Share the Life Hacks that Changed Your Standard Operating Procedure(s)
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There was a fun meme on TikTok recently about sharing “the life hack that you randomly saw one day that is now an unconscious standard” — so let's share all the little things we've learned that have changed the way we do things!
Some of my life hacks that have changed my standard operating procedure include:
- Cleaning the shower with a dish scrubber filled with Dawn and vinegar (because the cleaning ingredients are so mild you can clean while you're in the shower) (example)
- When you have a loaf of bread in the sleeve, you should twist the sleeve right next to the bread (no extra air) and then fold the remaining top of the sleeve over the loaf of bread — especially helpful when you lose the twisty tie (example).
- If you want egg salad or chopped eggs, you can just crack a bunch of eggs into a loaf pan, then place that in a container of water, and bake in the oven (oven, Instant Pot).
Those are the ones I remember off the top of my head that blew my mind in that small sort of way. What are some of the life hacks that you've learned recently (from any source!) and implemented with success?
Stock photo via Stencil.
If you’re bringing your phone to the beach, keep it in a Ziploc bag to protect from sand or splashes.
I’m confused about the bread tip above. If you close it with a twist tie, what additional purpose is served by the folding-over step?
it’s more for when you lose the twisty tie
It’s not a hack but I have started using all those free address labels to label stuff as needed. For example, we have a laundry room/keycard situation in our building and I often forget the card in the machine but now I have my name/address on it and a neighbor was able to return it to me last time this happened. It’s also handy for travel – much easier/more legible to add to the luggage tag in case it gets lost. You could also label your books with it if you’re in the habit of lending them out and would like to increase chance it gets returned.
Will 100% use this and thank you!
I don’t know that this counts as a hack. (I couldn’t make a TikTok about it.) But I am a morning workout person, though often a reluctant one, and about a year and a half ago I put a basket on top of my dresser that contains bundles of workout outfits, including underwear, socks, mask (when needed), etc. It means I can sit up in bed 10-15 minutes before my slot, grab a bundle, get dressed, and make it to the gym on time. No running to multiple drawers or looking for a clean bra or a second sock. Gym shoes go right underneath the dresser every time.
This past winter, to get myself out of bed in the morning for a run or to go to the gym, I put a pair of socks under my pillow. That way I never had to get out of bed onto a cold floor.
I lay out workout clothes and work clothes every night and it makes the mornings infinitely smoother
Ok that’s actually a really good idea
Like I did this for my kid when traveling why not me?! Great idea!
Duvet cover roll hack, although I have to watch the video every time I clean the duvet cover to remind myself. Turn duvet cover inside out, place duvet insert on top, roll closed end up towards the open end like a jelly roll (duvet cover and duvet together) then flip open end over and zip/button/tie it closed, then unroll again to have the cover on right side out. Yes, the description is not super helpful, which is why I watch the video every time.
OMG I have to watch the video every time too!
I’m going to try this!
Haha I did this last night for the guest room and yep — had to watch the video again like I always do!
Your description was great! I could easily imagine what to do, and when I looked at the video afterwards – spot on!
Does anyone else have a king size duvet? Our duvet insert never stays put no matter how tight i make the ties.
you can buy little velvet clips to put inside. try bed bath and beyond
My life hacks are pretty specific. But my best ones are:
If you have a stroller and drive a Mini Clubman or the like, buy the Weathertech mat with the flap that comes down. No more scraping my back bumper with the stroller. (And the weather tech mats have saved me from a ginormous icecream puddle that I missed seeing when unloading groceries in the dark one evening as well as all of the salt and grit from the stroller tires, etc.)
Our dog eats a lot of people food. I label all of his leftovers with date using a sharpie on the plastic baggie so I can keep track of how long things have been around.
I bring flip flops whenever I travel for work. They’re great for not walking around hotel carpet in bare feet and double great to have if the shower situation looks at all sketchy. And if I end up with sore feet or blisters from too much conference walking, at least I know I can be comfortable on the flight home. Always bring a baggie or two in your make-up bag–they’re good double up protection to keep anything from exploding and if they arrive clean, they’re great to hold ice in if you get sore feet. Also, if you are prone to blisters, buy liquid bandage spray. It stops the rub without looking like you have anything on the back of your feet the way moleskin does–washed off just like rubber cement.
