It’s never going to be possible to eliminate all inconveniences from our lives. And that’s actually a good thing. We shouldn’t be able to turn off our brains completely, and facing challenges can build character. But there are some minor struggles that just aren’t necessary. And if you’re looking to make your life run more smoothly, you’ve come to the right place.
Redditors have been revealing the brilliant life hacks that they can’t believe everyone isn’t already using, so we’ve gathered their most helpful tips below. From ways to ensure you always know where your keys are to tricks that will improve your productivity, we believe there’s something for everyone on this list. So enjoy scrolling through, and be sure to upvote the advice that’s about to change your life!
#1
Keep a running note of gift ideas for your loved ones, year round. When holidays, birthdays, etc. roll around, it’s a lifesaver.
Keep another note of TV shows, movies, books, music, games, whatever else you want to get to when you have time, and where to find them (if applicable). The next time you have spare time and can’t think of what to watch/read/do, go to your list.
Put days that matter to your loved ones in your calendar. Not just birthdays and stuff like that– anniversaries of loved one’s passings. Sober birthdays. Milestones. Make a point of reaching out on those days.
Image source: hiddenkobolds, Anna Tarazevich/Pexels
#2
I always put my keys in the exact same pocket or spot at home. I haven’t lost keys in years. My past self used to be a clown. My current self is a responsible adult.
Image source: bryantlking7, Karola G/Pexels
#3
Pay attention to price per gram at the supermarket.
Image source: Maleficent_Height_49, Pixabay/Pexels
#4
If I’m invited to a Christmas party where I have gifts for some friends, I wrap 2 boxes of chocolates and attach a blank name tag so that if I receive a gift from someone unexpectedly, I can quickly scribble their name and it looks like I had a gift for them the whole time. If I don’t have to deploy the tactical choc, then I have a nice treat for January.
Image source: JoelPetey, Suzy Hazelwood/Pexels
#5
Windows + V for clipboard history. I showed a coworker this last week and he looked at me like I invented fire.
Image source: ParticularSyrup5760, Ruben Boekeloo/Pexels
#6
Invest in multiple phone chargers. I have one by my bed, in the living room, my home office, and my car. **None of them are ever to be moved**. The lone exception is the fifth charger that I keep in my travel bag, along with a power bank.
Haven’t seen my battery go below 20% in years.
Image source: According_Pay_6563, Karola G/Pexels
#7
When planning a trip, create a list in Google Maps and add everything you might want to do (after researching on Reddit, TripAdvisor, Atlas Obscura, etc.)
It’ll allow you to see a bird’s eye visual of what’s near each other so you can group things and have an easier time planning your days.
Image source: At_the_Roundhouse, AS Photography/Pexels
#8
I have a keyboard shortcut on all my devices where @@ automatically enters my email address.
Edit: on an iPhone you set it up by going to settings, general , keyboard , text replacement.
Image source: lil_alliiison, cottonbro studio/Pexels
#9
If you’re depressed and struggling with getting a grip on life in general. Start small like clean out a drawer or clear a small area and then the next day do something else and eventually you’ll notice that you’re able to manage the bigger tasks because the small ones are already done.
Image source: Bushdr78, Wallace Chuck/Pexels
#10
Telling my toddler that tv show characters go on vacation so we can take a break from watching them.
Image source: Ok-Brick-5206, Lisa from Pexels/Pexels
#11
When I’m stressed, I ask myself: ‘Will this matter in 5 years?’ 90% of the time the answer is no.
Image source: WorriedProfession177, RDNE Stock project/Pexels
#12
Microwave full ears of corn, husk on. 3:30-4 mins. It steams itself in the husk. Then cut the base/stem off (with about the first little bit of corn closest to the base), pick it up by the top/silk, and the whole cob falls right out. All the silk stays with the husk.
Corn is more snappy than boiled. Not mushy at all. And you don’t have to mess with de-husking, or waiting forever for a huge pot of water to boil.
The first time you cut it right and the ear drops out of the husk is pretty satisfying :-).
Image source: -Ramblin-Man-, NEOSiAM 2024+/Pexels
#13
Skip the “placebo” week of birth control and start a new pack. It’s perfectly safe and I haven’t had a period in three years.
Image source: AwFuzzyFace, cottonbro studio/Pexels
#14
Use Firefox with ad block. like how do you all stand YouTube with all the ads.
Image source: Tmon_of_QonoS, Denny Müller/Unsplash
#15
When you buy a thing that has warranty take a picture of the receipt with your phone. Then store the picture in a dedicated warranty folder. Lastly rename the receipt YYYY-MM-DD ITEMNAME where the date is the expiration date of the warranty. Now you have all your warranties easily accessible and you can sort them by date.
