Make your life a little bit easier

A.A. Milne once said, “Organizing is what we do before we do something, so that when we do it, it’s not all mixed up.”  Good advice for sure although I’m not sure I would have expressed it quite that way  – in any event, here are a few tips on things to make your life just a bit easier.

• When buying storage containers chose square or rectangular units rather than round ones. They’re easier to stack, less likely to tip over and they offer more storage capacity.  Storage in a round 14 X 6 inch container has 924 cubic inches, while a 14x14x6 inch container has 1,176 cubic inches.
• If you buy wine or liquor by the case save the empty box with the dividers intact; it makes an idea storage unit for Christmas ornaments wrapped in tissue, rolled up posters, gift wrap or fine but infrequently used crystal goblets.
• You can repair a small hole in a screen by dabbing it with a bit of model airplane glue, and when the glue dries, the mend will be barely visible.
• Avoid elevator pranksters. If you step into an elevator and you find that all the buttons have been pressed, you can avoid stopping on each floor by pressing each button again twice.
• Forget to chill the wine? You can chill wine by placing a few frozen grapes in the glass and it won’t water down the wine.
• Putting a dry tea bag in smelly shoes and gym bags will absorb bad odors.
• When you wash windows inside and out, use vertical strokes on one side and horizontal strokes on the other. This way you’ll know instantly the side where the streaks are.
• Putting your phone in airplane mode will stop ads while playing games.
• Putting your phone in airplane mode will also charge it twice as fast.
• Do you ever have trouble matching socks? Try keeping a jar of safety pins by the washing machine and pin pairs together before they go into the wash.
• To prevent furniture from scratching or marking your floors when moving the piece, put sweat socks over the legs first.
• Wrap a wet paper towel around a bottle of beer and put it in the freezer. It will chill in about 2 minutes.
• Save your thumb and try using the “pinch end” of a clothespin to hold a nail while hammering.
• Use a can opener on obnoxious plastic packaging.
• After popping microwave popcorn, separate the opening of the bag just enough for the un-popped kernels to fall out, and then shake upside down over the sink or your kitchen trash bag.
• Rub a walnut on damaged wooden furniture to cover up dings.
• A frozen, saturated sponge in a plastic baggie makes a great icepack that won’t drip all over when it melts.
• Wrinkled shirt? Throw it in the dryer with a few ice cubes for 5 minutes.  Wrinkles gone!
• Add a teaspoon of baking soda when you boil eggs and the shells will peel off much more easily.
• Don’t add fabric softener to water you wash towels in—it diminishes their absorbency. If your towels have already suffered this fate, bring them back to life by adding a cup of distilled vinegar to the rinse cycle.
• In fact you can save money by replacing fabric softener altogether and using vinegar instead, just make it a habit of adding a cup to the rinse cycle for soft fresh smelling clothes.
• These aren’t the only uses for vinegar in the laundry room; to keep items from discoloring, soak in salt water for 10 minutes before washing then add a dash of vinegar to the wash cycle.

So, there you have it; I’ll bet you can just feel how much these tips will make your life a little easier.

Quote of the day: “Dare to be naïve.”—Buckminster Fuller