LIFE "HACKS" TO SAVE YOU TIME
We are going to try a new, regular feature called "hacks". "Hacks" in its current usage, it means "Life Hacks" - a strategy or technique to manage one's time and daily activities in a more efficient way. We will include a few "hacks", often accompanied by a photograph, to make your daily life easier.
Hacks in the Garage: One of the ways burglars get into your house in through the garage. Most of our garage door mechanisms have a pull-string to pull “pros” can snake a wire hangar or some other device to grab that string and pull it from the outside, open the garage door and possibly enter your home. If you cut that string and make it a little shorter, that won’t happen. You can still pull the cord from the inside, but the “bad guys" can’t!
Another hack for your garage is, if you have a great car, you might rub the walls of the garage (either fronting in or backing in). I suggest getting a few “pool snakes” or pipe insulators, tape them to your walls (good duct tape) just where your car might touch the walls. Remember to cut them at an angle if both doors open.
Another hack for your garage is, if you have a great car, you might rub the walls of the garage (either fronting in or backing in). I suggest getting a few “pool snakes” or pipe insulators, tape them to your walls (good duct tape) just where your car might touch the walls. Remember to cut them at an angle if both doors open.

Baby Food Jars: After using all the food in a baby food jar, clean it complete inside and out. Now, get a flat board and fasten the top to the underside of the board. With the caps fastened to the board, you can store nails, screws and other do-dads in the jars and you have easy access to whatever is stored in those jars if you fasten this board to the underside of a shelf or a wall. The jars are clear and you can unscrew the jars when you need the product which is stored in them.

Chinese Food Takeout: We’ve all ordered Chinese takeout before, brought it home, and dumped it out onto our own plates. Either that, or we just eat it straight out of the carton. However, we’re sad to inform you that you’re doing it all wrong. The reason that Chinese (and other food) takeout boxes are flat is that they are designed to be their own plate. While the food is still inside the container, you can (easily, but carefully) pull the sides apart and set it flat on the table. If you did everything correctly, your meal will be sitting on a flat and perfectly usable plate. It’s crazy how easy it is to pull this off and even crazier that more people don’t realize why takeout containers are shaped as they are.

No Over Spray: To spray a non-stick on bakeware or pans before using, open your dishwasher door and resting the bakeware ON THE DOOR, THEN overspray, the excess will go in the dishwasher, and the pan will be ready. Submitted by Connie Spencer. Thank you Connie!

Sink Clean up: One cup of Listerine Mouthwash in your garbage disposal overnight will remove the bad odor from your disposal and she said it really works! From Shirley Springer and her daughter. Thanks Shirley!

Keyring Help: Have you ever tried to add a key to a keyring. Well, most keyrings require you get one of these tightly wound rings to open. It’s a very difficult job, but if you pry it open with a standard staple remover, you might save you fingernails and make it easier.
Painting Hack: Another hack, for today, is to take a large rubberband and wrap it vertically across the paint can. This will allow you to create a nifty device to gently rub excess paint off your brush. You will save much paint and keep just enough paint on your brush.

Quick Fix Using WD-40 - For most people, they deal with hard water which over time can make cause things to become harder to do. For example, your shower or bath faucets, as hard water build-up, turning the hot water knob can become increasingly more difficult. Or the same can happen with the shower/bath diverter spout (that little thing you pull that will make the water come out of the faucet or showerhead). Instead of taking apart your faucet or paying a plumber to come to fix it, you can use WD-40. Just take a can of WD-40 (preferably one with a long flexible hose) and spray it inside of your faucet. The WD-40 will loosen up the hard water and make the diverter work as smoothly as day one. The same goes for a hard to turn shower knob, a sprits of WD-40 and it will work like brand new.

Handy Way to Serve Condiments - Summer is waning, but if you’re having friends over for an “end of summer” bash, or for any other reason, you can always use an old muffin or cupcake baking pan, put a cupcake paper and your own idea, and use it to serve condiments.

Remove Candle Wax From Furniture Using Ice Cubes - If you ever spill candle wax on a piece of furniture, don't risk ruining its finish by trying to scrape it off. Instead, fill a plastic bag with ice cubes, place it over the wax, and let it sit for a few minutes. Once the wax has sufficiently cooled and hardened, you can pick it up easily without ruining your furniture's finish or fabric.

Kitchen Sink and Tub Tips - Hack for your kitchen sink holding water or your tub won't drain after another at home haircut, there's an easy solution to those plumbing woes that doesn't involve a trip to the store. "Coffee grounds can be mixed with dish soap and boiling water to unclog drains," says Alex Azoury, founder and CEO of Home Grounds. Azoury recommends mixing the grounds with soap and adding the mixture into your drain, following it up with a lengthy pour of boiling water, the combination of which will break up whatever's clogging your pipes.

Killing Pests - Cigars are pure-leaf tobacco. Break up a cigar into thirds or quarters, crumble it up and place into ash trays or jar caps. Place them at different spots around the house. Most pests (even scorpions) are drawn to these and will gorge themselves and die!

Bubble Gum - Place wads of juicy bubble gum on your back retaining walls. The smell of the sweet fructose will draw the pests and they will be drawn to the back of your property and become stuck, just like fly paper!

Killing Germs - UVC light wands are all the rage now. Just hold it on and scan for ten seconds and you're good. Anywhere from $20 to $80 online or in hardware stores.

Ends of Roll Tape - Use paper clips to easily find the end of the tape roll.

Scorpion Prevention - Most of our garage floors have concrete blocks with a groove usually going down the middle. My handyman laid grout into the center groove of the concrete for about six inches where the garage door touches the floor. This seals off the center groove so that scorpions cannot enter when the garage door is closed.

Gas Cap Location - In almost every car built since 2010, there is an arrow on your gar gauge to show which side of the car has the gas filling location. You probably know this for the car you drive, but if you rent, this could be valuable.
If you have any daily like HACKS you would like to submit, please send them to [email protected]