40 Unique Life Hacks That Will Change Your Life

It's Time To Stop Scrubbing The Toilet

I remember my first time cleaning a toilet. I must have been about 9 years old. My mom handed me a sponge and a spray bottle and told me to, “Have at it.” She didn’t even let me use gloves! Needless to say, afterwards, I pretty much wanted to wash in bleach.

I also developed a much deeper appreciation for a clean toilet and cleaning toilets in an easier, more sanitary way! That’s why I’ve tried just about every “hack” to clean toilets on the market, and I’ll tell you, nothing has compared to Splash Toilet Cleaner. Simply pour in the toilet, watch it delightfully foam, then flush. No, brushes, no gloves, no scrubbing required!

Of course, if I’m dealing with a particularly stained toilet I might give it a little swoosh with my cleaning brush anyway, but I don’t know if that’s necessary. I do know that Splash Toilet Cleaner is hand-down the best toilet cleaner (and actually all-purpose cleaner) I’ve come across. I use it as a paste with a little water and it works wonders in sinks, tiles, and showers.

Here are some other benefits of Splash:

• Splash is hands-free, making it great for people with arthritis or limited

mobility.

• It leaves surfaces streak-free and kills 99% of bacteria.

• It's safe on all surfaces (including fixtures) and the environment because it uses an EPA registered biodegradable formula.

Since the company is still new, they are currently offering 50% off by clicking here (And by the way, one container lasts 6 months!)

Quick Move Hack: Sack, Don't Fold

Moving from one home to another can be a stressful and time-consuming process. You have to pack all your belongings into boxes only to unpack them again. It is tedious and tiring. From your heavy furniture to your books and knickknacks, moving is never easy or fun. Your wardrobe is, however, one of the most labor-intensive things to pack and move.

Instead of folding all of your clothing items into boxes or bins prior to moving day, try this simple life hack to easily move your hanging clothes. First, tie or rubber band around a handful of the hangers. Starting at the bottom, use large, plastic garbage bags to wrap up each bundle of clothes. Simply tie the bag together at the top, leaving just the hangers’ hooks outside the bag. Now you can easily carry your hanging clothes, lay them in the trunk of your car or in your moving van, and quickly hang them up in the closets of your new home. 

Earwax, of all things, poses serious risk for hearing loss and cognitive decline. (Here’s what you need to do…)

I wish I knew about this YEARS ago. I have been cleaning my ears with Q-tips ever since I was a kid. I had no idea that there was a connection between my frequent ear infections, headaches, and ear pain and the fact I was cleaning my ears all wrong.

In fact, I only found out it was an issue when I was talking to my grandma. I noticed that she seemed a lot perkier than usual. She was energetic and making jokes like I hadn’t remembered her doing in years. And no offense to my grandma, she can be quite the grumpy goat at times.

Finally, I had to ask her what changed.

“I stopped cleaning my ears with q-tips,” she laughed, “I didn’t know how they were hurting me, but even my brain feels less foggy. Now I use Klean Ears instead.”

My Grandma, being the lovely lady she is, decided to buy me some Klean Ears as a gift. And I’ll say this – I know it sounds silly, but ear cleaners were the best gift I received this year!

Ever since I got my Klean Ears my ears feel a million times better

Unlike q-tips, they fit in my ear as if they were made for them, which they were.

The first time I used it, I was disgusted by the sheer amount of gunk I pulled out of my ears. I now use it regularly, so my build-up doesn’t get as out of control as it once was. My tinnitus cleared up and I can hear so much better. It’s reusable and very affordable. I highly recommend this body hack!

We’ve partnered with the developers of this innovative product to provide our readers with an exclusive 50% off deal

Space-Saving, Thaw-Saving Hack!

We all know that we can save on our grocery costs by buying food in bulk. But if the food ends up wasted, there are no savings at all. Ground beef, or hamburger, is such a versatile ingredient – it can be used to make meatloaf, chili, tacos, spaghetti, and more. Since it can be used in so many of your dinner options, you may want to purchase ground beef in bulk and toss it in the freezer.

