Share Your Life Hacks!

[BecaS]

My intent is for this thread to be light-hearted, informative, humorous, inclusionary, far-ranging, and as eclectic as the crowd wants it to be.

What are your life hacks?

So much of thrifty/frugal/DIY living is labor intensive. Labor-intensive can also mean time intensive.

One of my favorite references (I know that this dates me) is from Amy Dacyczyn's "Tightwad Gazette" compilations. She wrote about the fatigue factor in frugal living as a realistic but mostly manageable by product of so much DIY. She said that she knew she was tired when an entire, intact piece of homemade pizza floated to the top of the dish water while she was washing dinner dishes.

Yeah, we are all familiar with that tired. I call it "stupid tired" when I'm walking into walls and undoing half the work I just did.

Part of making the frugal DIY lifestyle work, part of coping with the deferred gratification, the deliberate avoidance of impulse purchases, the eschewing of convenience foods and items in order to save money, is finding and developing your own life hacks.

These hacks can save money, or their primary mission may be to save time, or to save trips to the store, to save footsteps so you aren't running yourself ragged all day long, or to simply make life a little easier such that some of the DIY/frugal pressure is relieved, and thrift as a lifestyle is easier to maintain.

These tips and tricks are ALL OVER THE INTERNET and we've all probably participated in these threads and read these hacks over and over again. I never get tired of reading them though- even the ones I know and use. Seeing them again through another person's eyes, reading how another person incorporates them, reinforces their usefulness and often adds a dimension or information of which I was unaware. I always learn something new, even from the same old tricks!

I humbly request that you share your life hacks- frugal/thrifty DIY is great, but it doesn't have to be a purely thrifty tip. Anything that makes your life easier, that clears your daily path, that makes being thrifty and DIY a little easier to attain and maintain, or simply something awesome that you've discovered.

Please share!

[BecaS]

I'll add a few of mine to get started:

1. Pressure canning meats creates homemade "convenience foods." Buying meats in bulk at Costco, particularly when the meat is on sale, enables me to put 20 pint jars of meat in my pressure canner. This allows me to create the meat basis for 20 meals in shelf stable form.

2. With the help of several internet tips/tricks, I've developed a system for quick cleaning the house and wiping down the hall bath on a daily basis. This enables me to keep the house reasonably clean such that if an opportunity to get something else done (or have some fun!) arises I can put off The Big Clean for a bit.
Happy to share my collection of housecleaning hacks if anyone is interested, but it's pretty pedestrian stuff.

3. I try to make sure that little things that need attention pass through my hands ONCE. Snail mail, email, etc. I try to deal with it ONCE rather than pick it up, look at it, think about it, put it down, come back to it later and repeat all of those steps again.

4. A small garden started mostly from seed is cost effective/cost savings and actually, in the long run, saves me time. I overplant our tiny garden bed in order to utilize the space to its maximum potential, and also to crowd out weeds. It's a lot easier to step outside for a cucumber, a tomato or some squash than it is to make a trip to the store.

5. Cook once, eat several times. Embrace your left overs!

[Triangle]

One of my favorite strategies is to do very little steps at a time, but do them often and iterate.

For example: I need to take the trash out. There's 2 large bags and the trash cans are all the way downstairs and it's cold. So I tie up the 2 bags and put them in my hallway. Next time I walk by, I put them outside my apartment door. The next morning, when I go to work, I see them and take them down to the trash. Every step costs me very little effort, yet the combination is as powerful as mustering up a lot of discipline and doing something very uncomfortable.

[riparian]

I pressure can meat with onions, instant meal.

If I make a big pot of soup I eat on it for a few days and before it goes bad I can it.

I have a drying rack over the woodstove. In the fall I put berries and leaves on it to dry, in the winter my gloves or laundry or wet wood or whatever.

I don't plant a garden at all, I just harvest the things the world grows for me which are mostly more nutritious than domesticated vegetables anyways and can be picked on a daily walk instead of crawling around in the dirt and never going anywhere.

Anything people will pay you to do they'll pay 1.5-2x as much to do in a personal way.

