The Top 15 Life Hacks for Solving Everyday Problems

Life can throw unexpected problems and inconveniences at us when we least expect it. But with some clever problem-solving, you can fix many everyday issues with ease. Read on for my top 15 favorite do-it-yourself life hacks for tackling common annoyances around your home, office, and life in general.

Kitchen and Cooking Hacks

Prevent Crying While Chopping Onions

Onions release a volatile sulfur gas when their cell walls are broken, which irritates eyes and causes tears. To prevent crying while chopping onions, light a candle near your cutting board before slicing. The flame will help break down the gas before it reaches your eyes.

Open a Tight Jar Lid

Jam and pickle jars often have stubborn lids that resist turning open. To break the seal, run the lid under hot water for 30 seconds to expand the metal. Then wrap a rubber band around the lid once for extra grip as you twist open. The hot water expands the lid just enough to loosen it.

Revive Crispy Lettuce

Limp, soggy lettuce is unappetizing but you can perk it up by soaking in ice water. Immerse the leaves in cold water with a few ice cubes for 5 minutes to re-crisp the texture before draining thoroughly and patting dry. The ice water hydrates droopy leaves while firming up the cell walls.

Cleaning Shortcuts

Dust ceiling fan blades

Use an old pillowcase turned inside-out and slipped over each fan blade to wipe dust and dirt accumulation as you twist it around the surface. The fabric grabs onto debris better than rags or dusters with static cling and prevents spreading dust around.

Unclog drains with baking soda

Pour 1⁄2 cup baking soda down the drain followed by 1⁄2 cup white vinegar. The chemical reaction causes fizzing and foaming that breaks up gunk, hair, and grime clogging your drain. Let bubble for 10-15 minutes then rinse with hot water to keep pipes clear.

Shine stainless steel appliances

Remove water spots, stains, and streaks from stainless steel appliances by rubbing with olive oil and lemon juice using a soft cloth. The oil breaks down buildup and restores natural shine while the lemon cuts grease for sparkling clean results.

Organizing and Storage Tricks

Store spices with magnets

Keep spice jars neatly organized inside cabinets by lining up jars along a magnetic strip. The magnets prevent toppling and make spices easy to grab while cooking without fumbling jars out of cabinets. Label spice jar lids for quick identification too.

Prevent tangled necklaces

Hook open necklace chains and loops onto the centers of empty embroidery floss bobbins to keep delicate chains from tangling inside jewelry boxes and drawers. Each necklace remains neat and easy to grab without having to undo frustrating knots beforehand.

Fix dropped headphones

Retrieve headphones that have slipped down behind desk or furniture gaps using rubber coated binder clips. Open the clips wide and use the rubber coated handles to grip cords or headphone bands and pull up anything that has dropped out of reach.

Handy Repairs and Fixes

Fill wall holes

Hide nails holes or minor wall damage by dipping a cotton swab in white toothpaste and smearing over the spot you want to patch. Once dry, the paste primer allows you to paint over the area for an invisible fix. The toothpaste matches wall paint better than spackle for small jobs.

Tighten loose screws

Coat the threads of a loose screw with petroleum jelly before tightening to create friction and secure screws into their holes rather than just spinning endlessly. The sticky lubricant essentially glues screws in place for a lasting fix.

Remove a stripped screw

If attempting to unscrew a damaged screw just leads to frustrating spinning, press a wide rubber band against the stripped head to fill in missing grooves. Then insert your screwdriver and apply pressure as your turn – the rubber band provides enough grip to back the screw out without further stripping.

Everyday Health and Beauty Tips

Soothe sore throats

Whisk together 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar plus 1 tbsp honey plus a pinch of cayenne pepper and dissolve the mixture into a cup of warm water or tea. Gargle and drink this solution which has antibacterial properties to ease sore scratchy throats without medication.

Remove a splinter easily

Draw out stuck splinters painlessly by placing a small piece of scotch tape over the skin area where the splinter punctured. Press firmly to adhere to skin and yank the tape off quickly. This will lift and pull out splinters immediately without digging around skin trying to grip it with tweezers.

Prevent foggy glasses

Glasses become a foggy mess indoors anytime you return inside from cold weather or walk into a steamy bathroom. Simply rub toothpaste onto the lenses then wipe dry with a soft cloth. The toothpaste forms an invisible anti-fog barrier that prevents water condensation from obscuring vision.

I hope these clever life hacks help you solve some of life’s everyday annoyances with ease using common household items. Small frustrations like tangled necklaces or dripping ice cream cones don’t need to ruin your day when you know tricks to quickly fix the issue. Remember these handy tips next time little problems try to slow you down!