HOME/ Homemaking/ Organizing/ Simplifying

26 Tips and Tricks To Simplify Life

I have been collecting all kinds of clever tips to make life just a little bit more simple.  Here are some of my favs!

1. Cord organization tips.  I am SO doing this. {link}


2. Marshmallows in brown sugar to keep it soft. {link}


3. Reuse salt pour spout with mason jars. {link}


4. Hash browns in the waffle maker.  Makes them nice a crispy! {link}


5. The secret to an easy to peel, boiled egg.  {link}


6. Use an old glue tip to draw or write with acrylic paint.  {link}


7. DIY picture hanger.  Smart!  I had a friend try this and she said it worked great!  {link}


8. Clean that screen!  {link}


9. Slip proof your rug with acrylic caulk.  Apply a line every six inches, and let dry.  Brilliant!  {link}

 

10. No brown apples for lunch.  I used this tip and it worked great.  My youngest came home from school and said, “Mom, why was there a rubber band around my apple?” {link}


11. Use a rubber band to remove a stripped screw. {link}


12. Did you know a Parmesan cheese lid fits a regular lid canning jar? {link}


13. Hanger chip clip. {link}


14. Magnetic strip inside a medicine cabinet to hold metal hairpins. Genius. {link}


15. For neighborhood kids during homework and chore time. {link}


16. Dry up grease stains with chalk.  Rub on stain as a laundry pre-treat. {link}


17. Take your favorite liquid fabric softener and soak an old hand towel or flour cloth completely with it. Wring it out and let it dry completely, then throw it in with your next load. This mega-fabric softener sheet should be good for at least 40 loads of laundry WHAT A GREAT IDEA!! {link}


18. Great idea for corraling meals for road trips. {link}

19. Spray vinegar on windshield before a winter storm & car windows will not frost over.  Click on link for more winter car tips. {link}


20. Soak old paintbrushes in vinegar for 30 minutes.  Good as new! {link}


21. Makes an old sweater look new. {link}


22. Grow green onions on your window sill. {link}


23. More cord tips! {link}


24. Since I  now cringe to take the time to make anything with sugar in it, I may keep it simple this  Christmas morning and make these!  Cinnamon roll waffles!  Throw on a pot of coffee, serve with fruit and voila’ –a simple, easy Christmas breakfast.  Imagine how your house is going to smell!! {link}

……………..
 
Simple Lemon water.  Simple fruit infused water. Check out this ZingAnything Aqua Zinger. Infuse drinks with fruit and herbs, keep lemons in your water bottle. Get yours here . Read about how I use mine daily here.
 
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  • Leslie
    October 20, 2015 at 2:00 am

    You could stick the rubber grippers that you put in bathtubs onto the back of your throw rugs that way they become anti slip!

  • Simplify life with some tips | Creative Home Ideas
    November 21, 2014 at 3:06 am

    […] being so stressed. Well, if you like tips for any reason, then this site is for you. They have some really great tips on here. One tip I liked was about how to keep your brown sugar soft. I buy a bag of brown sugar for […]

  • Pat
    October 8, 2014 at 6:29 pm

    Re: rubber band on apple –
    My mother used to core the apple and stuff it with raisins to keep apple from getting brown in our lunches.

    • AmyNewNostalgia
      October 9, 2014 at 11:46 am

      Love that!

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  • Mona
    July 11, 2014 at 9:46 pm

    A caution about rubber bands on apples, if they are latex type they may be a problem for your child, or other children around them who may have a latex allergy or sensitivity. (Same with baloons, that is why they are not allowed in most hospitals now)

    • AmyNewNostalgia
      July 14, 2014 at 9:58 am

      REALLY good point. Thanks for the heads up!

      • Ruth Furtado
        September 10, 2014 at 4:13 pm

        You could use a fabric covered hair band (purchased specifically for this purpose and machine washable) or tie the apple with cooking twine. This is too good an idea to give up on!

  • Jo
    June 29, 2014 at 5:48 pm

    Boiled eggs, crack all around, insert spoon held down, push slowly, then around. Comes out great.

  • anonymous
    June 29, 2014 at 4:16 pm

    Didn’t see this one. Put vinegar in where it says fabric softener in washing machine. Disinfects and softens clothes

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  • Anonymous
    March 12, 2014 at 7:15 pm

    I have been using alot of your tips for a long time, but sure do appreciate the newer ones. thanx for sharing.