To avoid waste, don’t just throw the family-size package of hamburgers in the freezer. Take the time to repackage it. First, divide the burger into the portion sizes that you and your family need. Next, store the meat into freezer bags and flatten them. In this flattened state, the ground beef will freeze quicker … and thaw quicker. You can pull out a bag of meat from the freezer just before you start preparing your dinner and it will be ready to cook in a few short minutes. 

How I Got Rid of My Unwanted Hair Forever (Without Laser!)

Do this and save time! And money on razors! Just let your armpit hair grow past your nipples!

Just kidding! We actually have a MUCH better solution than looking like a caveman. And our solution really WILL save you time and money on razors and on top of that, it’s actually much more effective than shaving.

Shaving actually helps your body hair grow healthier.

Think of it this way: mowing your lawn doesn’t kill any plants but pulling weeds does. When you shave, you basically are just “mowing your hair” and letting it grow back healthier than ever. Instead, I recommend using a Smoothglide. Smoothglide removes hair at the root and with continued use damages the follicle the hair grew out of. Since I’ve started using it, I don’t have nearly as much hair growing on my monkey arms.

Smoothglide works on:

• Face

• Leg

• Bikini

• and overall body hair! 

If you're Interested, I found a 50%-Off Link you can click here

Take Advantage of your Microwave's Vertical Space

At my house, there is sometimes a line of people waiting to use the microwave. Even if you don’t have a house full of teens, you may find yourself wishing you had two or more microwaves so you can get dinner on the table quicker. It is unfortunate that you can only fit one dish in the microwave at a time.

You can make the most of the space in your microwave – and speed up cooking time – by taking advantage of the height of your microwave’s interior. Put in your bowl as normal but add a glass drinking tumbler or mason jar. Put a second bowl or plate on top of the jar. Now you can fit two dishes at once. Of course, you may have to add to your cooking time because you have twice as much food in the microwave, but you will save time overall. 

One Simple Trick to Constantly Having Fresh Breath

My grandpa told me something gross: that he hates to brush his teeth because he likes to save a “snack” for later.

When I heard that, I was like, ‘No wonder my grandpa always has the nastiest breath!!’

I didn’t say that out loud of course, but I thought it real loud!

But after I tried to gently tell my grandpa to brush his teeth, he just laughed at me, showing his yellow chompers, “It’s fine, I chew gum and eat mints, no one can tell I don’t brush my teeth!”

It wasn’t fine. Not at all. My grandpa’s breath smelled like rotten, moldy onions all this time, he walked around in a cloud of stink. It had always smelled nasty, but I thought that was just his age, so I didn’t blame him for it. When he revealed he hates to brush his teeth, the truth came out, and I was determined to fix it.

Every time I went to see him, I started bringing along a pack of gum or mints or a fancy dental-hygiene tool and insisting he gives it a try.

He’d chew the gum or suck on the mints and then you know what his breath would smell like? Garbage and mints. Moldy spice.

Finally, I gave up. I must have bought one of every mint in the drug store.

But the next time I smelled my grandpa’s breath, you know what it smelled like? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

And you know what’s even crazier? My grandpa accused ME of having stinky breath!

“Darlin,” he said, “your coffee breath smells like a pig’s porta-potty, you need a Best Breath”

Before I had time to be offended, my grandpa handed me a small bottle, it looked like a vitamin bottle. It said, “Best Breath” on it. I read that it was dental probiotics.

Shrugging, I popped one of the small mints in my mouth. Instantly, a feeling of freshness spread through my mouth as the mint melted.

After that, I learned the true source of bad breath is not actually what you eat, it’s the balance of good to bad bacteria in the mouth.

Best Breath balances that out and unlike regular mints can give you good breath all day long.

At least, that’s been my experience. I don’t even get morning breath anymore. Best Breath is the easiest hack on this list because all you’ve got to do is pop a tasty little mint.

Best Breath is offering a special of 50% discount for new readers. Because Best Breath is in such high demand, selling over 1.5 units, hurrying to place your order is recommended. (*Expert Hint* Best Breath makes a great gift for family and friends!).

