50+ Cool Life Hacks That Are Worth Memorizing

Forgot to put your drink in the fridge? Wrap a wet paper towel around it and put it in the freezer. In just 15 minutes, your drink will be ice cold. You can paint the end of your keys with different colored nail polish so you can easily identify which key is which. To stop your wrapping paper from unrolling, you can cut open an old toilet paper roll and use it as a cup. In order to pour the perfect amount of oil or salad dressing, poke holes in the foil seal rather than removing it completely. This prevents a big amount rushing out quickly. To prevent band-aids from slipping off your finger, cut a line on either side. The band-aid, not the finger. This will create four smaller sticky strips rather than one large one and it will be much easier to secure. When your candle is burned down and the wick is difficult to reach with a lighter, you can use a stick of spaghetti. Just light the end and you'll have a longer stick that burns just as well so you can get to those hard-to-reach places. Secure a rubber band over the top of your paint can so that you can wipe excess paint onto it. This stops paint running down the sides of your can and keeps things neat and tidy. If you're struggling to get your taco shells to stay in place, use a muffin tray. Flip the tray upside down, spray it with oil, and place your tortillas in the gap. Cook them for around 10 minutes at 700 degrees for the perfect crispy taco shell. You can use a water bottle to separate egg yolks. Hold the bottle over the yolk and squeeze it to suck the yolk up. Drop it into a separate bowl and you're good to go. Looking for a lost earring or a pin on the floor? Place a stocking over the end of your vacuum and move it over the floor. The small object will get picked up without getting vacuumed. Next time you're struggling to clean your ceiling fan, use a pillowcase. Slide the pillowcase over each blade to wipe off the dust. This way excess dust is caught inside the pillowcase and won't rain down on you. Poke a straw through your cherries to remove the stems. It's much quicker and this way you don't waste as much fruit. If you're struggling to put a bracelet on your own hand, try using a paper clip. Open up the paper clip and slip it through the loops on the end of your bracelet. Hold the clip in the middle of your hand with your fingers, then flip the bracelet around your wrist. You should then be able to easily clasp it shut. To properly clean your blender, fill it with soap and hot water. Switch it on for around 10 seconds and let the swirling water do the hard work. Then just rinse it off and it's clean. Put down a strip of masking tape before nailing into plaster walls. The tape should stop the plaster from flaking or spreading dust all over the floor. When you're heating up leftovers, make a space in the middle with a spoon. The food will heat up much more evenly. Avoid the mess and frustration of peeling an orange by slicing off one end of the fruit. Then cut four to six slices and you'll find the peel will come off much easier. If you're struggling to use your butter because it's too cold, try using a cheese grater. Just grate the butter to make your life much easier. You can make a DIY garden sprinkler using an old plastic bottle. Punch some holes all over the bottle and then tape it to the end of your hose pipe. If your shoes smell bad, put a few dry tea bags into the shoe. The tea bags will absorb the smell. Potato chips are a perfect fire starter. The fat, oil, and chemicals inside make them super easy to burn and yet we still eat them. Can you see the irony? Try using toothpaste to remove small scratches on furniture. Rub a pea size amount on the scratch in a circular motion until the scratch buffs out. Then wipe it with a damp cloth and voila! Candle wax that's been spilled on furniture can be removed with ice cubes. Rather than ruining the finish by trying to scrape it off, fill a plastic bag with ice and let it sit on the wax for a few minutes. The wax will then cool and harden, making it much easier to pick off. Drill a couple of small holes in the bottom of your trash can to stop the bag getting stuck when you pull it down. The holes stop the vacuum-like effect that keeps the bag pinned down. Crayon marks on the wall are a parent's nightmare, but you can use a hairdryer to get them off. Heat the marks for a few seconds to soften the wax, and then you should be able to just wipe it away. If you don't have the correct size coin to put in your shopping cart next time you go to the supermarket, you can use your key instead. If you have a key with a rounded end, you can insert that where the coin would go and the cart should unlock. You can easily remove the sticky residue from jars using cooking oil. Soak a cotton pad in some oil, then rub it on the sticky area. Allow it to sit for a few minutes, then it should wipe away easily. Store your cotton buds in a toothpick bottle. This type of packaging usually has a dispenser in the lid. It will allow you to pull out one cotton bud at a time, and you can be sure the remaining supply of your hygiene items is protected from dirt and water. Pretty handy, especially on the road. A toothpick container is also a great storage solution for glitter. Let's say you're going to a music festival. Put your glitter in the bottle and pour the needed amount through the small holes in the lid when you need