10 Tricks to Keep Up Your Sleeve for Any Occasion

We never know when we may need a simple solution to brighten our homes or make our daily lives easier. Practical hacks can come in handy when you don’t have the correct change to unlock a supermarket cart or need to get things shining clean. Often, the solution is right under our noses and solvable with help from various household objects.

To ensure that you’re always prepared, Bright Side has made a list of the most helpful hacks that you may find useful in your day-to-day.

1. Use your key to unlock a shopping cart.

Next time you head out to the supermarket, you won’t have to worry about not having the correct change for a shopping cart. A rounded key can be used to unlock your shopping cart instead, which is pretty handy since you’ll always have one on you. Simply put the rounded end of the key where you would normally put a coin, and it should release the cart.

2. Use a penny to make your tulips stand straight.

If you notice that your flowers are starting to droop and look a bit sad, then you can place a penny in the water. The copper in the penny will prove to liven your flowers in no time. Make sure that you cut the leaves off the stems so that none of them are touching the water, as this can impact them.

3. Take photos of your store point cards.

Instead of filling your purse with loyalty and discount cards, you can simply take a photo of them. Take a photo of the bar code on the back, as well as the front of the card, so that you know which bar code belongs to which card. You can then scan this barcode at the store to collect your points and discounts.

4. Use a toothbrush to thread your needle.

Not all of us are necessarily patient or nimble-fingered, which can make this tip a true lifesaver. Simply lay your thread over an old toothbrush and push the eye of the needle onto the brush’s bristles. This will quickly bring the thread through the needle’s eye, saving you from lots of frustration.

5. Use toothpaste to clean tea-stained spoons.

We all have that one teaspoon that is terribly stained brown by all of the tea and coffee we stir it in. This is caused by the tannins in drinks, which are also responsible for staining our teeth. To get your spoons sparkling again, you can try scrubbing them with toothpaste, which will dissolve the tannins and bring your spoons back to life.

6. Add some sugar to your flowers’ water to revive them.

When your flowers start to droop, pour out the old water and add fresh water with a few spoonfuls of sugar. Cut about an inch off the bottom of their stalks at an angle to increase their water intake. Over the next few hours, watch your flowers start to stand up again and come back to life.

7. Cut shavings into the top of a match to light it in the wind.

It can be extremely irritating when the match just won’t catch, no matter how much we try to protect it from the wind. This old trick will help you to keep it lit long enough for you to use it. Simply cut little shavings around the head of the match so that they are curling downward. This will help the flame to burn brighter and protect it from blowing out so easily.

8. Use denture tablets to remove sweat stains from clothes.

We all probably have that one shirt or T-shirt that is stained yellow with sweat stains, and no matter what we try, we just can’t remove them. Denture tablets may be your solution for breaking up these tough stains. You’ll need to put your stained clothes in a bucket with warm water and 1 to 3 tablets. Let them soak for an hour before putting them through a wash cycle.

9. Use a mirror to tell if your bed linens are damp.

A good test to check whether your bed linens are properly dried or not is by placing a mirror under the covers and waiting a few minutes to see if it steams up. If it starts to mist up after 5-10 minutes, then your linens are still damp and may be unhealthy to sleep in. A damp bed can be a breeding ground for mold and fungi, which can be harmful, especially for people with asthma and allergies.

10. Keep your stored seeds fresh with silica packets.

You can now store your seeds without worrying about them going bad and rotting before you have a chance to plant them. Simply store your seed packets in an airtight container, such as a Tupperware box, with a silica packet inside. The silica will keep your seeds dry and, therefore, fresher for longer, preventing mildew and germination that can ruin your seeds.

Which trick will you be using first? Do you have any other solutions for annoying problems? Please share them with us — we’re all ears!