Quick everyday in-the-home fixes

From torn slipcovers to beat-up old carpets and unsightly storage boxes — we all have things junking up our homes that we keep "meaning to get around to".  Well, wait no longer. Here are some quick tips for putting things right.

Here are 10 around-the-house decorating dilemmas with an adhesive tape solution.

1. Fabric tape to mend broken seams in slip covers
2. Painter's tape to make even stripes while painting, without measuring
3. Painter's tape to mask edges of baseboards and door and window frames when painting
4. Brightly coloured, waterproof electrician's tape to decorate and identify children's plastic toys and adult tools
5. Double-sided tape to secure throw rugs to the floor and seat cushions to chairs
6. Clear shipping tape and a permanent marker to label paint and solvent cans
7. Masking tape to wrap the metal portion of paint brush handles to catch drips
8. Nonslip tape to mend worn spots on the underside of rubber-backed bath mats
9. Double-sided acid-free scrapbooking tape to mount and frame precious art on paper
10. Adhesive-backed fastener tape as a temporary closure on a cabinet door with a broken latch

You know the problem: wall-to-wall carpeting that's flattened, matted and stained in a heavily trafficked area but otherwise in good condition. The solution? Scout your home for the perfect area rug to cover the trouble spot — a rug that could be in the next room or stashed away in the attic. If you have a carpet remnant that would look great but is too large, ask a local carpet dealer to cut it to size and bind the edges.

Cardboard boxes — free from the grocery or liquor store or purchased from a business supply store — are a favourite storage unit. They're also unattractive and not always easy to stash out of sight.

Pretty them up with leftover wallpaper, preferably vinyl coated. Pre-pasted wallpaper can be cut to size, dampened and pasted on fast. Unpasted paper can be stuck down with wallpaper paste, craft glue or rubber cement. Arrayed on open shelves or neatly stacked under a desk or along a wall, revamped boxes look attractive, and their wallpaper covers are durable enough to take a good deal of wear.

Leaves make beautiful printing stamps for decorating fabric — and hey — they fall free from the trees! Even if you live in the most urban of cities, you can find leaves in parks, public gardens and on your own potted plants sitting on your windowsill. Look for fresh, well-shaped leaves with prominent spines and veins.

• Flatten the leaves by pressing them for a day or two in a phone book weighted with something heavy, like more books.
• To use a leaf to stamp fabric, brush fabric paint evenly on its top side. Test the leaf stamp first on a fabric scrap, laying the leaf on the material and pushing — not rubbing — it down with your fingers.

Practise until you get the look you like, and then stamp fabric for a tea towel, a throw pillow, or whatever your heart desires. Leaf stamps won't last very long, but you can always gather more as they fall.

For all the little fixes that don't get done, these creative and functional tips will have you ticking them off your to-do list in no time at all.