Hang Your Veggies Out to Freeze

Frozen vegetable companies try their best to package their foods in quantities that are convenient for the majority of their customers, but you may find that it is not an ideal size for you. Maybe you only use half a bag of frozen veggies for a meal. Or, maybe you open several bags of different veggies so you can add half a cup of frozen peas, frozen corn, frozen carrots, and frozen green beans to your batch of vegetable soup. All those opened bags of frozen veggies are in danger of spilling in your freezer.

You can prevent your frozen veggies from spilling, maximize the space in your freezer, and keep the frozen foods organized with this easy life hack. Buy a packet of binder clips … those heavy-duty paper clips that are designed to hold thick stacks of papers. You can position the clips over the racks on the freezer shelf and use them to seal the veggie bags. The bags are securely closed and off the floor of the freezer. They are easy to see and easily accessible the next time you make a pot of soup. 

How to Easily Stop Pet’s Bad Behaviors Fast

I’m not talking about a shock collar or an e-collar. I don’t think my dear little sensitive Brutus (that’s the name of my bull-mastiff) would be able to handle such rough training. I’d feel bad about it anyway.

To be honest, I tried just about everything you can try in order to get Brutus to me better behaved; I took him to obedience training and socialization classes as a puppy, I used treats, and I must have bought 10 different training tools, but only one gadget worked, and it worked like magic where other products failed.

It’s called Barks-no-more.

I got it on a whim when I saw the ad for it online. Well, sometimes impulse buys are the best buys!

All you’ve got to do is press the button when your dog is barking and then emits a sound too high for our ears to detect, but perfect for getting your dog’s attention. It doesn’t hurt the dog, but it grabs their attention over the sound of their own barking so they can calm down enough to listen to you, then you give your dog a treat for stopping to bark.

Anyway, after finding it worked on my big-beast of a dog, my sister decided to give it a try on her chiweenie, and it worked just as well!

Barks No More is doing a special offer for our readers and national train your dog month: a full 50% off your order

Eyes on Cooking

One of the annoying things about some cookbooks is that they don’t open flat. When you are trying a new recipe and you need to refer back to the cookbook often, the pages don’t stay open to the right page. Also, laying a cookbook on the counter takes up precious space. It would be much more convenient if you had a way to keep the cookbook open to the page you need and out of your way while you are cooking. Well, there is.

Take a pants hanger, the type of clothes hanger with the pinchy clips, and hang it from the knob of one of your upper cabinets. Then you can hang your cookbook, opened to the correct recipe, by clipping it to the pants hanger. The cookbook will be away from your workspace, at eye level, and on the right page. You won’t have to flip back to the recipe you need. 

How To Permanently Fix Your Posture

Ever notice someone having particularly good posture? You think, “Wow, that person is confident and put together.”

Personally, I’ve always had terrible posture, no matter what I’ve tried. Yoga. Stretching, just trying to remember to sit up straight.

But the truth about bad posture is it’s not something you can just “will” your body into doing. I learned that from my doctor when I was complaining about back pain.

She told me that all the sitting around I do on my computer, watching tv, or going on my phone ‘molds’ my body into a hunched-over position and the only way to sit up straight was to ‘mold’ it into a new position.

“How do I do that?” I complained.

That’s when she told me about Posture Benefit. Suffice to say, it works.

BeneFIT is offering a special discount for online purchase only. But hurry, due to extremely high demand, BeneFIT has sold over 3.5 million units and is frequently in and out of stock. (Hint: These make great gift ideas for family and friends!)

Organize Your Camis: It's a Snap

If you are a fan of tank tops and cami and have an abundance of them in your wardrobe, then you know it can be challenging to get them to stay on hangers in your closet. Even if you bend up the ends of wire hangers or twist the straps around the notches in plastic hangers, you still find random tank tops in the bottom of your closet. It is frustrating to keep them on the hangers. Maybe the best way to keep them on the hanger is to not use a hanger at all.

