Easy Hacks to Minimize Waste, Save Anguish, and Simplify Life

We’ve All Experienced Mini Panics From Burned Rice For Arriving Guests or Spilled Red Wine on White Upholstery During the Party — Hacks #1

Some clever hacks using plain white bread

We’ve all been there — red wine, chocolate stain, burned rice. How to salvage our mess?

An admitted nerd, I love learning, even if the information isn’t immediately useful. Intrigued by ingenious hacks, I thought it might be fun to regularly share some cool ones.

How about boring white bread?

✅ Leftover celebratory store-bought sheet cake?

Along the open side where pieces of cake were cut and served, line up half-slices of white bread to prevent the remaining cake from drying out.

✅ Burned the rice again?

Plop a slice of white bread on top of the burned rice for 5–10 minutes. The charred taste will be eliminated, and rice will be edible. (I just learned this, but it might have saved a few tossed pots of rice).

✅ A nasty wood sliver in your finger?

Saturate a small piece of bread with hot water. Cover your finger with a bandage. As the bread cools, the sliver will slide out.

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Save Time and Money and Reduce Pain: Down and Dirty Life Tips — Hacks #2

For paper cuts, liquid soap, and wrinkled clothing

Sometimes recommended hacks are plain goofy or more time-consuming than the purported payoff. Hence, these simple ones…

✅ The painful paper cut?

Apply lip balm. How easy is that?

✅ Wasting liquid soap from dispensers?

We all overuse soap from dispensers because the bottles are designed with oversized openings. It is the marketing strategy.

Place a tightly wrapped rubber band between the pump spigot and bottle cap. I needed two rubber bands on mine to reduce the pump distance and save soap. But it definitely works!

✅ Wrinkled shirt with no available iron?

Though an iron may be considered an “antique object” by many, it is a useful implement that you may not own.

Roll shirt as if packing for luggage. Place under a mattress for one hour. The wrinkles supposedly disappear. I tried but forgot the shirt for 24 hours (oops); it was still wrinkled. So, no personal testimonial from me.

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Simple Lifestyle Hacks or Worthless Information, Depending Upon Your Perspective— Hacks #3

Prevent stains on kids’ clothes and keep bagels fresh

✅ Dripping ice cream, popsicles, and frozen treats?

Cut a slit in the bottom of a ubiquitous red Solo or similar plastic cup. Slide a wooden stick of the frozen treat through the slit, allowing the cup to catch the mess.

Though designated for the messiest creatures on earth — children — we sloppier grown-ups might find utility, too.

✅ A bagel is a few days old and stale?

Wet a paper towel. Wrap it around the bagel. Place it in the microwave for 10 to 20 seconds. It should emerge as if freshly baked.

Bagels become stale and tough after a couple of days. In a taste test with serious bagel aficionados, the majority thought the reconstituted bagel was fresh from the oven. I tried it; it works!

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Advice For Dreaded Red Wine, Juice, or Coffee Stains on White Carpet — Hacks #4

Prevent anguish and avoid expensive carpet replacement

Scads of online suggestions exist about removing carpet stains. The key is not to screw up — as I did — before researching the proper method of removal.

My disaster was cranberry juice, not red wine.

Who in their right mind installs white carpets? Honestly, it was a hot design trend in times past. A dear friend offered me her lovely white-carpeted home as a temporary residence. I had made a colossal mess.

Immediately, out of instinct, I drowned the stain with water. This was a ginormous mistake because, unbeknownst to me, I set the stain.

I tried various solutions, including: 1) a fantabulous carpet cleaner that I had used for decades, 2) multiple online fixes, and 3) a top-notch professional cleaning service.

There was a definite improvement, but a pink hue lingered. Not good enough. A significant carpet replacement expense looked inevitable. I wasn't happy!

However, I kept experimenting with online remedies. Finally, something worked — a hot steam iron with a towel and various recommended online preparations. Whew!

Moral: Don’t set the stain like I did by immediately applying water to remove it. Research first the best steps!

Your time is valuable. Thanks for spending some of it here. Victoria

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