Did You Know – Over 40 Everyday Hacks

While working online, I come across several tips and tricks that just seem to make life easier and make me wonder how I ever lived without them. Today I am here to share a few tips with you in hopes that maybe one, if not a few, can be applied to you life to make your days a little simpler.







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1. You can save a lot of money by purchasing items at certain times of
the year. Often, items go on sale when the season changes or when the
demand for a product changes. For example, stores drop the prices on
their winter clothes once the weather starts to warm up. Similarly,
prices for swimwear will drop during the fall and winter months. {Making Lemonade}

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2. Don’t want to pay for those expensive wreath forms? Make your own
using foam tubing. This stuff can be found at hardware stores for less
than $1.00 {The Penny Parlor}

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3. No more trying to hide your t.v. Just add some decorative molding to form a frame and you have a beautiful piece of art. {All Things Thrifty}

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4. Don’t make that trip to the store just yet!! It never fails. Your in the middle of baking up something wonderful when you realize you are plumb out of a key ingredient. Before rushing off to the store check out this post full of emergency ingredient substitutions for baking. {Yummly}

5. You can make just about anything from cardboard! I’ve seen some amazing art, toys, and even furniture made from cardboard. I also found this amazing post which gives you the low-down on working with cardboard. {IKat Bag}

 6. Clean out a ketchup bottle and add your pancake better. This will allow you to squeeze out as much as you want without dealing with all the mess. This would also work great with mustard and honey bottles, or any other squeezable bottles. {source not found}

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7. Don’t toss those rust bread loaf tins. You can easily remove the rust with a little olive oil, some baking soda, water and a scourer. {Apartment Therapy}

8. Pour your leftover wine into ice cube trays and freeze it. Next time you have a recipe that calls for wine just grab a few cubes and start cooking. {The Art Of Doing Stuff}

9. Get rid of those fruit flies once and for all. Put some apple cider vinegar in a dish, add some dish soap and leave out over night (oh, and you may want to toss whatever it is that is attracting the flies in the first place.) I’ve also seen this done using a taller glass and setting a cone made out of paper on top. This way the flies can enter the cone but can’t fly back out. {Maple Memories}

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10. Prevent gunk from settling into your hairbrush by pushing a swatch of
stocking fabric over the bristles, so it rests on the
base. When the brush needs cleaning,
remove the swatch and hair and product buildup will go with it. {source not found} -Real Simple

11. Don’t know what glue to use for your next project. Check out this chart. Or better yet print it out and hang it up in you shop. {Design Spong}

12. Never peel and egg again. Just slice it in half then scoop it out with a knife. {No Biggie}

13. Barbies hair is tameable. Mix a little fabric softener with some water and comb it through the hair. It’s like magic. {DIYHSH}

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14. Save money on ice packs and make your own. In addition to the recipe in the link below you could also fill a bag with dish soap since it won’t freeze solid. Next time you make a trip to McDonalds grab a few extra ketchup packets to throw in the freezer. Perfect for those little boo boos. {One Good Thing By Jillee}

15. Make paper waterproof by adding silicone sealer. {Design Sponge}

16. Use an apple slicer to cut your potatoes. Perfect for the next time you want homemade french fries. {Goodeness Gracious}

17. Print off this photography cheat sheet to keep in your purse. It will save you from having to take a billion photos. {Miguelin Closed Caption}

18. This chart that tells you what spices go with what food is perfect for the not-so-good cook like me. {Adventures In Spice}

19. Did you know you could freeze cool whip then use cookie cutters to make fun shapes?!!!{source not found}

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20. Upholster your box spring and get rid of your bed skirt. {source not found}

  21. Shred chicken in seconds with your mixer. {Simply Healthy Fam}

22. Make your own shout stain remover. {One Good Theing By Jillee}

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23. remove stripped screws with a rubber band. {Apartment Therapy}

24. Never buy celery again! Just cop of the bottom and plant it in your garden or keep it in a pot indoors. {Chickens In The Road}

25. Have a pair of pants that the zipper wont stay up on? Try this nifty trick! {no source found}

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26. Slip your burners inside a ziploc bag with 1/4 cupammonia, leave outside overnight and voila…

Clean burners without scrubbing!! {The V Spot}

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27. Eliminate odors – Place new or used coffee grounds in a bowl in the fridge to eliminate odors.

28. Clean your garbage disposal – Use ice to cleanse the blades in your garbage disposal and break up the
grease that collects on the rotors. Every few weeks, toss in a handful
of cubes, turn on the disposal and run cold water. Add some orange,
lemon or lime peels to ward off odors.

29. Get baked-on foods off pots and pans with a dryer sheet.
Just place one in a pot, fill with water and let sit overnight, then
sponge off the next morning. The antistatic agent weakens the bond
between the stuck-on food and the surface of the pan, while the fabric
softener works its loosening magic.