Use a package of plastic shower curtain rings to hang a dozen or more tank tops on one single hanger. The shower curtain rings have openings that allow them to hang from the bottom bar of a traditional coat hanger. Then you can pass the straps of your cami or tank top through the opening of the shower curtain ring and clasp it shut. Now, all your tank tops are together in one place and easy to find, especially since they will no longer be on the floor of your closet. 

Use This Simple Trick To Eliminate Dust

Choose one: breathe in cancer-causing smoke or breathe in cancer-causing chemicals. Those seem to be the typical choices when we’re trying to de-stinky-fy a room.

Personally, Febreze and candles give me headaches.

At the same time, I’ve got a very ‘special’ cat that likes to poop in the litter box without burying her poop.

Yes, she’s a disgusting, smelly little kitty, but I love her.

Anyway, I found out about the best way to keep the smell at bay despite her fighting me on it tooth and nail – Soji Bamboo.

Bamboo charcoal is filled with like a million pores that capture dirt and allergens floating through the air AND best of all, smells.

I’ve found the only downside is if you like to bake cookies the smell of the cookies will also get neutralized by Soji Bamboo, but I figure that’s a small price to pay to not deal with the smell of cat poop.

LIMITED TIME: CLICK HERE FOR OUR 50% OFF EXCLUSIVE LINK

DYI Airplane Entertainment: It's in the Bag

Many airlines now have in-seat entertainment options in the form of screens mounted on the seatback in front of each seat. I have to admit that it is a godsend on long flights. But it is annoying that many of the airlines charge a fee to watch a movie on their screen. On top of that, you are often required to purchase (not rent) headphones if you forgot to pack your own and you want to hear the dialog of the movie. Maybe you’d rather watch the movie you downloaded to your phone. Maybe you’d rather play a game than watch a movie.

You don’t have to be stuck holding your cell phone in your hand for the duration of your flight. You can make your own in-seat entertainment using your own phone by simply remembering to pack a zipper baggie in your carry-on. Put your phone in the baggie and hang it from the tray lock on the seatback. You can see the screen, free up your hands, and enjoy your own (free) entertainment to help pass the time until your flight lands. 

America's Secret Weapon Against Hearing Loss Is Here

My mother-in-law, to be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of her.

She always seemed absent-minded and self-centered, always talking about herself, never listening.

Gosh, I felt like a fool when I found out the reason she never listened was because she literally couldn’t hear! I mean, she could hear a bit, but with age, her hearing had declined. My husband explained to me that she refused to get hearing aids because they were both too expensive and too uncomfortable.

As much as I was mad at my husband for never explaining the whole situation to me (men! Grrr) I felt bad about how much I judged her for so long, and I wanted a better relationship with her, so I decided to find her a hearing solution that would work and was within my budget.

When I looked into it I found out that a pair of hearing aids can cost anywhere between $1,000 and $5,000. Sadly, they are typically not covered by private insurance even though hearing aids can improve your overall health.

Well, that was well outside my budget. That’s when I came across something called Oricle Hearing Aid. Oricle Hearing Aid is affordable, you don’t need a doctor to prescribe it, and it has excellent reviews. It’s specially tuned for hearing voices, be it a person in front of you, or the TV, it makes the sound clear.

My mother-in-law was initially skeptical, but ultimately loves the one I got for her. Our relationship is better than ever.

You might be a good candidate for Oricle if you meet the following criteria:

50 years or older

Having trouble hearing

Living in the U.S.        

If you fit the above criteria click here for 50% off today

No Matter How You Slice It, This Chopping Center Is a Cut Above

The trend these days is moving away from massive mansions and toward tiny houses and the minimalist lifestyle. Small kitchen spaces look appealing in Instagram pics, but the reality is, they get quickly cluttered with all our kitchen gadgets. A foodie’s best friend is a good, sturdy cutting board. If you are living in a small apartment or house, you don’t have to sacrifice a chopping center in the name of space.

Install a solid wood cutting board into one of your kitchen drawers. The cutting board can be removed so you aren’t losing storage space. In fact, you can keep your sharp chopping and slicing knives in the space beneath the cutting board. When you are done slicing veggies for your salad or mincing fresh herbs for your roasted chicken, you can simply close the drawer. 