Image source: wabudo, Vlada Karpovich/Pexels
#16
Prepare for your morning the night before. Whether it is for your usual morning routine, or a one-off event, lay out everything you will need before retiring to bed so you barely need to think in the morning.
Not only is it more relaxing your mind will have the time to think of other small details you may have forgotten.
Image source: TheRancidOne, Miriam Alonso/Pexels
#17
If something can be done in less than five minutes, do it right away or if it takes longer, set a timer for 5-10 minutes and just start. I apply this mostly to cleaning because I don’t like doing dishes or sweeping the kitchen floor lol.
Image source: indieauthor13, Mike/Pexels
#18
I turn pillow cases inside out, reach through the pillow case to grab the end of the pillow & roll case down over the pillow (rather than trying to stuff it inside the pillow.).
Image source: KansansKan, cottonbro studio/Pexels
#19
Hang washing on hangers.
Eliminates most of the ironing and no pegs marks.
Then just steam any clothes that need it on the hanger.
So efficient.
Image source: Far_Instance_4141, Mica Asato/Pexels
#20
Eat at least 30g of fiber every day. High fiber foods I keep in my daily rotation: raspberries, kiwi, apples, sweet potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, whole wheat bread, whole grains (oats, farro, brown/wild rice, barley, amaranth, teff, etc), legumes (chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans, mung beans, soybeans, lentils, etc), chia seeds, flax seeds. I average ~60g of fiber a day!
edit: Ditch the expensive fiber supplements and get your fiber in a neat package with phytonutrients and micronutrients.
Image source: FranklyFrigid4011, Foodie Factor/Pexels
#21
Pay your bills when they arrive, not when they’re due.
When you get that notification that your (fill in the blank) bill will be due in a couple few weeks, pay it right then and there. Don’t put it off. Once you get into the habit, it becomes easy, and while it doesn’t save you any money up front, shifting your bill paying a few weeks ahead can pay off.
If you’re ahead on your bills and some emergency pops up – like a car repair – you don’t have to choose whether to pay for that repair or your electric bill. You’ll have a couple weeks worth of cushion to stave off paying a late fee.
Creditors love late fees. Don’t give them the satisfaction.
Image source: gogojack, Karola G/Pexels
#22
To zip it when you have nothing kind to say😍.
Image source: Ok-Interview807, SHVETS production/Pexels
#23
Do not make a big deal of anything that accidently spills or breaks in your house. Example: Spilling water at the dinner table. The calm reaction eliminates the usual stress episode. It’s a great approach with kids.
Image source: TomJDogHouse, RDNE Stock project/Pexels
#24
Always put the silverware and napkins at the end of a buffet/potluck. Keep those hands free to fill up a plate! Same with drinks: always in a separate area or at the end of the line if it has to be there.
Image source: frecklefaerie, Caleb Oquendo/Pexels
#25
Create a linen pack – I fold up the matching flat sheet, fitted sheet, doona cover / duvet cover / quilt cover and one pillow case into a bundle and put it all inside the other matching pillow case. It’s easier to store and to grab everything you need for changing the bed.
Image source: blind-bambi, Polina Tankilevitch/Pexels
#26
Intentional time away from screens. I recently started to struggle with online time, as someone that doesn’t have any of the typical vices, I think it shorted the dopamine pathway for me.
Started to feel crappy when I shouldn’t, neck was sore from looking down at phone/ipad all the time.
Fixed by being intentional with what I pick up my phone/device for. Send an email? Send and put it down. Etc etc.
Not so much for productivity, more for presence. Read a book, brew tea, sit on the porch, think.
Life is passing us by, staring into these black mirrors.
Image source: ProSnuggles, Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels
#27
Well it’s not a hack but if you get arrested you have the right to a lawyer even if you can’t afford one. Like you get a free lawyer that will help you when the police ask you questions. You should use that lawyer lol.
Image source: anon, Sora Shimazaki/Pexels
#28
Brushing the roof of my mouth when I brush my teeth. Shout out to the redditor who posted a LPT about this a few years ago!
Image source: Objective-Solid-4537, Miriam Alonso/Pexels
#29
Always set calendar reminders for every bill and subscription a few days before it’s due/renews. It takes 10 minutes to set up and has easily saved me thousands by now.
Image source: BeautifulShallot7057, cottonbro studio/Pexels
#30
Do a bit at a time. You walking to the kitchen? Take the things that need to go to the kitchen with you? You need to pick up? Every time you are in the room, pick as much as you can and do more next time.
Image source: Prize-Flamingo-336, cottonbro studio/Pexels
#31
There is nothing wrong with pre-cut, pre-made, or pre-packaged food. It can make a huge difference in your eating habits.
I was in a pretty bad place for the past year and would survive on one grilled cheese sandwich a day. Pre-boiled rice together with pre-cut vegetables and fruits helped me to get back to healthy nutrition. I need it less these days, but I’m incredibly thankful that they were there for me.
