If the tasks we have to complete each day are boring or annoying, our daily routine can quickly turn into a monotonous and unpleasant experience. To overcome these difficulties, we frequently employ various shortcuts and clever tricks, also known as “life hacks.” Regardless of what we need to do on a daily basis, the following list of helpful life hacks is guaranteed to make our routine more manageable and enjoyable.
Using Thread to Snip Hairs
In case you have long, solitary facial hair that requires removal and you don’t have any alternative method, you can use thread to remove them. Of course, this would require you to twist the thread into an hourglass shape, and practice the technique of catching the hairs perfectly between them, but it is an available option.
Naturally, if you were already able to use a sharp blade to cut a part of the thread, it’s possible that you could just stick to that method. This trick is likely more suited for experimentation rather than achieving the highest level of effectiveness.
Sharpening a Razor Blade
Do you find that your razor is not sharp enough to shave your legs, face, or any other part of your body that needs trimming? Rather than disposing of the razor and purchasing a new one, it is possible to sharpen the blades for improved performance by running them along a pair of denim jeans.
Naturally, this method won’t ensure the longevity of your razor for an indefinite period, but it will increase its durability slightly, resulting in a reduced need to purchase replacement blades as often.
Deshelling a Boiled Egg Effortlessly
Looking for a fast and easy way to remove the shell from a boiled egg? Start by peeling off the tip of the shell, then raise it to your mouth and blow forcefully. With practice, you may be able to blow the egg white out of the other end of the shell.
Certainly, we do not suggest performing this action if you plan on giving that egg to someone else to consume. However, if the egg is intended for your own consumption, there is no harm in doing so.
Getting the USB Right Every Time
Are you facing difficulty in inserting your USB into the port correctly every time? Here’s a useful tip – use a permanent marker to mark one side of your USB so that you can identify which side goes up, and this problem will be solved permanently. It’s a straightforward solution to a straightforward issue.
If you choose to do so, you may also label the computer for extra assurance. However, it’s not entirely necessary to accomplish the intended outcome.
Preventing Computer Overheat
Are you experiencing your computer getting excessively hot while resting on a surface? There’s a simple solution to alleviate this problem. If you have an empty egg carton, try taking the bottom part, separating it from the other half, and turning it over.
Placing your computer on top of this will give more space for the fans to draw in air, resulting in the computer staying cool, and therefore increasing its lifespan.
Get Drinks Cold Faster
If you are craving a can of Cola, but it is unpleasantly warm, you can quickly cool it down by following a simple procedure. Fill a bowl with water, add some ice, and a spoonful of salt, then stir until the salt dissolves. Place the can in the mixture for approximately one minute, and it will cool down much faster than it would through conventional means.
If you desire to relax more, you may keep it for an extended period, but ensure not to overdo it as it could become overwhelming.
Moving Text From Paper to Digital
Do you have a physical document that needs to be converted into a digital format? If you have a pants hanger with clips, you can clip the paper onto one side of the hanger and attach the other clip to the top of your computer. This way, you can conveniently switch between the physical and digital versions.
In addition, you can avoid constantly diverting your gaze from the computer, which will speed up the process considerably.
Clean Paint Off of Your Skin
If you have ever painted before, you are aware of how difficult it is to remove paint from your skin. However, if you want to make the cleaning process less troublesome, try using a piece of cloth soaked in vegetable oil. When you scrub your skin with this combination, it will easily remove the paint without any difficulties.
It is advisable to wait until you finish painting because if you don’t, you will have to redo it multiple times.
DIY Laces
Do you have missing shoelaces, or do you find it inconvenient to tie them every time you wear your shoes? You can opt for zip ties instead, and if you secure them at the correct spot, they will always fit perfectly.
The issue is that if you think the zip ties are either too tight or loose later, you’ll need to redo them. However, the good news is that replacing zip ties is not a costly affair.
Cleaning Rusty Tools
Are you hesitant to utilize your equipment due to the presence of rust? Don’t worry, there is a simple solution to remove the rust. Get a container that is big enough to hold the tool and fill it with enough vinegar to submerge it. Allow the tool to soak in the vinegar for a sufficient period of time, and the rust will be removed naturally.