Keep Yourself Safe with No Bulky Self-defense Item that's an Instant Thief & Attacker Deterrence

We all want to feel safe, and we want our families to feel safe too, right? I mean, unless you hate your kids or something.

My own kids, I think they’re too young for cell phones. Too young for pepper spray and too young for firearms too…But are you’re never too young to be kidnapped.

So I still wanted to feel secure about their safety, even when they aren’t on the end of my leash…Putting your children on a leash is another great life hack by the way ;)

Anyway, joking aside, I wanted my kids to be safe, and I wanted to feel safe myself when I’m walking to my car in a dark parking lot at night.

So I asked my neighbor, who’s a police officer if he had any suggestions.

“The best way to be safe,” he told me, “is to scream for help when you need it, but because it’s not always easy to scream loud enough for help and sometimes you can be prevented from screaming, I recommend a Safe Siren Alarm.”

I looked into it, and it seems he’s right. I got one for myself and each of my darling little love goblins (and by love goblins I mean my kids.)

When you pull the pin on these specialized little keychains, a sound bigger than the smell that comes out of my son’s diapers explodes into the air, splitting your ears, and the ears of any criminals who will now think twice about targeting you.

Every once in a while, I pull the pins on our keychain to make sure they still work, and a year and a half later, they still work as well as when I bought them the first time.

They’re more than worth the peace of mind they give me.

You can read an article about how they actually saved someone’s life here…

Thumb-Saving Clothespin Hack

Occasionally you need to hang a picture on your wall, tack up a piece of trim, or make a small household repair. It always sounds simple enough. You just have to hold the nail in place with your forefinger and thumb and tap the nail in with the hammer. But one wrong move and you find yourself with a red, swollen, throbbing thumb. If only there was a way to hold the nail in place until it is far enough in that you don’t need to hold it anymore.

It is possible to hammer in a nail and save your thumb. All you need is a clothespin. Use the clothespin to hold the nail in place while you give it a healthy whack. You can finish your DIY projects done without bloodying your digits. 

This Is The Most Comfortable Concealed Carry Holster That Everyone Should Own!

It probably already seems like I’m paranoid, seeing as I already mentioned I’ve got a huge dog and I make my kids carry around safety keychains…

I know this won’t apply to everyone, but if you’re conceal and carry certified like my husband, then this is a great gift either for yourself or your ‘packing’ loved one.

Normal conceal/carry belts are uncomfortable and inconvenient or they simply don’t conceal! It kind of defeats the point, right? I mean, if you want to conceal and carry, but it’s too uncomfortable to wear in day-to-day life, then you simply won’t.

Anyway, this is one of my husband's favorite gifts from me this year. And best of all, I actually feel a lot safer when I am with him now. You never know what’s going to happen now in this crazy world.

By the way, if you’re a woman, it will fit you too. I don’t carry myself but I tried it on just to see if it would fit, and it’s just as comfortable as you would expect! One size apparently fits most, plus it’s very durable – my husband has worn his every day for 7 months with no wear and tear (plus, it’s so easy to clean).

Ever since the EZTacHolster was featured on TV, an incredible amount of buzz has been generated and has since sold over 2 million units. Due to its popularity and positive reviews, the company is so confident in their product that they are now offering a one-time discount of 50% off

Rubber Band Drip Saver

Painting your house can be a messy affair. Unless you are super careful (and slow), you will get paint drips everywhere … on the floor, on yourself, and all down the side of the paint can. After loading up your brush with paint by dipping it into the paint can, you have to remove much of the paint. It really makes no sense when you think about it. Scraping your brush on the edge of the paint can get the job done, but it’ll leave paint dripping down the side of the paint can and paint filling the grooves of the rim. When you tap the lid back on, the paint oozes out to make more of a mess.