30. Eliminate trash can grime – Cover the bottom of your trash can with old newspapers. It’s an easy way to keep clean and soaks up leaks and odors.

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31. Easy clean up for broken glass – Pick up tiny slivers of broken glass—the ones you don’t notice until
you’ve stepped on them—by gently pressing a slice of bread or a piece of play-doh on the area. 32. Be sure to wrap the glass up carefully before throwing it
away
—you don’t want an animal to eat it or a child to play with it.

33. Keep kitchen sponges bacteria free – To keep bacteria from taking up permanent residence in your kitchen
sponges, rinse them with water at the end of each day, squeeze, then put
in the microwave for three minutes. Let cool before touching. Do the same with your cutting boards, if they are microwaveable.

34. Lemons to clean your microwave –  Harness the power of citrus to clean your microwave: Cut a lemon in
half, squeeze juice into a small bowl of water, add both lemon halves
and place in the microwave for five minutes. The fresh scent eliminates
cooking odors, and condensation from the steam loosens random splatters
that have hardened. Wipe with a damp cloth.

35. Substitute floor cleaner –  Try Listerine mouthwash if you’re out of floor cleaner. Add a capful to a gallon of water and
mop vinyl or tile—but not wood—floors with the mixture. The same product
that kills bad-breath germs also zaps the gunk beneath your feet.

36. Save time on your bathroom cleaning – After going over your bathtub, sink or shower with disinfectant, wipe the area with baby oil or lemon.
Do this once or twice a month, and it will help dirty water bead and
roll down the drain faster, buying you more time before the next
cleaning.

37. Cleaning your toilet –  Freshen the toilet bowl with denture or antacid tablets in between scouring. Drop two in the water, let
soak for at least 20 minutes, then brush and flush. A can of cola dumped
in for one hour also does the trick. The phosphoric acid in the
beverage removes rust rings and other mineral deposits.

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38. Use a paintbrush to help you dust small crevasses –  A dry paintbrush (with bristles at least 3 inches long) is great for both the surface
and grooves of your collectibles. Dust framed photos with a pastry brush, which is softer than a paintbrush and easier to dip into corners and places that are difficult to reach.

39. Clean your shades –  Take a hands-on approach to your mini blinds and venetians. Just slip on
a pair of white cotton gloves, dip fingers into a solution of equal
parts white vinegar and warm tap water, then run your fingers across
both sides of each slat. Rinse gloves as necessary in a bowl of clean
water.

40. Clean your vases –  To wash a narrow vase, pour in 2 tablespoons of dry rice and ½ cup warm
water, cover with the palm of your hand, shake vigorously, then rinse.

41. Polish brass –  Shine brass using a dab of Worcestershire sauce or ketchup.  Squeeze the condiment onto a cloth, rub the item, then rinse with water and dry with a towel.

42. Get rid of scuff marks –  Use a new tennis ball to wipe scuff marks off tile, vinyl, woodwork—even painted walls. It won’t harm the surface.

43. You can use Air Freshener to clean a dry erase board that just won’t
erase
(because the ink is very dried on) . Spray the board and wipe, it
also helps “recondition” old dry erase boards.

44. Use baby oil next time you shave your legs! Eliminates the need for shaving cream and the need to moisturize post-shave.

45. Use an iron and brown paper sack for getting up candle wax off of
carpet.
Just lay the sack flat and iron over the wax spill on the
carpet, the sack soaks up the wax off the carpet!

46. Enlarge the font on your computer screen. If you ever have trouble reading font on a website because it is too small hold down the ctrl key while scrolling the mouse wheel. This will shrink and enlarge the screen to your liking. 

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74 thoughts on “Did You Know – Over 40 Everyday Hacks

  1. #19: If you don't have a mouse wheel, holding ctrl with the + or – key will zoom in (+) or out (-) as well. Love your blog!

  2. These are great tips, but I am not sure I could do the leftover wine in ice cubes as I never seems to have that problem in my house 🙂

    1. Great for that 'eh it was ok' bottle though! So much better than taking to the mother-in-laws… Lol

    1. I bookmarked/favorited this page as soon as I found it! I think I may even print some of it off and keep in the appropriate room (most will end up in the laundry/utility room) because I won't ever remember either!

  3. I love these tips! Thanks so much for the compilation. For #16, for the dry erase board, I use nail polish remover, it even got those marks that were never fully erased and the white board was as good as new!

  4. I knew about a few of these things, but only a few. Wow, what a post! I will definitely keep this marked for future reference. Thanks so much!

  5. Love these ideas. I have another one! For getting permanent marker off of surfaces, rub it with a dry erase marker. The dry erase loosens the permanent and you can just wipe both away!

