SIMPLE USEFUL LIFE HACKS
Proverbs 12:26 NLT
The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.
I thought you might find some of the simple life hacks useful, that have made my life easier, less stressful, more efficient, and saved me money. I hope you find them helpful.
Believe it or not, your dishwasher is one of the worst places for black mold to grow. Many mistakenly think the dishwasher soap for cleaning the dishes removes it. It doesn’t! Once a week, I take 2 small bowls, fill them with white vinegar and run the dishwasher. This keeps all black mold to a bare minimum and it destroys calcium deposits in the dishwasher itself, giving you years of trouble free use of the machine.
Nothing’s quite as frustrating as going out to mow your lawn, and you pull and pull on the cord and it won’t start. I’ve been using the same lawn mower for 28 years! Every spring I put in a new spark plug, new air filter, and fresh gas. But I only use the most expensive gas, the 91% or higher grade, as the ethanol in regular gas eventually ruins the o rings and weakens the seals in the engine.
Oil changes at auto repair shops are very expensive, so I do my own. I use 2 inexpensive plastic ramps from WalMart. I change the oil once a year using a Fram XG series filter, good for 20,000 miles, along with WalMart Super Tech 5w30—20,000 mile, full synthetic oil. To save on arm, hand and back strain, when removing the oil drain plug, I use a rubber mallet to hit the wrench with, which easily loosens the bolt. I also use special oil proof grip gloves, and if needed a rubber strap, filter wrench to remove the filter. Total cost is approximately $35 per oil change. The local auto parts store throws my old oil away for free.
Raw honey is extremely healthy for you. But it’s expensive. I get mine at Costco, buying 6 pounds at a time. Then I put that honey in a smaller honey squeeze bottle with a unique, no drip, smaller flow hole cap in the top, that I bought at Aldi. It cuts my honey use in half, saving me money. Much like a low flow shower head uses less water, saving you money every month.
I need to wear glasses for my eyesight. Every time I go to find glasses these days, it’s as if they made all the frames for people with very big heads, and the frames are expensive. I discovered that the kids black rim wire frames at WalMart fit my head perfectly and only cost me $9! So I bought an extra pair so I have a frame in the future I really like, fits me well, and costs me little.
For many years I have done our laundry, as it’s been a way to serve my wife, and help her regarding her back and neck issues. One of my hacks for easy laundry duty is this: when I wash and dry the clothes, if they are inside out, I leave them that way. To save time and my own back issues, I fold them that way also. I do not spend the time to reach my hand into every piece of clothing and turn it right side out. This way the person wearing the clothes takes a few seconds of their time each day, when they put on their clothes, to turn it right side out themselves. Dress shirts, of course, don’t work that way, but I never wear those kinds of shirts. My wife’s shirts I take out of the washer and put them on hangers to dry.
To save time, avoiding the stress of trying to figure out each day what to wear, I simply wear the same things every day. Things I like, but the same things. So I buy several of the same pieces of clothing to rotate through the week. I only wear charcoal, wigwam merino wool socks, and have for years, therefore all my socks, always match! They’re also far better for your feet than cotton socks. I do the same thing with shoes. I have 3 pairs of black shoes—a pair of Adidas to walk in, boots for everyday life, and Adidas for inside the house. One old pair of boots I’ve had for years in the garage for mowing grass and changing oil.
For years now I’ve never spent more than $6,000 to buy a car. Usually even less. Because of their tremendous, proven track record over the last 30 years, I only look at Toyotas or Hondas, well cared for, with records and receipts. I primarily look at cars that are approximately 20 years old. This saves me a ton of money, time and repairs since the previous owner did many of them. It also saves me money in taxes, fees and insurance costs, and I prefer the greater simplicity and reliability of the older cars.
I always fill my vehicles with gas very early in the mornings when there is no traffic and no business at the stations. I go online to find the best gas price near my house. I may drive an extra mile or two this way, but it often saves me 29 cents per gallon. By going early in the morning, there’s no busy traffic to deal with, just a peaceful smooth drive.
I personally prefer a desktop computer, as it works best for ergonomic reasons, for my writing and my back. I HATE tech stress. When the computer wears out or breaks, I simply go to WalMart, buy just the computer tower, then put it next to my other tower before I unplug any cords. I then put each cord one at a time into the matching connectors on the back. I’ve been using the same screen for 20 years, the same keyboard and mouse for about 6 years. Eventually when the keyboard and mouse wear out, I’ll just change them using the extra ones that came with the new tower.
Many people use paper towels. We do as well. I buy my paper towels at Costco, in bulk, the kind that come in half-size sheets. But, when I use them at home, I actually tear the half sheet in half again, making two smaller sheets. This multiplying of the sheets so to speak has saved me money, and I really most often only need a quarter size sheet anyway.
My wife and I do almost all of our cooking in a small, non-stick frying pan that I bought at WalMart for $5. I’ve found that no matter how expensive of a pan you buy, they all eventually warp and lose the coating. When mine warps and doesn’t sit level I take it into the garage, turn it upside down and pound it with a rubber mallet, letting the handle hang over the edge of the cement step. When the coating begins to wear off and things begin to stick to it, I just throw it away, and go buy another $5 frying pan from WalMart.
I do all my week-to-week shopping at stores with self-checkout lanes. This saves me a tremendous amount of time, as I never have to wait in lines, and I go so much faster than the check out people who always want to talk.
Every car eventually needs tires. I’ve found a great deal on SureDrive tires at Firestone Care Center. I recently bought 2 – 55,000 mile tires for my car, balanced, put on, with tax, for $173. Super hard to beat that price.
I live in a place where it’s cold and often has lots of snow on the ground for 5-6 months of the year. To ensure the best possible traction and ease of use on my wife’s Toyota van, I simply put Firestone Winterforce tires on the van and keep them on all year round. I usually replace them every 3 years.
I keep a small notebook, and a mechanical pencil in my car at all times. Starting from back to front I keep a record of every repair and oil change, etc., with the mileage, the date, and the cost. Starting front to back I write down every gas fill up with the date, and mileage, and cost. This simple, easy system allows me to quickly look back and know every single thing I have done on the car, how much it cost, and when I need to make the next oil change or similar repair again. I do the same thing with my house and every repair, cost, and date is kept in that little record book. I always know exactly what was done, when, and for how much. Never, ever a need to guess or forget.
Proverbs 18:15 NLT— Intelligent people are always open to new ideas. In fact, they look for them.
I hope you find these useful in your own situation. As always my primary mission is to be of service to you, to help each and every one of you succeed in your journey through life!
Helping you become a Strong Disciple,
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Mark Darling
