Share your DIY/Life hacks

Wow, Liz, I thought I was the only one who cut my own hair because I get it to turn out how I like it. Good to know others think like this.

Oh yes, there are things I need to hire done so they absolutely get done right. After getting a huge rock stuck in my lawn tractor blades (I got the rock out with a jack & crow bar) but needed to know I hadn't messed up the deck or anything else so I took it in to be totally serviced. I usually do the filter & oil changes but this time I let them do everything. Go figure, when I got it back it was surging in idle. Grrrr it never did that when I did the maintenance. But it is nice to have the work done by others at times

I buzz cut my own hair. I started even before the pandemic, so I had one less thing to worry about.

My mom cuts my hair. The cheap hair cut place got so expensive and they were doing a terrible job. My mom does a better job and I've already saved a lot of money.

I am prone to cystic acne and sulfur base soaps helped more than expensive treatments
Not that I feel the need to be pretty now :/ (i am out of that phase)

Microfiber cloth helped me keeping the house cleaner apparently

Kindness helps in general

Many foods cause me gastrointestinal distress... pasta, fruit, smoothies, yogurt... You'd be surprised at the foods I eat today compared to +15 years ago... Had to tweak my diet because having a bloated abdomen was not fun. Many years ago, in a cooking class with beans, I learned to add "Kombu" (seaweed) to the beans so that they would be easier to digest.

I have a bag of dry/crushed seaweed and I add it to anything that may even give me a hint of gastrointestinal distress... can't taste it and it saves me from bloating and other less than desirable side effects. Total lifesaver. Although I could go back to what I used to eat before, it would really be a drastic change, but now when I want to eat something that otherwise I would avoid (but tastes good and I want to eat it), I can.

Bottom line... seaweed may curb bloating.

WOW Blue owl what an amazing find!

I have tried seaweed snack from a local Asian store.Maybe I should do that often.

I scrub my sinks with used dryer sheets. My sinks are clean and smell good.

Keeping the shower clean


First - make sure that your shower is clean. Then every time after having a shower give it a quick wipe down with an old towel. Takes 30 seconds but by doing this the scum never builds up again.

I use vinegar a lot for cleaning, as well as baking soda. It stinks but it's non-toxic. My great grandmother used vinegar for everything. I don't, but it's useful in a lot of ways. One purpose I use it to death for is mineral deposits. The water around here is hard, so vinegar gets those deposits off shower heads, coffeemaker interior, bathroom/kitchen faucets.

Baking soda and vinegar is good to get baked on residue off of pots. Or used dryer sheets. The baking soda makes my tea kettle shine.

Out of habit, I still conserve water. The water I run until the shower gets hot I save in a bucket. Then use that to flush the toilet, just pour it in quickly.

I like to pre-heat my coffee mug by letting hot water sit in it, while my coffee brews. Then, I empty the water and drink it later when it cools. The warm mug keeps my coffee hot longer, and I also use the lid of a cottage cheese container to retain the heat between sips.

Lemon juice is good for getting out that "underarm stink" on fabric. Also good to remove rust around drains, let it sit at least a half hour.

After the shower, I spray some diluted vinegar and water on the walls. This keeps scum from forming, and wiping it down keeps water spots away.

So do I and I get compliments from mechanics and car wash guys.

That's a good idea about the gas tank, but honestly I don't know where I'd flee TO? I have images of gridlocked roads as people try to flee but nobody knows where to go.

I keep a few paper towels in my gym bag in case they are out of paper towels. I use them to wipe my sweaty face and neck, and I don't like the wet wipes they now have around. (I can only find DRY paper towels in the locker room now)

I keep extra change in my car for a pay phone even though they are practically non-existent, in case I don't get a signal for some reason. And enough cash to buy at least 2 gallons of gas, for some kind of emergency and plastic won't work. I still keep an old school Thomas Guide around too, since technology doesn't always work the way it should. Or it could be down.

Fire extinguisher in the kitchen, hopefully I'll never need to use it.

1/2 tsp. ground ginger in 8 oz. hot (not boiling!) water will soothe nausea or upset stomach.