I’m always on the hunt for hacks – anything to make my life easier – to save time, money, effort, my sanity. Once in a while, I’ll come across something in an online search and after trying it out – will realize it’s a bit of a dud. But that’s not the case with the youtube video I watch every autumn when I struggle to stuff my down-filled duvet into its cover. Or this omelet-in-a-bag trick I found and can attest to: it works like a charm!
Here’s the thing about life hacks – there are a ton of them out there. And based on my own personal experience a lot of them are nothing more than talk. But the following list is comprised of tried and true hacks – from real live people. Some of them are so simple, you’ll wonder why you never thought of them yourself. Others may come as a bit of a surprise.
Either way – enjoy these 18 tried and true life hacks.
#1 Let Us Eat Lettuce
This one’s from me:
I like salads. But still – I can buy a head of Romaine and then not touch it for three or four days. Often, in that amount of time, the leaves are goopy and rotting and I end up throwing half of it away. I did a google search for the most effective ways of storing lettuce and came up with several – and I tried them all. This is the one that works best.
Upon buying lettuce, separate the individual leaves, wash and let dry on dish towels. Then, once dried, line a large tupperware container with paper towels and lay the leaves on top with as little overlap as possible. Place another layer of paper towels over top and continue the process – ending with paper towels on top. Snap the lid in place and keep in the fridge. My lettuce easily lasts for 2 (sometimes even 3) weeks stored like this. I also keep trimmed green onions, fresh herbs and spinach leaves stored the same way.
#2 Don’t Discard – Freeze it!
Another one from me:
Practically any food that has seen better days ends up in my freezer. My mushy strawberries, raspberries and bananas go into the freezer and find themselves in my smoothies or muffins months later. Mushy vegetables like carrots, parsnip and potatoes – they also find themselves in my freezer and end up in my simmering soup or stock. Frozen tomatoes are perfect for soup, chili or sauce.
My mother sometimes stockpiles bricks of cheese when they are on sale and freezes them to be shredded into dishes at a later time.
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#3 Eggs, Spray and Wipes
From Rachel:
You know when you are trying to peel a hard boiled egg and end up taking half the egg white along with the shell? Well, Rachel swears by this – she places the cooled, hard boiled egg into a cup and shakes it until the shell cracks all over. Then the shell complete with membrane just slips right off.
Out of necessity, Rachel discovered that run-of-the-mill vegetable spray can take the place of WD40 – for squeaky hinges or any other WD40 typical job.
And as for wipes, she suggests using baby wipes to remove salt stains from shoes or boots.
#4 Bed Prep
From Kristen:
When her kids were young, she would make their beds in specific layers: waterproof sheet followed by a regular sheet followed by a waterproof sheet followed by a regular sheet. That way, if a child wet the bed or vomited during the night, all she had to do was strip the top layer and back to bed everyone went.
#5 Bed Prep – Part 2
From Lisa:
Since her kids prefer not to use a top sheet when they sleep, Lisa has opted not to use one on their beds. Otherwise, they routinely end up crumpled at the foot of the bed or jammed next to the wall. Now when her kids need to make their beds, all they really have to do is straighten out their duvet.
#6 When All Else Fails . . . Vodka
From Chantalle:
Chantalle’s daughter was using a white satin hand bag for her prom and during an outdoor photo shoot, it ended up with mulberry stains on it. She used some cotton balls dipped in vodka to dab at it and it was as good as new. Her daughter also routinely sprays vodka (the cheap stuff – no need to break out the Grey Goose) on her clothing to battle sweat stains and odour.
#7 Cootie Catcher
From Joe:
Whenever he travels, he is sure to bring along a large ziplock bag specifically used to encase the hotel room TV remote.
#8 Cootie Catcher – Part 2
From Jen:
When her family travels, she actually washes down specific areas of the hotel room with soap and water followed by Lysol wipes. Forgotten germ-covered areas such as the light switches, door knobs, toilet seat and remote control. Once she declares the room germ-free, her family is then free to relax.
