From upcycling materials around the house to perfecting the formula behind an iced coffee, here are some epic life hacks that have made our day-to-day life a million times easier - and also yummier!
The Perfect Glass of Wine
There is nothing like coming home after a long day and cracking open a bottle of wine to unwind - only to realize the bottle is not at that right temperature. Luckily, we've found the perfect solution.
Instead of throwing ice cubes in that glass and watering down that nice wine, here is a hack that will save us from it all; putting frozen grapes in the wine glass! The frozen grapes will serve both as ice cubes and a lovely wine-infused treat for later. But most importantly, the grapes will chill the wine!
The Easy Way To Travel
This will be sure to pass any TSA pre-check. Traveling, in general, can be exhausting, but making sure we have all our lotions, skincare, medications, etc., contained in travel size format is equally as exhausting! There's nothing worse than seeing a new bottle of Neutrogena thrown in the trash because it's over 3.4 ounces.
Thankfully, the solution is likely already in most of our carry-ons! Put those lotions or medications in a spare contact lens case, and take that through TSA! It's small, handy, and just the right size for a weekend getaway. Traveling smart has never looked better.
No Bottle Opener?
Most of us can relate to this next one: stranded with our favorite bottle of wine and no way of opening it. The frozen grapes and the glass are ready, but there is no opener in sight. This next one is the perfect party trick and a genuine crowd pleaser!
The method behind the madness for this upcoming hack can actually be found in our toolkits. Simply hammer a nail into the cork, and use the back end of the hammer to pull it out. Voila! Then again, a hammer and wine may not be the best combination of all time…
Hosting the Ultimate Dinner Party
This next hack will make one the hostess with the mostess! Planning a dinner party can be stressful, especially preparing all the delicious food and running back and forth to refill all the empty dishes. This is especially true for all those summer barbecues and accompanying condiments - so let's dive right in…
Using a simple kitchen item can make hosting a thousand times easier. Simply take a muffin tin and put the condiments in each respective muffin slot, allowing less re-fill time and much easier cleanup. Plus, this way, guests can try all the condiments at once!
DIY Hands-Free Phone Set
We know how tiring it can be to hold up our phones while watching videos on Instagram or reading about the latest epic life hacks. So, if one doesn't have a pop socket attached to their phone like every millennial out there, we have the perfect DIY solution...
We can use our sunglasses as the perfect home solution to hold up our phones! Take the sunnies, place the phone horizontally between the glasses frames and earpieces, and move it around until ya find the perfect spot! And just like that, get ready to enjoy endless hours of movies and television.
Gotta Stay Hydrated!
Staying hydrated is one of the more challenging yet straightforward tasks in our day-to-day life: no matter what we've tried, all of a sudden, the day is halfway over, and we've barely finished a glass of water, especially during those cold months when all we're drinking is a whole lot of hot cocoa!
These water bottles are time-stamped to give us the play-by-play of how much water to consume every hour or two to ensure healthy water consumption each day. Additionally, one could make an at-home version of this bottle with their own water bottle and a sharpie!
The Perfect "Cold One"
Now that we've learned a hack helping us with our daily water intake, let's look at another beverage-related life hack. Most of us don't like room-temperature beer or soda, and sometimes we simply forget to refrigerate these items - so then what do we do when it's time to crack one open?
Not to fear, this simple solution will do the trick. Take a wet paper towel or two and wrap it around the beverage before putting it in the freezer. Finally, let it sit in there for about 20 minutes before taking it out! Something about evaporation makes this one work…
Two Chores at Once
There is something so hopeless about losing an earring or, even worse, just the back. It almost feels like we'll never see them again, especially if we have a dirty floor or are just feeling down about our favorite studs. So what is the best way to find this small item and clean the floors? Let's take a look.
By taking a thin sock, stocking, or pantyhose and placing it over our vacuum cleaner's hose, we have just created a two-in-one device that will find our earrings while simultaneously cleaning our dirty floor. The vacuum's suction will pull up the item onto the sock - but just make sure to tie it tightly!
An Easier Solution to Taking Out the Trash
No one enjoys this one simple home chore: taking out the trash. No wonder we always made the youngest sibling in charge of this one. There is nothing as unpleasant as taking out the trash, running the bag to the dumpster, having trash juice spill all over ourselves and the floor, and then cleaning it up.
This hack could help make this household task a little more bearable. Take some old newspaper and line the bottom of the trash bag with newspaper, and voila. The newspaper will absorb all those juices we want to avoid when taking out the trash - and prevent liquid from leaking through the bag.
The Greatest Way To Drink a Soda
There is nothing like taking that first sip from a cold soda or any other drink for that matter. But a way to elevate that experience? Using a good old-fashioned straw. However, it can be pretty frustrating when the straw pops back out or falls out of the can...
Worry not - simply take the straw and place it through the tab of the can, allowing the tab to hold the straw in place. Genius! In fact, soda cans were actually designed to be used this way. With this in mind, sit back, relax, snap a 'gram and enjoy that refreshing can of Canada Dry.