Image source: sprankelend
#32
Whenever I received an email from any coworker without a subject line, I reply with a canned message that their message was undelivered due to the missing subject. It only took me three months to train my boss.
Image source: CoderJoe1
#33
Soaking smelly T-shirts in vinegar and water overnight before putting them through a wash cycle to get rid of mild BO ( it won’t be as effective if your T-shirt reeks of severe BO) and using vinegar instead of fabric softener for the same reason.
Image source: Zeitgeist_1991
#34
Always keep the napkins you’re given and store them in your bag, car, whatever. Same goes for plasters (Band-Aids), paracetamol, pens, hand sanitizer, and maybe small snack bars.
People may give you stuff about storing all these random things, but you’ll always have this random stuff on hand when someone needs it.
Image source: fluckin_brilliant
#35
Group the silverware by type in the dishwasher so it’s easy to put away!!!
Image source: AnalystNo1864
#36
I have a routine. Routines are simple, yet powerful. They take stress, anxiety, and guess work out of your life. Routines are my biggest hack.
Here are other hacks that I use for my weekly cleaning routine (and these all make me wonder why doesn’t everyone use them):
– set timers. They keep you efficient, and prevent you from over exerting yourself. Once the timer is done, take a break.
– laundry day is bathroom cleaning day. If you’re already washing everything in there, it’s easy to clean the bathroom while towels, loofahs, and bath mats are in the laundry.
– your don’t need several sets of sheets. Just strip the bed on laundry day, wash the bed clothes, remake the bed. You don’t have to fold fitted sheets if they’re already in use. Keeping a backup set is a good plan, but there’s no point to more than that imo.
– Wash your shower loofahs with your towels.
– last load of laundry on laundry day is white bar mops (we use these as kitchen towels). Use chlorine bleach in the load with an auto soak and an extra rinse. When you put the load in the dryer, leave the washer open to air dry. Once a week bleaching will ensure you don’t get musty odors or mildew.
– I keep a dish scrub brush in the shower. The kind that you can fill with soap. I fill it with a combo of dish detergent and white vinegar. I also keep a small, plastic cup in the shower, too. I can dispense cleaner from the brush, scrub my shower, then rinse with the cup. I do it while I deep condition my hair.
— finally, anything worth doing is worth half assing. It’s better to get part of a task done than not getting it done at all. You’ll be in a better mood after, and it’s cleaner than it was before you did that chore in the most mediocre way possible.
I’m disabled, so doing chores has to be broken down into smaller bites so things will get done without me hurting myself (inadvertently), getting too exhausted, or burning out and not doing anything.
Image source: baconbitsy
#37
When desperate, lazy, and poor or all 3, use canned soup as pasta sauce.
Image source: I_love_pillows
#38
When you’re threading a bolt, turn it anti-clockwise until you feel it drop into the start of the thread. Then you can tighten it, clockwise. Helps avoid cross-threading.
Image source: nostril_spiders
#39
For my everyday wear, I bought a couple of multi-packs each of identical gray & black socks so I don’t have to spend time matching them up. When one gets a hole, I can toss it & still have a mate.
Image source: GetOffMyLawnYaPunk
#40
Pirating media. Streaming services are ridiculous nowadays.
Image source: Rubicon_Roll
#41
I keep multiple bank acounts (one for me, one for pet vet bills, one for large house repairs, one for general-emergency-unexpected-expenses, etc) and have my stuff set to automatically pull money into the accounts for specific things on the fifth of the month. (I’m paid on the first of the month.) Most of the time, I deliberately forget I have any other bank accounts, and the only time I find out how much money is in them is when I need them.
It would not work if I didn’t make a reasonable amount of money. But I’ve been doing it since I was twenty, and it means that when the water heater suddenly dies or one of my cats gets sick or I need a new roof, I’m not left scrambling and trying to figure out how to pay for it because I’ve ALREADY been working on paying for it for months, sometimes years, before it happened.
Image source: cattheotherwhitemeat
#42
In every hotel room in America is a closet with a specific set of hangers that have the metal clips on them.
Those clips work marvelously to clip the window shades together so the sun doesn’t leak in and wake you up.
Image source: CollegeWithMattie
#43
Put your food processor on a dish towel. It makes it really easy to slide it in and out of its spot in the corner of the counter.
Image source: hilarymeggin
#44
Ctrl+Shift+Esc to bring up Task Manager immediately.
Image source: lgndk11r
#45
Cook a turkey upside down, makes the white meat delicious!!!
Image source: greenbitch69
#46
Use a large bowl or pot to create a second “sink” when washing dishes in a single sink.
Image source: erinemeraldlove
#47
Regularly wipe the paws of their dogs and cats to get rid of any dirty residue, especially before the dogs and cats get on the bed.