Dawn dishwashing liquid and warm water gets oil off of eyeglasses better than eyeglass cleaner. It’s also good for washing makeup brushes.
Liquid bandage spray is amazing.
Dawn dishwashing liquid is also great to pretreat laundry stains, especially grease. I only learned this one this past year.
It’s also hands-down the best for blowing bubbles. And use it generously.
Dawn will actually scratch your glasses. We can’t see it, but apparently, Dawn has microscopic granules to help clean. But yes, dishwashing detergent for glasses.
-Rolling shelves for our basement. Maybe not as amazing if you have a huge house but… that’s not us. Now we can swap our seasonal storage like we swap our clothes. (Like one rolling rack has all our gardening stuff on it – it can live in a hard-to-access corner part of the year, and then trade for the one that has our winter boots, shovels, ice melt, etc in spring).
-On the topic of bread, sticking most of it in the freezer the minute we get back from the store. It’s only 2 of us, we don’t need to keep an entire loaf going stale when we can get out a few pieces at a time.
-Using a pill case for travel – each compartment gets a handful of medication so we always have Tylenol, Advil, cold meds, cough drops, tummy / digestive issues of all types, allergy meds, etc.
We use the bread hack, too! And now I think I need to return my garage shelves that I was just about to put up and get rolling ones. Brilliant.
Driving an unfamiliar car and need to fill up? Look for the gas pump icon on the dashboard. There will be an arrow pointing to which side of the car the gas cap is on.
This icon is usually located somewhere on the speedometer area
A random acquaintance once told me she puts sunscreen on the back of her hands after putting it on her face to help them from aging and now I do too every day.
Oh, yes. I rarely use sunscreen on my face but keep it in the car for my hands. When my sister moved from the upper Midwest to a Southern state, it was the first suggestion I made as she is very fair skinned.
Mise en place – prepping ingredients BEFORE you start cooking. Everything is ready to go when you need it, and it helps give you time to clean while stuff is cooking
Paprika app for grocery shopping and recipe management
Spreadsheet packing lists. One bag/purse/luggage container per column. Keep different sheets for different trips that can be reused. Cut & paste as needed.
Flossing teeth in bed while watching tv before going to sleep. It just feels like less of hassle and gets done!
When traveling home from a trip, making notes about what worked or what I would do differently next time.
When you have a baby, get rid of your wood or glass coffee table. Your baby will hit his/her head on it multiple times and then pull everything off anyway. Instead, get an upholstered ottoman, which won’t hurt when bumped into and can double as a downstairs changing table. Mine also had a skirt, so the kids would climb under it for hide and seek.
yes! We had a cool glass and metal table that terrified me with an infant. We got a bonded leather ottoman/storage chest from Costco for some very reasonable price and never looked back. SO much better on all of our shins!
(1) Clip a couple of safety pins to each keychain you have. They don’t take up much room and when you need one, you really need one.
(2). On the subject of keys, when you have to remember to take something refrigerated out of the house with you, put your car keys in the fridge with it–you won’t get far without them! (Also ok to put chips in the fridge for a bit with the dip and keys, so you don’t forget either
(3) Whenever you brown hamburger or sausage for a meal, do twice as much as you need and freeze the extra in a labeled Ziploc. It’s money in the bank on a busy day. Can thaw first or just leave frozen, then put in a small (2qt) crock pot with a jar of pasta sauce or can of manwich (terrible name, easy dinner) for a meal without minding the stove
Cook once a week(ish) but use that cooking session to make multiple dishes and prep salad ingredients. We cook once a week on Sunday, eat leftovers and salads throughout the week until they’re gone, and then treat ourselves to dinner out. We also make sure to put on good tunes to sing along to while we cook. :)
It’s made it so much easier to be sensible about eating out and eating healthy. We both work full time at pretty demanding jobs, so no one is feeling “Let’s come up with a new recipe AND cook it!” after work. Freezing extra portions helps round out the edges for weeks where we run out of leftovers more quickly.
I have a special set of house keys that are attached to a ring on my work bag — no more rushing to try to find my keys before heading to work.