Share your DIY/Life hacks

What are some tips and tricks you've learned that make life easier--anything from gardening to cooking to household tricks to home remedies to life and relationship advice?

Don't judge, but I've learned the easiest way to get yellow cigarette stains off my fingers--these stains are so hard to come off, but all I did was get a little sponge and gently rubbed the scrubby side on my fingers, and within seconds those hideous stains that refused to come off are completely gone!

I googled how to get the stains off, and they recommended bleach, vinegar, lemon juice, toothpaste--bleach and vinegar is too harsh for my skin and I've tried lemon juice and toothpaste but they don't work...they recommended a pumice stone or a nail filer but that's also harsh...the sponge was terrific!

I do have a DIY tag on my blog that folks could browse.

Aside from that...

I have a leaky tub faucet. I place a bucket under it and collect the water so I can use it to water plants, flush the toilet or add it to the washing machine. (When you pour water into a commode fast enough, it'll flush.) I use the water I get from the dehumidifier this way, too.

My wife likes to light several candles at once. She'll use a lighter on each one. If I light them for her, I'll use a match to light one candle. Then I'll light the others from the flame of the first one. But if the candles are deep within their holders, I'll light a wooden chop stick or twig from a tree branch and then "transfer" the flame from the first candle to the others. (The twig needs to have its bark removed, though.)

Good topic!

I look most everything I need to know how to do on YouTube.

Learned simple plumbing like cleaning drains & pipes to repairing faucets to give me foundational information. Then I wing it from there.

Learned some truck repair things off YT also. Replaced my EGR valve, tail lamps & headlamps. Oil change I just take to my mechanic though I do all the maintenance on my lawn tractor. Also came up with a great idea on how to get the drive belt back on my brand new lawn tractor when a tree branch I mowed over popped the belt off. I couldn't budge the spring that needed moved so set up a pully system to do it for me.

When one lives alone it is important to be as independent as possible. Some things I don't have the tools for & they would be way too expensive to buy or sometimes I just don't have the muscle. I try first but sometimes I just have to hire work done around my farm.....I always try the DIY first

My grandmother was very DIY smart. I still use some her tricks.

A dissolved denture tablet makes an excellent soap scum remover and drain/garbage disposal freshener. It will also remove cigarette stains from fingers and nails as a warm soak. At about 5 cents a tablet it's cheap too..

Just thought of one my friend showed me. I had a jar of something I couldn't ged3g t the lid off of using a jar opener, hot water or thumping it to tryvto break the seal. Went months trying to get it oprn with no success. Was going over to their house for dinner one night & decided to take the jar with me to see if she or her husband could open it. She couldn't either so whacked around the lid with a knife handle & like magic the jar opened. I do that now for every jar I can't get open

My life hack is...I live by RRR rule.Reduce,Reuse,Recycle. And I try to find at least 3 uses for everything I buy.

I stopped buying Kpods because they are so terrible for the environment, they are outrageously expensive and it wastes good coffee grounds. Now I buy only coffee beans/grounds and after it's been used it goes into my garden. After seeing how my plants thrive with the coffee grounds in their soil, I won't be going back to Kpods.

Vinegar and baking soda down smelly drains, sit a while then flush with boiled water.

Vinegar and water in a spray bottle to kill moss on paths.

Vinegar is pretty wonderful for a lot of cleaning but got to be careful as it can be harsh.

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Originally Posted by Discombobulated Vinegar and baking soda down smelly drains, sit a while then flush with boiled water. Vinegar and water in a spray bottle to kill moss on paths. Vinegar is pretty wonderful for a lot of cleaning but got to be careful as it can be harsh.

I make a glass cleaner with vinegar & water. Had to clean my truck windows inside yesterday cause everything was looking fuzzy through them & LOL.... I had already cleaned my glasses. Had errands to run after that.....ok, that smell of vinegar inside my truck was NOT plesant but my windows were nice & clean

My all around best cleaner is vinegar, purple fabuloso and water. It does it all. It's even great as a window and mirror cleaner. I use it on everything I want to clean: kitchen, bathroom, walls you name it! It's something you got to smell when you fill it up. You don't want too much vinegar cuz it's smelly, that's why I use the lavender Fabuloso.

