I have a new obsession…. life hacks! What exactly is a life hack, you ask?
These are the tips you read on line and you hit your hand on your head and say “OMG, SO smart!…. How did I not know that??”
There are THOUSANDS of life hacks out there! There are hundreds of websites with tons of life hacks. However, I have sifted through these sites and am sharing some of my favorites. I have found the best site for life hacks to be 1000lifehacks.com, (although they are well over 1000 now!)
Wash kids Legos in mesh bag from Gettinby – I am SO excited about this! I hate washing legos, but they get totally yucky dirty! This will make cleaning them super easy! Goes right along with my OCD!!
Cut ice cream with a knife when serving to a crowd from Real Simple – I HATE scooping ice cream at my kids birthday party! I started using ice cream cups, but my kids don’t really like them… they like the “fun” ice cream! This is a great way to get your cake and eat it too (ha, ha, ha!!)
Use Airheads to cutout letters for Birthday cake from Studio DIY – I CANNOT write with those little gel decorator pens – I totally stink at it! This is absolute genius!! This will happen!
Fill water balloons and freeze them as a cooler – Pretty and practical – two of my favorite things!!
Place freezer pops upright for an clean cut from lifehacksdaily.com – This is just one of those things that annoys me. I hate the sound of cutting ice. Don’t judge!
Magnetic cups for fridge from Adventures in Pinteresting – We go through 1000 cups a day. I don’t understand it, all of a sudden I will turn around and my entire top rack of the dishwasher is totally full! I absolutely LOVE this idea!!!
Cut a sticker in half to help with left and right shoe from One Creative Housewife – This will end the problem of your child walking out of the house with his shoes on the wrong feet! Problem solved!!
Dollar bill to measure 6 inches from Thread Magazine – I NEVER knew this! This one will for sure come in handy!
Rubber band on paint can from Martha Stewart – WHY didn’t I ever think of this one? I HATE when the paint can gets all drippy!
Marshmallow in Brown Sugar to Keep it Soft from Real Simple – This is a game changer if it works!!
I know that you all have some GREAT life hacks out there!! Please, please, please share them with me!!!
Are you are home organizing freak like me? If yes, check out some of my other home organizing tips!
Put rice in y out r salt shaker so it flows easy when it is humid, also put a saltiness cracker in granulated sugar helps so it doesn’t clump.
I love this idea! I always have a problem with salt clumping in the humidity! Thanks!
A few grains of dried rice works just as well.
If your kitchen sink plug/baskets are the original ones that came with your stainless sink, put them in the dishwasher weekly. Easiest way to keep them clean! You can also clean “some” replacement baskets that way….you just have to make sure that they are stainless and not a cheaper material that will discolor!
AND…. my all time favorite….. Can’t remember where you keep the thermometer, or any other seldom used household item? I have a recipe card file for them. The cards are alphabetically arranged. Go to T, then find the “thermometer” card. It will tell you where it is kept! (And woe to the person that doesn’t put it back there, LOL) I also use the same file for items that are loaned out. If I loan out a crockpot, there is a card inserted for it with the person I loaned it to, and the date. When they return it, I remove the card!
Connie – Love Love Love (did I say love) the file system!!!!
Great idea Connie! I’m always forgetting who I loan things to. Going to use your filing system!
I ‘m with Jen! I Love,Love,Love it!!!
When I loan things, I take a picture of them holding the item.
That’s a great idea.!!! I love it.
I have an “album” of photos on my phone called “reference photos.” It’s for those types of pictures you always are looking for, but can’t find. I keep a picture of my hair when it was just done at the salon, so I have something to show them when they ask me how I like it done. I keep a picture of random family members there, so I can easily pull them up. But it would be a great place to keep photos of the random objects in their proper place like your thermometer. Or, go crazy and create an album called “where to find things” in addition to your “reference” file. Then you don’t have to worry that someone will lose the file card! Evernote is also a good resource for things like this, and you’ll always have these items on the go (that’s where I keep my kids shoe sizes, e.g.)
GREAT idea!
