Sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of good advice to turn your whole year around. This list is full of little tips and tricks that can help you make your house look better, make packing for a trip easier, and make your daily tasks a little less daunting.
Keep reading to learn how you can take steps to make your life easier, even if those steps are as simple as putting a rubber band around your lotion bottle...
Make Cleanup Way Easier
Anyone who has ever tried an at-home haircut (which might be all of us at this point) knows how hard it can be to clean up afterward. Rip open a plastic bag and lay it over your sink to catch all of those stray hairs.
Two Ziplocks Are Better Than One
If you want to store something in a Ziplock bag that is too big for said Ziplock bag, you can turn a second Ziplock bag inside out and attach it to the first one.
A Faster Way To Wash Dishes
This guy found a way to wash heavily soiled dishes and baking trays that requires minimal effort. It does involve power tools, though. Just make sure you're gentle with anything that's fragile.
Hide Your Modem
Here's a creative way to hide your internet modem or router. You'll just need some old books (and the gumption to hollow them out). Now your modem will look a lot more sophisticated.
A DIY Split Screen
These guys only have one screen on which to play their favorite first-person shooter games. They don't want to deal with screen peeking, so they came up with this solution.
A Counter At Kid Height
This kid wanted to help out in the kitchen, but the counter is too high for him to reach. His mom came up with this solution. You could try this at home with a baking sheet or a cutting board.
How To Transport Your Clothes
This person found a way to transport their clothes efficiently and effectively. It involves wrapping them in plastic bags while they're still on hangers and just moving them into another closet.
How To Store Corn Cob Holders
These corn cob holders are great for holding corn, but they do tend to roll around in your drawers and get messy. The solution? Poke them into a sponge. Then they'll stay in one place.
When You Don't Use The Whole Packet
Sometimes, you don't want to use the whole powdered drink mix packet. In those cases, place any leftover powder in an empty Tic Tac container. Then it won't spill all over your pantry.
Save Space In Your Freezer
You don't need to keep big, bulky boxes in your freezer. Just cut off any important instructions and store that cardboard panel in a Ziplock bag with the rest of the box's contents.
Keep Your Lotion From Spilling In Your Bag
Wrap an elastic band around any of your cosmetics bottles with a pump dispenser. That way, you can keep lotion (and other liquids) from spilling all over the inside of your bag.
A Place To Put Your Airpods
This person figured out that you can attach your AirPods to the magnetic spots at the top of your laptop screen. Now you'll never lose your AirPods again. Well, you might, but not having a space to lay them down while you're on your computer won't be the reason why.
A New Way To Support Your Phone
Here's a new use for those little plastic tables that come with your pizza order. You can use them to hold up your smartphone. It's like a Pop Socket, but it's free and it comes with pizza.
A Reusable To-Do List
If you have a list of tasks that you need to complete on a daily basis, you can use a clipboard and some binder clips to create a reusable to-do list.
Make Windows Where There Aren't Any
The room you're looking at is a basement, which means it doesn't have any actual windows. This person created "windows" by placing fluorescent lights behind frosted plexiglass in a picture frame.
Save Your Ears
Wearing a mask all day every day can really take a toll on your ears. This nurse figured out a way to give her ears some relief. All you need to try this hack is a headband with some buttons sewn onto it.
Freeze Your Lemons
If you want to cool down your drink without watering it down with ice cubes, use a frozen lemon. Frozen lemons also add a subtle citrus flavor to your drinks.
A Freezer Full Of Ice
I'm not sure why you would want a whole freezer full of ice, but in case you do, you can just remove the ice tray under your ice maker. Your freezer will keep making ice until there's no more space for ice to go.
How To Open Hard Plastic Packaging
This hard plastic packaging can be a nightmare to open. Here's a trick to help you out the next time you are faced with one of these impenetrable forcefields. Use a can opener!
How To Clean Your Blender
First of all, always clean your blender right after you use it (or else you're going to end up with stuck-on gunk). But also, just put some soap and water in there and turn it on to clean it.
Fit More Bowls In The Microwave
With this hack, you can fit even more bowls in your microwave at one time. Just flip a mug upside down and put a bowl on top of it. Voila.
Heat Your Food More Evenly
Microwaves don't heat food evenly, so the next time you put food in the microwave, arrange it in a donut fashion. That way you won't end up with a cold spot in the middle.
How To Get Your Dog To Love Baths
Dogs notoriously hate taking baths, but you can make bath time a lot more fun for your dog by smearing some peanut butter on the side of the tub or on the wall.
Another Use For A Staple Remover
You can use a staple remover to open up keyrings. This hack is great for when you don't want to ruin a fresh manicure. Those keyrings can be really finicky.
Blow Up Your Air Mattress Faster
Sure, you could use the pump that came with your air mattress, or you could just use a vacuum set on the blow setting. This allows your mattress to inflate a lot quicker.
Check For Seeds
If you're eating a tangerine or a clementine and you want to make sure that there aren't any seeds in it before chowing down, hold the segments up to the light.
Dispense One Tic Tac At A Time
Did you know that there's a spot in the lid of all Tic Tac containers that's perfectly shaped to fit exactly one Tic Tac? This is how you should be eating Tic Tacs.
A Little Goes A Long Way
If you like the smell of Bath and Body Works hand sanitizer, you can add a drop of it to regular hand sanitizer. Your whole bottle of regular sanitizer will take on the scent rather strongly.
Cool Down Your Drinks
If you want to cool down your beverage in a hurry, wrap a wet paper towel around it and then put it in the fridge. It should be cold in no time.
Store Natural Peanut Butter Upside Down
Natural peanut butter is good and good for you, but because there aren't as many preservatives in it, it tends to separate. Store it upside down so you don't have to stir it so vigorously every time you use it.