25 Awesome Life Hacks You Won’t Believe You Lived Without

Once canvas shoes get wet, it seems like they stay wet forever. However, if you take an unscented candle and rub it thoroughly against the shoe and proceed to melt it with a hairdryer, the wax will disappear and act as a protective coating to the shoe.

There are a number of different remedies to help relieve a sore throat. However, you probably never considered eating marshmallows to help it. That’s right, the gelatin in marshmallows coats and soothes a sore throat.

If you’re struggling to lose weight, drinking 2.5 cups of green tea a day could help. Studies have shown people eating a regular diet that drank green tea lost 2.9 pounds in a 12-week period.

If you have large ink stains on fabric, try using WD-40. WD-40 is an industrial strength solvent that can help remove it. Just be careful; it’ll damage delicate fabrics.

If you find those tiny Silica packets from the clothes or other products you bought, don’t throw them away. Instead, find places that might get moisture damage like a bathroom drawer, and put them in there instead.

Are you finding your brown sugar always getting hard as a rock? Simply take a piece of bread and put it in the container. Pretty soon, your brown sugar will be back to normal.

Without a plunger on hand, it can be difficult to clear out your toilet or sink if the pipes are backed up. However, if you get a large water or pop bottle and cut off the top, you can use it as a plunger instead.

Paranoid about pick-pockets or thieves when you travel overseas? One easy way to hide some emergency cash is to use an empty chapstick container. Simply take out the middle part and put in some rolled up dollar bills.

Stripped screw holes are the worst. To fix this problem, break off a match inside a stripped screw hole to make it hold again.

To find out if your alkaline batteries are dead, drop them from 6 inches on a flat surface, negative side down. If they bounce once (or not at all) and fall over or stay standing, they’re full. If they bounce more, they’re dead.

No one likes stinky shoes, especially because they’re hard to clean and have smelling fresh again. If you have this problem, putting a couple of dryer sheets inside them overnight should solve it.

Speaking of dryer sheets…Frizzy and staticky hair can be quite the nuisance. Fortunately, if you take a dryer sheet and stick it to the base of your brush, you’ll never have the problem again.

Ever want pancakes but don’t want to spend the time to make the batter? Well, if you clean out a ketchup bottle, make the batter and pour it in, then you’ll have ready-to-go pancake batter for pancakes that will come out perfect. Just make sure to store the batter in the fridge.

Everyone struggles with the problem of organizing all the leftover computer or media cables lying around the house. If you want to organize them, simply grab a large shoe box and put in empty toilet paper cardboard rolls. The cables fit inside each roll and it works like charm.

It’s easy to use tape and throw it back in the drawer, only to come back and wonder where the tape starts again. It’s frustrating trying to find that one spot. Well, next time, get a paperclip and stick it to the starting point before you put the tape away. You’ll thank yourself later.

While chopping onions during cooking preparation, you should wear swim goggles to stop the tears before they start. It might look silly but it works. 

Tired of having tons of gift cards with very little money on them? $1.23 won’t do you much good unless you go for a candy bar. Well, depending on the state you live in, if the gift cards have less than $10, the companies are legally required to give you the change in cash.

Most people shove all their cleaning supplies underneath a bathroom sink or in the closet, only to struggle to find the right thing later. To fix this problem, get a hanging shoe rack and stick the supplies in each slot.

No one likes standing in an elevator and having to stop at each floor before reaching their own. If you need to get to your floor quickly and the only one in the elevator, push the close door button and hold it. Then, push the floor you need to go to. The elevator should ignore all other floors and go right to your own. Quick side note, however, in some elevators those “door close” buttons don’t work at all and are just placebos.

If you have rusty tools you don’t use anymore, don’t throw them away. Instead, soak them in vinegar and salt water. You might need to scrub it afterward. Of course, when the rust is gone, make sure to dry them off.

Depending on where you live, you might be used to using Celsius or Fahrenheit. If you’re suddenly trying to figure out the difference, you can convert Celsius to Fahrenheit by doubling the Celsius number and adding 28 to it.

To make luggage easier to find while waiting at baggage claim, beforehand wrap a brightly colored piece of fabric around the handle. You’ll know instantly it’s yours, and there’s a smaller chance someone else will mistake it for their luggage.

Need a quick and easy stand for your cell phone? Simply grab a pair of sunglasses and flip them upside down. Instant success.

If disgusting juices end up at the bottom of your trash can even with a plastic bag, put old newspaper at the bottom as an extra layer of protection.

If you find yourself constantly shuffling through keys, trying to find out which is which, then use different color nail polish to color the tops of each key.