17 life hacks people swear by and ‘can’t believe’ others don’t do

The great thing about the internet is that it allows us to interact with hundreds, if not thousands, of other minds to find the best ways to handle everyday experiences. As the old saying goes, two heads are better than one, but with social media, that can be expanded to thousands.

A recent post on the AskReddit subforum asked people to share the life hacks that they “can’t believe other people don’t do” and received many responses. Over 13,000 people shared their hacks or commented on the popular ones shared by the group of Redditors.

The cool thing is that at Upworthy, we’ve done many life hack stories and this thread had many that we had never heard before. Examples include the Redditor who only opens bags of chips on the opposite end and another who drives around with a camping chair in the back of their car, just in case it’s time to sit and enjoy the view.

We looked at the list and chose 17 of the best life hacks people “can’t believe that other people don’t do.” Hopefully, these make your life a bit easier and more enjoyable.

1. Shortcut we can all use

“I have a keyboard shortcut on all my devices where @@ automatically enters my email address. On an iPhone you set it up by going to settings, general, keyboard, text replacement.”

2. Be prepared… to sit

“Keep a camping chair in your trunk. You never know when an opportunity for a good sit might arise.”

“This is a great one. We’ve started leaving a giant picnic blanket in the car and have made use of it when we are out with the dog. We find ourselves with some coffee or food and feel like sitting outside somewhere.”

3. Flower deal

“Two color-matched £10 flower bouquets ($13) combined are normally more varied and bigger than a £20 ($26) bouquet.”

4. The 5-minute rule

“If it takes less than 5 minutes, do it right when you think about it. Flip laundry, respond to an email you left in the inbox, load the dishwasher, change that bulb in the vanity you’ve been looking at forever, etc…”

“This is the most effective way for me to deal with my ADHD. If I think of something, I have to either do it right then or set an alarm to do it on my phone at a time when I know I’ll be free to do it. I finally feel like I have some control of my life after years of being completely dysfunctional.”

5. Do favors for “tomorrow you”

“Car getting low on gas? Do tomorrow you a favor and get it on the way home. It’s almost bedtime, but there are dishes in the sink. Do them as a favor to your future self. While you’re at it, get tomorrow’s clothes together and get your lunch packed when you’re not rushed. Tomorrow you will love you for it! And, when today you is enjoying all the things that yesterday you did to make your life easier, remember to thank yourself for doing it. I know it sounds silly, but this really helped motivate me to get stuff done promptly instead of at the last moment.”

6. Set ‘do not disturb’ hours on your phone

“Set nightly ‘do not disturb’ hours on your phone (mine is 11P – 7A). You can allow notifications from favorite contacts like spouse, children, et al.”

“I don’t get why so many people don’t do this. That’s literally why the feature exists. You still get woken up during genuine emergencies but don’t get random people spamming your phone up with memes at 2am.”

7. Need or want?

“Do I need or do I want. If I need it, I get it. If I want it, I wait for a few weeks, do some research, see if I can fit it in and if I still want it a month or two later then I might go get it. Turns out my wants are not always there after a while waiting. It’s new for me but has changed my mindset drastically.”

“I learnt to do this because my parents (mostly my mum) fell victim to this. Also, just because it’s on sale, doesn’t mean I have to buy it. I’m not saving money if I didn’t need nor want it in the first place.”

8. Zip-lock junk drawer

“I use zip lock bags in my ‘junk drawer.’ It’s not organized, it’s just a hand full junk filled bags. It makes looking through the junk easier. Instead of shifting through a bunch of junk and loose items I’ll pick up a bag and inspect it for something I’m looking for. Junk bags inside a junk drawer.”

9. Stock up on essentials

“For household essentials, buy more than you need right away. Example: I have two packs of toilet paper rolls. One is ‘Now,’ and I store it in the bathroom. The other is ‘Later,’ and I store it in a closet. When Now is empty, I get out Later. Later becomes the new Now, and next time I go shopping, I buy a replacement Later. That way, I very rarely run out of anything.”

10. Change first

“When handing someone their change, give them the coins before the bills. This allows them to hold the coins in their palm while using their fingers for the bills. Otherwise, they have to do this careful balancing act before they pocket the money.”

11. Clean your fridge

“Clean out your fridge before grocery shopping! Eliminates mystery Tupperware and always reminds you of something you need to pick up.”

12. Just because

“Buy her ‘just because’ flowers. Seriously, apology gifts always have the stank of the original mistake all over them. ‘Just because’ gifts actually make her smile every time she looks at them and not think of the dumb thing I did.”

“When dolphins are trained, they get a fish every time they do a trick or exhibit good behaviour. But, you also have to give them a fish every once in a while that they didn’t earn, because they need to know that the trainer’s relationship to them isn’t purely transactional. My family has always had a policy that we need to occasionally give each other ‘unearned fishes’ because it’s important to that we know that we care for each other.”

13. Flip your chips

“Open bags of chips upside down! All the seasoning settles on the bottom.”

“This is an especially good tip for when you are pouring out all the chips into a bowl (like for a party). All the crumbs from the bottom of the bag end up in the bottom of the bowl, and the pretty, perfect chips are at the top of the bowl.”

14. Parking photo

“I take a quick photo of where I park my car in large parking lots. Saves so much time wandering around looking lost!”

“I drop a pin in Google maps when I get out of my car. Not only do I have the exact location on the map, I get step by step directions to it.”

15. Chop sticks

“Eating finger foods with chopsticks to avoid getting my keyboard, mouse, phone, or game controllers dirty.”

“This was me when I ate a bag of hot Cheetos at my wedding, in my white gown.”

16. One sock solution

“Only ever buy on kind of socks that way I never have to match them after the wash, just throw them all in the drawer. And if one gets hole in it you dont need to throw out the pair, just throw it away and stock up on more of the same sock when running low. I really hate folding socks.”

17. Use your points

“Get a credit card with good rewards and use it for everyday purchases, then immediately pay down your credit card every week or so to avoid interest rates. My husband and I almost exclusively use our credit card and have been able to use the points to book flights, rental cars, hotels, spa services, lots of things we wouldn’t normally splurge on.”

“You don’t have to pay it weekly to avoid interest, you just need to pay the full balance at each monthly due date. You only owe interest if you carry a balance over to the next month.”