Grace challenged me to share some “life hacks.” At first, I panicked a bit, forgetting that the term was used to describe simple everyday tricks and short-cuts, and not major tools one may employ in living a better life. Because....what do I know about that?!
I use what’s considered “hacks” all the time. These shared below are ones I invented (or devised before I knew someone else had or would invent them).
Use spray starch to quickly flatten-out those stubborn hems, plackets, etc. Unlike ironing, you can "use while on body."Â
Spray bathroom cleaner (such as Dow Scrubbing Bubbles): it's an excellent degreaser for use in kitchen (stoves); also good for cleaning carpets/rugs/upholstery (test first, but I've never had a problem).Â
You know those balloon-animal balloons? They make awesome rubber bands. Tie the ends together (I recommend a sheet bend, pictured below).Â
Use a good-quality shower-curtain tension rod to add a "shelf" to your shower for shampoo bottles and such. Install it about 2" from the inside wall.Â
Use old prescription bottles for storage of little things. They're relatively clear, watertight and secure. If you hate opening them, try the screw-on lid upside-down. Many are designed to be "unchildproofed" that way for people who have trouble opening them otherwise.Â
Keep fruits/veggies or more nutritious snacks out where people can easily get to them (on the table/counter). Sometimes family members (or yourself) may eat not because they're hungry, but restless, bored, or as a "transition" behavior between other activities. Convenience is a great factor in this kind of eating.Â
Use clear plastic shoe-box containers to sort and store odd things; those clear-plastic dressers are useful, too, for storage of sundries. Clear tubs have the advantage over solid-colored ones, but if you use the solid ones, label the tub itself, not just the lid, with Scotch Painter's Tape and Sharpie.Â
Use uniform-sized storage containers whenever possible. For example, I prefer pint and quart-sized "Chinese soup" containers over most others. They nest easily, and they're cheap to buy from the party store if I don't order enough hot-and-sour soup to keep my supply up. For larger containers, I buy a bunch at once, or make sure I pick a popular brand that I can find later.Â
Keep a spray-bottle of rubbing alcohol in the bathroom. Makes a good mirror-cleaner and you have it handy for spot-sterilizing durable surfaces. Make sure it's labeled.Â
If you save owners’ manuals/warranty information for stuff you buy, file them by the year you bought the items, in "chunks" of three to five years. If you remember about when you bought that water heater, you'll know about where to look for the manual if you need it.Â
Use foam pipe insulation (such as Frost King's product) on coat-hangers to minimize "shoulder bumps" on shirts and blouses, and fold lines and crimps on pants.Â
Camping/Picnic/Travel Hacks:Â
Use a mouthwash bottle as a water bottle. They tend to be more flask-shaped, easier to carry/pack and have a great seal. Fill with water, squeeze a bit before capping, and freeze for drinkable freezer-packs for picnics/camping. With some room for the water to expand, they won't burst like flimsy bottles. (Have some fun: add green/blue food-coloring. Your friends will think you're drinking mouthwash....)Â
Use a vinyl Twister game "board" as a ground-cover under your sleeping bag. It's much quieter than most tarps when you roll-over, and, hey, it's just fun.Â
If you get one of those "Box of Joe" type of things, save the inside bladder. It makes a great hot-water bottle for keeping warm, or a pillow if you inflate it with air. The water inside will forever taste like stale coffee, but it could be used for washing. Be careful with the lid; some just screw off without any child-safety kind of cap.Â
Plastic shower-caps, like the free ones you sometimes get in hotels (or they’re cheap to purchase), make great disposable dish-covers.Â
Keep some alcohol prep-pads (those individually-wrapped square pads) and/or a small bottle of hand sanitizer, and some diaper-wipes stuffed into a prescription medicine bottle to tidy-up unpleasant restrooms or portable toilets.Â
If you have access to electricity while camping (some may say that's not "real" camping, but I'm ok with it!), white Christmas tree lights make elegant tent lighting. Also, keeping an electric coffee-urn full of hot water is very handy for cooking, tea, and washing dishes.Â
Keep a go-bag that is a mini-duplicate of your regular toiletries (keeping in mind TSA liquid limitations/packaging for carry-on baggage). You'll have it ready for a quick-trip with very little thought.Â
Using a Sharpie marker, write floor-dimensions of tents on the tent-bag, and also on the edge of tarps, so you can know their size at a glance.Â
Use torn/cut plastic brightly-colored grocery bag strips knotted on guy lines and ground stakes to indicate tripping hazards. Use glow-sticks/bracelets on stakes at night if they're not right next to the tent.Â
If you have a new tent, set it up at home before you go camping. You’ll be able to set it up better at the campsite for the practice, and very glad you did if it’s dark when you’re making camp. While you have it up, apply water-proofing spray. This will turn a cheap tent into a not-as-cheap tent.Â
Take the time and trouble to learn good camping habits for your mission/environment. You don't want to be that family that uses paper plates, dumps hot charcoal on the ground, or sprays bug-repellent near tents.Â
Use foam pipe insulation as bumpers on coffee tables and other hard-edged surfaces. Use Scotch Blue Painter's tape to attach.Â
In winter, instead of overheating your baby in the car-seat as the vehicle's cabin warms-up, cut a slit in the middle of a blanket for the baby's head, then tuck the edges in around the car-seat.Â
Write your cell-phone number in Sharpie on your child's arm, under the sleeve. Instruct your child to show it to the security people if your child and you become separated.Â
When serving your small children pancakes, tear them up into bite-sized pieces before you put syrup on them.