  • Little Birdie Blessings
    September 20, 2013 at 11:05 am

    Awesome, all the great tips in one convenient place. Thanks so much Amy for putting this together. ~ Abby

  • Geraldine Valles
    August 24, 2013 at 10:28 pm

    Dont for get you can reuse your parmesan cheese container for homemade Carpet Freahner. .

    • Sandy McCullough
      September 10, 2014 at 3:53 pm

      When the parmesan cheese container is empty just take off the label and use that container.

  • Paola
    March 12, 2013 at 8:03 pm

    Love these. I only wish your links took you directly to the featured explanation, not to the blog in genera. Thank you!

  • Anonymous
    January 26, 2013 at 3:48 pm

    I am going to try the vinegar on the windshield worth a try. I do use vinegar instead of jet dry in my dishwasher. Everything comes out spot fee and no hard water stains.

    • Anonymous
      February 22, 2015 at 11:08 am

      Can’t wait to use this one . Thankyou

  • Anonymous
    October 5, 2012 at 3:45 am

    If you’re worried about the vinegar on your car, just cover your windshield with cardboard or a beach towel the night before. I did this all winter long in high school!

  • judi
    July 16, 2012 at 4:12 am

    has anyone tried the vinegar on the windshield ? I would be concerned it would ruin the paint on your car. Loved this site and write and let me know about the paint because its a great idea

    • Anonymous
      June 29, 2014 at 6:37 pm

      Use vinegar in my water for the wiper fluid. Keeps windows streak free and takes off bugs; and does not damage psint. Keeps nozzles clear of build up.

      • AmyNewNostalgia
        July 1, 2014 at 10:08 am

        Brilliant tip!

  • Allison Walters
    July 10, 2012 at 7:51 am

    Great tips! But the wooden spoon one doesn’t work.

  • Anonymous
    July 1, 2012 at 3:34 pm

    WONDERFUL IDEAS. SEVERAL I HAD FORGOTTEN THROUGHOUT TIME.

  • Anonymous
    June 26, 2012 at 10:11 am

    just did the Parmesan lid on the mason jar (filled with baking soda) for cleaning my corning stove top. So cute.

  • GrabScents Scentsy Scents
    June 25, 2012 at 5:08 pm

    Excellent ideas! Pin, pin, pin!!! :0)

  • Anonymous
    June 24, 2012 at 6:11 pm

    I appreciate your tips! As for some folks saying this or that doesnt work, it could be the difference in materials used in your “test” of it.. Or how it’s done. If everyone says it doesn’t work , then I’d likely not try it & move on.However, I will be trying most. 🙂

  • Ashley Faulk
    June 20, 2012 at 10:16 pm

    Such great idea’s. Ash

  • Lala
    June 20, 2012 at 8:30 pm

    Wonderful ideas. Thank you!

  • Lala
    June 20, 2012 at 8:30 pm

    Wonderful ideas. Thank you!

  • Lala
    June 20, 2012 at 8:23 pm

    Wonderful ideas. Thank you!

  • Just Another Face
    June 5, 2012 at 10:58 am

    These are awesome ideas! I love your blog!!!

  • Jessi
    June 5, 2012 at 2:54 am

    Awesome ideas!!!

  • Anonymous
    May 22, 2012 at 10:21 pm

    So many great ideas! I love them. Thanks for sharing.

  • Lisa Barr
    May 2, 2012 at 1:19 am

    Thanks for the tips!! Definately sharing!

  • MaryAnn Gruver
    April 30, 2012 at 11:22 am

    What great Idea’s I will be useing many of these. Thank’s loads for putting this together. Have a good one!

  • Carmen Dorina
    April 25, 2012 at 4:47 am

    thank you for great ideas

  • Anonymous
    April 21, 2012 at 9:26 am

    I tried the caulk for my rugs a few years ago; it didn’t work. We have two large dogs and I was looking for anything that would work that we hadn’t already tried…unfortunately this didn’t work. My father-in-law keeps his rugs in place with velcro, but I’m not willing to attach velcro to the floor.

