These genius solutions will make your life a whole lot easier
We Found a Fix! 25 Creative Cures for Everyday Dilemmas
You can never have too many life hacks. With all the daily little dilemmas, it’s always helpful to have clever solutions up your sleeve. Whether it’s a tech trick, a kitchen shortcut or a cleaning hack, we’re bringing you some of the most creative—and downright surprising—ways to make life easier.
Ever wondered how your iPhone can help you track down a book? Or how to keep your luggage from getting lost at the airport? We’ve got those answers and plenty more.
Keep reading to discover genius hacks that will simplify your daily routine. You’ll wonder how you ever lived without them.
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Cast a sparkling spell
Keep a dishwashing wand filled with dish soap in your shower and give the tiles a quick scrub while you wait for your conditioner to set. A 30-second once-daily buff will keep soap scum from building up—and keep you from having to do a full overhaul on cleaning day. You’ll step away from a cleaning session smelling fabulous rather than smelling like Fabuloso.
Find out who’s selling your personal info
Let companies tell on themselves by putting the company name as your middle name when you purchase or sign up for something online. When you receive a message addressed to Wile “Acme Corp.” Coyote, you’ll know who sold your information to other companies that are now spamming your inbox. Then, use your discretion when dealing with them again.
A sure tip for a smooth paint job
Before busting out the brushes and rollers and applying a new coat of Agreeable Gray paint to your foyer, apply a coat of lotion to your arms, hands, face and any other exposed skin. An oily barrier atop your skin will save you (and your arm hair) from wayward paint splatters, which will wash away with ease.
The student becomes the teacher
Rather than quizzing your kids for their big chemistry exam, have them give you a lesson. The Feynman Technique, a study method named for Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman, hypothesizes that you fully grasp a topic once you can successfully teach it. So after your freshman attempts to put the test material into sophomoric terms, any lingering questions will reveal which chapters they need to go back to and study more. If you totally understand everything, then so do they.
Use your common cents
Weighing ingredients is much more accurate than using measuring cups, but even trusty kitchen scales can fall out of whack. If yours insists you’ve got 600 grams of flour but your pasta-making instincts suspect otherwise, check the accuracy of your scale by placing five quarters on it—their combined weight will add up to 1 ounce.
A DIY moisture meter
Letting the sprinkler spray for hours over a brown patch won’t necessarily bring back your lush green lawn this summer, nor does a brown patch mean that the grass is totally dead. Determine if your yard actually needs a drink by sticking a screwdriver into the soil. Only water if the ground is so hard that you can’t push the metal part farther than 3 inches into the ground.
The librarian in your pocket
Your iPhone can help find the book that Dewey Decimal insists is on this crowded shelf. Take a photo of the bookshelf you’re searching, then start typing the title into your camera roll’s search function. Optical character recognition technology will highlight where the book’s name appears in the photo (e.g., top row, eighth book from the left). This hack is especially handy for your home library and checking cluttered secondhand-store bookshelves for a certain title you’ve been hunting.
Don’t call it a grift tag
You’ve been inundated with cards around the holidays and your birthday—we get it, you’re popular! Rather than stuffing them in a drawer to collect dust (or worse, trashing them, as glitter, foil and lamination aren’t recyclable), separate the cover from the note to make gift tags. Cut the already festively decorated card stock into squares, then use a hole punch and ribbon to attach your one-of-a-kind tags to wrapped presents.
The sun is on your side
You store red sauce in a plastic container one time, and the container never lets you forget it. Remove that orange tint by leaving the container in front of a sunny window for a few hours (or even a few days) after you wash and dry it. The sun’s rays will work as a natural bleach and help lighten the stains.
Don’t lose your luggage (or your mind)
Downloading an airline’s app can spare you the anxiety of wondering where your luggage is. As personnel scan its barcode, many airlines will update the status of your checked bag: loaded, unloaded, ready at baggage claim. If you have a connection, the app will even confirm that your suitcase made the flight with you. Plus, it will deliver the quickest and most up-to-date information about boarding and gate changes.
Buy in bulk to spend less
There are lots of ways to trick yourself into spending less, like deleting credit card information from your online accounts for an added obstacle while impulse shopping, or paying in cash so you physically see money leaving your wallet. Scott Rick, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, suggests designating one day of the week to make all your “want” purchases. Having to buy several in one sitting might just prompt you to reconsider some as not so wanted after all.
A lock combination you can’t forget
You thought you knew the combination of your bike lock, lockbox or locker … but have since discovered that your memory isn’t quite as secure as your belongings. Here’s a trick to keep you from forgetting: Pick a number, then write the combination on the lock’s underside in permanent marker minus that number. (E.g., if a combination lock’s code is 06-14-24, and your lucky number is 4, you’ll write 02-10-20.) One number is easier to remember than three. Math challenged? Pick an easy number, like 1, 2 or 10.
Stay afloat with a sinking fund
Create a “sinking fund” to avoid sinking into debt when large expenses like vacations or home renovations loom, suggests financial expert Dave Ramsey. Identify your goal (say, $2,000 for Christmas) and how much you’ll need to save to meet it ($167 per month if you start in January; $333 per month if you start in July). Then auto-transfer the amount into an account separate from your savings so you’re not tempted to dip into it. When it’s time to pony up for a vehicle down payment or to fulfill a contractor’s invoice, you won’t break a sweat.
