37 Handy Tips to Make Your Life Easier
Tips that will surely change your life.
Here’s a list of handy tips. None of them a guaranteed, but many work or are worth a try. A few of them seem too outrageous to work, but when I’ve got black shoe polish on my white sofa, I’ll try anything to get it out!
- To fit more food in the freezer, cut out the cooking instructions from the pack and seal them, with the food, in clear plastic bags. The rest of the outer packaging goes into the recycling bin.
- When hanging a picture, put corn plasters on the corners at the back and you’ll prevent it leaving any marks on the wall.
- If you’ve got small nail holes on white walls and don’t want to repaint, fill them with some white toothpaste.
- Keep a roll of plastic bags in your beach bag. They are handy for taking home wet bathing suits, keeping sand out of your sun lotion or camera, storing litter and holding leaky containers.
- Hold a kitchen match in your mouth when peeling an onion and it will stop the tears.
- To take away the onion smell on your hands afterwards, rub your hands with a stainless steel spoon.
- Soak your new shower curtain in a salt water solution and it will stop mildew from forming.
- If you are abroad and go on an excursion, take a photo of the pick-up point with your digital camera. If you get lost, all you’ve got to do is show the photo to locals for directions.
- Try brushing your teeth with a mashed strawberry to get rid of yellow stains.
- Freeze a selection of summer berries to use instead of ice in party drinks.
- If kids leave hard to remove stickers on furniture, cover the stickers in mayonnaise for ten minutes to loosen.
- Put cling wrap over an opened tub of ice cream before replacing the lid and putting it back in the freezer. The contents won’t frost over.
- To help cats get used to a move to a new house, hand a wind chime in the old house, then re-hang at the new place. The sound helps them find their way home after they’ve been out.
- Use plain white paper tablecloths for kids parties. Put out some crayons, too. Fast eaters can sit and draw while others finish their food.
- Throw a mothball in the bottom of your garbage can and it will smell fresh.
- Keep a new toothbrush in the kitchen for cleaning the grater and the sieve.
- When camping, store cereal in washed plastic milk bottles. It will keep it from getting damp.
- Add a little white vinegar to your dish washing water. It will make cutlery and glasses sparkle.
- If you have an old freezer that needs defrosting, line it with waxed paper after you are done. The next time you defrost the ice will come off easily.
- Use chilled, sliced tomatoes on sunburn. It draws out the heat and feels very soothing.
- If you don’t have a shredder and need to dispose of important documents, soak them in water. Once they turn into pulp and start to break up, then form them into balls and toss away.
- If the tops of your feet get burned faster than the rest of your legs, put on some short tennis type socks while tanning. It’s not pretty by the pool, but it works.
- When you get a haircut you like, get a friend to take pictures of each side of your head. When you go back to the hairdresser, you can show them exactly what you liked before.
- Before leaving for a holiday, email yourself details of your passport, flights, credit cards and so forth. If anything bad happens, you can log on anywhere to retrieve your information.
- If you get lipstick on your clothes, put some Vaseline on the mark before washing and it will soon disappear.
- Keep your recipes clean and easy to read by putting them in a photo album with plastic page covers.
- When going to the supermarket without a car, use one of the hand baskets instead of the shopping cart. You’ll know if the contents become too heavy to carry home.
- If you need to undo a Phillips screw but don’t have a screwdriver, use the point of a potato peeler. With some sizes and patience it works.
- Are mice a problem? Place several drops of peppermint oil on a cotton ball and place at the problem locations. They hate it!
- If you have fresh herbs, cop them and freeze in ice cube trays. They will stay fresh until you need them.
- Coil a garden hose in a figure eight instead of a circle. No more kinks!
- An old carving fork is great for weeding around delicate plants, especially when you need to get close to the stem.
- If you drop an egg on the floor, add some salt and leave it for five minutes. It’s easier to clean up.
- Another onion idea-when chopping an onion, take a sip of water and keep it your mouth. There’s less chance of tears.
- After packing a suitcase, put in a couple of perfumed tumble dryer sheets on top of your clothes to give them a nice fragrance.
- Also, keep tumble dryer sheets in empty, stored suitcases–they will smell better when they are opened.
- Tumble dryer sheets can also be put in stored sneakers and shoes to make them smell better.
By the way, I’ve found nothing really does get black shoe polish off a white sofa. I’ve tried professional cleaning, club soda, every product imaginable and there’s still a trace. Red wine and chocolate can be removed, but shoe polish is really, really difficult.
If you have white sofas, the best thing to do is have everyone remove their shoes, I guess. I have heard of people who have white sofas who only serve clear drinks at parties…white wine, vodka, 7-up, water. It’s not a bad idea.
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valli | Feb 18, 2008 | Reply
Very useful tips.