After that task is completed, a gentle cleaning with scrubbing and wiping using a cloth is adequate for eliminating rust of nearly any degree.
Mitigating the Effect of Scratches
Although it may not be possible to completely eliminate scratches on a phone screen, you have the option of minimizing their visibility by applying toothpaste onto the screen and wiping it off. It should be noted that this method doesn’t completely remove the scratches but it makes them less noticeable.
In any case, giving it a try could be a much more affordable solution to deal with the issue instead of replacing the screen altogether.
Fitting Large Jeans
If you possess a pair of jeans or pants with belt loops that are slightly bigger than your waist size, you don’t necessarily have to return or donate them. Simply grab an object, like a piece of string, that you can use to tie a knot and insert it between the two belt loops located near your pocket.
Keep pulling the waistband of your clothing until it fits perfectly, and then secure it by tying a knot and tucking the extra material into your pocket. If you’re wearing a sufficiently long shirt, the knot will be hidden from view.
Saving a Broken Egg
Do you have a cracked egg in your carton? No need to waste it. Simply bring a pot of water and a spoonful of vinegar to a boil, then carefully pour the broken egg into the water. Give it a few stirs, and you can turn the yolk and whites into a tasty breakfast dish.
Although it may not be visually appealing, what truly counts is its taste, correct?
Efficient Bag Carrying
Are you struggling with carrying several bags and worried about hurting your fingers? You can make it easier by using one of the clips commonly utilized for rappelling. This allows you to carry multiple bags simultaneously with less pressure on your fingers, although the overall weight remains the same.
Furthermore, there is an opportunity to employ this approach to attach sacks to your apparel or other items, allowing you to transport them with ease.
Opening Bottles with Metal Caps
In case you are having difficulty in opening a bottle that has a metal cap, there are various ways to tackle the problem. Nevertheless, if you happen to be wearing any kind of ring, then you don’t need to look for any specialized equipment. Instead, utilize the ring to provide the required force to open the bottle.
The ring that people wear on their finger is often overlooked and underrated, despite the fact that it could be easily utilized in various ways.
Keeping Cords Straight
It is a common knowledge that cords tend to become tangled even when you roll them up. Despite your efforts to keep them neat, they end up getting twisted. However, to prevent that, you can roll them up as neatly as possible and secure them with a hair clip to prevent tangling.
This inexpensive trick is an excellent method to reduce the damage that a cord will endure over time, and virtually everyone possesses the required materials to perform it.
Evenly Heating Potatoes
When you place a potato on a plate and microwave it, there is a significant possibility that the bottom part may not receive sufficient heat. However, by inserting toothpicks under the potato, you can create legs that will help to distribute heat evenly throughout the entire potato.
It goes without saying that you will have potatoes that taste much better and look more tempting. We definitely recognize the benefits of this!
Drying Nails Faster
It can be frustrating to wait for your painted nails to dry. To speed up the process, put your nails in a bowl of cold water after painting them. Leave them in for a short while, and this will actually help them to dry quicker once you take them out.
Although it might appear unproductive to use water for speeding up the drying process, you can try it on your own to validate it.
Computer DIY Drink Holder
We advise you to proceed with caution and take responsibility for any consequences. In case you require a holder for your beverage while using your laptop, and there is not enough space available, you can utilize the open disk drive of your computer as a temporary cup holder.
Certainly, if you are dealing with an exceptionally strong alcoholic beverage, it might be better to avoid consuming it using your disk drive since it might harm the equipment. However, in today’s world, how frequently do people still employ disks?
Keeping Your Rugs Secure
If you’ve ever bumped into the edge of a rug by accident, you know how frustrating it can be. However, by using double-sided tape and Velcro, you can prevent this from happening frequently and drastically by securing the rug’s edges to the floor. Additionally, if required, it can be easily detached in the future.
In order to avoid the hassle of nailing rugs to the floor, this option is the most suitable and cost-effective solution.
Keeping Track of the Duct Tape Lip
Are you finding it difficult to locate the edge of the duct tape? Are you repeatedly flipping the tape over to find it using your nails? To avoid this inconvenience in the future, you may want to try attaching a paper clip to the edge of the tape for easier access.