If only you had a way to scrape off the excess paint without using the edge of the paint can. Try this simple hack. Stretch a thick rubber band vertically around the can so that a line of the rubber band is spread across the opening. Now you have a vehicle for dabbing off the extra paint that doesn’t involve messing up the outside of the can. You will just have to remove the rubber band when you are done and ready to put the lid back on. 

Who Needs a Drink Carrier When You Have Sneakers?

Shouldn’t cars have the same number of cup holders as seats? Too many of them only have two cup holders and those get filled up quickly with other things, like your phone, sunglasses, loose change, and your keys (if you have a keyless car). And then you hit Starbucks or Dunkins for your morning coffee and have no place to hold your drink while you are driving.

If you are in a bind and you need an emergency cup holder to keep your drink from spilling all over your car, you can use a shoe. Yes, a shoe. It isn’t a glamorous solution, but it works great. The shoe will keep your beverage standing upright so you don’t have to stress a potential mess. 

Your Toaster's Side Hustle

Grilled cheese sandwiches are the ultimate comfort food. One of the appealing things about this all-American lunchtime favorite is that it is easy to make. Even most amateur cooks can whip up a simple, yet tasty grilled cheese sammie with a couple of pieces of bread, a slice of cheese, and a frying pan. But what if you don’t have a stove? What if you are a college student living in a dorm with minimal kitchen facilities? No worries … there is a quick way to make homemade grilled cheese.

You can turn an ordinary toaster into a toaster oven and use it to make more than just toast and bagels. Lay the toaster on its side and use it as a toaster oven. Insert a piece of bread topped with a slice of cheese into the slot, with the cheese up, of course. Turn on the toaster and … voila! … in about a minute or two, you will have an ooey-gooey grilled cheese just like mom used to make. 

Boo-Boos Be Gone!

Remember when you bumped your knee at recess when you were in school, and your teacher sent you to see the school nurse. The nurse always had a stash of the coolest (pun intended) ice packs to help soothe bumps and bruises. These ice packs were, for some reason, blue, but that wasn’t the coolest part. They were frozen, yet malleable. You could bend and mold the ice pack around your knee. And they could be refrozen and used again and again.

You can make your own homemade ice packs that are just like the ones the school nurse had. Get a freezer bag with a zip closure. Put three parts water to one part rubbing alcohol into the freezer bag. If you want, you can add some blue food coloring to the water to mimic the blue ice pack from your childhood. Or you can get jazzy with your homemade ice back and make it pink or green or purple. You can even put some glitter or tiny toys in the mix. Zip the bag closed and lay it flat in your freezer. It’ll be ready for you the next time you injure yourself. 

Screw That Dipstick!

Whoever designed the bottle that motor oil comes in looks like they tried to make it easy to add oil to your car, but they missed the mark. I know every time I try to add oil to my car, I end up spilling a lot of the oil onto the engine. Then, when I start driving, my car smells and smokes until the oil burns off the manifold. I have a plastic funnel in my garage, but my car burns through oil. Often, I need to add oil when I stop at a gas station and don’t have my funnel.

Here is a way to make sure the majority of the oil makes it into the engine and not on it. Take a screwdriver and insert the tip into the oil reservoir. Tilt it a bit. Then drip the oil onto the screwdriver. The thick oil will cling to the shaft of the screwdriver and drip into the opening. In no time, the oil will be where it is supposed to be … in your car and not spilled all over the engine. 

Trash Can Odor Is Old News

Your kitchen trash can see a lot of action. Potato peels, apple cores, coffee grounds, and all the remnants from your dinner plates combine in the bottom of your trash can to form a stinky mixture. If your family is like mine, your kids are also dumping their cereal milk, and half-drank juice boxes into the trash. All that liquid increases the change of odors in your kitchen.

One of the easiest ways to prevent smells is to eliminate the liquids that collect in the bottom of your trash can. You can use old newspapers to do this job. Simply line the bottom of the trash bag with several layers of newspapers when you put a new bag in. The newspapers will soak up the milk, juice, and other liquids before they can stink up your kitchen. 

