Life Hacks
So I was having a problem with moisture in my car. My windows would never defog. The insides would be coated in water and moisture. Probably from getting into my car after working out.
Anyway, I put a small bucket of rock salt in my car on the floor. Problem solved. The salt absorbs all of the moisture.
Now your turn.
No way! You've told me to go there before, but I refuse! haha
Christina is obsessed. She's on Pinterest every spare minute. I have enough social networking in my life.
That's why we'll bring the Life Hacks here. lol
Although, if you have any good Life Hacks in your Pinterest, I'll check them out. Just link the board they're on or something. 
The plastic top on a gallon of milk is exactly 1 tbsp.
Order food by phone to skip waiting in line. Even if you order from the parking lot.
Put the address you mean to send a letter to in the "return address" slot. Make up an address for the letter. Don't stamp it. Free postage (only works within the same zipcode.)
If you're not getting a cell signal, find the nearest guard rail and balance your phone on it while you call. It works as a gigantic miles long antennae.
Use frozen grapes instead of ice cubes to avoid water in your drinks.
Expensive leave in conditioners are just regular conditioners with water added.
If you're not sure if someone is listening to you, cross your arms as you speak. If they're listening, they'll change the position of their arms as well.
Use the floormats from inside your car to get traction beneath your wheels if you're stuck in a snowbank.
I can go on forever.
Cool.
Go ahead. ah ha
If you want to wake up alert, don't count back 8 hours from the time you want to wake up. Count back in intervals of 90 minutes to decide when you should go to sleep. Most sleep cycles only last 90 minutes.
If you forget someone's name, ask them. When they tell you their first name, to avoid slighting them, follow up with "No, no, I mean your last name!" They'll think you knew their first name all along.
Hang your clothes on the door inside the bathroom while showering to get rid of wrinkles.
Anywhere there are few public outlets (airport, coffee shop, etc) bring a power strip. You'll make friends and avoid awkward seating power struggles.
Your best photogenic angle is always when you angle your forehead toward the camera slightly.
If you give someone a list of options and prefer they pick a specific one, incline your head slighty when mentioning that option, but not the others. Generally this will signal a visual cue and they'll remember that option over the rest and will choose it rather than asking you to repeat the list.
When trying to access a website that's blocked on a network, use https instead of http.
I can go on forever.
Please do, these are brilliant.
Pete, All mine are a bunch of mom thing and household cleaning things. I'm not sure that they'd be useful to you, but I'll think of some and post them.
I've heard of the waking up alert one. Have you tried that? And I'd wonder if that's an average. Like maybe my sleep cycle is 85 minutes and yours is 95...
If you become homeless suddenly, use your remaining money to buy a gym membership. You'll have access to a shower, locker, and other ammenities you wouldn't otherwise have until the end of the month.
Brush your teeth while you're showering to save time.
You can always always get free food anywhere that sells pastries, if you show up 5-10 minutes before closing.
Hand soap makes better hair gel than hair gel does.
Don't do favors in hopes of getting people to like you. Get them to do a favor for you. They automatically try to rationalize doing you a kindness and assume you're worth their time.
I can go on forever.
Please do, these are brilliant.
Pete, All mine are a bunch of mom thing and household cleaning things. I'm not sure that they'd be useful to you, but I'll think of some and post them.
I can always ALWAYS use cleaning and household tips.
I've not tried the sleep cycle thing, because I suffer from chronic insomnia. But I've heard people swear by it.
A little bit of vinegar in a little bit of water on a coffee filter works wonders on windows.
Experiment with taking melatonin. I have trouble falling asleep because of my weird work schedule. It works for me. But some people it kicks in right away. Other people it takes a little longer. I usually take it and then lay in bed reading some fiction for until I start feeling a bit drowsy.
If you want someone to reveal information they otherwise wouldn't- offer false information about the same topic first. Usually their ego will take over and they'll be more inclined to correct you than they will be to protect their knowledge.