Never cold call when you can network.

Give everyone you meet a reason to remember you favorably.

Need a good quality vehicle but can't afford it? Buy totaled and learn to fix.

[BecaS]

+1 for efficiency, Triangle. One of the ways that I know I'm in "stupid tired" mode is that I find myself retracing my steps, walking in circles to do the same task over and over again 6 times because I'm not doing it efficiently. Or, I walk into the next room (or go up into the attic. or out to the garage, or out to the trash can, or out to the composter) 6 different times to do 4 different things (two repeat trips because I didn't do what I needed to do the first time I tried to do it) when I could have combined those little chores into one trip around.

Efficiency and economy of movement are critical to avoiding burn out.

Riparian, I can left overs too!

I just made a chicken pot pie totally from scratch using a turkey stock that I made and canned from last Thanksgiving's turkey. The homemade turkey stock (with a smattering of carrots, onions and celery tops) made such a good filling. I have a beef stock canned as well. IIRC, that was a sudden inspiration- I had canned up a bunch of stew beef (from Costco) and I had a lot of beef stock left over that didn't go into the jars on the initial run. I simmered it while the first run processed, and ran a second canning run with the beef stock in it. Viola! Beef soup/casserole base!

And it recently occurred to me that I could get more mileage out of one of our convenience indulgences in the same manner. We occasionally pick up a rotisserie chicken at Costco. (Although I have a recipe for baking chickens that closely resembles the rotisserie chickens, honestly, the cost savings for making our own from scratch vs. buying the Costco rotisserie chicken is so negligible that it's a no brainer to pick up a rotisserie chicken if that's what we want.) First night, rotisserie chicken. Next day, chicken salad. I've been tossing the carcass- DOH. That could be the third iteration. I could simmer it to make stock, then can it. Heck, if I don't have time at the moment, I could do what Triangle does- break it down into steps that fit into the corners of the day. I could refrigerate either the carcass or the simmered stock until I have time to do the next step.

We have a pellet stove as opposed to a wood stove- and I will often put a drying rack in the same room as the pellet stove (at a safe distance from the stove) to dry clothes if I can't use the clothesline for some reason.

Speaking of drying clothes- I remembered this insight right after I started this thread. Another reason to avoid using your dryer- you are paying to condition the air in your house TWICE when you use the dryer.

In the summer, you are paying to air condition/dehumidify that air, then you are sucking it into the dryer, and paying to heat it up, re-humidify it, and dump it outside into the heat.

In the winter, you pay to heat that air, then you suck it into the dryer, heat it some more, and dump it outside into the cold.

When you think about it that way... =/

[BecaS]

Wow. Nobody has life hacks?

Seriously, how do you people make it through life???

[Triangle]

In one piece, I guess.

[arrrrgon]

I still want to hear the tricks for keeping your house clean, because I hate cleaning.

[akratic]

My favorite life hack is to use different color nail polish on keys to make them easy to tell apart.

That or the onion cutting trick where the onion stays mostly together until the end and then falls apart fully chopped.

I've also seen someone save the day with the ability to uncork a wine bottle with just a shoe, no corkscrew.

[BeyondtheWrap]

This is what I do to discourage impulse purchases. If I know I don't need to buy anything that day, I leave my wallet at home. I only take what I absolutely need to make it through the day and get back home. For me this means I only take my ID and my MetroCard with me. This also gives me peace of mind as a hedge against the risk of mugging.

[KevinW]

I still want to hear the tricks for keeping your house clean, because I hate cleaning.

The only trick I know of is to plan ahead so that you have fewer things that need cleaning. Live in a small home, prefer easily-cleaned surfaces like hardwood floors over carpet, minimize tchotchkes, decorations, and nonessential possessions in general, put small things like electronics in a case or cabinet so you have one item to clean instead of many items to clean. Etc. Even with all that there's still more cleaning to do than I'd like.

Wow. Nobody has life hacks?

Seriously, how do you people make it through life???

