These tricks are things things that I have discovered or learned that make my life easier. They all relate to the kitchen or things I keep in my kitchen.
- The toaster tray
My son, Jonathan, worked at a oilsands workcamp for a time as the kitchen helper. One of his jobs was to clean the toasters. One day when he was home I saw him remove the tray under the toaster, dump the crumbs and put it back. When I cleaned the toaster, I would always unplug the toaster, take it over the garbage, shake the crap out of it, make a HUGE mess and then put it back. This is so much easier and less messy.
2. Sponge used as ice pack
This one I learned from work. When a child gets hurt and needs an icepack, a sponge is a much better alternative to a bought icepack or ice cubes in a baggie. This way, when they are done using it, you can throw out the bag (for sanitary reasons) and reuse the sponge for the next boo boo. I am wondering if it could be used for a cold pack in a cooler as well?
3. Less messy way to peel an orange
Instead of peeling the mandarin orange piece by piece, you cut off the top and bottom. I sliced the peel in one spot and pulled apart. It left me with three sections of orange that I could just pull the slices off from. This would also be more manageable for children to practice peeling.
4. Opening coffee creamer
We use a lot of creamer at our house. We like the International Delight Butter Pecan for coffee and the International Delight French Vanilla for tea. Although there is a small tab on the foil sealer for the bottle, I sometimes have trouble gripping it to pull it off. I recently discovered that the lid is made to punch a hole in the foil so you do not have to pull it off. So much easier.
5. Lower freezer door angles out for better access
I am not sure how many of you have a freezer at the bottom of your fridge. This is our first one in all of our moves. Jonathan discovered a few weeks ago, by accident, that the door can lean backwards at a 45° angle to provide easier access to the bottom compartment. We have lived here almost five years and did not realize it.
6. Pit cherries using a straw
My neighbour has a sour cherry tree and she usually gives me a bowl of them each year. This year, I wanted to freeze them so I tried to figure out how to pit them. I grabbed a sturdy plastic straw and pushed through and out popped the pit.
7. Store plastic bags in empty Lysol wipes container
Everyone has disinfectant wipes now that COVID is part of our everyday life. Why not use an empty container to store some plastic bags. Keep one in your car in case you ever need a bag or in a cupboard near your garbage can.
8. Packing tape as a lint brush
One summer at cadet camp I learned that using packing tape, sticky side up around your fingers, makes a great lint brush. It also works for picking up fake Christmas tree needles, pet hair off furniture, or crumbs off the counter.
9. Bread tie to help find edge of packing tape
I don’t know how many times I was asked at work to find the end of the tape. Most of my co-workers have fancy nails which are not great for doing certain tasks; one of them is finding the end of a tape roll. Put a bread tie at the edge. Unfortunately, It only works if the person using the tape puts it back.
10. Use newspaper to soak up drips
Place some newspaper at the bottom of your garbage can to soak up any leaks.
11. Use coffee grounds to unclog a drain.
My in-laws dump their coffee grounds down their sink daily and have never had any issues with clogging.
12. Use foil or sandpaper to quickly sharpen scissors.
I keep a folded piece of foil in my garden shed to sharpen my garden scissors. Now that I am sanding wood projects constantly, I also have scrap sandpaper lying around.
13. Remove plastic skirt or pant hanger clips and use as bag clips
I went searching for one to try this and came across this belt/tie hanger that I had put in a garage sale box. The clips slide right off and the clips have grips. They will work better than the wooden clothes pins I have been using for my vegetable bags in the freezer. Check out your closets and I bet there will be something there you are not using that would work.
14. Use mini marshmallows to keep your brown sugar from hardening
I always heard that putting a piece of apple inside the brown sugar worked to keep it from hardening. It also goes bad. Marshmallows are much less yucky.
15. Toasted sandwich with soft bread inside **MY FAVOURITE HACK*
If you put two slices of bread together into a toaster, the outside of your sandwich will be nicely toasted leaving the inside soft. Sometimes I find that a toasted sandwich, with bread toasted on both sides, hurts the top of my mouth. This method is much better and I only make toasted sandwiches this way now.
Let me know of any other light bulb moments that you may have had. Ideas that make life easier are even better when shared with others.
Really enjoyed your suggestions thanks Corinne
Very interesting. I will be definitely trying some of these.