#9 Neat and Tidy
From Sarah:
Since she cannot fold fitted sheets neatly, she takes each of her folded sheet sets and puts them inside the matching pillowcase. Into the linen closet they go for fast and neat storage.
#10 En Francais
From Emma:
To save time and effort in the morning, Emma makes French toast by the loaf. Then, she sticks wax paper between each slice, puts it all back in the bread bag and freezes it. In the morning, she simply removes the pieces she requires and pops them in the toaster for a quick and easy breakfast.
#11 Lunch Hacks
From Leanne:
To prepare for the upcoming week, Leanne spends some time chopping up cucumbers, strawberries, melon etc. and storing them in the fridge in separate containers. Then when it’s time to make lunch, everything’s already prepped and ready to go.
Her mother-in-law went one step better back in the day. She would make a stack of peanut butter sandwiches on Sunday night, wrap them in plastic wrap and store them in the freezer. When she needed a school lunch for her kids, she’d grab a frozen sandwich and put it in her kids’ lunch boxes. It would thaw throughout the day, keeping the rest of the lunch cool in the process.
#12 Cooking and Cleaning
From Maria:
When Maria makes pasta, she routinely cooks the entire bag. She then stops cooking it a tad early, drains it and runs it under cold water to stop the cooking process and freezes whatever she doesn’t need. Then in a pinch, she thaws the frozen pasta in the microwave before adding it directly to whatever sauce she happens to be cooking up.
When making pesto, Maria cooks up a huge batch, smoothes it into a wide plastic container and freezes it. Then she removes the pesto as one giant ice cube and chops it into cubes which she stores in her freezer in a ziplock bag. Whenever she needs 
some pesto, she adds the cubes to whatever she has simmering.
She also keeps a small spray bottle filled with bleach in her shower. From time to time, she’ll spray the counters, shower ledges and toilet as she gets out of the shower. It makes bathroom cleaning just a bit easier.
When Maria’s wood furniture gets scratched, she uses a similar-coloured marker and some clear shoe polish on top to cover it up.
#13 Tips for the Sloppy
From Sandra:
When chewed gum ends up on her clothes, furniture or carpet. she freezes it with an ice cube and then it comes right off. Sandra also uses peroxide to remove blood stains from clothing or linens and Club Soda to remove red wine stains.
#14 Cooking Clean Up
From Irma:
When something gets burned to the bottom of her pans, Irma sprinkles it with some dishwasher soap powder, adds some hot water and lets it soak overnight. This typically does the trick. If not, she repeats the process and boils it for quick and easy removal.
For discoloured or scratched corning ware, Irma soaks it in a bit of bleach before washing it in sudsy water.
#15 All Buttoned-Up
From Sasha:
In order to make mornings easier, Sasha pre-buttons all of his shirts save for the top two. Then, on his way out the door, he can save himself a few seconds by slipping the shirt over his head like a tee – doing up the final two buttons as he begins his daily commute.
#16 Butter Up
From Val:
Val offered up a couple of hacks revolving around butter, of all things. When butter comes on sale, she buys a few blocks and then cuts each one into 8 equal pieces. Then she wraps them back up and pops them in the freezer. Any time, a recipe requires a 1/4 cup of butter or she needs some for her butter dish, they’re easy to break off and put to use.
Once the butter blocks have been used, Val then keeps the foil wrappers in a ziplock bag in the freezer. Any time she is required to grease a pan before baking, she grabs one of the wrappers and spreads what’s left on it around the pan.
#17 Pass it On
From Cathy:
When heading on road trips, Cathy always ensures to bring along a pair of barbecue tongs. They are perfect for passing back snacks and other items into the far reaches of a mini-van or SUV.
Another hack she swears by is freezing all manner of leftovers in muffin tins. Cathy freezes leftover spaghetti sauce, taco meat, even soup – in muffin tins. Once frozen, she transfers the frozen portions into a ziplock bag. She finds that muffin tins make for perfectly proportioned leftovers.
#18 The Perfect Ending
From Alice:
“I wish I had some good life hacks . . . Great idea! My only life hack is – keep getting up every day and doing your best while being kind to yourself. Self-compassion is key.”