40 People Reveal Their Strangest Life Hacks That Weirdly Work
Reddit has always been a goldmine for oddly effective advice, and someone recently asked a simple but brilliant question: “What are your weirdest life hacks that genuinely work?”
Thousands of users chimed in with tips that sound bizarre, maybe even ridiculous, but according to the internet hive mind, they actually work. From kitchen tricks to brain hacks, here are some of the best, weirdest, and most oddly useful answers. Some of these may sound like they belong in a cartoon, but Redditors insist they work. Of course, your mileage may vary, but it might be worth trying a few next time life throws something weird your way.
#1
Do the washing up straight after eating. It always feels so much harder when it sits there for ages piling up.
#2
Image source: Dangerous_Stay_63, Solen Feyissa/Unsplash
Get rid of your facebook.
#3
Image source: Ok_Distribution8189, prostock-studio/Freepik
If you exert force from your top lip as well as your bottom lip at the same time, you have the ability to shut your mouth and keep your opinions to yourself. A life hack that a lot of people need to know about and should be using during certain events.
#4
Image source: Hold-the-door-2021, Elisabeth Jurenka/Unsplash
The realization that I didn’t always have to be doing something. Sometimes or whenever I want I can do absolutely nothing and its ok.
#5
Image source: thorpie88, Sandra Seitamaa/Unsplash
If you have stuff to do after work just go do it. Don’t have a bit of a sit down and a break because you’ll lose all motivation to get it done.
#6
Image source: Never_Gonna_Let, a_mededkov/Freepik
Wait a good 15~20 years at least after talking to someone to get your revenge plan in motion. Far fewer people will suspect you.
#7
Image source: petitemystique11, stockking/Freepik
Learning to say “no” without feeling guilty. It freed up so much time and energy for things I actually care about, and honestly, it’s been a game-changer for my mental health and productivity! 🙌.
#8
Image source: Healthy-Influence-78, Getty Images/Unsplash
Get a wireless vacuum cleaner, vacuuming becomes fun and is way easier than with a traditional unit. Doesn’t even have to be a Dyson, other brands work just fine.
#9
I never preheat the oven when making a frozen pizza. I put it in the oven, turn it on and add 4 minutes to the time on the package. It always comes out with a perfectly crisp crust.
#10
Image source: dinan101, freepik
If you can get it done in less than two minutes, do it now.
#11
Image source: Interesting-Cow8131, tourist07/Freepik
If I have to take something to work that won’t fit in my purse, I’ll put my keys with that item (and yes, even if it’s in the fridge, lol). So when I go to leave and look for my keys, I’ll remember.
#12
Image source: gilly248, Nimra jabbar/Freepik
Spring clean one cupboard or shelf a week. By that I mean empty, sort, toss, wipe down and put things back in an orderly way. A little bit every week soon adds up. Your home looks great and it’s so great to be able to find things without digging around for them.
#13
Image source: UnicornPenguinCat, Ksenia Bondarchuk/Unsplash
I don’t know how weird this is, but we use clothes pegs to seal open bags of things in the pantry and fridge to keep them fresh, e.g. chips, bags of mixed salad, etc. It works really well. .
#14
Image source: anon, Hrant Khachatryan/Unsplash
Get some mental health help. i started taking some light medication and i’m much happier.
#15
Image source: anon, Getty Images/Unsplash
Leave your phone downstairs and just get an alarm clock – no going downstairs until you’ve showered/are out of your pyjamas.
#16
Image source: Unlucky-Butterfly-56, freepik
If you suffer from procrastination or anxiety , split what you want to do into small tasks then focus on the task not the primary objective to avoid escalating things in your mind
Sometimes our minds exaggerate things in order to protect us from disappointment and change which leads to resistance.
#17
Image source: WonderOk9463, matthew Feeney/Unsplash
Treat your life questions as a research topic and use google scholar, there are no new s**t under the sun. Books and knowledge are your best friend.
#18
Image source: Siukslinis_acc, Mark Paton/Unsplash
Wear ear protection to get better quality music during concert. My theory is that eqr protection blocks the reboundig sounds, so you don’t hear duplication. It also makes lyrics more hearable.
#19
Image source: pakidara, Branden Skeli/Unsplash
Hang Christmas lights in the living room.
They provide the perfect lighting for a movie night.
#20
Image source: freshcoastghost, freepik
Put stuff back where it belongs when you are through using it. Keeps things clean, uncluttered and you know where everything is.
#21
Image source: cfc1016, freepik
I don’t really get criticised for this, but noone else seems to find it particularly interesting, so…
I try to always clip my nails right after a shower. They’re softer after prolonged water exposure (in line with ‘pruny hands’). It makes them cut cleaner and easier (yes, even the big toe), and they don’t fly across the room.
#22
Image source: SMTRodent, Kateryna Hliznitsova/Unsplash
Wiping the bathroom down for thirty seconds once a day pretty much keeps it clean, even if you start with an absolutely filthy bathroom. It will slowly get cleaner and cleaner and then stay there, and much more quickly than you would expect.