Well, the ERE approach encourages thinking about big-picture strategy, not so much tactics like life hacks. So there isn't much coming to mind, and what is, is probably very specific to my lifestyle and unhelpful to anyone else.

That said:

DW and I use shopping lists that we can both edit in the "cloud." We started using Gubb ( http://www.gubb.net/ ) a long time ago, before Google Docs was so good, but if we were starting now we'd probably just use a Google Doc. Anyway whenever one of us thinks of something we need, we can jot it down, wherever we are. This facilitates making infrequent, large shopping trips, which saves time and travel costs, and encourages shopping strictly from the list.

Echoing what BecaS said, squeeze every bit of value out of ingredients that you buy. Recently I've been learning French cooking and I'm realizing that a lot of the recipes are all about finding some way of turning nearly-worthless scraps into something great. For example the brown sauces start with drippings or trimmings left over from cooking meat and turn them into a rich sauce that in turn something cheap like pasta or a meager pork chop into a rich entree.

Always deglaze a skillet; the acid in the wine (or whatever) cleans the skillet more easily and thoroughly than scrubbing with soap would, and you can reuse the deglazing juices.

Any time there's a lull while cooking, use the time to wash some of the dishes you've dirtied, or at least rinse them out or start them soaking. It makes for a lot less cleanup later.

Save and reuse bacon grease.

As previously noted, you can use bones, skin, connective tissue, and organ meat to make your own stock.

The greens attached to vegetables like carrots and beets can often be used for flavoring, or eaten like any other kind of greens.

Since we chain our errands, drop-shipping from Amazon or eBay is often cheaper and faster than buying things locally. We batch up Amazon orders so we always get free shipping, and buy lots of little household items from them.

Avoid buying anything that uses batteries. Buy corded power tools, computer keyboards and mice, kitchen appliances, etc. If something comes with a battery-powered remote, consider never using it, so you can avoid dealing with the batteries.

[fips]

BeyondtheWrap,
good one! I do the same for many situations ... if I know I am prone to overspend my budget or procrastinate certain tasks, I try to think of ways how to change my situation that only the desired option is left.
I would much rather know how to better motivate myself though (as in positive thinking to reach a goal instead of restricting myself).

[theplk]

Check mail once a week only

Become an expert in chosen field of employment

Replace expensive hobbies with cheaper hobbies

Turn some hobbies into income opportunities

Eat the same meals six days a week so no thought is involved

[Triangle]

I leave my wallet at home. [...] This also gives me peace of mind as a hedge against the risk of mugging.

I think technically it's only a hedge if you leave half your money at home and take half with you.

[BeyondtheWrap]

I think technically it's only a hedge if you leave half your money at home and take half with you.

Well, I do bring my iPod with me, so I guess they can take that from me. I consider that replaceable though.

However, leaving my money at home does make me more vulnerable to burglary.

[BecaS]

Back for a minute- it's been a busy day! Great but very busy.

I agree with what KevinW said- simplest is best. If you have a collection of any type, see if you can get it behind doors or behind glass to avoid dusting each piece every week. Keep surfaces as clear as possible. Live in smaller, simpler spaces.

Clean Bathroom Hack: Pick which works best for you, morning or night (or midday, whatever works.) Keep your glass cleaner and your bathroom cleaner in spray bottles in your bathroom- in the vanity, under a sink skirt, in the linen closet- or very close by. (Be sure to keep cleaning solutions out of the reach of mobile babies and toddlers.) Bonus round if you clean most of your bathroom with your glass cleaner. After decades in health care I'm addicted to Lysol, so I keep a separate spray bottle of Lysol diluted with water in the bathroom. IF YOU USE SEPARATE/DIFFERENT BATHROOM CLEANING PRODUCTS, BE CAREFUL NOT TO MIX CLEANERS CONTAINING AMMONIA AND BLEACH. Ammonia and bleach combine to create a deadly gas!