Spotting Our Suitcase
After a long flight, the last thing we want to be concerned with is taking home the wrong suitcase. Claiming our luggage at the carousel after a flight always has added pressure to it. We're all asking, will my luggage be the one getting lost? Or will I accidentally be the one to take home someone else's bag?
So how can we guarantee we won't be taking our seatmate's bag home with us? Instead of investing hundreds of dollars into what we think might be a unique luggage set, buy multi-colored ribbons and tie the handle of our bags with them! This will turn our average black suitcase into something a tad more distinguishable.
All Tangled Up
Aside from those who are super organized, most of us are victims of this next daily struggle. From our phone and computer charger to those random cables that have been sitting in our drawer for years, we all are guilty of having a stash dedicated to unused tangled wires. (Just us?)
As much as we say we're going to clear out that drawer one day, well, we don't. Grab those empty toilet paper rolls hiding in the bathroom, place them in a box and put each cable in a different roll - they will never tangle again! It's really that simple, folks.
Grow Seedlings Out of Toilet Rolls
This is an excellent idea for both a second-grade classroom science activity and for developing our at-home gardening techniques. Using those leftover toilet paper rolls, we can also grow healthy seedlings in them that will later be transported to the garden.
Make short, 1 inch cuts around one end of the roll and fold them towards the center; place the seed pots on a tray and fill them up with soil and seeds! The toilet paper rolls have enough room to let the seedlings grow healthfully, so just sit back and watch nature do its thing.
Keeping That Stash Safe
On a hot summer's day, there is nothing like going to the beach with friends and taking a dip in the ocean. But there is always that worry about what to do with our valuables! One friend can take one for the team and can sit back with everyone's stuff - but what if we're at the beach alone - then what?
This hack is all about upcycling some of our essential beach equipment. Go ahead and grab an empty chapstick tube, wash it out, and fill it with cash! Feel free to use this tip with any empty bottle anytime traveling somewhere to protect those valuables.
Reuse Those Empty Bottles
Talk about upcycling! This next trick will transform an empty condiment bottle into our next delicious breakfast meal. There are plenty of food hacks, but this one guarantees a delicious outcome to make our whole family happy! So, what's this epic hack?
Simply prepare pancake batter, load it into an empty condiment bottle and squeeze! This can also be done with an empty mustard or ketchup bottle - rinse it out and enjoy! The best part? If one has extra batter, put it in the fridge and take it out the following day for round two.
Identifying Keys
For whatever reason, most of us have a ring of completely unidentifiable keys. We've also all been there, trying each key in the door until the right one fits... and it's always the last one. Or even worse, we drop the keys on the ground mid-way through and have to start from the beginning. So what's the solution?
Instead of scrambling from key to key, simply choose different colored nail polishes and assign each key a color! Gather up the colors of the rainbow and paint each key a different color, and never have to worry about frantically finding the right key again. From now on, yellow means mailbox, and pink means house key! The end!
Transforming Our Shoe Racks
Another excellent home organization hack is coming our way! Here is an easy, efficient, and, most importantly, cheap way to store all our household cleaning supplies in one spot instead of having them all thrown into that miscellaneous drawer in the laundry room.
All we need is a hanging shoe rack for this one to work! Grab a plain plastic hanging shoe rack, hang it on the door and fill each pocket with a different cleaning supply item. We could also use the same shoe rack for jewelry, spices, pantry goods, etc., making it one of the easiest ways to create storage.
How To Eat Popsicles on a Hot Day
There is nothing like eating an ice-cold popsicle on a hot summer's day. But there is also nothing like that sticky feeling of melted strawberry juice running down our hands as we try to savor each bite! This next hack will help prevent the inevitable drippage and make for an easy clean-up.
This hack will ensure an anti-mess popsicle experience because, let's be real, kids and adults everywhere cannot eat one without leaving a mess behind! Simply take a cupcake liner, create a little slit in the middle and slide the liner on the stick under the popsicle stick to allow the gooeyness to catch!
The Classic Nonna Trick
When making a simple bowl of pasta on the pot, we've undoubtedly run into this particular problem. We boiled the water, placed the rigatoni in the pot, and let science do its thing - but there's always that moment when the water boils over the pot creating an undesired mess!
At around the seven or eight-minute mark, the water rises to the top and bubbles over, and suddenly there's a sticky mess all over our stovetop. All we have to do is put a wooden spoon over the top of the pot and bippity boppity boo; it prevents the water from boiling over!
The Right Way To Eat a Strawberry
Strawberries are honestly just delicious, so it's a shame we can't just devour the whole berry at once. The green stem on the top is often a burden while eating this yummy snack, and cutting off the top and wasting a bite or two just feels wrong, so what do we do?
By using a plain old straw, one can avoid the strawberry dilemma once and for all. Simply stick the straw right through the center of the strawberry, and we'll see the top of the stem will come right off! We're unsure who decided to start poking strawberries with straws, but thanks!