Image source: DistributionNo9356
#48
“Send text later” function on iPhone has helped me a lot. I’m an early riser and often think “oh so and so’s birthday, text them later” or “text coworker about xyz”, but I don’t want to text them at 430am. I send the “text later” function for 9am or whatever the reasonable hour may be. Has saved my forgetful but thoughtfulness head a lot.
Image source: Other-Disk-6580
#49
Open bananas from the stubby end, not the stem end. Pinch it, job done.
Image source: itsoktoswear
#50
I run the washer w extra spin setting…it reduces dryer time.
Image source: BidAdministrative433
#51
I saw a movie where a woman was mad because the man forgot to buy a present but he had it stashed in a closet. It was weird but what I took from it was that you could buy presents in advance and have them ready for the next occasion. If you find something better you can save the banked present but you always have something in case you forget or don’t have time.
Image source: wandrngfool
#52
Using a safety razor. They’ll give you a better shave with less irritation than cartridge/disposable razors all for a fraction of the cost. Safety razors average around 10 cents per blade as opposed to the $1 – $2 or more for cartridge razors.
You don’t need multiple blades on a razor to shave. You need one. The rest are just scraping your skin, making it more likely to cause ingrown hairs and razor burn.
If you’re someone who doesn’t like to shave often, safety razors will go through a couple of weeks worth of thick stubble growth no problem. Those of you who have tried that with a cartridge razor know that you get nothing but snagging.
You can get a decent safety razor handle for $20. I’ve had mine for over 15 years. I give it a rinse with soap and water anytime I change the blade. It still looks brand new.
Image source: AMonitorDarkly
#53
Use the thick dried lotion at the tip of the pump to rub into your dry cuticles.
Image source: JayBInc
#54
JustWatch allows you to track movies/tv shows you’ve watch and want to watch. It also tells you where things are streaming. It’s so helpful!
Image source: SpacePolice04
#55
Make time for working out and prioritizing healthy eating
The benefits are so great, and the consequences for avoiding it are so severe. It’s crazy to me that only a small minority of people do this.
Image source: ButttRuckusss
#56
Not a hack, but showering at night, before bed. You have an entire day’s worth of grim all over you, and in your hair… why would you want to bring that into your bed…
Image source: sergeantbiggles
#57
I wfh and keeping my phone in a different room while I work helps immensely with my productivity.
Image source: tkbchimyjr18
#58
I have 3 bank accounts – checking, savings, and another savings labeled “monthly bills”.
Each month I put the exact amount of money for my bills in that account and I have everything on autopay. Set it and “forget” it. I keep track of when it’s drawn in an excel spreadsheet I made. I never have to worry about overdrafts and I know exactly how much spending money I have left because it’s whatever my checking balance is.
I have received several compliments from bank tellers over the years.
Image source: 5amscrolling
#59
Press **Ctrl+Shift+T** to instantly reopen the last closed browser tab. It saves 99% of accidental closures.
Image source: Kooky_Anteater7182
#60
I use a shower pouf with bar of soap.
rub the bar of soap on the shower pouf not on you and get tone of lather. The bar of soap costs a fraction of the same brand of body wash and lasts longer.
This saves money and is so good for the environment.
Image source: UncertainFate
#61
Make smoothies for their kids every day. So easy, kids love them, and so easy to pack heaps of good stuff in there. Ideal for fussy eaters too.
Image source: lemonandlime25
#62
Pee sitting down as a dude when you’re at home. It’s superior because you won’t miss, can still browse on your phone while peeing, and you can even squeeze one out as you pee.
Image source: babypho
#63
Store my bedding set inside it’s matching pillowcase.
Image source: Sophie-Hart
#64
Doing tomorrow’s hardest task the night before – it makes the next day feel rigged in your favor.
Image source: George-Merry
#65
Put the creamer in the cup before pouring the coffee. No stirring or trash then.
Image source: portraithouseart
#66
Tax yourself: transfer 10% of everything you buy into your savings. For example, if you buy a latte for $7, move 70 cents into your savings account. This system works well because if you can afford to buy something, you can probably afford the extra 10%. And if you can’t afford it, then don’t buy the thing and you have saved money on something you probably didn’t need anyway.
Image source: FunboyFrags
#67
Ctrl + Backspace deletes word by word. So friggin efficient.
Image source: ALexGOREgeous
#68
Use your calendar/reminder list to manage your friendships. It is so easy to let friendships fall by the wayside as adult life gets busier. This is especially the case when people move away. I have a recurring reminder to send texts to people just to say, “hey, what’s up?“ This is especially helpful when you’re in a period of life when you are in the thick of things for a while, like after you become a new parent. That hard phase of life lasts for long time, and friends can start feeling forgotten.
Image source: torchwood1842
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