Anyway, grab the hand towel you've used for 24 hours. Spray the bathroom mirror with glass cleaner, wipe with hand towel. Using same hand towel and either your glass cleaner if you use it for your whole bathroom, or a separate NON- BLEACH bathroom cleaner, spray the sink, wipe it down. Spray the toilet, wipe it down. Spray the toilet bowl, brush with toilet brush. Use a shower spray cleaner, the glass cleaner or your bathroom cleaner to spray down your bathtub/shower. Let spray sit while you throw the used hand towel in the washing machine. Rinse bathtub/shower with the cold/cool shower water while you wait for the shower to heat up. Jump in, take shower. Bonus Round: if you do not have mobile infants/toddlers, you can leave your cleaning supplies in the bathroom. If it's safe for you to do so, buy a toilet brush that comes with its own deep, watertight plastic container. (I bought ours at Walmart.) Keep a diluted disinfectant/cleaner solution in the container in which the brush can soak. The brush is disinfected and always ready for a quick swish of the bowl with cleaning solution.

We have a clear glass tub/shower enclosure, so we keep a squeegee on a suction cup on the tile wall in the shower. We squeegee the shower doors after we shower.

It takes me about 5-7 minutes a day to wipe down the bathroom, depending on how thoroughly I spray down the bathtub/shower enclosure. It takes a couple of minutes longer when I hop in and spray the whole thing thoroughly with Scrubbing Bubbles. I do that about twice a week. (We are constrained to certain types of mild cleaners to maintain the warranty on our re-glazed tub.)

Daily cleaning: We share our house with an 80 lbs. Labbie and a 17 lbs. indoor cat. I'm sorry to say that nothing takes the place of cleaning. That being said, I do find that a quick daily circuit with the vacuum does wonders. Once a week I vacuum/clean like the Queen of England is coming for tea, and she's bringing Martha Stewart and the health inspector with her. On those days I make it a point to use EVERY SINGLE VACUUM ATTACHMENT WHETHER IT NEEDS IT OR NOT. Otherwise, I vacuum the floors, and the upholstery we use daily, about once a day, quick swish through and done.

All laundry goes straight into the washing machine- no sorting. I wash everything in cold water anyway. Yes, sometimes there are laundry disasters involving pink underwear. We survive. It doesn't happen often. After I unload the clean laundry from the washer, I reload the tub with detergent, and put fabric softener in the dispenser. Then we add dirty clothes until the tub is full. When the tub is full, I start the washer.

Ditto with the dishwasher. As soon as I unload the clean dishes, I refill the dish detergent dispenser. When the dishwasher is full, I hit "start."

There are more but that's enough for now!

[jacob]

I think of (life) hacks as something one uses to solve problems that are caused by a bungled system. In other words, it's a patch/band-aid applied to a systemic problem.

Rather than hacking something that's broken, I prefer to redesign the whole thing. As such, I don't really pay much attention to life hacks. In a sense, they remind me of couponing, which is a way to buy what's usually bad food at cheaper prices. I'd rather redesign my diet.

I think the design aspects of ERE often don't get the recognition they deserve. I'm fine with reading statements (in general) that "I'm going going to pick and choose what works for me" indicating that ERE is a shopping list of ingredients.

But really, ERE is a way of cooking ... and I think by focusing on details, people are missing out.

DIY/frugality/etc. under ERE should actually make things faster and easier. If that's not the case, the design is wrong.

I also grant that design is one of the hardest things to change. Hopefully with enough "hacks" some over all patterns should emerge. When these patterns are combined, everything gets easy.

An ERE lifestyle is one big life hack w/o internal contradictions. As such it does not need to be hacked further.

[BecaS]

Agreed on this, Jacob:

"I also grant that design is one of the hardest things to change. Hopefully with enough "hacks" some over all patterns should emerge. When these patterns are combined, everything gets easy."

I do not agree so much on this:

"An ERE lifestyle is one big life hack w/o internal contradictions. As such it does not need to be hacked further."

It's going to be difficult to say this without sounding snarky, but I mean it with true sincerity, IN MY DREAMS.

All systems, even impeccably designed systems, move toward entropy. Left on its own, everything moves toward chaos, not away from it. Things (be they actual physical things or circumstances or whatever) don't organize themselves.