Be kind, re-wine
Pour leftover wine (we know, we know) into a sturdy resealable plastic bag so it’ll keep and you won’t have to break out the corkscrew next time you need a splash for cooking. Store it in the freezer, and don’t hesitate to marry remnants of reds, whites and pinks as you taste-test over time. Defrost and deglaze to flavor stews and braises.
Buy time in an emergency
Keep essential health information (name, birthdate, medical history, medications and dosages, allergies, blood type, preexisting conditions, emergency contacts) on a sheet of paper found easily in an emergency (laminated in your wallet or stuck to the fridge). Your list can also be stored in an iPhone or Android’s Medical ID feature accessible from your device’s lockscreen; an EMT will know to look for it. Having these details might savefirst responders crucial minutes of pillaging your bathroom cabinets instead of saving you.
Tilt the turbulence balance
Turbulence isn’t any real danger to your aircraft—only to your now-blurry in-flight entertainment experience. Choose a seat near the wing if it really upsets you: Proximity to the plane’s center of gravity reduces jostling. “Think of it like a seesaw. If you’re right in the middle, you won’t feel much movement,” says travel writer Bailey Berg. “If you are on one of the seesaw ends—whee!”
A mosquito deterrent that’ll blow you away
A strategically placed outdoor fan on your deck or patio will keep away mosquitoes, which generally aren’t very strong fliers. Turns out the hidden weakness of the summer’s greatest and most notorious pest is not citronella candles, tiki torches or bug spray, but a stiff breeze.
Help combat “cancel” culture
Signing up for online services and memberships is a breeze. Canceling? A maelstrom. The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a “click to cancel” rule, which will require companies to make cancellation as seamless as sign-up. No more calling a 1-800 number to speak to a customer service representative who tries to sway your decision. The rule is scheduled to take effect on March 31, although lawsuits could cause delays. In the meantime, report any coercive behavior at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
The fastest way to fold? Don’t.
Laundry is an endless prison sentence, but folding is one of our own creation. KC Davis, author of How to Keep House While Drowning, realized the chore was a time sink and gave it up. “We don’t fold clothes but rather hang shirts and then toss everything else into organized baskets,” she told Real Simple. For things like underwear and pajamas, wrinkles don’t matter. And other things don’t wrinkle as much as you’d think, especially if you lay them flat and don’t overcrowd the bins.
Pad your bags
If you need to pack or ship an item and are fresh out of Bubble Wrap and packing peanuts, look no further than the plastic shopping bags spilling out of your kitchen cabinet (produce bags work too). Fill them with air, tie them off at the top and let them buffer your shopping returns or dormitory-bound snacks from the tumult of a delivery truck.
Egg in your salad, not on your face
Your hand-held pastry blender isn’t just for mixing dough. Whip yours out to quickly chop hard-boiled eggs to top a salad or for egg salad. It takes seconds, can be done right in the bowl you’re already using to mix, and eliminates messy cutting. As if your egg salad could get any better.
The Kindle swindler
E-book readers store much more than their favorite fantasy series on their devices—like the billing information used for their e-book purchases. Hackers know that Kindles and Nooks are off your cybersecurity radar and may try to get you to download malicious e-book files. Marijus Briedis, chief technology officer at NordVPN, advises only downloading books from verified sellers and library apps, and regularly updating device software to repair security vulnerabilities.
A digestif after a long day of roughing it
While slugging whiskey from a flask by the campfire is the cowboy way, it is certainly not the only way. Premix a spirit-based cocktail that can be enjoyed as is or thinned with cold water at the endof your hike. Batch out 1 ounce of vermouth, 2 ounces of whiskey and a few dashes of bitters into plastic bags and store them in a Nalgene bottle to enjoy a Manhattan under the stars. Negronis and old-fashioneds are good options too.
Get the most out of your old devices
Your drawer of abandoned electronics could be worth bucks. Amazon’s trade-in program (amazon.com/tradein) offers gift cards and 20% off Amazon devices in exchange for smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles and even some laptops. (An iPhone 12 can be worth up to $130, and models as old as an iPhone 7 can net $5 to $15.) If your device isn’t eligible, Amazon will send a free shipping label and recycleit for you. Best Buy also recycles most devices, as well as larger electronics like TVs, projectors, VCRs, wall mounts, headphones, TV boxes and antennas, and all those unidentifiable cords and cables.
The world is a stage
Thespians and theatergoers, rejoice. The League of Resident Theatres (lort.org) has mapped local theater companies across 30 states so you can get your fix without trekking to Broadway—just Cedar City, Utah; Skokie, Illinois; Jupiter, Florida; or any other locations of the group’s 81 playhouses.
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Sources:
- Consumer Reports: “7 Things You Shouldn’t Clean with Dish Soap”
- Lifehacker: “Use the Middle Name Field to Track Websites That Sell Your Info”
- Family Handyman: “100 of the Handiest Home Tips”
- Computer Systems Institute: “The Feynman Technique – The Best Learning Method You’ve Never Heard of Before”
- Taste of Home: “How to Measure Flour the Right Way”
- California Water News Daily: “Sound Advice – Check Soil Moisture Before Watering Your Landscaping”
- Lifehacker: “You Can Use Your iPhone to Find a Specific Book on Your Shelves”
- Lathe & Quill: “Gift Tags from Recycled Christmas Cards”
- Real Simple: “10 Ways to Whiten Laundry Without Bleach”
- Nerdwallet: “Delayed Baggage Compensation Broken Down by Airline”
- Washington Street Journal: “A Cheat Sheet for Cheapskates: 34 Tricks to Live the Good Life for Less”
Originally Published in Reader's Digest