  6. If you put a glass of water in the microwave for 3 minutes (or long enough for it to boil) the gunk in your microwave will wipe right off

    1. i use a damp dish towel – bc then its right inside to clean after ive microwaved and humidified everything stuck on …

    2. If your popcorn burns in the microwave, heat up a glass of water first. Remove the glass and cook popcorn like normal.

  7. I use children's hair-detangler on all of my daughter's barbies and dolls, and it works like a charm to detangle and smooth the hair.

  8. You know another easy way to peel hard boiled eggs is to put a little baking soda in the water with the eggs while you boil them. All I have to do to peel them is knock them on the counter once and it cracks right down the middle into two pieces and the egg comes right out.
    Also when I boil eggs I hate that greyish gross color the yolk gets. So I put my egg in the water (with a little baking soda) when I turn the burner on let the egg sit in the water for 3 or 4 min after the water starts to boil then I take it off the burner and let it cool. The egg is cook and the yolk is a pretty yellow.

    1. The older the egg, the easier it is to peel after boil (using no additives to the water). Eggs purchased two weeks ago would be a better choice to boil than eggs purchased recently.

      Also, if you are unsure if the eggs in your fridge are still good, place raw eggs in a large bowl of water. The eggs that float to the surface are bad and shouldn't be used. The eggs that sink and sit on the bottom are still good.

    2. Or make a hole on the top of the egg and another on the bottom. Then blow into one of the holes and the shell will crack off.

  9. #6 – the sponge in the microwave. Sponge needs to be pretty wet, or you risk burning the sponge!

  10. These are great..thanks! You can clean your dishwasher by pouring Lemonade Kool Aide in the dispenser and running it on normal with the dishwasher empty. The citris in the lemonade cleans it and takes away any bad smell.

  11. Hi, these are great tips, thank you so much!

    I have one for you that I don't think I saw…..want to get streak free amazingly clean windows??

    Peel a large yellow onion and cut it in half….put it in a bucket of warm watter and with a rag wash down your window (if a sunny day let it air dry) if not wipe with a dry rag!!

    I sware my whole family does this, thanks grandma, and it works wonders….cleanest windows I've ever seen 🙂

  12. These tips are just great….thanks so much for sharing! I had no idea about #19. I always used the mag glass on the bottom right corner for that. Sweet 🙂

  13. Thanks for sharing your tips and tricks with us — congrats! it was one of our Top 3 most viewed links on last week's T.G.I.F. Linky Party over at Craft Junkie Too! 🙂
    Stop back by when you can and grab the Top 3 button for your blog. 🙂
    Tracy
    craftjunkietoo.com/2012/02/tgif-linky-party-43.html

  14. In regards to keeping your kitchen sponge bacteria free… Thought this was a great idea and tried it after reading your post. I was so wrong!! I figured I'd share this with you in case you want to made an addendum with a warning notice. Three minutes may be okay in some microwaves, but microwaves vary! I followed the instructions as you have them written and very nearly just had a fire in my kitchen. The sponge dried out and caught fire, melting my glass plate and causing us all to have to leave the house and stand outdoors as the fumes were so terrible. Wondering what I did wrong, I did a bit more research & thought I'd pass it along to you: The key is making sure the sponge stays wet. You should only microwave for 30 seconds at a time, adding water as needed, and stop when the sponge gets hot. Then remove the sponge with tongs. I doubt I'd try this trick again, even with the altered instructions. I'd prefer to buy a years supply of sponges over losing my house to a fire.

    1. Try putting it through the dishwasher each night with your dishes! Comes out squeaky clean and smelling like roses!!

    2. Who puts a sponge in a microwave & walks away from it! It takes very little common sense to know that putting a wet object in a microwave for an extended period of time will cause it to dry out & eventually catch fire…..WOW! I'm astounded by the lack of common sense used these days!

  15. Loving this blog!
    Extra Tip: To clean and shine copper bottom pans, dampen a clean rag with undiluted vinegar, turn the pan upside down and drape the cloth over the bottom of the pan. Let it sit for 20 minutes. Then, remove the rag and sprinkle a pinch of coarse salt on the pan's underside. Give it a quick scrub and a swish with the same rag, and rinse. Shiny!!

  16. Number 3: You need to be very careful with this one. Most wall mount TV's need to breath or they will burn up. Without proper ventilation you will lessen the life of your tv. Use a crown molding on the top piece or notch it with a router or table saw.

  17. Jewellery Cleaner – place tin foil in the bottom of a container, place a few tablespoons of baking soda then pour boiling water in (enough to cover jewellery) then place jewellery in. Careful when removing as jewellery will be hot and then buff lightly

  18. Here's another good tip: Citrus-based hand cleaners are great for getting grease stains out of fabrics and carpets.

  19. Here's a great tip! If you have stained copper bottomed pans just squirt some ketchup on it, spread around and let sit for about 10 minutes. wipe off and wash pan, it will look shiny and new in no time! 🙂

    1. You can click on the 'source' link under the Image and you wil ba taken to the direct link.

  20. Wow! This is a super helpful list. I've seen about 4 of these, but the rest are all new. I love the hair brush idea.

  21. Great tips. Can't wait to try them. Had trouble clicking on links though. Have bookmarked the post for future reference.

