchen space is premium real estate in a small apartment, so as an aspiring home chef I had to get creative. My latest investment has been in a set of magnetic spice tins, which I keep attached to the side of my fridge. Not only have I reclaimed the part of my counter that used to hold my spice rack, but I’ve started thinking about different ways to use vertical “free” space more effectively. —Brandt Ranj, Insider Picks associate editor

A draft stopper.

5Twin Draft Guard Extreme, $16.99, available at Amazon

New York City apartments are notoriously drafty, so I picked up a few of these draft guards on Amazon to put under the main door to my apartment and the door to my bedroom. They're simple, but they work at keeping the cold air out, and the heat in in the winter, and vice versa in the summer — which, in turn, makes heating and cooler my apartment more cost- and energy-efficient. —Ellen Hoffman, Insider Picks senior editor

A surge protector for devices.

Belkin 12-Outlet Power Strip Surge Protector, $30.56, available at Amazon

Our energy bill was ridiculously high this winter, so my roommates and I started using a Dyson heater to cut the bill in half. But with the Dyson drawing energy from the same outlet as our Christmas lights and TV, we had more than a couple power outages. This keeps us from shorting out our devices and having to apologize to the neighbors for messing with their power. Now we don't have to feel a moment of trepidation before turning something in the living room on. —Mara Leighton, Insider Picks reporter

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