Eight life-hacks to make life a little simpler

If you have often knocked your car door once you’ve parked in your garage or struggled to remember which keys open which door, amongst many other things, here are eight ideas to help you out:

• If you need to remove a stripped nail when the screwdriver can no longer grip on the nail to unscrew it, use a rubber band. Simply place a portion of the band over the nail before using the screwdriver again. The rubber will help the screwdriver to grip and unscrew the nail
• If you are prone to accidently knocking your car door on the wall when you park in your garage get an old pool noodle and slice it in half from the top to the bottom. You should be left with a long cylindrical shape with one flat side. Determine at what height your car door touches the wall and glue the noodle horizontally at the corresponding height. This way, if you park too closely to the wall, your car door will safely open against the noodle

Read Tuesday Life Hack: 5 ways to use less plastic in your home

• You want iced water on the go without having to wait for the ice to thaw first? Fill your plastic water bottle only a quarter of the way. Place it in the freezer by laying it on its side and leave overnight. In the morning, you should be able to fill the empty half of the bottle with water and have ice cold water to go
• If you need to clean a stubbornly dirty microwave, fill a bowl with water and microwave it for two to three minutes. The steam will loosen any dried up food bits for easy cleaning. You could even add some slices of lemon. Be careful when removing the hot water bowl and remember to use a cloth or oven mitts
• Collect the plastic bread tags that you find on your loaves of bread to use as tags. You can write on them with a permanent marker and hook them on the various cords of your gadgets to keep wires organised
• If you don’t want to spend money on key labels, paint the ends of your door keys with different shades of nail polish that coordinate with your doors. This way, you will remember which key belongs to which door or spot the correct key faster. It will also save the space on your key rings that key labels would’ve taken up
• Glue a small magnet on the butt-end of your hammer. You can use this to hold the nails you’ll need for the project at hand or to pick up loose or stray nails
• Use an old milk bottle as a cheap alternative to a watering can. Clean the bottle thoroughly and poke holes into the lid. Fill with water, close the lid and water away. You can even paint flowers on the bottle to give it a cute garden look.

What other life-hacks have you discovered to make life a little easier? Share them with us on @RK_Gazette