If you’re not lifehacking, you’re not living life to its fullest. It’s not like you constantly need to be seeking alternative ways to do things, but then again, it’s kinda fun to do exactly this.
Don’t have any ideas? No worries. We’ve tapped into the internet’s deep reservoir of awesome hacks and done the legwork for you. If anyone asks, just tell ’em you came up with these on your own.
Say goodbye to gross dish soap nozzles
Why does dish soap always have that dumb nozzle, while hand soap has the convenient pump? I have no idea (sorry), but you can easily remedy the situation. I didn’t realize this, but Reddit user ABigMoo demonstrates how the threading on a standard container of bathroom soap is the same as most dish soaps.
While we’re on the same soapbox…
Look, you’re an adult and can use as little, or as much, soap as you want. It’s a free country. But if you have little ones who are constantly overusing soap and making a mess, try wrapping an elastic band around the spout. Redditor JojoBaKi shows how this simple trick will help you save on soap.
The perfect addition to a PC gaming station.
Big, clunky headphones are hard to store in an elegant way. If only there was a way to hang them…maybe something like one of those inexpensive banana hangers. Actually, why not just use an actual banana hanger? Redditor dumbogaming123 shared his setup, and it looks way better than just leaving them lying around.
Get more mileage out of your greens.
It seems just about impossible to use up one of these big containers of greens before they start to wilt and turn brown. Fortunately, there’s an easy fix. Redditor williamd83 recommends putting a damp (not wet, just damp!) piece of paper towel in with them. The moisture will keep them fresher, longer.
Don’t be seduced be sales.
Those bright “Clearance!” or “Sale!” stickers may grab your attention, but oftentimes they’re not advertising much of a deal. Most big retailers have detailed information on the price tags — including unit price and how much you’re actually saving. Redditor wallagm suggests carefully reading these tags before splurging on something.
Superpower the whole Ikea process.
The allen wrenches used for Ikea furniture work well for the most part. But if you really want to streamline the experience, Redditor trenton00 suggests straightening them out (or cutting them), then putting them into your power drill. It creates a new drill bit that will help you put together Ikea stuff in a fraction of the time.
Organization ahoy!
Those rigid plastic trays that come inside cookie packages are recyclable in most places. Of course, you can also recycle them within your own home or office. This trick from Redditor Kashagoon shows how they can re repurposed to store cutlery, stationery, or any other knickknacks that need a home.
Last one to figure this one out’s a rotten egg.
Eggs all kinda look the same — fresh, rotten, or otherwise. That’s until you crack one open and your olfactory instincts tell you it’s gross and spoiled.
Don’t put yourself through this grossness! Redditor mrcastiron shows us a simple test: if an egg floats, it’s bad.
Switch things up.
These little switches are dumb, but they’re also everywhere. Since they dumbly fail to tell you which way to turn them, you’ll have to take things into your own hands, as Redditor williamd83 did. A piece of tape, or marks made with a Sharpie, will instantly tell you how to switch these things on.
Green onions are basically infinite.
Some of the produce we buy at the grocery store is extremely easy to grow more of at home. Case in point: green onions. Redditor ReturnDelMack suggests growing your own green onion shoots in water, using the end of the veggie that you don’t eat as a base.
It ain’t pretty, but it works.
During cold and flu season, running out of Kleenex is an inevitability. You can turn to TP, but the roll can easily unravel and turn into a plaything for pets and kids. Redditor bostonstartups shows us how keeping the TP roll in the empty tissue box confines it to one area while making it easy to tear off a piece.
Treat your houseguests right.
There’s nothing worse than crashing at someone’s place, only to find in the morning that all of the sun’s beams are concentrated directly on your face.
If you’ve got houseguests visiting, Redditor williamd83 suggests this ingenious hack: cut some thick insulation to fit your window. It’s better than any blackout curtain, and you can stash it in your closet until you need it again.
Push away paint problems.
If you’re painting with a big brush like this, and know you’re going to be using it again soon, you can save some hassle with a simple tip shared on Reddit by limp-brizkit . You don’t need to clean the brush at all — just put it in a Ziploc bag with a small cutout on the bottom for a handle. It won’t dry out and it’ll keep things tidy.
When you need the smoke detector to shut up.
Smoke detectors are lifesaving devices, but they’re also super annoying when you’re just trying to cook and they keep beeping every five seconds. Redditor StealMyMemes attaches a shower cap with an attached ribbon to silence smoke detectors. The hanging ribbon is a visual reminder to remove the attachment once you’re done cooking.
Carabiners: great for mountain climbing, great for grocery shopping.
If, like me, you can’t stand to make multiple trips to bring your shopping inside, try this one from Reddit’s dollartaco on for size. A couple of inexpensive carabiner clips effectively gathers the handles of your shopping bags, making it easy to bring them in together (and saving your hands from getting cut into in the process).
Binder clips are your ear buds’ best friend.
Earbuds are compact and they do the job nicely — until, of course, you accidentally yank them out. Then, with nothing to hold onto, they just kinda fall down your shirt. To keep those unwieldy buds in check, try this simple trick from Reddit’s williamd83 : just use a small binder clip to attach them to your shirt. It also helps keep them organized for storage.
Stop surprise flushes.
Redditor captbadass shared this badass trick for public washrooms. If you want to control when those auto-flushing toilets actually flush, just cover up the sensor with a piece of toilet paper. No more weird, unexpected flushes when you’re using a public toilet!
Don’t settle for streaky windshields.
Streaky windows are visually unappealing, but more importantly, if those streaky windows are in a car, they can be a safety hazard — especially on sunny or frosty days. To remedy this, Redditor williamd83 suggests keeping a baggie with a bit of Windex and some cloths in the car to keep the windows crystal-clear.
New driver in your house? Invest in pool noodles.
Pool noodles are handy for new and inexperienced drivers, because they create a buffer zone that you can feel. Bumpers do the same thing, of course, but you don’t really want to crack them. Redditor RIPJ4WZ shows us how some cut-up pool noodles mounted in the garage can help prevent nicks and scratches.
Fantastic for fat-fingered folk.
Here’s a handy trick for iPhone users: when you need to move the text cursor, don’t even bother trying to find the proper place to touch within the text. Instead, you can hold the space bar and use gestures to finely control where the cursor is. This simple trick comes from @OliviadAlbers on Twitter.
Dashboard reflectors are basically pizza ovens.
If you have one of those dashboard reflectors, it’s useful to know that the same qualities that help keep your car cool on a hot day can keep food hot on a cold day. Cerberus1349 on Reddit demonstrates how folding one of these, foil side in, creates an instant warming tray.
Give sponges a proper life cycle.
Dish sponges get too nasty to use on dishes after awhile. But rather than throwing them out, why not repurpose them for nasty areas, like the toilet bowl? Redditor IAmAPhysicsGuy shared this method for using dish sponges. He makes sure to cut the nasty sponges in half to provide a visual aid for which sponges are which.
Ice cubes, simplified.
Dealing with ice cube trays is a total hassle: you fill them in your sink, only to spill about three quarters of the water on your way to the freezer. This one’s so simple I’m ashamed it’s never occurred to me, but fortunately an Imgur user has shown me the light: just put the tray on a flat surface in your fridge, then fill them using a water receptacle.
Oil pans like a pro.
Cooking oil comes in unwieldy containers that cause it to glug out in a messy way. Until they put spouts on these things, try this one from Redditor solodolo– . Pouring your oil into an old soy sauce container gives you a super handy, mess-free way to drizzle oil to your heart’s content.
