Our favourite hacks to win at life

Do you get annoyed with little things that just seem harder than they should be?! Like finding lost earring butterflies, getting cookbooks to stay open while you’re cooking, or getting your bottle of wine to cool down fast enough! Thanks to the wonderful world of tumblr, we now have solutions to some of the niggliest of life’s problems.

Tumblr has almost 100 of them, but here are 30 of our favourite hacks to help you live your life to the fullest – because no-one should settle for warm wine…

Kitchen hacks

• 1. Freeze a wet sponge in a sandwich bag to make an icepack that won’t drip.
  2. Place a spoon over a pot of boiling water to prevent it from boiling over.
  3. Place a paper cupcake liner on an iceblock stick to catch drips.
  4. Put pancake mix in a squeezable tomato sauce bottle and squeeze it directly into the pan to avoid making a mess.
  5. Remove strawberry stems by poking a straw into the bottom of a strawberry and up through the top – the stem will pop off mess-free.
  6. Place sauces and other condiments in a muffin tin when you’re having a barbecue.
  7. Turn on your car seat heater to keep your pizza warm while you drive home.
  8. Use an old CD spindle to carry your bagel sandwich.
  9. Hang a clothes hanger with pants clips on a cupboard handle in your kitchen and use the clips to hold your cookbook open.
  10. Place frozen grapes in a glass of white wine to chill it without diluting it.
  11. Snap the plastic clips used for hanging pants off the ends of clothes hangers and use them to seal your open chip packets to keep them fresh.
  12. Place a wet paper towel around a glass bottle of beer or juice and place it in the freezer for an ice-cold drink in 15 minutes. This really works!

Organisational hacks 

• 13. Use empty toilet paper rolls to organise your electronic cords and cables – simply place the rolls upright in a box and place one cable in each roll.
  14. Or, you could cut open empty toilet paper rolls and use them as cuffs around your wrapping paper rolls to keep them from unravelling
  15. Paint the tops of your keys with different colours of nail polish to identify them.
  16. Cut a slit into a tennis ball and stick it to the wall to hold everything from keys to mail. You can even add eyes above the slit to make it look like a face!
  17. Tie a knot in the cord just below your left headphone to be able to identify it easily without having to squint at the tiny “L” and “R” inscriptions.
  18. Place a hanging shoe organiser on the inside of a cupboard door to neatly and safely store cleaning supplies.
  19. Stack your clothes vertically rather than one on top of the other in your drawers so you can see them all.

General household hacks 

• 20. Tie a small plastic bag filled with vinegar around your showerhead and leave it on overnight to remove residue.
  21. Use a comb or a clothes peg to hold a nail in place while you’re hammering it.
  22. Cut a pool noodle in half and stick it to the wall of your garage to avoid slamming your car door against the wall.
  23. Lost an earring or other tiny item? Never fear, place a stocking over the end of your vacuum and see if it emerges from a dark hiding place.
  24. Use a plastic bread tab to stop the end of the sticky tape from sticking to the roll.
  25. Place a thick rubber band around and across the top of an open paint can to wipe the paint off your brush without messing up the sides of the can.
  26. Use your hair straightener to iron your shirt collar when you’re in a rush.
  27. Use a staple remover to save your fingernails when trying to add things to your keyring.
  28. To prevent your kids from falling out of bed, place a pool noodle along the long edge of the mattress and secure it by placing a fitted sheet over it.
  29. Hide your keys, phone and money in a cleaned-out bottle of sunscreen (with a wide top) inside your beach bag for added safety.
  30. Place a key ring on the zipper of your pants and slip the ring over the button to prevent your fly from opening.