/r/lifehacks

Photograph via snooOG

Lifehacks: Uncommon solutions to common problems.

[New to Reddit? Click here and also visit /r/NewToReddit

PLEASE READ THE SIDEBAR AND REPORT ANY POSTS WHICH DO NOT MEET THE GUIDELINES

What are lifehacks?

  • Uncommon solutions to common problems.
  • Unusual ways of using everyday objects to make life easier.
  • Simple and practical tips that may not be obvious.

These kinds of posts will get REMOVED

  • No requests for, or offers of, medical advice (consult a professional) (NEW!!!)
  • Self-improvement tips. (try /r/zenhabits)
  • Food tips. (try /r/foodhacks)
  • Software being used in the way it was designed to be used (that includes keyboard shortcuts)
  • Commercial products with a specific purpose
  • Polls/Surveys
  • Life Pro-Tips. /r/lifeprotips are for all kinds of tips for life (Text Posts Only). /r/lifehacks is for solving problems. Basically, if there was no problem/issue in the first place then it's not a lifehack.
  • Memes, image macros, plain-text image posts
  • Tips for problems which affect only 1 in a million people.
  • ShortURL or Amazon links in comments

These kinds of posts will be removed and the user BANNED

  • Spam (especially blogspam).
  • Attacking or being aggressive to others.
  • Personal information.

The mods also reserve the right to remove any particularly bad quality posts at their discretion.

If you see anyone breaking the rules above, please report the post and/or message the mods.

If something is not reported, it will most likely slip past us. Reporting it brings it to our attention and will definitely be looked at by someone.

RELEVANT SUBREDDITS

/r/lifehacks

14,150,458 Subscribers

1

Best way to clip finger and toe nails.

If you dislike trying to keep your nails from flying all over the place when you clip them, do the simple thing: clip them outdoors. I go on my back deck and clip away. Anything that doesn't fly off the deck and into the lawn or garden beds can simply be swept off with a foot when you are done. No need to keep track of where the clippings are flying. I realize this isn't helpful if you don't have a convenient spot in your backyard, but for those who do, this is by far the simplest way to do it. Even in the winter when it is cold, it only takes a minute or two.

0 Comments
2024/12/18
00:45 UTC

8

Any tips on un-rolling posters for the purpose of framing?

Pretty upset because I just enrolled a poster I bought, and the corner creased somehow when I unraveled it.

8 Comments
2024/12/17
23:54 UTC

40

Moving While Pregnant

We have two children and I'm currently pregnant with twins. We'll be moving in coming months and I feel so overwhelmed. The new house is only 15 minutes from us so I figured I could do a bunch of small trips leading up to our big furniture move day. My biggest thing is how do we pack things up in advance with two kids, there's clothes and toys and food they need and hygeine products, etc. My husband and I can survive without a few luxuries like our books or what have you but I feel like a monster taking away their toys for a day or two or longer. The 6 year old would understand but the 2 year old might think I'm crazy. Anyone done a move like this? Any advice?

50 Comments
2024/12/17
12:20 UTC

18

shoes stick to floor

Shoes make a sticky noise whenever they are removed from floor. How do I make it quiet? They just keep making noise

3 Comments
2024/12/17
06:08 UTC

31

Well water build up in humidifier

This canadian winter is getting very dry, and in the past we had 2 humidifiers running to help bring up the humidity in the house. We have well water that we do have to change the filters here and there. The calcium/mineral build up has improved since we've shocked the well and replaced filters after moving in. But the cleaning process of the scale in the humidifiers is awful and time consuming. We have used distilled water in the past but we only have our two 5 gallon jugs of drinking/cooking water, using it in the humidifiers wastes so much of our drinking water as they have to run almost constantly until winter is over and that gets expensive. Any tips on what we can put into the humidifiers to help slow down the scale buildup and to make them work better and last longer? Thank you!

34 Comments
2024/12/17
00:42 UTC

231

Use a spring from an old pen to protect your charging cable from fraying.

Just wrap the spring around the cable near the connector—it keeps it from bending too much and breaking over time.

44 Comments
2024/12/16
17:36 UTC

4

[REQUEST] I know that rit colour remover has mixed results. So I wonder as I want to redye it the same colour anyway.

I want to remove these bleach stains from a jumper I love. Shall I remove the dye and redye a similar colour or just redye?

Shall I simply just dye it right away with the same colour and hope it does a good job covering up the area that’s bleached or shall I try and strip the colour first with a colour remover dye (open to better alternatives to rut colour remover if they exist) and then redye it?

Or final method shall I just spot dye the affected areas? Someone suggested mixing fabric paint and alcohol and then rubbing that on. However I feel that won’t be permanent. Maybe just re-dyeing is the best method?

