Best Reddit Life Pro Tips
79 Hacks That Will Change Your Life
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What exactly is a "life hack"? It's any simple tip you might stumble upon that changes your life or at least some aspect of it. It's basically a trick that will help make life easier. Life hacks aren't easy to come by and often surface at the most unexpected moments.
But you can always take a shortcut and go to Reddit's Life Pro Tips to peek at a treasure trove of the most amazing life tips and tricks. We've rounded up some of our favorites from the subreddit, from Instagram, and even created on our own. They just might change the way you live.
—Additional reporting by Lisette Mejia
1 Happy Jar
Save an empty jar and "fill it with notes of good things that happen" this year. Then, next year, you can empty the jar and "see what awesome stuff happened that year."
2 Best Way to Untie a Knot
The trick to untying a knot is to twist the loose end as much as you can and to push it through the knot.
3 Make a CD Case From Paper
4 Use a Dustpan to Fill a Container With Water
If you have a container that can't fit in your sink, carefully position a dustpan in a way that will funnel the water into the container below.
5 Chill Wine With Frozen Grapes
6 Pen Spring Protection
Take a pen spring from an old pen and wrap it around your charger cord. This will protect it from breaking and bending.
7 Roll Your Clothes
Roll your clothes up when packing, because it'll take up less space.
8 Leave Recipient Email Field Blank
When writing an email, leave the recipient email field blank until you're ready to send it. This prevents accidental emails.
9 Run a Post-It Through Your Keyboard
Before you throw a used Post-it in the trash can, use it to clean your keyboard by running the sticky side between the keys.
10 Converting Temperature
An easy way to estimate the conversion of Fahrenheit to Celsius is to add 30, then halve the number. If you're converting Celsius to Fahrenheit, you double the number, then add 30.
This trick apparently doesn't work as well with high temperatures.
11 Paint Can Trick
Wrap a rubber band around a paint can and wipe your brush on the band and keep the rim of the can clean.
12 Easy Way to Tack On Keys
Use a staple remover to keep your key ring open when you're adding keys.
13 Get Ice-Cold Water on the Go
Fill a water bottle a quarter of the way through with water, then turn it sideways and put it in your freezer to freeze. When it's frozen, fill the bottle up with water, so you'll have "ice-cold water on the go."
14 Use Walnuts to Fix Dings
15 Check Your Cell Phone When House Hunting
Before you commit to leasing or buying a place, make sure you get a signal on your cell phone, or you'll end up having to break your contract and going with another provider.
16 Fix Flip-Flops
17 Cut Cake With Floss
Cut cakes, cheese, and other "soft solids" with unscented dental floss.
18 ChapStick Bank
Hide money in an empty ChapStick — perfect for when you're traveling or walking in unsafe areas.
19 Paint Keys
If keys look too similar to you, paint them with nail polish so you can tell them apart.
20 Wake Up an Hour Earlier
Get up an hour earlier than you have to, so you'll feel less rushed and will be more prepared to tackle the day.
21 Clean Your Microwave
Clean your microwave by nuking a mixture of water and vinegar for three to four minutes. The bits stuck to your microwave should come off with a quick swipe.
22 Organize Wrapping Paper
Cut a toilet roll through the middle and wrap it around wrapping paper to keep things in place and prevent it from unrolling.
23 Makeshift Lamp
Make a makeshift lamp by strapping on a device that emits light onto a water bottle. You can do it with a headlamp or with your phone.
24 Drill Holes in Trash Can For Easy Bag Removal
Drill holes in a trash can to prevent suction issues when pulling out and inserting a trash bag.
25 Avoid the Bystander Effect During Emergencies
If you're in a large crowd and you need someone to call 911, point to a person and say, "You wearing the [insert color or style of outfit], call 911."
Yelling "Someone, call 911!" may incur the bystander effect, in which no one does anything because they expect someone else to do it.
26 Halve Round Sandwich Fillings
Cut round sandwich fillings in half to make sure they cover the whole surface of the bread.
27 Wait a Few Months Before Sharing a Lifestyle Change
Only tell people about your lifestyle change after three to six months of making that change. This prevents the naysayers from bringing you down and also gives you less pressure to live up to your word. Keeping it to yourself also means you're most likely doing it for yourself and not others, so you'll have a higher chance of maintaining that change.
28 Email Amazon For Money Back If the Product's Price Drops
If the price of a product you bought on Amazon drops in the next seven days, you're allowed to get a refund on the price drop.