Always ask for upgrades (hotels, insurance policies, phone plans.) You lose nothing by being denied but more times than not, they will upgrade you simply for going the extra step.
Always agree with people when arguing. Just prefacing your counter argument with "You are absolutely right, but" or "I completely agree, however," will make them more open to your ideas. Also, you can completely bypass what they just told you by acting as if you're rephrasing their original idea. Begin with "Oh, what you're saying is," before paraphrasing what they just told you. Simply finish this statement by adding "because" and then asserting the original idea you were trying to make all together. This, however, really backfires if you're being passive agressive and you just look like a dick. Sincerity is key.
When you get a new router, change the name and password to exactly the same as your old router. All of your devices will connect automatically without having to reconfigure.
Black coffee also works extremely well, and doesn't streak.
Experiment with taking melatonin. I have trouble falling asleep because of my weird work schedule. It works for me. But some people it kicks in right away. Other people it takes a little longer. I usually take it and then lay in bed reading some fiction for until I start feeling a bit drowsy.
I'm in the same boat. I work two jobs, both shift work. One in the morning and one late at night. Sleep is less important to me than stretching and staying hydrated, at this point.
The tiniest drop of baby oil on a micro fiber cloth will shine anything you aim to shine.
Use a swiffer to smoosh spiders or any other kind of bug you can't bear to get your shoed foot close to. It's flat and it's at the end of a long pole.
Use swiffer clothes to clean baseboards and to rub black shoe marks out of tiles.
To polish sterling silver (and I mean it can be seriously corroded), line a pyrex with tin foil, place the silver pieces down on top of the foil, sprinkle with enough baking powder to cover all pieces, then pour boiling water over it all and gently slosh it around. The tarnish comes right off and you don't have to rub.
You can pretty much clean everything (except flat painted walls) with those generic Mr. Clean type sponge things. Try one of these and some plain old Windex every night after making dinner/cleaning up your stainless steel sink. The sink will look brand new every day.
Add about a cup of Lysol to a load of towels to get them extra extra bright and clean. Works better than bleach for some reason, especially if you have colored towels (not me, though. Only white towels in this house because I'm neurotic).
I got more I'll add next time I do some chores.
Too young to rent a car? Rent a small U-Haul instead. I can't tell you how many times we did this back in the day.
I've never tried this, but I heard that if you dust with a Bounce fabric softener sheet, it will repel the dust for a longer amount of time.
Stinky shoes? Put a dryer sheet in them to soak up any extra odors.
If you forget someone's name, ask them. When they tell you their first name, to avoid slighting them, follow up with "No, no, I mean your last name!" They'll think you knew their first name all along.
When I forget someones name I just ask them what their name is without any cleverness. I find most people appreciate the honesty and we all move on.
If you are meeting someone wait five minutes into the conversation to exchange names, or ask them again after five minutes (same if you have forgotten their name have bumped into them and plan on asking them what their name is.) Five minutes of conversation gives your brain a frame of reference to attach the name to, whatever you have learned about them, instead of a blank new face.
I wanna know how to clean fine bone china and don't tell me salt because I've tried, or ammonia, because I don't think we have it in the house. There's half a circle of grey stain and it won't vanish, with all the tough cleaning products I use.
Hattie might help with that, I remember her saying her mother had a bone china tea set.
The frozen grapes instead of ice is a good one, thanks!
I thought one sleep cycle was 45 minutes? Maybe that's just for babies though.
I have no Life Hack, I've never even heard of that expression.
Frozen grapes are just good in general. If you google "frozen grapes" right now, the first search result is a philosophical inquiry as to whether or not they are better than sex. I didn't click on it but I understand how torn the writer must feel.
I have never eaten a frozen grape.
That I recall.
Oh, you'd remember.
I've given them to Lucy in her fruit bag. She loves them.
So I have a heap of frozen grapes in the freezer.
She's eating halved unfrozen grapes by herself now (still no teeth). So I can use some of our frozen graped for meeeeeeeee!
Pete are you on Pinterrest? It's Life Hacks to the nth.