THAT IS TOTALLY AWESOME!!!! I am bad about lending my books out (and I love my books) and I forget who I lent them to. I will use this filing card system for that. Not to mention if I borrow a book I will know who to return it to. THANKS A MILLION!!!
If you apply fake tan to yourself and it goes to dark or blotchy, cut a raw potato in half and use that all over your body. Will get that tan off straight away. Well after a shower.
Where was this idea when I needed it?? Thanks Chermaine
Another tip for brown sugar if it is already hard microwave for 1 1/2 min and it will soften right up
Or dampen a paper towel (just barely moist) seal inside a ziploc bag with the bag of brown sugar wait two days remove paper towel brown sugar will be like new no matter how hard it was to start with.
Sadly I have done the VICKS on my kids feet and sometime it works and sometimes not. Also if you put on too much, you get greasy stains on the sheets (which i tried a million thing to get it out and none worked until I made my own laundry soap!).
Another trick: slice an apple into slices and put rubber bands around it to keep it together. You can send sliced apples in lunches and they don’t turn brown.
Elizabeth – the apple thing…. SO need to try that!!!! WOW!!
You need to put socks on for the Vicks foot thing to work.
Rub chalk (yeah, the old-fashioned, white type that schools used to use) on a grease stain (I’m thinking it works on old ones, too) and then let it set (an hour?) before washing. Grease stain gone!
For any stain that you find hard to remove –
Apply a tablespoon of curd over the stained area and keep overnight. Let me know the result next day.
The science behind curd is the bacteria it contains.
Make sure the stained area is totally covered by curd.
Regards
Great post! I’m addicted to life hacks. I did a simar post here:
http://www.hautepnk.com/?p=1394
Great blog! Glad I found it btw.
-Maja
Yes… The marshmallows in brown sugar works!!!! That is, until your children see unattended marshmallows and eat them…
Our kids would get along great
You may already know this one, but I learned that keeping a piece of bread in a container of baked cookies will keep them soft because the cookies absorb the moisture. So you just change out the bread when it gets stale 🙂
NO – I love this!!! Thanks for sharing!!
When I worked for outback we used marshmallows in the brown sugar so that it would remain gluten free (they have a GF menu). Had we used a slice of bread (which also works well) it wouldn’t have been GF, and our customers could’ve been in pain later.
The bread trick does work awesome!
OHHHH Great to know!! Thanks Trisha!!
make sure to wrap the bread in a paper towel though, it can really overdo fast and you end up with cookies so soft they break apart
Bread also works in lieu of a marshmallow for brown sugar, for those who either don’t keep marshmallows stocked, or simply hate to give one up for the cause. Personally I prefer a chewy rather than crunchy cookie, so every store bought iced oatmeal cookie I buy, spends a night in a bag with a slice of bread first.
Also, not sure what hack this is, but my mother always kept a whole bay leaf in the flour. If you know why, I’d love to know.
bay leaf in the flour was to prevent weevils, etc. bugs evidently hate bay leaf
It keeps the bugs out… works with pasta also…
how dirty must ones house be…to worry about bugs in
flour, pasta or whatever??? Lol
these bugs have nothing to do with your house being clean or not
I’ve gotten bugs in things from the store.
The bugs eggs are in the flour and such products when you buy them! I put them in the freezer for 2 months.
Maybe to repel meal moths
Yes and works great for cut up lettuce too! I throw a piece of bread in the bowl before sticking it in the fridge. Keeps much longer!
These are great – the only two i knew were the paint brush tip, and the brown sugar/marshmallow tip.
How do you get the marshmallows into the brown sugar bag when you have a major jones for marshmallows. They’d never make it. Not even the Jumbo bag, lol. 🙂
BEST. COMMENT. EVER.
Brown sugar is best kept in original bag close it tight and put in large Ziploc baggie and put it in refrigerator stays real fresh and soft and prevents ants in the summer.
Well, if you want to keep your marshmallows for snacking, you can always use a slice or two of apple instead 🙂
I LOVE LIFE HACKS LIKE I LOVE RAINBOW SHERBERT. THANKS!
MEE TOO, Mari!!
And also me Jennifer…..Tee hee, giggidy giggidy