When you’re done with it, you can just take the same paperclip and move it to the new position. That way, you’ll never have to struggle with this again.
Immediate Popcorn Holder
Are you lacking access to a popcorn container for some reason? Or do you just want even easier access to it than usual? You can wear your hoodie backward, pour the popcorn in, and have easy access to it all the time. The real benefit is that it saves you space.
This hack is really just more about convenience than anything else, as it doesn’t necessarily make anything easier, but it does make it simpler.
Drilling the Perfect Hole
Do you need to drill a hole for an object of a certain length? No problem. Just hold the object up to your drill so you know how far you need to go into the wall, then place some tape there so you know what point to drill to. It’s an easy way to get the job done.
Moreover, you don’t have to worry about drilling too far into the wall, and everything will fit as perfectly as possible.
Securing Extension Cords
Extension cords coming undone? Instead of trusting them to stay together, which often fails, why not try looping the two cords together? Sure this will reduce the range of the cord by just a little bit, but that’s a small price to pay to stop the nuisance of constant disconnections.
Besides, usually extension cords give you a little extra to work with, so why not take advantage of that and reduce the frustration involved with work?
Two-Directional Airflow
This may sound weird at first, but hear us out. If you need the airflow from a fan to go in more than one direction at a time, there’s an odd thing you can do to make that happen. Simply attach a pair of pants to it! Odd as it sounds, the pants legs will direct the air in two directions.
Of course, you could use other things to achieve this end, but a pair of pants is something that nearly everyone has available. Just make sure they’re of the lighter variety!
Scooping Up Eggshells
We all know that there’s a pretty high chance of a piece of eggshell getting in the bowl when you are cracking an egg. You don’t need to stick your fingers in to get it. Just take one half of the eggshell you just cracked and use it to scoop up the small piece.
It’s quick, easy, and doesn’t get your fingers or any other utensil dirty, especially since you’ll be throwing away the eggshell anyway.
Adding Keys to Rings
Keyrings are hard to hold open with your fingers when you need to actually add a key to them. If you have a staple remover, you can use its thin edges to make space for you much more easily, without hurting your fingers or your nails.
Of course, this would require you to have a staple remover first, something not everyone has lying around. They are cheap to procure though.
Picking Up Broken Glass
When you drop a glass, the end result can be a ton of tiny little shards on the ground that are dangerous and tedious to pick up one at a time. If you have plasticine lying around, you can use it to easily gather broken glass shards.
That said, not everyone has that lying around for use, but if this type of accident happens often for you, maybe you should consider buying some for these situations!
Cutting Back on Dish Duty
Do you hate doing the dishes? Or do you simply not want to make a mess while eating? Either way, covering the plate you are going to eat on with plastic wrap means you’ll have no trouble with cleaning up, as any mess will get on the plastic wrap and not on the plate.
This is a great choice when you are eating anything that is a hassle or a mess. Make your dishwashing life easier by cutting back on how many you have to wash at all!
Connecting a Bracelet
Connecting a bracelet can be a hassle. However, if you take a paperclip and make an S out of it, you can use it to hold one end of the bracelet while you loop the other end around and connect it. Simple and easy, and less of a pain than doing things the normal way.
There’s actually a lot that you can do with a paperclip in making your day to day life easier. But this is just one of them.
Treating Burns
Finally, there’s one more thing you can do with toothpaste that you may not expect. It can actually be used to treat burns! Toothpaste has a soothing effect on such burns and can help reduce the pain you feel in the hours when a fresh burn is most painful.
In fact, it’s a far better option than ice, which you aren’t supposed to put on burns, and an alternative to constantly keeping your hand under running water!
Keeping Paint Containers Clean
If you have to pour paint into a container, you can be sure that it will stain it. If you don’t want that to happen, put a plastic bag for lining within the container, and secure it with a rubber band. This will keep the container from getting paint all over it.
Ultimately, this helps ensure that you can still use such a container for some other task down the line if you needed to.
Keeping Track of USB Cords
If you have a setup with a whole lot of cords, it may be difficult for you to remember what goes where, especially if they aren’t continuously plugged in. Well, get some colored tape and a marker, and label everything so you know what goes where when it’s time to plug in.