it, and the rest of the time the lid will protect your bag from spills. If you don't trust the design of your toothpick container, use some tape to secure the lid to the bottom part before you go. The ring holder on your phone case makes it easy to use your device with one hand. You can send texts, take selfies, and watch videos while lying on your sofa. But it turns out that ring holders can also help with cooking. Remove the ring and attach it to a standard metal jar lid. Place the lid vertically on the food you're currently slicing and hold it this way. Your fingers will be protected from accidents, and the slices will be evenly sized. Tea candles usually come in small aluminum cups. When the wax burns out, you can take two cups and make a tiny box for storing small items, such as push pins, jewelry, paper clips, and so on. First, remove the remaining wax. Clean the cups and make two small triangle folds opposite each other. This will make the diameter of the bottom cup slightly smaller than that of the top one. This top cup will serve as a lid. You can also use a small piece of tape to secure it to the bottom part. When you're going on vacation, you can store mini soap, picnic spices, vitamin pills, and earplugs in such boxes. Don't forget to mark them with a permanent marker or stickers to avoid confusion on the way. A plastic toothbrush container makes a great travel box for small jewelry or memory cards. No need to spend tons of money on a fancy phone holder. Fold the temples of your sunglasses this way and put them on a flat horizontal surface. Now you can put your phone inside the emergency holder and shoot your TikToks right away. If you have an empty TikTok container at hand, this phone holder idea is for you. Cut the box into equal vertical parts like this. Prepare a piece of cardboard slightly larger than your phone. Glue the TikTok halves to the cardboard so that your phone fits perfectly in the middle of this construction. Voila! Also, feel free to make the same holder for your tablet, but make sure that your gadget isn't too heavy for this construction. Here's another budget idea. Don't rush to throw away an empty tape roll. Use a ruler to mark two points on the opposite sides of the roll. Then cut out two small inches that will hold your phone. Perfect balance and almost zero waste. Cut used plastic straws into small rings. Put two to three tablespoons of this stuff on a clean sheet of paper. Then place a sheet of paper on top of it and iron the whole thing. The rings will stick together into a single piece of plastic. Cut out an even circle and you can use it as a coaster for glasses and mugs. Use a meat beater to decorate your cookies. Place equal balls of dough on a baking tray. Now press them down with your favorite side of the beater. You can dip the beater in cinnamon before doing this to add flavor to your cookies. After baking, you'll get a pattern that can be covered with cream or honey. A simple plastic bottle cap can make a great emergency soap tray. Butter from the fridge is usually too hard and cold to use right away. There's a way to speed up the process. Fill a large mug with hot water and wait until the material it's made of heats up. Then pour the water out and cover the butter with the mug. The surface of the butter will melt and you'll be able to spread it on your toast with no problem. And if you need to soften the entire piece for baking, cut the butter into small pieces and hold them under the hot mug for a bit longer. You can reuse a plastic lid of wet wipes. Remove it from the package and stick it to the hard cover of a sketchbook or notepad. Now you have a pocket to store small stationery or you can secure two plastic lids together and get a comfy travel box for pills, earplugs, and other small objects. If you have a lot of old Lego pieces that you don't use, don't throw them away. Build a fancy birdhouse or a colorful pot for home plants. You don't need to use a single nail to build this storage system. Use double-sided tape or glue to stick a flat Lego panel on the wall next to your entrance door. Add this specific Lego piece to every keychain that belongs to you and your roommates. Now you can store all your keys in one place. Lego also makes a great book holder or a Have you run out of picture frames? No problem. Use two large clothes pins as a stand. Attach them to the bottom edges of your image and a creative picture frame is ready. You can make it more stable by gluing the photo to a piece of cardboard. You can also use the same construction as a napkin holder when you're dining outdoors. You heat a pack of popcorn in the microwave and there are small unpopped grains left. You can get rid of them before you open the bag. See this little tiny hole at the top? Shake the pack over the plate and all the grains will fall out of the hole. It's much better to peel off the stickers, not from the bottom to the top, but tear them off from the side. This way the paper remains flat and its low side doesn't bend. Peel the banana starting from the top, then you will not have to squeeze the bottom of the fruit. The hole on the pan handle can be used not only to hang it on the wall. You can insert a spoon into this hole while cooking a soup. Cardboard containers with Chinese food can be opened so that four paper walls lie flat on the table. So all you need to do is unfold the container. This way you'll get a very