If you have an interior staircase that is exposed on the side, fashion hooks out of thick coat-hanger wire that wrap-around the bottom of the lower balusters. You have "stair stepped" hooks for coats that the children can reach (wrap/tape something like bubble-wrap around the wire to protect the baluster from scratches).Â
Keep diaper wipes in the car. Besides cleaning-up the occasional spill, you can have the children wipe-down interior surfaces (not windows!) if you're ever stuck waiting in the car.Â
If your kids are bored or picky eaters, try making the meal more interesting (and weird) by adding food coloring. We often had “worms and dirt” (spaghetti with meat sauce, with green food coloring stirred in).Â
Use different colors to designate things as belonging to each child (red for one, blue for another, etc.). The balloon-rubber-band trick above is good for this, and, of course, Sharpie markers.Â
When the kids whine that something isn't fair, make up a really annoying "IT’S NOT FAIR" song and sing it loudly when the whining commences.Â
When overnight potty-training, put alternating layers of plastic sheets and regular fitted sheets on the bed. If there's an accident, strip-off the top wet sheet and plastic liner, instantly revealing a clean sheet with plastic liner underneath.Â
Have your children join youth organizations such as Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, religious youth group, 4-H, Campfire, YMCA groups, recreational sports, etc. And (this is important) YOU join/volunteer as well. Your children not only benefit from these programs, but you get to spend time with them, do some good, learn a lot of skills yourself, and model volunteerism and community service for your own children. Most organizations have ways to help even if you cannot commit huge chunks of time. And it's a good way to make life-long friends in your community.Â
Children's lives are lived in "school years." Before you're a parent, or as soon after as you can, keep an academic calendar (they start and end during the summer months) as your personal organizer.Â
Set-up all at once file folders with each child's name, their grade in school, and the year (as in, 2015-2016). All the important stuff from that school-year (even non-school records such as immunization/medical records) goes in the folder. Set-up a separate "summer" folder, too. When they grow-up and (eventually) move out, you can give them all their folders if they want them.Â
Use a couple of strong binder clips to attach a spare car key somewhere out-of-sign on your car's undercarriage.Â
Always carry jumper cables. Invest in a decent extra-long pair and learn how to use them. You can help someone else out, or get a quick jump-start from someone else before the auto club can get a truck out to you.Â
Keep a length of rope/clothesline in the car. It doesn’t take up much room, and has hundreds of uses.
Have a first-aid kit; keep it current. Include items such as sanitary napkins (bandages in a pinch), masking tape, aspirin, and good scissors.Â
Other car-kit stuff: semi-emergency items such as spare socks, a very large square/rectangular scarf, heavy garbage bags, some coins/money, duct tape (in a plastic bag, so it doesn't leak stickiness on other things), a basic tool kit, small pry-bar or tire-iron, and a brand-new or very clean small gas can.Â
Keep a sturdy container of water (such as a washed-out gallon fruit punch bottle) for quick clean-ups or emergency drinking water.Â
If in a fender-bender with a parked car, don't just leave a note. Call the local police, file a report, and let them deal with notifying the vehicle's owner. (Did you know you can be charged with leaving the scene of an accident even if you leave a note? Nobody ever told me this!) You also avoid the possibility of being confronted by an enraged owner without any independent verification of the damage and circumstances.Â
Keep a trash bag in the car always, and don't tolerate littering. Even "biodegradable" litter like food scraps is bad, as it attracts critters to the roadside (and then they attract scavengers or predators like vultures, hawks and eagles, who are then at risk).Â
If this isn’t enough for you, visit one of my favorite websites, There, I Fixed It.
Grace, your challenge this week is to make a comic strip, political cartoon, or other illustration that tells a story/delivers a message. It can be stick-figures, or CGI, or drawn/scanned/photographed. You can decide how much work to put into it, and the format/tone. If you have anything interesting to add about the concept or creation of your artwork, by all means, feel free to post!
