We all have those things we’ve made up to help ourselves or to make our lives a little easier. Other people might think they sound odd, or that they’re too niche to apply to a bunch of situations, but we know better.
If you’re looking for a little trick like that to add to your repertoire, these 17 people are here to share theirs!
17. If you don’t have a lighter.
Save the lint from your dryer and roll in vaseline. My grandpa used these back in the day when we’d go on hunting trips.
He’d make them quarter to half dollar size and keep in a metal tin and the vaseline also made them virtually waterproof. What we used for our campfires being poor white trash lol.
16. A handy one if you’ve got kids, for sure.
Expo marker erases sharpie on most smooth surfaces and always from glass!
So does rubbing alcohol.
15. Advice for literally everyone.
If you feel like you need to laugh or scream, but you are not in a place where this is appropriate, open your mouth and breathe out an entire lungful like “haaaa.”
It will mitigate the feeling, and it’s barely audible.
14. Wow, I had no idea.
Dead batteries bounce when dropped on a hard surface. Good batteries don’t.
13. Pressure points are life.
If your nose is stuffy and congested (or you can try it regardless, it works anyway) press firmly on the bridge of your nose for about 15 seconds. You’ll feel your sinuses draining and it helps immensely if you’ve been crying for a while and it feels like your face hurts.
There’s other pressure points too but that’s a good quality of life hack
12. Definitely better than just waiting.
If you get wood stain in your hands, rub any kind of kitchen oil on it then wash your hands with warm water and dish soap!
Works amazingly, otherwise I think I would still have that stuff on me and it’s been about three months since then.
11. I only do this with stinky loads.
When filling your washing machine, add a cup of plain white vinegar with your detergent in every load. It’ll remove any stinky odors and naturally softens fabric.
10. We’ve always got those lying around.
Ground up orange peels will remove grease from your hands after working on the car.
Grind them up in a blender, and freeze them for later use.
9. I’m definitely going to try this one.
Rubbing a metal spoon (or any stainless steel object) gets rid of most, if not all, of the scent of garlic or onions on your fingers.
8. For the slow readers out there.
If you have a Kindle and are renting e-books from the library, put it in airplane mode and when it’s due back, the book will still return but the content will still be on your device until you turn off airplane mode.
I don’t usually finish my books before they are due back so this trick works great.
Or choose “download and transfer via usb” from your My Content and Devices page. After the book gets auto returned, you can put the downloaded file back onto your kindle and it doesn’t get deleted/returned again. (Useful if you accidentally turn off airplane mode at any point)
7. Or anything that can’t judge you.
If you want to make sure you understand something, try to explain it out loud to a rubber duck.
(Not kidding.)
6. Never toss a good rubber band.
Keep a few broccoli rubber bands in the junk drawer and wrap them on the lids of any tough to open jars for extra grip.
5. That seems counterintuitive.
Brain freeze can remedy a headache. So if you happen to have a headache on a hot summer day and don’t have any aspirin, go get some ice cream.
Also, if you have a headache on a hot summer day, you might be dehydrated. Chug some ice water to give yourself a hydrating brain freeze.
4. A waste of good carbs.
If you need to pick up small pieces of glass out of a carpet, use a wet slice of bread.
The surface tension “sticks” to the pieces of glass and the bread picking them out of the carpet. Just remember to vacuum afterwards.
And run a flashlight over the area because the glass will reflect the light differently, making it easier for you to find.
3. When the kids are asleep and you can’t bang it on the counter.
Using a spoon the crack the seal on a jar.
2. In case of emergencies.
California Scents, or most of the little air fresheners that come in the little cat cans that have the little scent bricks in them are soaked in kerosene. They will burn up to 20 minutes. I’ve tested it and timed it.
It’s not exactly a pleasant smell to burn, however they’re extremely reliable firestarters.
1. This is going to save me!
If you ever have to put a screw/bolt into wood where it already has a hole that is too large for the diameter of the screw. Simply hammer a golf tee into the hole and snap/cut it off. Now your screw will bite and have holding power. I use this trick most often for door hinges.
I know I’m going to be trying all of these out myself. I hope they work!
If you’ve got a weird little trick that never lets you down, share it with us in the comments.