Avoiding the Upturned Collar
For whatever reason, ironing clothes is one of those basic chores that virtually no one enjoys doing - but everyone should be doing it because a wrinkly shirt is no fun. Particularly, ironing a shirt collar is quite tricky, and when done, one always ends up with an "upturned" collar look.
In order to avoid revisiting the 2004's upturned collar trend, this simple hack will have one looking fresh and not as if we fell out of a Brooks Brothers catalog. By using a hair iron, one can clasp both sides of the collar at once and reach places a clothing iron cannot.
No More Cake Crises
We all know the struggles behind ruining a beautifully made cake! We bring out the dessert for any event, from birthdays to anniversaries, but it gets ruined 9 out of 10 times after the first slice. So, what's the best way to go around this promising mess?!
The method behind cutting the perfect slice is using dental floss! That's right, a simple string of dental floss will cut through the cake perfectly, causing no harm to the decorations or the fluffiness of the cake. But make sure to get unflavored dental floss; we don't want any cross-contamination of flavors!
Helping Our Fur Babies
This next one could save our best friends! For those of us who have a dog or other pet at home, and something were to happen to us, this hack could ensure their wellbeing. After all, we all love our furry friends and want to ensure that they will always be taken care of.
Throwing one of these cards in our wallets could be extremely helpful if, for some reason, we may ever need it. There are many versions of the card for our beloved pets, so make sure to fill in all the information correctly. Of course, though, we're hoping no one will actually ever need it!
The Perfect Dessert
Everyone wants to contribute something cool and tasty to a dinner party, but everything seems totally overdone and overly expensive. Right? Luckily, this unique dessert provides not only the "cool" factor one is looking for, but also is cheap and beyond delicious!
By mixing two of the most beloved desserts of all time, this one is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Bake those cupcakes, and rather than putting them in cupcake liners, put the batter in ice cream cones. When they're done, top them with ice cream, and all done! The perfect party dish.
Nothing Like a Hot Pizza
There are few luxuries in life, and pizza just is simply one of them. There's nothing like a fresh hot slice of cheesy pizza - and there's nothing like a cold slice of cheesy pizza on the opposite end of that phrase. So, what's this epic hack to make sure that pizza will stay warm on the ride home?
If one's in charge of picking up a pie for the family, just switch on the car's seat warmer and place the pizza boxes on top of the heated-up seat. Whether one has a long drive home or a quick commute, this hack is simply genius, and we can't wait to try it out.
Goodbye Highlighter Marks
Remember when we would get an old textbook or book covered in highlighter marks in school? Not everyone highlights text the same, and sometimes we just want to get rid of the mess! Well, lemon juice may be the key to removing these undesired highlighter marks.
That's right. All one has to do is cut a lemon in half and get some of the juice on a cotton swab. Once the swab is ready, run it over the highlighted text and watch the bright green highlighter marks virtually disappear. Lemon juice from a container also seems to work!
That Morning Cup of Joe
We've already revealed the key to perfectly chilled wine. But how about our morning coffees? However one prefers their coffee - oat milk or even regular milk - iced coffee is the perfect pick-me-up for any time of day. So what's the hack for this one?
If one holds onto their iced coffee like an accessory, after an hour or so, the ice cubes start to water down the drink and ruin the caffeine! No thanks. Simply freeze some left-over coffee from the morning in an ice-cube tray and replace those boring ice cubes with coffee cubes to ensure a longer-lasting treat!
Cleaning Children’s Toys
This next one goes out to all the parents out there, desperately looking for ways to clean their children's toys. Let's be real; there are a lot of germs that build on our children's toys. So what would be the most efficient way to clean these bad boys?
Simply put the washable toys, like Legos, in a laundry bag to keep them contained, run that dishwasher or washing machine and remove them before the drying cycle. So, next time one's doing the dishes or laundry, make sure to throw in a load of Legos!
Say Bye-Bye to Shoe Odor!
After a long hot, and sweaty day, there's only so much our shoes can handle! Let's face it: shoe odor can be a nuisance to us and those around us. And even with every product on the market, nothing seems to get rid of the strong odor taking over our closet!
This quick hack will be sure to take care of the overbearing smell and is also more affordable! Run to that pantry and take out the baking soda, sprinkle it into those shoes, let it sit for 24 hours, and rinse! Alternatively, one can also make little pouches of baking soda to place in the shoe, as the product will absorb the smell!
Revamping Old Shoes
Last but certainly not least, let's look at a simple hack to make an old pair of sneakers look brand new. We all have a pair of shoes that are a little too dirty to wear, but what do we do with them? This last hack will give us the chance to rock those shoes once again!
All we need to get the ball rolling are our sneaks, some toothpaste, and an old toothbrush. Simply apply the toothpaste to the toothbrush and scrub the sneakers into the dirty spots, leaving it for about ten minutes to dry and finally wiping it off with a towel. Toothpaste might just be be the ultimate hack!