Cool Cable Clips

More and more of us are working from home these days and setting up our home offices in corners of our living rooms, bedrooms, and dining rooms. Here, we are setting up our laptops, tablets, printers, cellphones, and more. All those devices mean there are cords and cables dangling all over the place. Not only is it unsightly and stress-inducing, but it gets confusing. How do you find the cable or charger you need?

Use the heavy-duty binder clips, the kind you use to hold a thick stack of papers together, to organize your cables and cords. Attach the binder clips to the edge of your desk and flip the silver tabs backward. Now thread your cords, cables, and chargers through the keyhole-shaped wire. The cables won’t fall to the floor, out of reach behind your desk. They will be right at your fingertips when you need them. 

This Eraser Is Nuts

Tables, bookshelves, and chairs made of polished wood can give your home a classic elegance, but if the wooden pieces get nicked or dinged, it can diminish the aesthetic. Wear and tear are normal, but sometimes your wooden dining room table and chairs can really take a beating. Instead of replacing your wooden furniture, you can repair the scratches and nicks with a common party snack.

Use a nut, like a walnut, to buff out the blemishes in wooden furniture. Just rub the nut along with the scratch. After a few minutes, you will notice that the scratch is beginning to fade. That’s because the natural oils in the nut seep into the wood to repair the nick. 

Chillin’ with Beverage Napkins

Has this ever happened to you? You decide to have a spur-of-the-moment cookout or get-together, so you run to the store to stock up on hot dogs, buns, and drinks. But the drinks are all warm and you don’t have much time to cool them before your guests arrive. When this has happened to me, I usually stuff as many drinks as possible into the freezer and hope for the best. There is a better way.

Before you toss the bottles into the freezer, wrap a wet paper towel or beverage napkin around the container. The damp napkin speeds up the cooling process. In about 15 minutes, you’ll have a bunch of thoroughly chilled beverages ready for your friends. 

Steam-Clean Your Microwave

Food exploding and splattering in the microwave creates a tough, disgusting mess that is hard to clean. From spaghetti sauce to chicken noodle soup to melted butter, the spills in your microwave cook onto the tray. If you don’t wipe up spills right away – and who does that? – microwave messes can pose a problem.

You can soften the baked-on food and spills, making them easier to clean, by microwaving a full glass of water for a few minutes. Keep the glass in the microwave for about five minutes to let the steam seep into the hardened food. You will be able to more easily wipe the spills and residue from the inside of your microwave. 

Stubborn Jar Struggles

Opening a jar of pickles or jelly shouldn’t be such a challenge, but often it requires some major muscles to get the lid to budge. Even grown adults can struggle with this task. You may have heard that you can easily open the lid if you tap it with a knife or run the jar under hot water or spank the bottom of the jar, but personally, I haven’t had much luck with these tricks.

Perhaps the lid is being stubborn because there is some residue from the jar’s contents stuck under the lid. Try putting adhesive tape on the lid. It will help you to get a better grip on the lid and give you more leverage to unstick the lid. 

Untangle Your Cables and Cords

Like most people, you probably have a junk drawer full of cords and cables from your old cell phones, computers, tablets, and cameras. Stuffed in a drawer, it is easy for these cables to become a tangled mess. It is nearly impossible for you to easily find the cord you need from the knot of cables.

With a shoebox and some empty toilet paper rolls, you can have a neatly organized cable drawer. Cut the toilet paper rolls so they fit, standing up, in the shoebox. Each individual cable and cord can then have its own place in separate rolls. You can label the toilet paper tubes so you know which device that cord goes to. 

Camouflage Beer Can

This hack is for responsible adults over the age of 21. Once you are of legal drinking age, you may want to partake in a beverage or two in a place where drinking is prohibited, like a public park or beach. But you would draw unwanted attention by carrying around a can of beer. Instead, camouflage it.

Use an empty soda can for your camouflage. Cut the can in half. Then you can cover your beer can with the two halves of the soda can to make it appear that you are sipping on a Coke. Of course, we want to make sure that people use this hack responsibly and never drink and drive. 