29 Give Kids 2 Choices With the Same Outcome
Instead of always telling your child what to do, give them two options with the same outcome to prevent the headache of having them refuse the task.
For example, instead of telling them to put on their pajamas for bed, ask them which pajamas they would want to wear to bed tonight. This works well because kids love having control over what they are doing.
30 Use Clips to Organize Your Wires
Use bulldog clips and place them at the back of your desk, then string your cables through them to better organize your wires.
31 Make Brownies in a Mug
A quick way to make brownies is to use this recipe and put the mixture into a mug, then microwave it for less than two minutes; you'll have yourself instant brownies in a single-serve portion.
32 Crockpot Food For Lazy Cooks
If you're not good at cooking or don't like to make your own food, invest in a crockpot ($35).
You can make a big batch of slow-cooked food on Sunday and continue eating it for the rest of the week. It saves you time on cooking and saves you money from having to eat out.
33 Dig a Hole in Leftovers to Microwave Evenly
Dig a hole in your leftovers when heating them up in the microwave so the heat will spread evenly.
34 Catch Up on News
35 Become the Airport Hero
Bring a power strip with you to use at airports, and you'll never have to wait for an outlet to be available again.
36 Ease Mosquito Bites
Press a hot spoon to a mosquito bite to stop the itching. Use the spoon you stirred your coffee with. The heat will destroy the protein that is causing the itching.
37 Stop Spam Texts
Forward spam texts to 7726. Your carrier will respond and ask you what number it came from.
38 Remove Tourists From Travel Photos
To remove tourists from photos, place your camera on a tripod, snap 15 photos every 10 seconds, open them up in Photoshop, and pick File >Scripts > Statistics, and choose Median.
39 How to Get WiFi Passwords
Get the WiFi passwords at various places by checking the comments section of their FourSquare accounts.
40 Get Restaurant-Grade Items
Get restaurant-grade equipment and furniture, as they will last longer, and you'll be able to find replacements. Here's a site that sells restaurant-grade items.
41 Use a Fan to Blow Off Mosquitoes
If you're sitting outside and enjoying the fresh air but not the mosquitoes, then point a fan at yourself to prevent mosquitoes from coming at you. These insects are weak fliers, so they won't be able to navigate the winds to land on your skin.
42 Use This Line When Calling 911
The first thing you should say when you call 911 is "I need [service] at [address]. Again, that's [address]." Your operator can have the right people dispatched while you are sharing more details of your story.
43 Box and Bin Method
Carry a box and a bin with you as you clean. A bin can be a trash bag or any other container. Stuff things to be trashed in the bin and things that belong in another room in the box. As you move from room to room, put the items from the box back in their rightful places.
44 Get Rid of Smoke Smell
Wet half a towel, wring it dry, and then whip the wet portion around your head in the room.
45 The Best Way to Cross Words Out
Instead of crossing words out with lines, cross them out with letters, so they won't be legible.
46 Unclog a Toilet Without a Plunger
When your toilet clogs up, squeeze at least three squirts of dishwashing liquid into the bowl. The chemicals can help to break up the debris. Pour around four cups of hot water into the bowl.
Let everything soak for a while (20 minutes to a few hours) before attempting to flush. And if you really want to make sure it works, then you can use a plunger after you let the mixture soak in for five minutes.
Photo: Emily Co
47 Pick the Right Meal When Someone Is Treating You
When someone is treating you but you don't know what her price range is, then ask her what she's thinking of ordering or what she recommends.
48 Use Floor Mats If You're Stuck in the Snow
If you accelerate while you're stuck in the snow, then you may dig yourself into an even deeper hold. Take out your floor mat, tuck it in tightly front of the spinning tire, and slowly drive forward.
49 Fill Out the Free FAFSA For College Financial Aid
Make sure you're filling out the FAFSA form at FAFSA.ed.gov and not FAFSA.com. The latter charges you $80, while the Department of Education lets you file it for free.
50 You Must Do This When Moving In and Out
You must take photos of your residence when you first move in and when you move out. This way, you can dispute any unfair charges when you're moving out and won't be liable for any damages caused by the previous tenant.
51 Hang Your Spray Bottles
52 Video-Game Soundtracks Make Great Work Music
The music is designed to have the right amount of stimulation — enough to keep you going and nothing too distracting. Redditor robertgfthomas listens to symphony remakes of game music.
53 Flatten Ground Beef in Ziplock Bags
Flatten ground beef when you freeze it so that it will thaw faster when you need it.
