We use so many items, gadgets, and tools every day and we never even think about it. What if you have been using some of them wrong all along? Or maybe, there is a hidden use or trick that some people know, but we haven’t been told yet.
Today, we are going to take a look at some of the little things we do every day and the items we use to do them with. We will explore all the alternative uses and product hacks that you need to know to make everything run just a little bit smoother!
How to Pour Milk Correctly
When you grab a box of milk or juice to pour it, you likely don’t give it a second thought. This might make you think about it, though. Did you ever consider that you were pouring it wrong? The correct way is not with the nozzle closest to the glass, but further away. This gives you a steadier grip and a smoother pur with less splashing.
Take Out Boxes Turn Into Plates
There’s that stereotypical image of someone loafing on the sofa eating takeout straight from the box. However, there is a better way. Those boxes can easily unfold and turn into a plate, making eating more convenient and cleaning up a breeze.
Saucepan Handles & Spoons
Lots of people hang their pots and pans as a matter of decoration and to save space. That hole in the saucepan handle has a different use you might not have considered. Instead of dirtying a spoon rest, stick the spoon's handle through the hole in the saucepan handle. Problem solved with no mess.
Always Use Wooden Clothes Hangers
There are tons of styles and materials when it comes to clothes hangers. You know that you need them to keep your clothes wrinkle-free. In order to repel moths and other would-be pests, choose wooden hangers. They keep your clothes safe and looking nice.
A Headrest for Safety
Have you ever noticed when you were adjusting the headrest in your car that it comes off entirely? This is so that in case of an emergency you can use it to break the side window and escape. Now you know!
Watch Your Computer Screen Not Timeout
To keep your computer screen from timing out and locking you out causing you to have to go through all the trouble of signing on again, you can sit your mouse on top of an old analog watch. The ticking of the watch tricks the mouse into thinking there is movement, so you can come back to it at your own pace.
A Perfect Straw Holder
When you stick a straw in a can of pop, the bubbles push it right to the top and often all the way out of your drink. The quickest way to stop this is to stick the straw through the hole in the pop can tab. No more losing your straw.
Dry Storage for Pool and Beach Days
Any time you visit the water whether it is taking the kids to the pool or a trip to the beach, one of your top priorities is keeping your phone and other belongings such as keys and your wallet safe and dry. A great trick is to throw them into an old cleaned-out peanut butter jar. This is a great way to repurpose something you would have just thrown away.
Easy Tear Aluminum Foil
We often get so busy that we overlook the little things that are meant to help us. One of them is the tiny tab on the end of an aluminum foil bow. When bent inward, it keeps the roll stable making pulling out and tearing a sheet of aluminum foil significantly easier.
Tape Measure Diamonds
If you take a close look at a tape measure, they have quite a few markings on them. There are lots of lines and then you will also see diamonds. Those diamonds are there to help find the right position for wall studs and find the central points between them.
Car Seats for More Than Sitting
Many people end up with their car’s central console as a catch-all for items they carry with them in the car. Things like keys, lighters, sunglasses, and the like all find their way there. If you do this too, you should get to know your car a little better, many cars have an extra storage compartment stashed away somewhere. It’s not uncommon to find them hidden under the passenger’s seat!
No Mess Mustard
French’s mustard has a special hidden feature that makes it the no-mess mustard. There is a little tab on the back of the lip that allows it to catch and stay out of the way of the mustard stream. Talk about a feature we all wish we had found sooner!
Backpack Patches
Is there a small leather diagonal patch hidden somewhere on your backpack? That isn’t there for decoration. That patch is actually there to attach other equipment for easier carrying and can be used by most people to carry any extra pair of shoes, like joggers or snow boots.
Pasta Ladles for Measuring
In order to always make the perfect amount of pasta use the pasta ladle to measure it. If you are wondering how that works, what you do is use the hole in the ladle to measure the dry pasta. Only cook the amount that will fit through the hole as a bunch dry.
Why Use a Shirt Loop?
You might have noticed the little loop of fabric on the collar of dress shirts. While you likely didn’t give it much thought at the time, it is good to know in a pinch that you can use that loop to hang your shirt and avoid wrinkles.
Bottle Openers Open Cans Too!
Do you have a bottle opener on your keyring? If so, it may be the claw style that has a second arm on the back. That can be used to open cans and other types of drinks. Additionally, old-school crank handle can openers often come with a bottle opener at the end of one of the handles.
Cup Lid Coasters
Fast food restaurants, gas station soda fountains, and many other places serve drinks in paper cups with plastic lids. While these are great for preventing spills, they can also be popped off and used as a coaster if you are seated at a table.
Pillboxes Aren’t Just for Pills
Pill boxes come in a variety of shapes and sizes with different numbers of compartments. You can use more elaborate pill boxes to keep small jewelry in such as earrings. The larger plastic variety with up to 28 or more compartments can be used to organize any kind of small parts and pieces you have from beads to fishing tackle.
Tie Your Shoes to Be Faster
Runners know something about shoes that you probably don’t. That second set of holes for the laces is where you should actually be tying your shoes from. This gives you a better fit which helps to prevent blisters and gives you a faster more comfortable gait.