The Easy Way to Get into Hard Plastic

You know how some products come packaged in impenetrable plastic packaging? This hard plastic packaging is so tough you almost need a chainsaw to cut through them and get to your product. When you try to open these packages with a knife, you risk the knife slipping and cutting you. It’s a dangerous task.

There is an easier, less dangerous way to open this rigid, plastic packaging. Take a can opener and line it up along the edge of the plastic package. Squeeze the can opener tightly and turn the crank. The cutting blade of the can opener will slice through the hard plastic just as it slices through a can. The best part is that you won’t risk cutting yourself to open the package. 

One-Trip Wonder

How many of you play a game with yourself when you come home from the grocery store? That game is to see if you can carry all the grocery bags in one trip. If you live in an upper apartment, it is much more practical to bring the bags into your apartment all at once rather than taking multiple trips up and down the stairs. But the handles of the bags can dig into our hands and make it painful to carry many bags at once.

Keep a carabiner on your keychain. When you come back from the grocery store, use the carabiner as a grocery bag handle. Just open the carabiner and thread the bag handles through it. Now the plastic won’t dig into your skin. The carabiner distributes the weight of the bags so you can make it from the car to the kitchen in just one trip. 

Two-Liter Bottle Equals Gallons of Summer Fun

When summer temperature spikes and the heat becomes unbearable, parents look for ways to keep their kids cool and entertained. The best way to stay cool is to play in the water. If you don’t have a swimming pool, the next best thing is a sprinkler. Don’t have a sprinkler for the kids to play in? You can quickly make a homemade sprinkler.

All you need is an empty 2-liter bottle that has been rinsed clean. Puncture the plastic bottle with a knife to make a series of holes. Then screw the 2-liter bottle onto your garden hose and wind some duct tape around it to keep it securely in place. When you turn on the spigot, the water will be forced out the holes in the bottle like a sprinkler.  

A Cache of Cash

You have heard the horror stories of travelers who have had all their cash stolen from them, by opportunistic thieves, unscrupulous hotel maids, or pickpockets. It is always risky to carry a lot of cash, but sometimes it is necessary, depending on where you are traveling to. No matter how much cash you have, you need to take precautions to keep your money safe.

Try hiding your cash in a place that a thief wouldn’t suspect. Take an empty chapstick container and clean it out. You can roll up your bills and slip them inside the container. If a thief has just a few seconds to rustle through your purse, he or she will go for the wallet, not the chapstick. This trick also works well at the beach or pool. You can leave the hidden cash in the chapstick holder in your beach bag when you jump in the water. If there is a pickpocket about, he or she will pass over your chapstick. 

This Hack Sucks...In a Good Way!

If you still have a traditional vacuum cleaner, not a robotic one, you have more flexibility than you know. You can use the hand-held vacuum wand to search for tiny lost items, like an earring, or to clean clunky items, like a bin of Legos. In most cases, you would suck up that missing earring or several Legos into the vacuum bag.

Stretch a nylon stocking over the opening of the vacuum wand. The vacuum will still be able to suck air, and other items, from the carpet, but larger items, like that earring, won’t end up in the vacuum bag. Instead, it will be stuck to the nylon stocking so you can find it. You can use the hose-covered wand to remove dirt and dust from things like that bin of Legos without losing one Lego. 

Coke: The Pause that Refreshes ... and Cleans

You may think of Coca-Cola as your go-to beverage when you’re eating a burger, need a quick, cool caffeine jolt, or if you find yourself ice skating with polar bears. After all, it is crisp, fizzy, and sweet. As your dentist can attest, Coca-Cola is made with harsh chemicals that, although edible, can damage your teeth. That corrosive nature to America’s most popular soft drink is precisely what makes it an ideal cleaning product. What? You heard that right.

The chemicals in a bottle of Coke have properties that remove rust and hard water stains on some surfaces. Believe it or not, you can pour Coca-Cola into your toilet bowl and let it sit for a few minutes to make it easier to erase unsightly stains. Since Coca-Cola eats away rust, you can put small, rust, metal parts, like screws, in a glass bowl and cover them with Coke. After a bit, you’ll be able to easily brush the rust away.