Every now and then you hear a life tip that makes you think, huh, I wonder if that really works? And there’s nothing better than when you realize…wow, it really does! Well, someone on Reddit asked, “What’s a random ‘life hack’ you swear by, even if no one believes it works?” Here’s what people said.
1.
“If you spent an hour finding something in your house, put it in the first place you looked when you’ve finally located it.”
2.
“Put a pinch of salt into cheap coffee to make it taste way better.”
3.
“Talk to yourself. It can help you develop your ideas and process emotional things. It will also help you remember how you got to this point in life and why you’re like this now.”
4.
“Use tension rods under your sink to hang spray bottles and cleaners. It helps keep things organized and frees up space.”
5.
“If you have the freedom, here’s a guaranteed way to spend only an hour at the DMV. Go at 4:30 p.m. if they close at 5 p.m. Usually, they stop letting people in close to 5, and then they service the remaining customers. The workers are now motivated to be urgent and go home. Wait time is shortened. And you’re out by 5:30 p.m.”
6.
“Slow down to speed up. ‘Slow is accurate, and accurate is fast’. Rushing through everything causes stress, anxiety, mistakes, and costs money.”
7.
“Open bags of chips from the bottom. All the seasoning settles at the bottom; by turning the bag over, you get more flavor.”
9.
“Put a small slice of bread in your mouth while cutting onions. It stops your eyes from watering.”
10.
“Vinegar is amazing for stopping pain from sunburn. Get a few pieces of kitchen roll, soak them in vinegar, and put them on the places that are sore. Wait for the kitchen roll to dry and have a shower to get rid of the smell; works like a dream. No one ever believes me.”
11.
“If you’re worried you didn’t turn off an appliance or item in your house (stove, lamp, heater, etc…), take a photo after you’ve turned it off. I do this for my office space heater; every time I turn it off for the day, I snap a photo of it. That way, if I think I’ve forgotten (which happens often), I can always look at my phone and the photo I’ve taken.”
12.
“Store baked bean cans (or most canned foods) upside down to make it easier to pour them out without scraping the bottom when you open them.”
13.
“Microwave twice as long at half the power and get a much better and evenly heated result. It’s still massively faster than heating a pan on the stove.”
14.
“Use the ‘banana peel’ method for important things or objects. This refers to placing somewhere you have to ‘step on’ it, referring to the slapstick comedy trope of people slipping on a banana peel. For example, if you have a USB drive you need to take to work, put it on top of your keys by the door. If you have some earrings a friend left at your house and you’ll see them later, put them in your shoes. If you need to take a textbook to class, put your keys on top of it. At night, I put my glasses beside my medication before bed. When I wake up, the first thing I want is to put on my glasses. I walk out of my room, grab them, and then grab my meds because they’re right there. Haven’t missed a dose in years. Works like a charm.”
15.
“My weird life hack is to keep a small notebook or a piece of paper by my bed and jot down any thought or task that pops into my head before I sleep. It’s amazing how much stress it relieves! No more tossing and turning, just peace knowing I’ll deal with it in the morning.”
16.
“If you have a mosquito bite that is really itchy, take your shower head and just blast it with water as hot as you can stand. You feel the itchiness just melt away. I’ve tried every method, product, tip, and trick over the years, and this is the only thing that has ever brought any relief. The relief normally lasts for about 24 hours.”
17.
“We have a small shop vac in the basement laundry room with a HEPA filter. I keep it plugged in, and I use it to clean the dryer lint trap. No more ‘lint dust’ in the air from cleaning it out manually, and the lint trap is REALLY clean every time I use the dryer. Less dust, better dryer airflow, marginally shorter drying times.
18.
“Looking away from the loading screen and saying that you don’t care how much time it takes makes it load faster. Trust me.”
19.
“Swallow a couple packets (or a spoonful) of sugar dry to stop hiccups immediately. I’m a casino cocktail waitress, and I bring my hiccuping customers a packet, and it always works.”
Do you have one to add? What’s life hack actually works so well, you can’t believe everyone else doesn’t already swear by it? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form.