Multiply by 9 using your hands.
Julie Hambleton
Julie Hambleton
December 11, 2023 ·  4 min read

14 Simple Tricks to Make Your Life Easier

Our daily lives get busy and stressful. So much so, that even little things can seem like massive tasks. Thankfully, there are things you can do to make those small things simpler and leave room to focus on more important ones. Here are some tricks to make life easier, even if just a little bit.

14 Tricks to Make Life Easier

These tricks won’t necessarily help you nail that presentation at work or make your kids less grumpy when getting up for school each morning. They will, however, help keep you more organized and innovative so that your home life is a little bit easier.

1. Magazine holders for fruit storage.

These are wonderful little organizers for your countertop fruits. You can see what’s in each one and can even organize them based on color to give your kitchen a really put-together look.

Magazine holders for fruit storage.
© Shirley Billy Sparks / facebook

2. Medication baskets.

Most of us have that cupboard, basket, or drawer that we just put all of our medications, medicines, and supplements in. Instead, divide them into several labeled baskets to make finding what you are looking for simple and easy. Labels can include:

  • Names – a basket for each individual’s medications
  • Sunscreen and bug spray
  • First aid
  • Pain and itch relief
  • Allergies
  • Cold and Flu

Organize them in a way that makes sense to you.

Medication baskets.
© rachel-nconmymind.blogspot.com

3. Hangers for bra storage

Rather than having your bras in a tangled mess in a drawer, use hangers hung down the inside of your closet door. This will help keep them organized and will help to maintain the shape and integrity of the bra.

Hangers for bra storage
© how-do-it.info

4. Window scraper to remove fur from the carpet.

Anyone with pets knows the challenges of cleaning up pet hair. Drag a window scraper along your carpets and easily collect all of the hairs. 

Window scraper to remove fur from the carpet.
© Thesteelman86 / reddit

5. CD cases for cable storage.

Have old CD storage cases hanging around? Repurpose them to store cables. You will easily be able to find the cable you are looking for and you won’t have to spend hours attempting to untangle them from the others.

CD cases for cable storage.
© Crath / reddit

6. Trash bags for clothes when moving.

One of the most annoying parts about moving is taking all of your clothes off of the hangers, only to then hang them back up in the new place. Instead, leave them on their hangers and tie garbage bags up around them, They will stay clean in transit and will save you time both packing and unpacking.

Trash bags for clothes when moving.
© A_A_Ron_Rodgers / twitter

7. Soap foam to find a hole in a tire

The hardest part of repairing a punctured tire is finding the hole. Cover it in soap and see where the bubble appears – that way you’ve found your hole.

soap on a tire to find leak
© markmyw0rds / imgur

8. Hand-holes in boxes.

The next time you’re moving or you simply need to carry a full box, cut out hand-sized holes near the top to make it easier to carry.

triangular holes cut in the side of cardboard boxes to carry them more easily

Read: 27 of the most effective housekeeping hacks for naturally cleaning your home without chemicals

9. Sunglasses hanger

Sunglasses and other glasses are easily lost and broken. Help keep track of them and prevent them from getting crushed in a drawer or bag by hanging them all neatly on a hanger.

hanger being used to hold sunglasses
© Snazzy Specs Reading Glasses & Reading Sunglasses for Men & Women / facebook

10. Hot glue for quiet drawers

No one likes to hear drawers banging shut all of the time. If you’ve got loud drawers in your home, run some hot glue along the inside edge. Once it has cooled and hardened, it will soften the impact of the drawer.

hot glue gun being used on a drawer
© Household Hacker / youtube

11. Salt, oil, and potato frying pan trick

Have a dirty frying pan that no dishwasher or soap and sponge can seem to fix? Try covering the pan in salt and oil and rubbing it with a cut-open potato.

potato with salt to scrub cast iron pan
© toriavey.com

Read: 13 Surprising Uses for Hydrogen Peroxide

12. Inflatable pool playpen

Babies are learning plenty of new things, including how to stand and walk on their own two feet. While they are learning, however, they are vulnerable to falling and hurting themselves. An inflatable pool makes the perfect playpen to keep them safe. If they fall, they will only hit their head on the soft, air-filled edges of the pool.

infant in inflated pool with no water
© kekembas17 / reddit

13. Brush avocados with oil

If you only use a part of an avocado and want to preserve the rest for later, brush the open flesh with oil. The oil seals the inside of the avocado to air, helping to keep it fresher for longer.

14. Keep apple slices fresh

Want to send your kid to school with apple slices but don’t want them to get brown? Cut the apple with an apple cutter, then put the apple back together and wrap an elastic band or hair tie around it. This will keep the insides pressed firmly together to prevent oxygen from getting in so the slices will stay fresh.

apple with elastic band

These are just a few little tricks to make everyday things a little bit better, and make life easier. What other helpful home and life tips do you have?

Multiply by 9 using your hands.
Bonus: Multiply by 9 using your hands.

Look at your palms and imagine that each of your fingers has its own number from 1 to 10, from the left to the right. Then find the finger that corresponds to the number you want to multiply by 9 and bend it. The fingers to the left of the bent finger will be the tens and the fingers to the right will be the ones.

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