realistic plate and scorching food will cool down faster. An easy way to peel an orange is to cut off the top and end of the orange, then cut it in the center to the middle, then unroll the fruit. Almost all people misuse a travel pillow. Usually the two ends of the u-shaped cushion are directed forward. The correct position is to turn the pillow on the other side. The arc should be under your chin and the two ends should look back. Your neck will feel much more comfortable in this position and you'll get a great nap. Your ceiling fan has two modes for winter and summer. You need to find the switch on your fan. Switch up to start winter mode or down for summer mode. In summer mode, the fan pushes the air down and it sucks the air up in winter mode. According to the rules of etiquette, you must first let those who leave the room, building, elevator out and only then can you enter. First they come out, then you come in. If you're inside, then you come out first. This simple rule will help to avoid a collision. In restaurants and cafes, toothpicks are always on the table. Most people use them incorrectly when they pick their teeth immediately after eating. The correct and cultured way is to go into the restroom and carefully pull out all the food leftovers from your mouth. Here's the right way to tie a garbage bag without making this little hole on the top. Don't tie these thin straps together. Hold them up, make a knot, wrap them around the knot through the loop and here you have a good tight seal. To properly dry your sneakers in the dryer, you need to tie the laces together. Then put the sneakers inside the dryer but leave the laces tips sticking out. Close the lid so that it clamps the shoelaces. Done! Wired headphones fit much better in your ear if you put them on in a way when the tips with the wire direct up. Then the wire can be put around the auricle so your headphones will not fall out of the ear. A bobby pin should be attached with the wave side closer to the head. Then it will not fall out of your hair. Don't brush your teeth with an electric toothbrush using fast movements. The electronic toothbrush should pass smoothly through the teeth. You can tear a bag of sugar with one hand. Hold the bag above a mug. Just place it on your index and middle finger. Then press your thumb into the middle of the bag. It will break the center and sugar will easily pour out. When you pour juice or milk, keep the neck of the box at the top above the glass. Then there will be less splashing. You wear sunglasses and enter the room. Where are you going to hide them? Do you leave it on your head, hang it in your shirt collar, or put it in your pocket? The best way is to put the glasses in the breast pocket so the lenses will be inside and only one temple sticks out of the pocket. Your glasses will be safely inside and the lenses will be protected from damage. When you flush the toilet, always cover it with a lid. Small imperceptible particles of dirty water and germs splash when pressing the flush button while keeping the toilet lid open. You don't have to tear off the plastic sheeting from the dishwasher tablet and crumble it. Just put it in the tank and close it. The water will dissolve the sheeting. It doesn't work with all the brands out there, so check the instructions. The compartment under the stove is not properly used when you put only pans and pots inside. You can put dishes with food there. The heat from the oven will keep the food warm. This is useful when you're waiting for guests who are running late. Almost everyone has a plunger with a round rubber shape. In the movies, we have seen how many times it's used to eliminate a blockage in the toilet. In fact, this plunger is needed to eliminate a blockage in the sink. For the toilet, you need to use another special plunger. You're eating a taco and all the food is falling out on the other side. Put another tortilla on a plate. All the fallen food will be on it, and thus, you have another small taco. Using a vegetable peeler, most people make only one forward movement to cut the peel. Then, they put the blade back and cut off the peel again. You can cut the peel in the opposite direction and move the peeler back and forth. It will be faster and more efficient. Don't tuck the belt from the bathrobe through the back. Pull it out and thread it in a loop on the side of your stomach. After that, tie the belt as you like. This way, the bathrobe will snuggle tighter to the body. Most of us use toilet paper seat covers incorrectly. The correct way is to put the paper so the round side in the middle looks into the back part of the toilet. Advertisements show us that we need to cover the entire surface of the brush with toothpaste. One small pee is enough to brush your teeth. Companies want you to use the That's why they show this wrong and uneconomical way. Microwavable instant rice loves to fall over in the microwave, if you're me, that is. And like me, you've probably struggled with keeping the package upright. As it turns out, the flaps that fold out from the bottom create a nice sturdy base. Push them out and give it a try. Hey, why didn't I learn this in school? Has that half-finished 2-liter bottle of soda left over from pizza night gone flat? Rather than pouring it down the drain, add it to your compost heap. The sugar feeds good microorganisms and increases the acidity of the pile, helping organic material