Patricia Grisafi
Ah, life hacks. The things that are supposed to help make your life easier, but actually make your life harder — depending on the hack, of course. So, are there any life hacks that are truly useful? On Reddit, people are sharing the simplest ones — and simple is usually better. Things that involve one step or that you can do while doing something else. Things that don’t take a lot of time. Things that can help you cut corners. As one user said, “You don’t have to follow the rules.”
1. Flipping Pill Bottles
“I flip my pill bottles after taking them so I remember if I took them or not. really helps if you take the same pill in morning and at night.” — rachwiddabangs
2. Pillow Between The Knees
“Sleeping with a pillow between my knees. No more lower back pain.” — fiddyk50
3. Working At The Library
“I stopped doing any kind of work in my dorm room at college and only did it at the libraries. Not only did I become way more productive, but I enjoyed being in my room a lot more. It’s way more comfortable (and easier) to fall asleep when you’ve taken a 15 minute walk home then when you’ve been working at your desk in the same room for 4 hours.” — NoLifeMax
4. Cooking Is Cleaning
“The chef who taught me to cook said at the get go, 90% of cooking is cleaning.” — LAGreggM
5. Put It Away
“Don’t put it down, put it away.” — acardy
6. Socks
“I bought 24 pairs of the same socks and threw the rest of miss matching ones away. I have a couple ‘winter socks’ and that’s it.” — familiarfate01
7. Notepad On The Door
“Having a notepad on my pantry door. When I take something out I jot it down voila instant shopping list.” — that_other_goat
8. Moisturizing
“Moisturizing my face right after the shower.” — Bookies44
9. Celebrate Your Day
“When I’m trying to sleep in bed at night I go over what I did that day and think of everything I did in a positive light or as if it’s part of a goal I’m working towards. I’ve never been depressed (or at least diagnosed with it!) but this helps feeling like I’ve accomplished something and I can feel better about what I’ve done. Celebrate every little thing you did, and also it helps me fall asleep a little bit faster too.” — anderoogigwhore
10. Thank You
“Saying ‘thank you’ instead of apologizing for things that don’t need apologies. I’m a chronic apologizer and it’s helped a lot. For example, if I have a bad day and vent to my husband, instead of saying ‘sorry for venting and bringing down the mood’ I’ll say ‘thank you for listening and being supportive.’ It puts a much more appreciative and positive light on your relationships!” — thegracefuldork
11. Thirty Seconds
“Every time I leave a room I spend less than thirty seconds tidying or doing one task. Pickup a pillow off the floor. Return a glass to the kitchen. Going to the bathroom, carry up some laundry. Literally every time I leave a room. It’s such a habit now that I don’t even think about it but I do notice that my home is always tidy. I also have a home for everything in my house. I literally never lose anything. You have to take a step back occasionally and think about the location of things logically. When an item is very economical to buy, I own multiples for sake of ease. Scissors in the kitchen, office and bathroom. Makes life easier and saves so much time. The flip side of that is always storing like things in one location. Batteries, no matter the type all in one location with battery chargers. I never throw them in a random drawer.” — Lindsey-905
12. Alarm Clock
“My alarm clock is across the room, requiring me to get out of bed to turn it off. Prevents me from falling back asleep.” — soik90
13. Brushing Teeth With The Kids
“I brush my teeth as part of my daughter’s bedtime routine. This keeps me from snacking late at night since my teeth already feel clean and I don’t want to mess them up before bed. I’ve lost about 5″ from my waist, and it keeps me accountable to brush my teeth before I’m too tired to care.” — petethepianist
14. Break Time
“A work from home life hack I adopted was using break time from work to do low mental energy chores. Stuff like dusting furniture and vacuuming the pool is a nice break from the mental energy of working and I’m getting stuff done.” — drakeallthethings
15. Don’t Follow The Rules
“You don’t have to follow the rules. Doing half the dishes is better than doing none. Having a clean hamper and a dirty hamper is completely acceptable. Nobody said the socks in your drawer had to be paired up, either. Focus on one thing in general and apply it to the whole house that day, like just do floors or surfaces. There’s nothing wrong with your kids being bored sometimes, that’s their problem. Let them figure it out, but don’t limit what they’re able to do. You don’t have to ‘pick’ what to have for dinner every night, we rotate through staples every week. If we get bored, we just eat what we feel like. Nothing wrong with a bowl of cereal and a sandwich for dinner, as long as everyone’s fed and the rest of the day wasn’t junk.” — vampiratemirajah
16. Long Walks In The Morning
“Taking my dog for a 20 min. walk first thing in the morning to get my brain and body moving.” — Always_Trying01
17. Double Task
“I do squats when I brush my teeth.” — Shartran
Featured Image: Pexels