Ronald Marbles (The Abacus) | Feb 18, 2008 | Reply
Thank you valli, I try to do my best
Shawny Nevill | Feb 20, 2008 | Reply
great article, i noticed you had not added it to stumble upon yet, i went ahead and did that. You should really check out stumble upon, it is very good.
Ronald Marbles (The Abacus) | Feb 21, 2008 | Reply
Hi Shawny, thanks
I just put my articles on Digg as I found out that most other sites don’t work well for me. But Digg is great, I have a lot of friends on there…
Paula | Mar 22, 2008 | Reply
Also, if you want to get rid of onion smells on your hands, heap a small pile of table salt in your palm, dampen with water, and scrub. It completely removes the smell.
imaginearea | Apr 30, 2008 | Reply
This is a brilliant and handy list, I’m surprised and pleased to see so many that I’ve not heard of before.
Adam | Oct 16, 2008 | Reply
I stumbled here. Great list!
Joe | Oct 22, 2008 | Reply
Pulled in by stumble, nice tips
miragana | Oct 22, 2008 | Reply
Good day!
It is very informative and has a very good quality in it.
I like it…
Self Improvement
Modern Rifle
Happy Halloween
Thank you very much for your time.
Harry | Oct 22, 2008 | Reply
Okay this is a good list but here are some things worth noticing:
You don’t need to hold a match in your mouth to stop yourself from crying while peeling onions. The fumes don’t enter through your eyes. They enter through the nose. If you just breathe normally through your mouth instead of your nose you will not cry. Simple.
For the love of God, whatever you do, NEVER e-mail your personal data to yourself. You’re blatantly screaming to be a victim of identity theft.
jamie | Oct 22, 2008 | Reply
does brushing your teeth with strawberries really work? i may try it
Sam | Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
Try using some Gasoline and then mild soapy water on shoe polish stain on the sofa. Be careful though, and test this on a throwaway cloth before you attempt on the stain.
Jonathan | Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
I have one.
To shine shoes, coat the area you want to shine with a good amount of shoe polish (Kiwi brand is what I’ve heard will work with this). Then take a lighter, and pass the lighter back and forth on the area you applied the polish, until almost all of it is gone. The shoe polish you have left will come right off with a rag, and what you have left is a shiny shoe.
I just heard this yesterday, and have yet to try it.
Jeffrey K | Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
Use a broom when your TV remote does not work TIP 38
Quintin B | Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
use Suger and water mixed if you dont have Hair Gell
Quintin B | Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
sugar
Liam | Oct 25, 2008 | Reply
Old telephone directories make ideal personal address books. Simply cross out the names and address of people you don’t know.
Liam | Oct 25, 2008 | Reply
When throwing someone a sharp instrument such as a Stanley knife, or bread knife, always throw it blade first as they invariably tend to turn whilst in the air.
Hipjiverobot | Oct 25, 2008 | Reply
I almost thought this was a joke at first…
Holding a kitchen match in your mouth would only work if it was lit so it could combust the sulfur from the onions.
Mothballs don\’t make things smell fresh, they make things smell like mothballs.
Putting toothpaste on your wall will just give ants something to swarm on.
I would rather have stickers on my furniture than mayonnaise.
The tips on this list that aren\’t hilariously wrong are hilariously obvious or ridiculous.
cannonball | Oct 25, 2008 | Reply
I agree with Hipjiverobot! These are a bit silly. Why on earth would a match IN YOUR MOUTH help with the vapors from an onion affecting your eyes? Just keep the onions very cold before cutting.
auzerais | Oct 26, 2008 | Reply
I put a few dryer sheets in front of my airconditioner unit screen. It helps freshen the air (esp in motels) and also collects dust and makes the screen easier to rinse off at home.
Thomas | Oct 27, 2008 | Reply
@Hipjiverobot
Actually, ants do not like toothpaste. If you have ants, you can put toothpaste lines around doors and they won’t cross that line.
John Hopkins | Oct 27, 2008 | Reply
Good tips (oh and I “Stumbled” here just so you know) Just so you know people are getting here that way
alex | Oct 28, 2008 | Reply
Nice list. Don’t mind the neg comments. Some peeps don’t “get it”.
Stumbled here. Happy I did.
peace. a
Ronald Marbles | Oct 29, 2008 | Reply
Thanks for all the positive comments. It’s what I look forward to read.
Stumbler | Oct 30, 2008 | Reply
Very nice list.
As I am sure you are well aware of there are always ones that like to tear down others. I am guessing they either think they are the web critics or they are just trying to make themselves feel better some how.
GotHereThruStumble | Nov 2, 2008 | Reply
Actually the toothpaste idea does work. I actually have done it a few times when I removed nails.