break down faster. Any pair of scissors will go blunt sooner or later, but don't let that stop you. There's a product in your kitchen that can help bring them back to life fast. Aluminum foil isn't just for leftover lasagna. Fold a sheet of it into quarters and start cutting. Cutting through the foil will sharpen those scissors right up, but not if they're too blunt. Rescue them while there's still time! Those little escalator brushes aren't there to clean your shoes, even though they can do a rather good job. These bristles are actually a serious safety feature. Without them, clothes, shoelaces, and bags can get caught in them when they're too close to the sides. The little brushes are also there to tickle you, to remind you to look down and take care. Hey, I always thought it was a bug rubbing up against me! Half-belts. Seriously, what's up with those things? Well, some military jackets used to double as blankets, and the half-belt helped keep the extra material from getting in the soldier's way. Nowadays, they're mostly used as a fashion accessory. Accidentally stapling the wrong pages together is like the worst thing ever! Well, there are worse things, but it's certainly annoying. Especially if the staple takes out a huge piece of your document with it when you try to pry it off. There's actually a simple way to make sure that the stapler pins are less tight and easier to pull out. Take a close look at that metal plate at the front of your stapler, known as the anvil. Turn the stapler upside down and adjust the settings. You're basically changing the stapler setting to temporary. No more tears, no more tears. Mention my name and you'll get a good seat. Toilet seat covers have been used wrong for way too long. I see you ripping off that flap that looks like a tongue. No, you're doing it all wrong. Instead of tearing it off, let the flap sit in the bowl after you put it down the cover. When you flush, the suction will pull on the flap and take it away. Aren't you glad you know that now? That dark square or rectangle at the end of your toothpaste tube? What does that mean? Is it color-coded to show what ingredients are in there, or does it show whether the toothpaste's synthetic or natural? Well, sorry, but the truth isn't that exciting. The markings are there for the assembly machines. They help the machines know where to cut and fold each tube. We've all driven home from the supermarket, taken a right turn a little too hard, and CRASH! Sounds like the groceries volcano just erupted in the trunk. Look closely in the trunk. You might see some little hooks in there. You can hang your bags on them. Ooh. Yeah, some cars have them behind the front seats instead. You can use them to hang clothes or even your takeout bag. You may have noticed that members of the flight crew like to touch the overhead compartments while they're walking down the aisle. They don't have a weird desire to touch everything. There are actually handles along the edges to give them a better grip while walking. Go ahead and use them the next time you feel like a mid-air stroll. It's definitely better than grabbing onto everyone's headrests. Don't you hate that? A shiny brass doorknob adds just the right amount of fancy to your front door. But that's not all it does. Brass, like anything with copper alloy in it, has antimicrobial properties that many harmful germs and bacteria just can't stand. In high-traffic areas, these brass knobs and handles are the perfect way to get rid of those nasty germs without having to use harsh chemicals all the time. The only downside is that brass is a lot more expensive than other metals. That might be why it's hardly used for this anymore. Does your toothbrush have a pattern of blue bristles weaved in with the white ones? It makes the toothbrush look a lot more stylish. But it's not just about looking good. Those bristles actually have a practical purpose. The blue dye is designed to wear off around the same time as when you should replace your toothbrush. You should be switching out your toothbrush every 3 to 4 months anyway. But those blue bristles are there to give you a gentle nudge just in you forget. You walk over them every day and never think about it twice. But is there a reason maintenance hole covers are always round? In past civilizations, like Ancient Rome, these covers used to be square-shaped slabs of stone. But all those edges and gaps led to plenty of stubbed toes and accidents for unsuspecting Romans. A round cover eliminated the problem. Plus, it meant you could only open it with a specialized tool. Probably a good idea. The thermos was invented by a Scottish scientist, but not for keeping his coffee warm. He just wanted to keep some chemicals at a stable temperature. He placed a small bottle inside of a larger one and then sucked all the air out from between the two bottles. This same technique is used to make the modern thermos. Those paper toilet seat covers aren't meant to be used the way many do. Ripping off that flap that looks like a tongue is not the right way. Instead of tearing it off or sticking it at the back, let that flap sit in the bowl after putting down the cover. Flushing will allow the suction to pull down the flap and take it away. You no longer need to touch it after using it. That's a relief on so many levels! There isn't much privacy in a public toilet, especially when the door doesn't reach the floor. Those