Recycle Bread Tags
Those little plastic tags on bags of bread secure the packaging and keep your bread fresh. Have you ever considered that they can be used to group together other things, like the cords behind your television or printer? You can even write labels on them!
To Peel or To Slice
Once you learn to use a vegetable peeler correctly you would never want to go back to using a knife, just based on speed and convenience. A cool trick to know is that you can also use the same peeler to get super thin slices from vegetables like onions, potatoes, and even garlic.
Speed Up the Slow Cooker
This is a little life hack that you probably already know but forget to follow. Help your slow cooker do its job better by not taking off the lid. Every time you remove the lid you reduce the heat and cause the slow cooker to take even longer to finish.
Don’t Slice an Orange
Oranges are a great source of vitamin C and have all types of benefits for your immune system, and skin, and can even help control blood sugar. To make eating them even more fun and easy, slice off the top, bottom, and ends. Then just pull it apart and enjoy.
Fixing Oily Peanut Butter
Don’t you just hate to open a jar of your favorite peanut butter only to find a layer of oil at the top? The easiest way to prevent this kind of settling and ensure that the oil mixes through correctly is to store your peanut butter upside down. It’s an easy fix and you will never be confronted by this oily mess again.
Un-stick Ketchup
No one wants to wait for ketchup to come slowly dripping out of the bottle. So, we’ve all stood there beating on the end of the ketchup bottle. Well, if you use Heinz 57, just tap on the 57 logo a couple of times and the ketchup comes right out!
Oil Free Shiny Hair
It’s tempting to over-shampoo the ends of your hair because you might feel that is where the tangles and dirt are. However, you should work on shampooing the scalp. This is where the oils in your hair come from and keeping this area clean will mean less oil in your hair in the day to come.
Create No Clump Mascara
Clumps in mascara are just a thing. They happen because too much air gets in the bottle which destroys the consistency of the product. To avoid this, do not pump the mascara wand into the bottle. No matter how tempting it is, this is how you get clumps in your mascara in the first place.
There is Too Much of a Good Thing
When it comes to toothpaste you need to use the right amount. Too little toothpaste won’t clean your teeth and too much can cause dental fluorosis and discoloration. Check with your dentist to make sure you are using the right amount of toothpaste for your teeth.
How to Use a Hairpin
We are sure you have multiple life hacks when it comes to hairpins, but today we are going to tell you how to use them correctly in your hair. Most people think the bumpy side goes on top, when in fact, it is the flat side that should be showing on top of the hair. Give it a try next time!
Staple Remover Hack
Staple removers are interesting objects that can be very useful around the house. Here’s a trick you may not have thought of. Use the staple remover to hold a key ring open making the removal or insertion of a key much easier.
How to Measure Liquid Detergent
Want to make sure that your clothes are getting clean and that you aren’t wasting any of your expensive laundry detergent? Try using the lid as your measuring cup. Many brands even put a special marking on the lid to help you get the measurement right based on how large or how dirty your load of clothes may be.
Tic Tac Dispensers
Tic Tacs are another product that has included a neat little secret in their packaging. You can turn the Tic Tac container upside down and it becomes a dispenser. That little circular lip on the inside of the lid ensures that you get just one small breath mint at a time. That’s why you have to shake it so vigorously to get several to come out at once.
Fabric Patches
Have you noticed the small piece of fabric that is included with an extra button or two when you buy a new garment? You can use this as a sample for matching with other fabrics and you can use it to test laundry soaps and fabric softeners to make sure they won’t affect the item when you wash or dry it.
A Handle for Dental Floss
Some people don’t floss their teeth because it is just too time-consuming. Some people complain the floss is hard to hold onto. One of the easiest tricks to solve this problem is to tie a knot in your floss connecting the ends. This makes it far easier to keep a hold of and control.
Makeshift Spoons
Those cute little containers of fruit pieces, jello, pudding, and other food items are so easy to carry for a snack or quick lunch. But, what if you lose your spoon? You can always just make a spoon by twisting the foil top into the right shape.
Know Your Signs
Signs are a fundamental part of navigating to a place that you may have never been to before. One small indicator that we often forget is that when you see an exit sign all the way to the left, that means that your upcoming exit will be to the left. Since they are rare, this can catch us off guard.
Toilet Seat Cover Handles
Public restrooms can be full of germs and who knows what, so we like to use the paper toilet seat cover. To avoid even more contact than necessary, don’t bother folding the loose part into the toilet. Just use it afterward as a handle to make flushing the cover even easier.
Different Problems Need Different Plungers
Plungers clear drains whether it is a sink drain or a stopped-up toilet, but did you know it takes a different kind of plunger for each of these jobs? You will need a flat plunger to unclog your sink while a stopped-up toilet requires a tapered head plunger.
Upside Down Bananas
Is it possible that you have been peeling bananas wrong for all of these years? Upon studying monkeys, humans noticed that they eat bananas upside down- or is it we who are in the wrong? Try peeling the banana from the other end and you will find that it peels perfectly, and much easier, too!
Easy Dip Condiment Cups
Have you ever tried to dip a three-inch french fry into a half-inch condiment cup? It doesn’t work out very well. The trick is to flatten the condiment cup a little before you put the ketchup, mayo, or other sauce into it. It will give you a larger surface to dip into.