But about the onions/match thing, i don’t really see why that work work. It always makes my nose itch first, so maybe put a clothespin on your nose instead? hahaha
And yeah mothballs smell funny.
harry | Nov 2, 2008 | Reply
AWESOME!!! hope to hear more.. love it!
pacojet | Nov 3, 2008 | Reply
#38
get a life
Tree | Nov 3, 2008 | Reply
How about getting wax out of a carpet?
Grab an iron and set it on low with no steam. Get a couple paper towels and put on the wax drip. Put the iron on the paper towel and melt the wax. As the wax melts the paper towel will absorb the melted wax!
davidj | Nov 3, 2008 | Reply
HOMELESS people. Lighten your load by not buying a dog.
davidj | Nov 3, 2008 | Reply
SUBMARINE designers. Why not put any water pipes on the outside of the sub? That way, if they burst, there is no harm done.
davidj | Nov 3, 2008 | Reply
TAME budgies and parrots easily by replacing their grit with iron filings. By holding a large magnet, they will sit hapilly on your hand for hours.
davidj | Nov 3, 2008 | Reply
OLD people. If you feel cold indoors this winter, simply pop outside for ten minutes without a coat. When you go back inside you will really feel the benefit.
davidj | Nov 3, 2008 | Reply
MUMS. After your kids have mastered spelling with Alphabetti Spaghetti, buy a tin of the normal stuff so as they can practise joined-up writing.
davidj | Nov 3, 2008 | Reply
DRIVERS Fool your neighbours that you have an expensive gravel drive by pushing rice crispies in the tread of your tires
David | Nov 3, 2008 | Reply
I don’t know about putting vaseline on clothes to remove lipstick. I’d imagine vaseline would leave a nice oil stain in place of the lipstick
johnnystampeed | Nov 4, 2008 | Reply
Why is pacojet picking on me?
vinh | Nov 5, 2008 | Reply
typo : 30. If you have fresh herbs, (( cop ))them…
Phil E. Drifter | Nov 6, 2008 | Reply
Also if you carry a dryer freshening sheet and carry in in your pocket in the summer time, the mosquitos will stay away from you.
Lady | Nov 7, 2008 | Reply
Stumbled.
Stephanie | Nov 7, 2008 | Reply
All of these tips are so useful! Thank you!
Jita | Nov 8, 2008 | Reply
Having tears in your eyes while cutting onions is a VERY good thing. The reason your eyes sting is because the sulfur coming from the onions reacts with the water already in your eyes, and produces H2SO4, or Sulfuric Acid. Thus the burning sensation. The eyes produce more water to dilute the acid.
Chris | Nov 8, 2008 | Reply
No.
StumbledHere | Nov 8, 2008 | Reply
Found you through stumble and love the list, I always chew on a peppermint or big red gum while cutting up onions and that has always worked for me!
Chaosmode | Nov 8, 2008 | Reply
Try baby wipes on your shoe polish stain. I haven’t found a stain that they won’t take out, yet.
Nick. | Nov 10, 2008 | Reply
Great list Ronald!
For the white sofa thing, try industrial shower cleaner, worked for me! Although becareful as that stuff is pretty strong!
Stumbled.
Nick.
Dan | Nov 10, 2008 | Reply
These are basically all old wive’s tales with no basis in science or fact.
mark | Nov 10, 2008 | Reply
wipe yer butt with dryer freshening sheets too
anthony | Nov 13, 2008 | Reply
sorry nick but they ain’t all old wives tales. Toothpaste in a small nail whole will cover it, try it and see.
#5, #6 and 7 (onions, saltwater on curtai) don’t buy it
chilled tomatoe for sunburn, or chilled zucchini or chilled washcloth or chilled anything…
#10…chill the onion, cut it underwater…a match in your mouth, nice story but that doesn’t stop the fumes from getting in your eyes, nothing to do with your nose harry.
All in all some good practical advice except NEVER use gasoline as a cleaner….is your fire insurance paid up and besides the company might suspect arson when the discover an accelerant
Stumbler | Nov 14, 2008 | Reply
Came through stumble. Thanks, will try some of these tips. By the way digg sux, it filters out and censors website. Digg was good like 3-4 years ago. I prefer reddit.
Tank | Dec 1, 2008 | Reply
you can get black polish of white sofa\’s provided you act straight away, all you need is lemon fairy liquid, designed to \’cut through grease\’ it makes quick work of the oils in shoe polish
nat | Jan 3, 2009 | Reply
If your shoes are particularly smelly, fill them with crumpled newspaper over night. You can also try putting a few drops of an essential oil on the newspaper first, letting it dry, and them crumpling it into your shoes. It helps!
Deb | Mar 10, 2009 | Reply
I stumbled here too.
seeboo | May 29, 2009 | Reply
See my articles http://www.redhottipsforyou.com
Mr T | Apr 13, 2010 | Reply
Use your wife/girlfriend/kid if your broom doesn’t work