Please let me know what u think 🙏🏼

6 Comments
2024/12/16
13:46 UTC

55

Stink Bug Problem

My house gets a LOT of stinkbugs and I can't take it anymore. I hate the little monsters and I want them gone.

I can't seal anything. The windows all have non-removable AC units. I have pets and this is mainly happening in a room I am in constantly.

I need ways to kill or repel them.

Help would be very much appreciated.

35 Comments
2024/12/16
04:39 UTC

105

Reduce mold/biofilm in plastic shower drains

Recently I cleaned the drain (actually the siphon) of my shower. An unpleasant experience as its the perfect environment for unwanted microorganisms. Lukewarm stale water, humidity, organic material AND plastic. The whole siphon is just plastic.
That made me think of an old trick to keep water of cut flowers fresh by adding a copper coin into the water. Copper has oligodynamic properties, means copper ions are toxic for many microorganisms also in a very low concentration. For reference see here.

So to prevent your siphon to become a biotope, you can add a piece of copper into it. Make sure it does not get flushed away and also does not catch up hairs and such. In my case I clamped some copper pieces around the sharp edge of the inner pipe (siphon was the kind of a two pipes mounted into eachother).

14 Comments
2024/12/15
18:10 UTC

1,236

Hot hands warmers can be reactivated after they've expired from use.

Hey guys I discovered this quite by accident. I had an old hand warmer sitting on the table near me when I was using rubbing alcohol to clean an electrical item. I spill some of the alcohol which saturated the old warmer bag. I cleaned everything up then a little while later I picked up the warmer bag to throw it out and much to my surprise it was quite warm again. So I went ahead and tested this out on another hot hands that was used up. I put it in a small cup and poured alcohol over it until it was soaked. I let it sit for about 15 minutes then picked it up and it was hot. I dont know how many times using alcohol will reactivate the warmer but that's the next experiment. I plan to see how many times you can do this and start the reaction again. I'll keep you posted. Stay safe and warm.

105 Comments
2024/12/15
05:11 UTC

2,058

Put windshield wiper fluid into a spray bottle and use it to spray your car windows on cold icy mornings

It melts ice right away and there's no risk of cracking the glass like using hot water. A lot easier than scraping the ice

193 Comments
2024/12/14
17:37 UTC

48

Drip pans

I need a life hack. I got a new GE electric stove and I am not allowed to cover the drip pans with foil. Is there something I can coat them with that will keep them looking nice and easy to clean?

Ok, I looked at the replacements at Walmart, Target and Amazon. None of them are exactly the same, which means they will not be secure and they will allow the coil to move from side to side.

I looked on the GE website and then called them. They no longer make the ceramic ones that are specific to my stove. So I ordered a set of stainless steel ones to have as spares.

I also asked if there was something to coat them with...answer was no.

On a side note...a great life hack ...if you get a new GE stove, no matter how it was purchased (my landlord bought it) you can call and get a free complimentary set of drip pans!

31 Comments
2024/12/14
12:49 UTC

160

Tips on getting a price discount on eBay items (add them to your watchlist!)

Did you know that if you like/favourite/put on your watchlist, an item on eBay, it notifies the seller and tells them that they’re eligible to send you an offer for a discounted price on that item? There’s no information about the potentially interested buyer, just calls them ‘watchers’, so there’s no follow up if you decline or ignore their offer.

In general when I see this pop up as a seller on eBay, I immediately offer a discount between 12-18% and it notifies the buyer.

I was curious in seeing whether this was unique to me as a seller in terms of a willingness to offer any discount to interested parties and whether other sellers were willing to do the same. So I tested out a bunch of different items that I had previously had my eye on and put them in my watchlist and within a few days, I received discounted price offers for around 75% of those items. In general the offers I received were anywhere between 7-15% off the regular listed price of those items.

It’s not a lot in the grand scheme of things but it’s worth a try to save a little bit!

Also, if a seller has the ‘make an offer’ option turned on for an item, use it! This usually means they’re negotiable on price. But for the love of god, don’t low ball them offering them 50% of their ask price, this will probably just piss them off and make them unwilling to barter with you.

20 Comments
2024/12/13
15:26 UTC

191

What temperature do people keep their homes at night?

My boyfriend and I have been living in quite an expensive apartment the past year. Rent alone is £1600 a month, parking is £150 a month and council tax for the year is around 2grand. My boyfriend has constantly kept the heat on in the winter and insists on keeping it at 20 degrees all night! He thinks I’m complaining and being too stingy but this is too hot at night! It feels like such a waste of money and starting to cause a lot of arguments. I think leaving the heat on all night at this temperature and all day is too much! Am I wrong??