You are right, though- designing a system with interworking parts that runs smoothly is the best way to run a life. Designing an efficient life that holds all or most of what you need and at least some of what you want, and none of what you don't need or want, allows one to move efficiently through life without much extra effort. Life on autopilot.

Reality intrudes more often than not, and with that intrusion of entrophy and chaos comes creativity and inspiration. Also the introduction of disorder creates cause for efficiency, which prods us to re-examine our systems.

My bathroom moves towards chaos. I reign it in daily. This small course correction clears the decks, leaves me mentally, emotionally and physically ready to tackle other things. Yeah, that sounds like a lot of cpu's wrapped up over a bathroom. If it's clean instead of dirty, I'm not mentally distracted. I don't feel my focus pulled over to something that needs to be done, instead of whatever it is that I'm doing, or that I want to do. I'm not distracted emotionally because I feel more balanced when my surroundings are in order. I'm not feeling stressed or ashamed or feeling downright unhygienic (as true or untrue as that might factually be) by a dirty bathroom. I'm freed up physically because it's done in 5 to 7 minutes, off the list, I'm on with the day.

If the bathroom and the house in general are clean and organized, I don't waste time trying to find whatever it is that I want or need, or wondering if I have this or that. I don't waste time or money running to the store to buy a duplicate of something I already have, that's lost in a cabinet. Also, in the process of putting my eyes and possibly my hands on the things we have in the house, patterns do emerge- I see possible solutions, ways to do things differently, and especially in the kitchen, I see ingredients and they fall together into meals.

A little daily organizing goes a long way.

This is the input that I seek- what are your little hacks that make life go? Because sometimes I need hack inspirations. I need to see the systems veering toward chaos, and being reigned in, through other people's eyes, because I am falling into a rut and that rut may not be the most efficient place to be.

[Dream of Freedom]

Jacob

It's true that most of these problems are caused by systemic problems. And focusing on the larger things you can change is shrewder than being buried in minutia.

The problem with axing all "hacks" is that no system is perfect, including yours. I will refer to viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3287 as an example. You need parts for your hobby (which is integral to the polymath part of your plan), but limited space is important to the low consumption part of your plan. A conflict, yes, but a relatively minor one. Don't the systemic solutions cause more harm than good in that case? You could give up the fun hobby and pay someone else to do it, or you could get a bigger place, with more cleaning/ heating/furnishing. You could also do a "hack" like look for wasted space or make more storage.

I don't remember where, but I once heard that income taxes is a lot like being sore after sex, a high quality problem. Generally you pay a lot of income tax when you have a lot of income and you get sore after sex when, well you know; Both good things. You can lower your taxes while making the same and of course you could take an aspirin.

Focusing on the the larger issues should be higher on your priorities, but smaller solutions have a place, too. I say small solutions for small problems, long term solution for long term problems, and short term solutions for short term problems.

[jacob]

"A place for everything and everything in its place" is a self-organizing organizational system for stuff. During usage entropy decreases in such a system.
Once I'm done with something, I put it back in its place. If I see an empty spot, I know exactly what's missing and I go find it. This system becomes more and more organized (less entropy) the longer it's used.

This is a direct contrast to "throwing everything into a drawer" which does indeed become more disorganized the longer it's been used.

In the kitchen, using the spoon you cooked with to eat with also reduces entropy, as does eating out of the pot. If the drying rack is also the storage rack and it's placed over the sink, there's further reduction. This is an example of shunting entropy away.

In general, multi/interconnected-use of things that have many uses is helpful. Keeping specialized things is almost always a detriment.

(I'm not talking thermodynamimical entropy but information entropy.)

I agree with both of you that external intrusions (e.g. changing needs for supplies) influence the system design so when the boundaries change, the system must change. However, the system can be made resilient to boundary changes.

Perhaps you thrive on "instability" (having the system descend into chaos and then rebuilding it) but I don't; and it's not an inate quality of a system. I mean I do not need my bathroom to become a mess in order to organize it better. I prefer it be organized and stay that way in the first place, because I'm too lazy to reorganize.