gaps work for ventilation and to stop people from lingering around for too long. It also allows emergency access in case the person inside needs immediate attention. Meanwhile, ceiling fans aren't just for hot days. There's a little switch on top that can change the direction of the fan. The summer setting runs counterclockwise to suck the cooler air up while the winter setting moves clockwise, pushing the warmer air down. Full signal bars on your cell doesn't mean you've got the best signal at all. Every phone manufacturer uses their own algorithm that senses the strength level of the available signal. From that, they can show as many or as few bars as they choose. There's quite a bit of difference between the bars from one phone to another. Me, I prefer chocolate bars. Pre-rinsing your dishes before putting them into the dishwasher might be all for nothing. Most modern dishwashers have sensors inside to sense how dirty your plates are. This allows them to wash the dishes with a controlled amount of water. Scrape any solid food away and stack properly, allowing the dishwasher to do the hard work. That little disc that's underneath bottle caps isn't just a leftover part of the production process. It creates an even tighter seal with the lid. So even if you turn the bottle upside down, the liquid doesn't leak out everywhere. That plastic disc keeps carbonated sodas carbonated for longer as well, so keep it if it's going back into the fridge. Placing a wooden spoon across a pot of cooking pasta can prevent the water from boiling over. This will destabilize the bubbles when they contact the spoon, preventing a spillover onto the stovetop. Now you tell me. A progress bar at 50% doesn't mean half of the file has been downloaded. Almost all of the files could've been downloaded, or none. They're just there to ease your mind. Internet speeds and network availability are the keys to how quickly a download will complete. The computer's hard drive decides how to process and put the files where they need to be, which will run slower if it's old or full. To make the perfect smoothie, put the liquids in first, then add any ingredients after you've put milk, coconut water, coffee, or yogurt. This will allow the perfect swirl to blend everything properly. That hole inside the pasta fork stirrer doesn't only drain water out, it's a great measuring tool for how much spaghetti to cook per person. The hole is the recommended amount for a single serving. Speaking of openings, metal zippers have a hidden lock built in. Wasn't that clever? Putting the zipper downwards creates a lock with the teeth of the zipper. If left in the upwards direction, it's free to, uh, move around. Pressing the crosswalk button won't always make the walk signal come up. These buttons can be divided into three categories. The first needs to be pressed, the second won't work, and the third requires a push of the button to activate that walk signal after a certain time in the day. It all depends on what city you're in, the time of day, and where you are in that city. I wish there was a fourth category that would squirt water at the person next to you when pressed, but hey, that's just me. Sticky notes are meant to be removed from the block at a side angle. Pulling from the bottom just makes the paper curl up and not as sticky over time. That drawer at the bottom of your oven isn't meant to be a storage locker for all the fry pans, pots, and baking trays. It's actually a warming drawer. This will keep hot foods at a nice temperature ready for serving. Tinfoil and plastic wrap boxes have a special design on there to hold that roll in place. A cardboard tab on each end that works like a lock. Push those tabs in, and the roll will stay inside the box. That little pocket on your jeans wasn't designed for loose change or keys. They were originally designed for the pocket watch in the 1890s. Around those pocket areas, there are rivets sticking out as well. They're there to help reinforce the sensitive areas of the jean that get the most wear and tear. Repeatedly pushing the close door button on a US elevator isn't going to make it close any sooner. In 1990, the US passed a Disabilities Act for elevators, which meant that elevators had to ensure that someone with a disability had time to get inside one. The only people who can bypass this are emergency workers in building maintenance. They'll have keys or even special codes that make that button operational. Erasers usually have two different colored sides, pink and blue. The pink is for the pencil, but so is the blue. The blue side is made for thicker pages, like what an artist would use. It's not made to remove penning, as many people believe. That's because people who write in pen don't make mistakes. Nah, I'm just kidding. The rear-view mirror glass isn't truly flat as it looks. It's thicker on one side than the other. The toggle switches the mirror between the day and night mode. When a car is behind you at night, there will be glare coming off their headlights that are potentially blinding to the driver. Pushing that little switch down or up changes the way light passes through it and reflect it back. Pouring out juice or milk with a spout at the bottom leads to a glugging effect that splashes the liquid all around. To avoid this, flip the carton around with the spout on the top. This allows better airflow to happen, allowing a more even flow.