22 Genuinely Simple Life Hacks That Will Make You Say, "Woah, That's Actually Really Smart"
Have you ever heard a random trick or tip that enhanced your day-to-day so much that you wish you had learned it sooner? Well, Redditor TuffTombas asked, "Which life hacks/diy tricks actually worked for you guys?" Here are some tricks that will save you time, money, and effort in all aspects of life.
1."Math trick I swear by: What's 7% of 50? Who knows that? But what's 50% of 7? 3.5, easy. My dad is still mystified that I can instantly calculate a 20% tip in my head. Either move around the percentage sign or just move the decimal point and double."
2."I’m a slow reader, and no speed-reading techniques ever worked for me. But 12 years ago, I discovered a method that changed everything. Since then, I’ve read hundreds of books and now finish one every few weeks. Here’s the tip: read the textbook while listening to the audiobook at a fast speed (usually two times faster). I can’t read or listen that quickly when I'm doing just one, but doing both together lets me absorb the content much faster while fully understanding and retaining every detail."
3."Having savings accounts for expected expenses in the coming year, like car registration and repairs, house repairs, and gifts. I pay into those accounts each month like they’re bills. And when I get a car repair bill, I move money over from that savings account because I’ve 'prepaid' it."
4."I keep a $2 Great Value feather duster in the glove box of my car. At the first sign of dust accumulation on my dash, my dashboard and vents are pristine again. I learned this trick from the most awful woman I've ever had the displeasure of dating, which just goes to show you can learn something from everyone, folks."
5."Vinegar and Dawn soap will clean pretty much everything in your house. Everything."
6."Sniffing an alcohol swab will help cure nausea most of the time."
7."Use a tortilla as a plate to just eat the mess after. Work smarter, not harder."
8."My parent hack is that I give my kids a sense of autonomy by allowing them to choose, from a limited set of two or three options I chose and was ok with, eliminated SO MANY battles in my life. Instead of, 'What do you want for dinner?' (Answer: chicken nuggets for the umpteenth time, or 'I don’t know'), I’d ask, 'Do you want pasta or stir-fry tonight?' This didn't work EVERY time, but definitely enough to make it worth the mindset shift."
9."When I wash my windows, I wash the outside horizontally and the inside vertically. This way, I can easily tell if the streaks are on the inside or outside. It's a huge timesaver."
10."Clean your house before leaving on vacation so you can come home to a welcoming and clean house with no chores to follow up on. If you live in a house with multiple stories, leave items that are to go to different floors next to the stairs so you can carry them down/upstairs when you're going that way anyway."
11."A surprising number of online shops have discount codes that are easy to guess. Think: stuff like 'PROMO2024' or 'BLACKFRIDAY24.'"
12."Add keyboard shortcuts to your phone's dictionary to automatically replace any desired symbols with your email and a pound sign for phone number. It’s saved me so much time typing for work."
13."Hate the tendon in chicken tenderloins but also hate cutting them out? Grab it with a paper towel (for grip) in one hand and thread it through the teeth of a fork in another. One good pull will get the tendon out completely clean. My life changed immediately when I learned this."
14."When my kids started school, I set an alarm on my phone for about ten minutes before leaving. That way, only the clock/alarm told them to hurry up, not their mother. They're in their final years of schooling now, I still have the alarm, and in those 13 years, I've only had to yell to get ready maybe five times, and my kids have only been late for real reasons (car trouble, etc). It really helped us."
15."You can clean rust off metal with Coca-Cola. It's the oldest mechanic's trick in the book."
16."When the butter is cold, use a potato peeler to get a nice thin slice that spreads more easily."
17."When I’m having a hard time trying to fall asleep, what helps me is I’ll blink rapidly for a minute. Blinking your eyes rapidly for a minute or two helps you to fall asleep faster due to the basic muscle nature. When you blink your eyes, the muscles accompanying blinking get tired. So with your muscles exhausted, it helps you to fall asleep faster."
18."When I was pregnant with my oldest, I kept sliced lemons on hand. I would carry them in a baggy and sniff them anytime I got morning sickness. It worked great for me."
19."Doing a 'closing shift' before going to bed. Put everything in its place from the shelves/tables, take out the garbage, and turn on the dishwasher — every evening, I'm not a morning person, but getting up and everything is tidy makes a completely different start to the day."
20."Pretty basic, but put your ice cream pint in a coffee mug to prevent your hands from getting cold and keep it from melting faster."
21."Organize your rooms based on how you use them, not how you think they should be. Find out how you behave and go with the flow. For example, if your room is always messy because you leave your books on your bed, that’s because you read in bed. Put your shelf next to your bed or make your nightstand the designated book spot. If you use a chair for clothes that are too clean to go in the hamper but too dirty to be in the closet, that’s because you don’t have a designated space for it. Have two hampers: one for dirty clothes, one for not-so-dirty clothes."
22."I used to constantly forget where I'd leave things like my keys, wallet, or phone. Then I read this simple tip: When you put something down, say out loud what you're doing. For example, 'I'm putting my keys on the kitchen counter.' It sounds silly, but I haven't lost track of my stuff ever since I started doing this!"
What hack has made some aspect of your life more enjoyable, easier, efficient, affordable, or just straight-up better? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form.
