Life Hacks

Life hacks are fun to hear and read about, but a lot of them don’t really work. Did you hear the one about double pressing an elevator button you’ve pressed incorrectly to reset it? We tried it and no luck. We still stopped on the wrong floor. But, a lot of them do work and are pretty useful. Here are 15 awesome life hacks that we’ve tried and that worked for us.

15 Awesome Life Hacks That Actually Work

1. If you’ve mixed up your old and new batteries, bounce them on a counter-top or table. The new battery will bounce once and stop. The old battery will bounce multiple times. My daughter tested this and it does work.

2. Fill a bottle of water one quarter of the way and put the lid on tightly. Lay on its side in the freezer. When you’re ready to go, fill the rest of the bottle with water. The ice will keep your water cool as you drink.

3. Put a bar of unopened soap in your clothes drawer. It will keep them smelling fresh. I’ve also done this with dryer sheets.

4. If you don’t have an ice pack, wet a sponge and put it in the freezer until it’s cool. Then, place the sponge in a sandwich or freezer bag and use it as an ice pack. This eliminates the drips caused by melting ice.

5. If you get ink on your hands, rub some hand sanitizer on them. My daughter drew all over her hands and used hand sanitizer to rub it off. It removed the ink, but I suggest using a napkin.

6. Use an old toothbrush to clean your hairbrush. Clean your hairbrush as usual, soak the brush in soapy water, then use the toothbrush to scrub off what’s left.

7. Put a red pen top on your blue or black pen to stop people from ‘borrowing’ it.

8. Tie a bright piece of fabric onto your luggage handle if you have black, blue, or any other common type of bag. I use a bright pink one with penguins on it. No one bothers it!

9. If you’re nervous about something, chew a piece of gum. It supposedly fools your brain into thinking you’re eating and therefore safe and you will calm down. My daughter said the teachers give them gum during tests and that it actually does work!

10. If you’re in a rental car and need to fill up with gas but can’t remember which side the fuel tank is on, look at the gas gauge. There is an arrow that points to the side of the car with the tank. Surprisingly, this isn’t well known.

11. Use a clothespin to hold a nail you’re about to hammer. I wish I had known about this one sooner!

12. If you’re about to toss out a post-it note, run the sticky side through your keyboard keys. I do this to get crumbs out.

13. Poke holes in a lid of an old milk jug. Then, you can use it as a watering can.

14. Need a funnel? Use aluminum foil. Shape into a funnel and voila!

15. When giving your little ones popsicles, push the stick through a piece of cupcake paper to catch the drips.