54 Bring Trick Candles When You Go Camping
If the wind keeps blowing out your match or lighter, then light your fire with a trick candle. It relights itself when it gets blown out.
55 Better-Identify Your Keys
Have an easier time identifying your keys by marking the grooves using different-colored sharpies.
56 Don't Go Back to Sleep If You Wake Up Before Your Alarm
57 Paint Clear Nail Polish on a Button
58 Delay Your Outgoing Emails by a Minute
Delay your outgoing emails by a minute to avoid sending out emails that haven't been proofread or don't have the attached documents. Here are some steps to delay emails on Outlook.
59 Fill Your Home With a Cinnamon Scent When Vacuuming
Vacuum up two to three tablespoons of cinnamon before you start vacuuming your home. The smell of the cinnamon being heated up inside the vacuum will scent your home.
60 Create a Fake Cheat Sheet
Create a fake cheat sheet for an exam, and in the process of making it, you'll be reviewing everything you need to learn for the test.
61 Clean When You Are Depressed
It will distract you and make you feel like you've achieved something when you are done.
62 Upload Manuals Onto a Cloud
Whenever you buy a product, go to the manufacturer's site and upload the digital version of the manual onto Google Drive or Dropbox, and you'll never have to keep paper copies again.
63 Tissues For Your Stuffy Nose
Genius! Add a few drops of essential oil to the cardboard in your tissue box. Every time you pull a tissue out, it'll be infused with scents that will help you declog your stuffy nose and clear your sinuses. Get the full tutorial.
64 Toilet-Roll Trick
Add a few drops of essential oil (like lavender or lemongrass) to the cardboard tube in your toilet paper roll. It will automatically freshen your bathroom every time it's used!
65 Create a Cup Clock
This one's great for the office kitchen. Instead of wondering how fresh or old a pot of coffee is, make a cup clock, so whoever brews the coffee can mark the time he made it.
66 Cook the Perfect Fried Eggs
Separate the yolks from the whites, beat the whites, and then add the yolks back in before pouring into a pan. Voilà! You've got the perfect eggs.
67 Microwave 2 Bowls at Once
To fit two bowls into the microwave at the same time, simply place one on top of a glass so that it sits higher than the other. How easy is that?
68 Expand Ketchup Cups
Did you know? You can unroll the rims of ketchup cups to increase the ketchup capacity and even dip burgers in.
69 Remove Strawberry Stems With a Straw
Simple strawberry solution alert. Get rid of those pesky stems without wasting too much of the fruit by inserting a straw into the bottom of the strawberry and pushing up. The leaves will come off too!
70 Put Together an Impromptu Corkscrew
Desperate times call for desperate measures. If you don't have a bottle opener around, all you need are a fork (or pliers) and a screw to make an impromptu corkscrew and pour that Pinot.
71 Turn a CD Rack Into a Spice Rack
To begin, take a couple of old CD cases you no longer use, and cover them with wood-veneer adhesive paper. Slot them in to create shelves, and you've got yourself a brand-new spice rack.
72 Make a Bike Basket Out of a Container
Simply mount a container onto the front of your two-wheeler to create a handy bike basket. Kitty litter optional.
73 Scrape the Nutella Jar With Ice Cream
What to do when you're almost out of Nutella? The little spread that's left is good for something — throw in a scoop of vanilla, and scrape the jar the proper way. That way no precious Nutella goes to waste!
74 Eat Snacks With Chopsticks
This life hack comes with two pointers: use chopsticks to eat snacks and fruit so as not to get your fingertips messy. And when you don't have chopsticks within reach, improvise with straws.
75 Turn a Popcorn Bag Into a Bowl
Greasy arms no more. Instead of reaching deep into a popcorn bag, enjoy the treat by ripping strategically and creating your own resourceful bowl.
76 Give Your Mason Jar a Lid
Sometimes your mason jar needs a to-go lid. Just transfer that coffee lid over, and you're ready for picnics at the park.
77 Use a Paper Clip as a Luggage Lock
When you don't have a lock to keep your luggage zippers from separating, a paper clip will get the job done just as well, so you can jet off without any worries.
78 Stick Recipes to Your Stove Hood
Feel like a chef at a restaurant by grabbing a magnet and sticking your recipes onto range hoods over the stove. It's a convenient, hands-free way to cook all those delicious meals.
79 Bump Music Out of a Cup
In need of a sound system? Make DIY speakers for your smartphone by placing it into a plastic, paper, or glass cup for some extra volume.
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