Life Hacks: Our Favorite Hacks

There are countless problems you encounter on a daily basis that can put a little speed bump in your day. Life hacks are those “a-ha moments” where you nd the simplest solution to your daily problems oftentimes using items immediately at your disposal. Here are some of our favorite hacks that we’ve found through the years.

Workouts can get monotonous, so why not implement a method that makes you look forward to your daily workout? Find an audio book or podcast that you love, load it onto your iPod and only listen to it during your workouts. This way, if you leave off on a huge cliffhanger by your favorite author, you have to wait until your next workout to nd out what happens providing a near guarantee that you’re going to return. We’ve all had those moments when we’re running out the door for work and are met with a car covered in ice. The time spent scraping the car solidi es your late arrival to work. A quick, homemade de-icing formula is a spray mixture of 3:1 vinegar to water. Apply the solution to your windows the night before or right before the precipitation starts. The acidity of the vinegar raises the freezing point keeping the ice or snow from freezing your windows and windshield.

Garbage disposals are great for convenience, but it doesn’t take long for them to develop an odor that can quickly permeate your house and ruin all of your hard cleaning efforts. This hack makes ridding your home of this odor affordable and natural. Simple cut up a fresh lemon into small slices, and place them in an ice cube tray. Pour in white vinegar and freeze. Now you can pop a couple of cubes each time your kitchen smells less than citrusy clean.

Being a pet owner usually means you’ll be cleaning up accidental diddles at least a few times in your pet’s life. There are lots of products out there claiming to work miracles for animal urine, but one of the most steadfast formulas can usually be found in your cabinets. After blotting up any dampness from the accident, sprinkle the area with just enough baking soda to cover the spot and pour white vinegar on top of the baking soda. There will be a reasonable amount of bubble and zzing, and this is normal. Once the combination has nished its job, wipe up the excess and vacuum anything left behind that you couldn’t pick up. This will take care of staining and clean up the odor of the accident for both you and your pet, deterring future accidents. If you need a change to your kitchen without a major nancial commitment, try a new backsplash. If you’re not ready to commit to a permanent look or if you rent and can’t make permanent changes you can use place mats as a backsplash. Attach using command strips that won’t damage the wall. You can also play with covering the whole area between the counter and shelving or you can do a small strip for a more subtle change. If you spend your days on your feet wearing restrictive shoes or end your evenings with tough workouts, you may suffer from sore soles. Next time your little piggies are crying out for relief, try freezing a water bottle and lay down a towel on the oor. Place the frozen bottle on the oor and roll the bottoms of your feet to reduce in ammation.

Nothing compares to a warm bag of theater popcorn, your favorite candy and a great lm on the big screen. Getting perfectly buttered popcorn is every moviegoers dream, but it takes a little work. If you prefer to handle your own buttering, try attaching a straw to the butter station, which will allow you to butter all the way to the bottom of the bag. If you prefer to let the concession workers prepare your popcorn, ask them to layer it.

Other heavy and awkward packing items are linens, electronics and books. Instead of packing these items into boxes that are going to be heavy and awkward to move, utilize your suitcases (particularly the ones with wheels). This will allow you to move these items easily and safely without added effort or boxes.

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