This will save you a lot of time and hassle when dealing with all of your electronics, and it hardly costs anything at all.
Removing a Snapped Key
If you have a key that snaps in a lock, you may feel like you have to call the locksmith right away. But there is something you can try first. If you have super glue or hot glue or something similar, you can try and glue the end back on (or anything stiff enough to let you turn it), and you may be able to extricate the key.
Now, this is highly dependent on just how stuck the key is, but if nothing else, it wouldn’t hurt to try before paying a bunch of money for a locksmith!
A DIY Foot Rest
Many of us wish we could rest our feet while sitting at a desk. If you have the right things lying around, you can fix that. Cloth, wooden sticks or stakes, and rope is all you need. You may have to do a little extra work depending on the nature of your materials.
That said, the basic premise is the same: the sticks go on the edges of the cloth, the rope is tied around them, and you can then secure them to the legs of your desk.
Hiding Your Drink
Do you need to hide the nature of your can for whatever reason? Simply cut away the outside of another, less suspicious can, and slide it over the one that you want to hide. Voila, you have successfully disguised your can as something else entirely.
Of course, we can’t recommend doing this to break rules or anything, officially speaking. But hey, as long as nobody actually says it, right?
DIY Tablet Holder
If you don’t want to hold up your tablet all the time and don’t want to spend too much money on those silly gadgets that hold them up, you can make your own tablet stand with a picture frame and double-sided tape. Simply stick the frame to the back of your tablet.
And of course, the best part is that you could easily remove it at any time you needed to, so it’s not like it’ll be part of the tablet forever!
Creating Extra Fridge Space
Sometimes, the fridge just doesn’t have enough space. In that scenario, magnets are your friend! Stick them to the top of the fridge, than you can hang any compatible container from them, creating extra space! It’s a great way to maximize what you have available.
All that empty space can be made use of via magnets, and magnets are pretty cheap to get, so it’s a life hack that won’t set anyone back much!
On the Fly Mirror
Do you need a mirror for some reason? Are you unable to get to one, or just don’t feel like going to one? Well, these days our electronic devices can do the job just fine! All you have to do is activate the camera that nearly any device has these days.
Phone, tablet, computer, you name it: just about anything will do if you suddenly need to see what you look like for some reason.
Cleaning Stubborn Pots
Actually, toothpaste can do a lot of things besides clean your teeth. They can clean stubborn pots too! Simply pour some toothpaste on the dirty pot and start scrubbing away. You’ll be surprised by how much easier it becomes to clean it!
Add some warm water to the mix and soon you’ll have taken a dirty pot from a mess in the sink to a clean, ready to cook on a piece of kitchenware.
Easy Pickle Jar Opening Hack
There is no denying that trying to open a pickle jar can take way too much time for its own good. Sure, those sour treats inside are the perfect thing to add to a homemade burger. But are they really worth all that time and effort?
Thankfully, the following hack will help make this trivial part of your daily routine not so arduous. Simply wrap some duct tape around the edge and pull the end.
How to Dry Clothes Quickly
Isn’t it amazing how many times certain items of clothing are still wet even when it has been rolling around in a dryer for a couple of hours? Without wasting too much electricity trying to fix this, you could perform the following hack.
What you need to do is put the item of clothing inside a plastic bag. Then, place a hairdryer inside and turn it on, which should make the bag look like it’s inflated. After a minute or so, the clothes should be dry.
Get All the Crumbs Out of the Keyboard
Many of us work from home these days and that often means we will have some snacks from time to time as we type away at our keyboards. Consequentially, we are bound to get a lot of crumbs and debris trapped inside the gaps of that keyboard.
And yet, simply tipping the keyboard over doesn’t get all of the garbage out. If you take a post-it note and slowly drag it along each gap, you will see a lot of crumbs build up on the sticky edge.
Fixing the Ends of Your Laces
It seems like our shoelaces are always getting ruined, especially the ends of them. How many times does the clip holding the ends together fall off during our daily routine? Thankfully, someone came up with the following hack to ensure that these laces are no longer obsolete.
