I love life hacks. TKZ’s own, Joe Hartlaub, used to offer excellent tricks delivered with his classic wit.
In honor of our lost friend, I dug up 16 practical hacks to make your lives a little easier.
Reheat Leftovers Hack: If you reheat leftovers in the microwave, cover the plate with a damp paper towel. It traps steam to keep rice, pasta, and meats from drying out.
Ceiling Fan Hack: Anyone who’s ever cleaned a ceiling fan has gotten a mouthful of thick dust in the face, which makes a tough task (especially for short peeps) even more unpleasant. Instead of the usual method, where dust flies everywhere, slide an old pillowcase over the fan blade, then wipe backward. All the clumps and debris stay trapped inside the pillowcase.
Stubborn Labels Hack: Direct hot air at a price tag or sticker for about 60 seconds. The heat melts the adhesive, letting you peel the label off cleanly without leaving a sticky residue.
De-wrinkle Clothes Hack: Some materials stay wrinkled even if you hang the shirt after drying. Next time you drag a wrinkled shirt from the closet, throw it in the dryer with 2–3 ice cubes and run it on high for 5–10 minutes. The ice melts, creates steam, and de-wrinkles the shirt.
Boiling Pot Hack: If your pot is about to boil over on the stovetop, drop an ice cube into it, which drops the surface temp and stops the foam from rising over the top. Or rest a wooden spoon over the pot.
Stained Tupperware Hack: If you’ve ever stored tomato sauce in Tupperware, you know those stubborn stains are almost impossible to remove, even in a dishwasher. Next time your favorite Tupperware gets stained, fill with warm water, add a few drops of dish soap (preferably Dawn) and a crumpled paper towel. Seal closed. Give it a good shake for 30 seconds. The paper towel absorbs the grease and stain.
Stripped Screw Hack: Place a wide, flat rubber band over the head of a stripped screw. The rubber fills the gaps and allows the screwdriver to grip the stripped screw.
Sheet Set Storage Hack: Fold fitted and flat sheets. For an optimal fold of fitted sheets, tuck the pockets into the opposite pockets. After folding the sheets, slide the entire set into one of the matching pillowcases. Not only will your linen closet look and feel more organized, but the sheet sets are much easier to stack this way.
Keep Lettuce Fresh Hack: Wrap lettuce heads in tinfoil before putting it in the fridge. The tinfoil manages the moisture and keeps lettuce crisp for up to a month.
Knife Substitute Hack: Rather than using a knife, use unflavored dental floss to cut clean slices of cake, goat cheese, or cinnamon rolls without squishing them.
Soften Butter Hack: If a recipe calls for softened butter, pour boiling water into a glass measuring cup. Dump out water and flip the hot cup over the stick of butter. This softens the butter in 90 seconds without melting.
Metal Water Bottle Hack: Drop a generic denture-cleaning tablet into a metal water bottle or narrow flask. Set it aside for a few minutes to dissolve grime without scrubbing.
Glass Shower Doors Hack: Wipe down glass shower doors with water-repellent Rain-X. Water will bead and roll off, preventing hard water stains and soap scum buildup.
Stuck Lid Hack: If a jar lid won’t budge, hold under hot water — heat expands the metal — until the vacuum seal breaks.
Stinky Trash Hack: For outdoor or indoor trash cans, dust the bottom with ground cinnamon to repel flies, ants, and maggots.
Travel Safety Hack: Take a screenshot of your contact info. before leaving the house. When traveling or attending a conference/event, change your phone’s lock screen background to the photo of your contact info. That way, if you lose your phone, a good Samaritan can return it without trying to guess your passcode.
What’s your favorite life hack? Any new tricks to share?
Sue, your posts are always so interesting. I learn something new with every one.
One of my favorite hacks is using the plastic boxes chewing gum comes in for things like cotton swabs for camping/traveling, six Burt’s Bees lip balms, and anything else I can think of, because they make it easy to organize. They’re clear, so you can easily grab the one you want. I even use one as a container that holds one lip balm, driver’s license and other cards, and my car key ring (my key is one that the car senses, so I don’t have to take it out). I don’t like carrying a purse, so I appreciate that it fits in a pocket. I have to confess that I seldom chew gum, but I will buy a pack just to get the box. 😄
Thanks so much, Becky. Means a lot. 💕
The gum boxes sound perfect for storage! I’ll have to look for them (I’m not a gum-chewer, either, but I love little boxes).
I save the plastic containers from baby bella mushrooms. They’re super handy to have in the kitchen, even for egg shells while cooking. The coated plastic makes clean-up a breeze.
Sue, thanks for these tips and for remembering our dear Joe!
In crime fiction, sometimes a character needs to clean up blood. Shout spray or hydrogen peroxide work really well.
However, Luminal might still light up the stain.
True, Debbie! Hydrogen peroxide also works, but will discolor the carpet. Or half cup warm water with one tablespoon of ammonia. 😉 All three DIY methods (yours and mine) will show with Luminal.
Oops. You mentioned hydrogen peroxide. 🙈
I use 2 denture cleaning tablets in my coffee carafe to clean it. (Just be sure to rinse it well unless you like minty coffee)
Never thought of it for the coffee carafe, Terry. Thanks for the tip!
30+ years of the pizza business. I know a lot about the tomato sauce vs. Tupperware battle. Bet on the tomato.
Tomato sauce will stain commercial ‘stain proof’ plasticware cleaned with Dawn that you buy in the convenient 5 gallon size. Buy the disposable plastic ware. Use until it starts to stain and then toss. Or, store in a glass container.
That’s what I do, Alan, buy the disposable ones and reuse till stained. Too many people don’t return Tupperware. Back in the day, it was a mortal sin to keep someone’s Tupperware dish, but today? Forget about it. You’re lucky if you ever see it again. Much easier to use disposable.
St. Louis had a serial killer. He taunted the police by mailing them a print out of where they could find a body. The Mapquest printout proved a house and person. He had scrubbed his basement with bleach then repainted with stain covering paint. Luminal brought the blood right up. He hung himself in jail.
Haha. Killers think they can outwit forensics. Bleach also makes Luminal glow, so the “clean up” stands right out.
Love your post. I’ll try some of the hacks. Lettuce will also keep if you wrap a paper towel around it and store in a ziplock bag.
Yes, Pat, a paper towel was my usual routine. However, the tinfoil intrigues me. Doubt it really stays crisp for a month, but I’ll give it a try. With a Guinea pig at home, I buy a lot of lettuce and keeping it crisp is a top priority (or she won’t eat it). 🐹
Love the hack of putting contact info as my phone’s lock screen background. Why didn’t I think of that?
Me too, Kay. Right? So simple in hindsight, but it never occurred to me, either. 🤷🏻♀️
To tame electrical cords, especially extention cords instead of allowing them to flop in a drawer or box.
Fold them up (looping back and forth) then stick one end into an empty toilet paper roll. Thank you Martha Stewart…
Love it! To neaten up cords from TV to toilet paper roll, filet a rubber tube and tuck wires inside. That way, it’s just a neat rubber tube instead of a mess of dangling wires. I’ll add the paper roll spray painted black. Thanks!