#23
Image source: Rad_Knight, EyeEm/Freepik
Need to clean a cup stained by tea? Baking powder works wonders to get rid of them.
Secifically baking powder, not baking soda.
#24
Image source: DisastrousLaugh1567, marazemgaliete/Freepik
Store fresh ginger root in the freezer. It grates easier and you don’t have to peel it.
You can cut the sugar by 1/3 to 1/2 in most recipes with no change in flavor.
Do gift shopping year round. If you see something a friend or relative would like for a gift 6 months before their birthday, get it anyway, put it in a “gift spot” and then you’re ready to go. Prevents both stress and overspending.
#25
Image source: wifeunderthesea, EyeEm/Freepik
If you are a hoarder or have trouble getting rid of things in your house and so you live in clutter, pick up an item and ask yourself if it was covered in poop would you try to clean it off or just toss that item in the trash.
whatever you’d choose to throw away, donate it. you’ll find out very quickly how little you care about a lot of s**t you have been holding onto.
#26
Living below my means.
Image source: SoberSilo
#27
Image source: Amakeshma, Behnam Norouzi/Unsplash
Actually using my calendar.
#28
I have my house as a contact on my phone. In Notes, I have things like AC filter dimensions, and other details.
I have my pets as contacts, with important dates and registration numbers for the show dogs.
Image source: Novel-Sprinkles3333
#29
Image source: run-for-cover-zoot, fabrikasimf/freepik
I bought a Brother high speed scanner. Every piece of paper now gets scanned. Discarded unless it’s required to be kept.
#30
Image source: blue-white-dragon2, Victoria Romulo/Unsplash
Learn how to accept rejection gracefully it will happen to everyone
The sooner you stop blaming everyone else and work on you that is when you will grow.
#31
Image source: lexniko, Hamed Mohtashami pouya/Unsplash
Regular Coca Cola for a migraine or severe headache.
#32
Brushing my teeth when I have a craving I know I shouldn’t give in to. Midnight junk food? = Gone.
Emotional snacking? = Blocked.
Somehow minty-fresh mouth equals “we’re done here.”
Also: putting my phone in black & white mode. Makes social media feel like reading a tax document. Instantly less addictive.
Image source: joes_korner
#33
While everyone is sharing their unique life hacks, I’ve got to add mine to the mix. Whenever I borrow a pen from someone, I always put the cap on the end of my shirt or hoodie string. It’s a tiny adjustment, but it ensures that I never walk off with someone else’s pen because the moment I stand up or feel the cap against my body, it triggers my memory to return it. It’s a small gesture of respect but it’s saved me from that awkward moment of being called a “pen thief” more times than I can count! Plus, I make sure to choose pens that click instead of ones with removable caps for my own use if I’m lending it out, no risk of losing the cap either.
Image source: Rosemary_Pick
#34
I *hate* to hunt things; such a time waster. I don’t hunt for “it,” I go to the thing’s *assigned place.* When I walk in the door my keys go to one spot on a shelf by the garage door. Cell has two places; beside my chair or my studio/work place … no other spot. Purse hangs on my coat rack.
When I come home I never toss things wherever; it goes to its *place.* That works in my studio, which has had the same arrangement for decades; easel here, taboret beside it. Supplies in specific drawers in a chest. I don’t hunt for my colored pencils, I go to their *drawer.*
I developed the habit in the AF; in a medical crisis you don’t have time to hunt for something you go to its *assigned place* in the supply closet, grab it and get back to the patient. That formula works for literally everything.
Image source: prpslydistracted
#35
Point and say.
Like, I have Invisalign right now (last 2 years), and like they say, the trays are invisible. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve lost those f*****s on the rock countertop! When you’re hangry and in the kitchen, you tend to forget where you set your teeth down in a quest for food.
I learned to point at them and say out loud to myself where they are.
It has worked for my cell phone, garden tools, work gloves, car keys, knitting needles, etc…
Image source: AQUEON
#36
There’s a left turn to get to my house at a stop light with cars a mile long waiting to turn left but if you go straight through the stop light there’s a left turn with no stop light a few hundred feet ahead you can turn left no problem and double back to the road home no problem been doing this for years don’t want anyone else knowing about it lol.
Image source: Handofdoom222
#37
I put mouthwash in my waterpik/water flosser. Now I am doing mouthwash and flossing at the same time and getting a deeper clean!
Image source: ClassicVegtableStew
#38
Only using a tablespoon of laundry detergent. My clothes feel so much cleaner and now my detergent lasts FOR MONTHS on end!
Image source: anon
#39
Make a note in your phone with all things your SO would like as a present. Whenever they mention something or just seem to fancy it, add it to the list. When their birthday or Christmas comes you can just look up what you would like to gift them and they will very likely love your present, while you don’t have any trouble deciding.
Image source: Sunzi270
#40
Image source: KindaSlowSometimes, Pablo Merchán Montes/Unsplash
If you get over whatever you’re addicted to (and you definitely are to something) then you’ll probably have a lot more free time and money to do actually meaningful things.
That’s the best life hack I could ever give someone. Be in control, not controlled by your own impulsive behavior.
Got wisdom to pour?