What you need to do is take a piece of plastic, wrap it around the end, and gently hover a lighter underneath it. This will melt the plastic a little, molding it around the threads.
Retrieve Your Keys From Behind the Sofa
For those of us whose sofas are positioned toward the wall, how many times have we dropped our keys or something valuable behind there? It can get awfully frustrating having to pull the furniture back every time we have to retrieve them.
Well, why not do this? Take a magnet and connect it to the end of some measuring tape. Then, lower the tape to the bottom of the sofa and your keys should stick to the magnet. Simply pull the table back and voila – problem solved.
Spring Clean the Bathroom Walls
You know, toothbrushes aren’t just there to brush one’s teeth. If you have a spare one lying about, you can use it to clean all the gunk from your bathroom walls. Here’s how you do it.
First, drill a screw into the middle of the brush head, before cutting it off with some pliers. Then, connect the screw to your electric drill and then gently rub your new rotating brush against the wall.
A New Wine Glass Holder
This might not apply to everyone’s daily routines, but hey, there are plenty of people out there who like having a glass of wine when they get home from work. As you can see, the head of a gardening rake actually works really well as a hanger for wine glasses.
In order to make your makeshift hanger, take the head off and add super glue to the base of it. Then, simply stick to the kitchen wall.
Repurposing Rubber Gloves
You might think that rubber gloves are only good for protecting your hands while washing the dishes or cleaning the toilet. But have you ever thought about how different parts of these gloves can actually solve all kinds of everyday problems?
If you cut the fingers from one of these gloves, you can add them to the legs of furniture, meaning that you won’t create marks when dragging tables and chairs along the floor. You can also use parts of a glove to fasten milk cartons and Coke bottles.
A Makeshift Coffee Cup
Repurposing random materials can be so rewarding, especially when it allows you to drink some much-needed coffee. After all, a heavy intake of caffeine and various parts of the day can be very useful, especially for people who have to work from home.
For this hack, you can take a used glass jar and connect a handle to it. All you have to do next is add some instant coffee and pour the boiling water. Easy!
A Quick Banana Cutter
While this might not be the most essential hack on this list, it certainly makes cutting a banana much easier. All you will need is a fork and some pliers (and a banana, of course).
You can easily twist the tines of the fork with the pliers and then you can cut multiple banana slices at once. And when you are done cutting the banana, you can simply twist the tines of the fork back to their default position.
Quick Peeling a Banana
Is peeling a banana a pain for you? Well don’t worry, it’s a pain for a lot of people, and you can make it easier. In fact, all you have to do is split the banana in half, at which point it’s much easier to get the banana off of both pieces.
It’s an extremely quick and painless way to go about this generally annoying task that is more of a hassle than it really needs to be.
Removing Nails From Walls
When you use a hammer to remove a nail from a wall, there’s a significant chance to accidentally damage your wall, or scuff it at the very least. Consider using a sponge along the way! Place it where the hammer would usually press up against the wall.
This will prevent any significant damage from befalling the wall and still get the nail out without any trouble at all.
Using a Broken Corkscrew
So you want to open a bottle of wine, but your corkscrew is broken. Well, so long as you still have the screw itself, as well as a power drill, you can combine the two and still make use of your corkscrew to get the job done. Actually, it’ll be even faster and less tiring than usual!
Or you could just go out and buy a new corkscrew of course, but this method could save you in a moment when a corkscrew breaks on you suddenly, and you don’t feel like leaving home.
Tying Your Shoes Quickly
Need to tie your shoes even faster than usual? Take one lace, make a loop, take the other lace, make a loop, and simply pull them through each other into a knot. We’re not going to say that it’s the sturdiest way to secure your footwear, but it’s doable.
If you just need to go out real quick, there’s no reason you can’t tie your shoes in this quick manner that’s good enough for the job.
DIY Acne Cream
If you’ve got pimples or spots on your face that need to go away, you don’t have to rely on expensive store-bought creams. Toothpaste is also a valid strategy, believe it or not. Toothpaste on the skin will dry out those pimples and help them go away faster.
Of course, it’s not an instant process and will probably have to be repeated for a few days, but a few dots of toothpaste on your face for a few minutes a night isn’t all that bad.