  22. WOW, I can't tell you how many of those I will use. I am always frustrated when I strip a screw and can't get it out!! And my girls' barbies…they will be so excited to have soft straight hair again!! thx

  23. I have to say that this is my new favorite site… A few tips and tricks of my own… Use rubbing alcohol to get rid of permanent marker. When cleaning windows and mirrors spray them with window cleaner and use newspaper to clean them instead of paper towels or rags… you end up with no streaks and the paper absorbs the cleaner quickly… also I would not recommend using baby oil for shaving your legs- when I was in high school, my friend and I were getting ready for the movies and didn't want to take the time to go and shave our legs in the tub, so we thought baby oil would be a great idea and ended up with the worst razor rash ever! Not a good idea. Itches like crazy.

  24. #6 – I mix my pancake batter in a blender. It has a built-in spout so I can just pour the batter straight onto the pan.

    #12 – To make boiled eggs easier to peel: after pouring off the boiling water cover eggs with cold water and let sit for a few minutes.

  25. instead of upholstering your beds boxspring just remove mattress and put an extra fitted sheet on boxspring replace mattress and you have a decorated of your choosing easy to clean stays put box spring cover, also helps to protect and preserve it.

    another tip with dryer sheets once they are used keep in your purse car and pocket for a handy easy streak free glasses cleaner, will not scratch even special coated lenses and are also good and safe for wiping off monitors tvs laptops and keeps them dust free longer no chemicals needed

  26. Baby oil in the bathtub is a very bad idea! Sure it makes it easier to clean in the future, but slipping in the tub sucks! I know. I fell in the tub when I was younger. Almost broke my elbow!

    1. I was wondering when someone was going to catch that one. It might make dirty water bead down the drain, but I can just imagine a bad fall. Weird thinking. Also shaving with baby oil in the tub is a bad idea. Same problem. DO NOT USE BABY OIL IN THE TUB/SHOWER!

      Love many of these others though.

  27. use hair conditioner to shave your legs they will be silky smooth! also a good way to get rid of old or conditioners you may not like! you can also use conditioner as a moisturizing body wash! this is a great trick when traveling light!

  28. To keep your boots from slumping over, roll up an old magazine and place it in them. They will stand upright 🙂

  29. the wd-40 to clean up crayons is nice to know. but a much easier solution is toothpaste it gets crayon marker pen and pencil from most painted surfaces and everyone has it on hand.

  30. I enjoyed your blog. I put a fitted sheet over the box spring. It is a lot easier than upholstering it and a lot easier to keep clean.
    Cardboard is great for storing knitting needles. Just stick the needles in the corrugated ripples. The ends stick out letting you know what size the needles are.

  31. Just tried the air freshener trick on a small white board this morning and it worked liked a charm. Thanks!

  32. Another tip. I have used brown paper grocery bags to sand small wood craft pieces when I didn't have any sandpaper available. Just tear off a small piece of the brown paper and rub the wood.

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  34. To keep those earbuds you use for your ipod from falling on the ground, slip the ends of an eyeglass chain over each bud. You may need to work it over carefully. Put the chain around your neck. No more stepped on and broken earbuds!

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  36. #18: Spice Chart…There are a few things wrong with that. Salt, for one, plays well with everything, including sweets! Its best to play with your spices and see what you like!

    Also, adding a pinch of salt to your coffee grounds pre-brew will cut the bitterness, and bring out the flavors of the roast!

  37. Some great ideas! Here is another one. Add a pinch of salt to your gallon of milk to double its shelf life.

  38. Some great ideas! Here is another one. Add a pinch of salt to your gallon of milk to double its shelf life.

  39. I don't know if anyone posted about baby oil yet, I didn't read all the comments. DO NOT PUT BABY OR MINERAL OIL ON YOUR SKIN! Yes it keeps moisture in so your skin feels softer, it also keeps in sweat, oil, and other things your skin has pores for! did you notice the bit about using it in your shower to keep from cleaning? because water (and other things) can't penetrate it. your skin has pores for a reason, let them do their job!

  40. I don't know if anyone posted about baby oil yet, I didn't read all the comments. DO NOT PUT BABY OR MINERAL OIL ON YOUR SKIN! Yes it keeps moisture in so your skin feels softer, it also keeps in sweat, oil, and other things your skin has pores for! did you notice the bit about using it in your shower to keep from cleaning? because water (and other things) can't penetrate it. your skin has pores for a reason, let them do their job!

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