416 Comments
2024/12/13
09:26 UTC

23

Hack for B&BW Wallflowers and Air Wick Plug-Ins

Stop me if you've heard this one...

I re-use the refill bottles over and over. First, I pop off the plastic top with a butter knife. Usually there's enough of the original scented oil soaked into the wick that I can just fill it 3/4 of the way with water, click the top back in and get a lot more scent oota it for at least as long as it takes for the water to evaporate (be careful to dry off any potential dribbles before plugging it in!). I keep doing that til the original scent is gone. Then, I remove the wick with pliers and replace it with an equal length of either the pointed end of a disposable bamboo chopstick soaked it water, or an equal length of one of those eco-friendly paper takeaway straws. I fill the bottle 3/4 again with some water and a few drops of essential oils, and use them over and over. I change the "wick" when I change scents, and it works like a hot damn! 😎

13 Comments
2024/12/13
03:06 UTC

17

Garlic smell

Just got bunch of 55 gal. Plastic drums that were used to transport GARLIC. Any idea how to get rid of the smell?

27 Comments
2024/12/13
02:41 UTC

3,486

Keep a running note on your phone of possible gifts for people.

Whenever you're with someone you might buy a gift for one day (loved one, friend, whatever) and they mention needing/wanting something or just that they think something is cool, take your phone out and note it down. Then when their birthday or Christmas rolls around you just pull out the note and boom!

I've had so many people comment "oh my gosh I can't believe you remembered I wanted this" or "this is so thoughtful!" after using this technique.

Plus you don't have to stress over coming up with a gift idea!

137 Comments
2024/12/12
18:06 UTC

7

Put Vaseline on leather/faux leather shoes to make them last longer.

You can put Vaseline on leather and faux leather boots and shoes to shine them and make them last longer. I have a pair of Doc Martens that have lasted for more than 5 years and I wear them daily in the winter. The Vaseline protects the leather from the cold and from getting dry and cracking.

18 Comments
2024/12/12
15:49 UTC

82

How I make ap chem tolerable

I literally just pretend that my teacher is talking about magic. It's super nerdy or whatever, but he'll be explaining something like reaction steps and I'll just be like, "Yeah, the first magic circle (first step) won't always make it clear how long the spell takes (the rate-determining step)- what you gotta do is match the overall casting speed formula (rate law) to the casting speed of each circle (step). So if the second circle's casting speed (second step's rate law) matches how long it actually takes to do the spell, it's the primary circle (rate-determining step)."

Or with catalysts, I'll be like, "Yeah, so adding extra spell materials can hasten the time required to cast the spell (reaction speed) by lowering the mana required to perform the spell (lowering the activation energy). And heat can ease casting by exciting the mana (molecules) and making it more potent (make it have more energy), reducing the chances of incompatible arrangements and helping the caster better align the runes with their will (makes molecules more likely to collide at the right orientation with enough energy)."

Super lame but it works for me ig.

10 Comments
2024/12/12
02:07 UTC

20

How to get rid of Bad smell coming from fridge ?

Hi , I spilled some crab juice in the fridge and I wiped everything , tried everything and it’s still has a bad odor . Any thoughts/ideas on how to get rid of the smell?

Edit: I have tried baking soda!

96 Comments
2024/12/12
01:47 UTC

27

How to remove godawful smell from a mug?

Hey all, first time posting here.

A friend recently gifted me a mug that he'd bought from an antique shop, but it has the most disgusting smell in it. I assume it's had used fishing tackle in it at some point as it smells like rancid fish guts. I'd love to be able to use it but I almost puke whenever I smell it.

What I've tried to clean it with so far (all of which were scrubbed and soaked overnight);

Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

White vinegar

Baking soda and water as a thick paste

White vinegar and baking soda

Bleach

I'd love to be able to use it as it's an awesome mug, but I'm at a loss.

Any suggestions?

UPDATE: So the general consensus is that it most likely has lead in it, that alone is reason enough for me to not attempt to clean it further. Display piece it is!

Thanks for all the tips folks.

Image link for those asking for it : https://www.etsy.com/nz/listing/1632680737/wade-of-england-20cm-xl-barrel-mug?click_key=86391aa8c3abeb1eac7ba17645a06c8f69b3b645%3A1632680737&click_sum=253a16dc&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=wade+barrel+mug&ref=sr_gallery-1-3&organic_search_click=1&cns=1&content_source=16d8f3a39c80fb86351a69996758b8afd05b5abf%253A1632680737

42 Comments
2024/12/11
21:50 UTC

425

4 binder clips and 2 paper clips can make you a quick phone stand for this slow office month

38 Comments
2024/12/11
17:24 UTC

0

Need Help. My phone fell into the water and died

I know about the rice method but I am in a hostel and don't have access to rice. Any other tips?

