Only 2% of the world’s population has an IQ high enough to be a MENSA member, but even they are unlikely to be familiar with all of the hacks we’ve compiled for you in this handy list.
We are on a constant hunt for easy, budget-friendly, and smart hacks to make our readers’ lives easier. So be sure to check out our latest findings!
Renew a marker
Markers have a tendency to stop working, like many things, when you need them the most. But no worries, if you have a deodorant, that is gas or alcohol-based, spray it inside the marker and give it a new life at least for a little while.
Put your phone on airplane mode to save battery.
All of us have been in this situation once or twice — our phone battery is on its last breath and we have to make a crucial call to our job or a loved one. So to keep what’s left of your phones energy until that time — simply put the phone on airplane mode. This will cut all connections to the internet or GPS and even the processes that run automatically and usually take up a lot of your device’s energy. This tip will save you for sure.
Make a meal prep buffet.
In the era of healthy eating meal prep is no novelty, however, if you have small kids or just love variety in your food and you’re not ready to commit to the same meals for the week, make a version of meal prep that will satisfy your needs.
Make a sort of “premade buffet” — cook up ingredients that you can combine in multiple ways. For example, for the base you can make a simple rice or pasta, then make several sauces that really differ from each other and then make separate toppings, like meat, veggies, and seafood — do not mix any of them. And then you can play “build-a-meal” every day of the week.
Soap the zipper to work better
If you’ve been struggling with a pesky little zipper that just doesn’t want to work and keeps sending you running into somebody who can fix it — struggle no more. Use some simple soap to “butter it up” (butter would work too, but it stains and comes off easily). You can also try a bit of a hair gel for the same purpose.
Make a rewards card chain
Do you get confused with all the gift cards, rewards cards, and whatnot cards at the counter? This is easily solved. Take a hole punch and punch through all the cards that you use regularly (make sure you don’t ruin the magnetic strip or chip in the process) and put them all on one key ring. Add a ribbon and now you have a very manageable card collection you can take anywhere.
Prepare “one-second” lemonade
Nothing is better on a hot summer day or for a quick cocktail, than lemonade cubes. What are those you ask? They are magic and this is how you make them:
- Take fresh lemon juice;
- Sugar to your taste;
- Make the mixture strong, since it’s going to be diluted with water;
- Cut the lemon wedges in small pieces;
- Freeze the mixture with wedges in an ice cube tray.
Now every time you want a refreshing drink — grab a couple of cubes from the freezer, dunk them in water and have a delicious homemade lemonade.
Use Velcro to store needles and other small things.
As much as Velcro gets to be used in fashion it is usually overlooked as a homeowner’s little helper. With double sided Velcro you can make any surface into a storage of sorts. And if you are into sewing your own clothing — make it a “pin cushion” — just take a piece of Velcro and put your needle through its little loops. It will not only secure them in one place, but also potentially prevent somebody from stepping on a loose needle.
Use hair dryer to remove stickers
This handy tool we use almost every day can help us with this problem. We’ve all struggled to take a sticker off of something that was brand new. The hair dryer provides a gentle heat to melt the production glue, which is the main problem. So you can heat up the sticker, remove it gently, and then take off the residue with a wet napkin or a wipe.
Label spice jars and bottles the correct way.
Kitchen lovers love to print cute little labels for the tops of mason jars, but what if we suggest that the side of the jar would be a better place? You see, lids can be easily switched up and you don’t want any salt in your coffee, do you? So, in a hurry, it would make perfect sense to look for the jar without the danger of somebody (or yourself) playing a cruel prank on you.
Cook corn on the cob in 5 minutes.
This simple trick will give you delicious corn on the cob in minutes.
- Wrap an ear of corn in a wet paper towel;
- Put it in the microwave on “high” for 5 minutes;
- Carefully unwrap the corn and enjoy.
If you’d like to add some more “oomph” to it, smear butter on the corn before wrapping it.
Use a rubber band to remove a screw.
If a screw is “worn down” and you need to take it out — put a rubber band between it and the screwdriver to get a better grip.
Clean up a nail polish spill.
If you do your manicures at home, you know that nail polish spillage is hard to clean up. Hard, but not impossible.
- Don’t let it sit and dry on your floor or table — clean it right away;
- Cover the stain with nail polish remover and let it sit for a minute;
- Wipe with paper towels;
- If some residue is left, spray hairspray over it and wipe with a paper towel once again;
- Wash the surface with soapy water afterward.
Use baby powder for a day at the beach
One annoying thing about beaches is that sand gets absolutely everywhere. To prevent this — pack a travel-size baby powder bottle and rub the baby powder on your skin. Sand will fall right off the skin that was “powered up.”
Keep brown sugar soft.
Brown sugar is amazing for brownies, cookies, and even BBQ sauce recipes. But if you’ve ever had it in your pantry, you know it gets dry and hard pretty fast. To avoid this you can simply put a piece of bread, a slice of an apple, or a couple of marshmallows in the container you keep your brown