LL,once I had a visitor who uses Kcups.They brought their own cups and machine as I too donot use them.I made them throw those cups in a separate trash can.After they left I scrapped the coffee grounds and used in the garden.The cups were used to start seeds .

At first I did the same thing, scrapped the coffee grounds and cleaned the cups for seeds, but I drink sooooo much coffee that it just wasn't ideal for me.

@Mendingmysoul

It is very cool how resourceful you are. To me, switching from Kpods to coffee grounds was a big step for me. I try very hard to be mindful, but I'm only a novice Mother Earth lover (in that way)

What do you do when your apartment does not offer recycling, and you have to pay a lot of money to recycle your garbage?

I use vinegar as laundry softener bc laundry softener is basically made from animal fat (there are vegan alternatives now) and it leaves a film on your clothing + it’s bad for the machine. Vinegar softens laundry and the smell is gone after drying. Also towels lose absorbency from softener.

Also works for urine stone

LL,lucky for me we have recycling here .Since I reuse almost everything, I generate very less trash and recyclables in a week.And I am very frugal too.So very less goes to waste.Once upon a time I was a novice too.But got creative as time passed by.Glad you are trying too.

I use 100% vinegar; I never thought to dilute it with water. And yes, the cars do stink, but only for a few days. What ratio of vinegar to water do you use, please?

Yep, I've used that in a coffee mug to get the tea stains out.

Great idea on the pulley system!

In the town next to mine there's a tool rental business. I've gotten a post hole digger most recently. Another option for me is that some local libraries will lend tools. But I've bought nearly all the tools I've used.

I never got on the K-pod bandwagon. I received a 2-cup auto-drip coffee maker as a present over 30 years ago and it still works!

The workplace stopped supplying auto-drip and switched to K-pods. But they don't have decaf, so I bought a thingy to do pour-overs

Not so much a "tip" or "trick" but more like good sense. I love cars and my daily driver is a 1997 Silverado. It has 187,000 miles and runs like a dream and is in immaculate condition. I baby it, wax it every weekend in the summer and religiously get the oil changed every 3,000 miles. If you baby your car and perform routine maintenance, you can EASILY get 300,000 out of a vehicle.

Another thing I have come to enjoy is Spotify. I have three different playlists for when I'm training, racing or simply walking. Having my favorite music so accessible is a lifesaver.

I also baby my car...I don't do the greatest job keeping it clean, but I am adamant about making sure it is serviced on a regular basis. Even my mechanic is impressed with how well I take care of it, and it's a simple Nissan Versa.

Oh, a very important PSA about cars--Because I've gone through natural disasters, I never, never, never let my gas tank fall below halfway--always, always, always keep your tank full or half full. Because if there's a major emergency and you need to flee, you'd be SOL you don't have enough gas to make it to safety.

Oh and Revenge Tour, Spotify is WONDERFUL!!! My brother got me hooked when I moved up here, I'm so happy with my subscription and love making my own playlists.

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Originally Posted by SquarePegGuy Great idea on the pulley system! In the town next to mine there's a tool rental business. I've gotten a post hole digger most recently. Another option for me is that some local libraries will lend tools. But I've bought nearly all the tools I've used.

Some Home Depot locations rent tools.

Not sure if this counts, but I cut my own hair. Saves money and time, plus I get the cut I want. Back when I still colored my hair I did it myself.

Eskie, I agree that a single female living in the country needs to learn to do repairs or get gouged paying for repairs. Though I will admit that as I've gotten older there are things I am either unable or unwilling to do anymore.

Lark, I also use the lavender Fabuloso for so many things in the house, floors, walls, fixtures, etc. Plus the house smells so good afterward.

Water, vinegar and Dawn dish soap make a great, safe flea treatment for cats and dogs.