8 Comments
2024/12/11
16:27 UTC

61

How do I remove grease (animal fat/olive oil) from clothing

Grease stains from meat

69 Comments
2024/12/11
02:38 UTC

21

How to make a paste fuel

Mix a campfire alcohol (alcohol for making a campfire) with a ash until paste so you can spread it on a stick so it will be easier to light something

16 Comments
2024/12/08
22:04 UTC

20,723

A way to transfer Liquids

337 Comments
2024/12/08
15:06 UTC

37

How to Make a Fly Killing Squirt Gun

Take 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup Isopropyl Alcohol (90%) also sometimes called Rubbing Alcohol and mix with a teaspoon of dish soap. Then funnel into your favorite water pistol and viola! You have yourself a Fly Killing Squirt Gun. Just aim and shoot as close as you can get to the fly without scaring it off; you need a good clean direct hit or multiple shots to make sure the job gets done. The flies will quite literally drop like flies, but for good measure I like to follow up with a good double tap once they're on the ground or stomp them with my shoe. This also works with a spray bottle as well so long as you can adjust the nozzle to spray more of a stream than a mist. I had a recent infestation of flies in the hallway outside of my apartment and I was tired of trying to quickly enter and exit my apartment without letting flies in. So I looked up this recipe online and just tried it out and it worked beautifully. I killed like 20 flies with it in minutes.

46 Comments
2024/12/07
22:54 UTC

16

Dried up slime and or dried up nail polish on hard flooring..😬

Upon moving furniture around I discovered a patch of either dried up slime and or nail polish on my hard flooring. I tried to scrape it off with a blunt butter knife but, unfortunately no luck. Anyone know of any tips? It'd be greatly apperciated, thank you!

12 Comments
2024/12/07
19:34 UTC

23,772

How to neatly shut cereal boxes

493 Comments
2024/12/07
16:05 UTC

16

Building an emergency sewing kit.

https://preview.redd.it/r1k83rwzlf5e1.jpg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fc4b7f9c839eaf59e185dc7e273493af596ae5df

https://preview.redd.it/tdx475brmf5e1.jpg?width=730&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ff1779873a11b80b1b00e8feeabd91b12f860a52

https://preview.redd.it/ux7me3q9nf5e1.jpg?width=730&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5e9b5a2f4d516fb83201e8ab3011e4db9c9b3e9b

These are what I recommend including in your personal emergency sewing kit. They are all very cheap and don't take too much space.

  • Black buttons and white buttons: Very easy to match to most outfits. To be discreet, buy smaller buttons in a range of muted colours that you can match to your outfit / bag etc.
    • If you need to fasten something that doesn't have a ready-made button hole, use snaps ( second pic). They are discreet, come in different sizes and are best for holding together garments with many layers of fabric to hide the stitches.
  • Buy good cotton and synthetic thread, if possible, extra-strength thread in muted tones. Consider darning yarn too. ( Third pic.)
  • Fray -check (little bottle) is a liquid chemical that stops thread and fabric from fraying. Test first, as it can stain or stiffen fabrics and threads.
  • Pins- buy a wheel, do not iron over plastic-headed pins. Buy milinery pins for finer, delicate fabrics.
  • If you don't want to risk leaving holes in your fabric, use stationery clips instead. Haberdashers might sell the exact same document clips as sewing clips.
  • Pin cushion to hold your pins. The tomato has a strawberry with emery inside it to sharpen pins.
  • A telescoping magnetic rod to sweep up pins so you aren't crawling all over the floor.
  • Beeswax to stiffen thread so it's easier to thread needles.
  • A threader to thread needles. Buy lots.
  • A seam ripper to rip out all old, frayed threads so that you don't catch them when mending with new thread.
  • An assortment of needles.
  • A thimble to protect fingers.
  • Snips (not pictured)
  • Tweezers to remove all frayed, broken threads otherwise you will find it impossible to remove once sewn into your mend.
  • A darning mushroom or wooden egg to hold holes in place and provide a surface to darn garments etc.
  • A tiny ruler / measuring tape (not pictured)
  • Hook type waist expanders that are slip on so no sewing or gluing required. Slip on, slip off.
  • Chalk to mark areas for sewing on buttons.
  • Crochet hook to pull ugly threads to the back of fabrics,
  • Safety pins-various sizes,
  • A bodkin to thread ribbon or elastic through channels. (Not pictured, it's essentially a large , long needle with a large eye.)
  • Magnifying glass (not pictured)

Then you're set and people will adore you when they have sewing-related emergencies.

5 Comments
2024/12/07
14:15 UTC

Back To Top