    • Anonymous
      August 26, 2012 at 12:44 am

      Have you tried using pieces of shelf liner that is foam/rubber? I placed a piece of that under my rug and it stopped it from slipping. It doesn’t have to be cut as large as the rug to work. My mother-in-law used to use the old rubber canning jar rubber seals under her throw rugs to keep them from slipping.

  • Anonymous
    April 20, 2012 at 9:08 pm

    The wooden spoon over a boiling pot does not work.

    • Stephanie
      July 5, 2012 at 5:26 pm

      Thank you for saying this! So true. My pot of boiling water spewed all over my stove in spite of my wooden spoon.

    • Robin in Short Pump
      January 11, 2013 at 4:06 pm

      Didn’t work for me either.

    • Anonymous
      November 20, 2013 at 3:10 am

      It actually DID work for me! 🙂

    • Anonymous
      November 29, 2013 at 11:01 am

      It works great for me.

    • Anonymous
      January 8, 2014 at 3:42 am

      IT WORKED GREAT EVERY TIME EXCEPT WHEN I HAD THE POT SUPER FULL

    • Anonymous
      February 21, 2014 at 12:44 am

      When using a wooden spoon over boiling water, 2 tips- Make sure that your pot is not too full and turn the “bowl” part of your spoon facing up.

    • Anonymous
      July 1, 2014 at 12:46 am

      Worked for me:)

    • M
      July 5, 2014 at 5:36 pm

      I DO THIS ALL THE TIME AND IT WORKS FOR ME EVERY TIME. PUT PASTA IN PUT PUT WOODEN SPOON ACROSS THE TOP DONT BOIL OVER EVEN ON HIGH SAME THING FOR POTATOES. EVERYTHING I BOIL I NOW DO THIS. SURE WISH I HAD KNOWN THIS YEARS AGO. IT WOULD HAVE SAVED A LOT OF CLEANING THE STOVE.

      • Anonymous
        April 19, 2015 at 1:14 pm

        I never paid attention to whether the spoon was up or down, I just know it works. I’ve also used wooden spatula and fork. It still works

  • Melodee
    April 14, 2012 at 3:58 am

    amazing ideas! saw this pinned and repinning it now! thanks!!

  • Scotty
    April 8, 2012 at 12:21 pm

    These are cool. I guess I’ll have to buy a thing of “cheese” just for the top.

  • Anonymous
    March 22, 2012 at 10:33 pm

    You are a genius!

  • Matter Of Style
    March 22, 2012 at 8:53 am

    great ideas!

  • Anonymous
    March 7, 2012 at 6:47 am

    asfor the hard boiled egg, if you add a little vineger to your water before boiling the shels wil come right off with no effort

  • Rose :: FineCraftGuild.com
    March 2, 2012 at 11:52 pm

    these are great tips! thank you for sharing. i too have quite a list of ‘things i’ve learned’. and like you, i feel that blog readers miss out sometimes of all the great ideas if they are not pinterest followers also.

    on that, my pinterest is: http://www.pinterest.com/finecraftguild/
    i’ll follow you and i hope you’ll follow me back

  • mythineats
    March 2, 2012 at 2:03 pm

    I loved your tips they were fantastic. I especially loved the apple one, as seeing I am pregnant and will be sending apples to school that’s a great tidbit.

    • Anonymous
      July 1, 2014 at 12:48 am

      The sole thing didn’t work for me.

  • Melissa
    February 29, 2012 at 7:25 am

    I love these ideas! I have actually used the one with the binder clips for computer cords… makes life SO much easier! =-)

  • Melly Ann
    February 26, 2012 at 7:23 pm

    So awesome! I just used the canning jar and Parmesan lid. Perfect! 🙂 I mentioned this on my blog, and gave you credit. Thanks.

  • Blueridge
    February 25, 2012 at 6:29 pm

    I love your ideas! Clever, clever, clever! Thanks so much for sharing.

  • Anonymous
    February 6, 2012 at 7:34 am

    Great tips, thanks for sharing. My grown daughter made fun of me for making my own chip clips from the store hangers…can’t wait to show her this page.

  • Diane
    January 28, 2012 at 7:58 pm

    LOVE LOVE LOVE this page!

  • Anonymous
    January 25, 2012 at 3:16 pm

    Thought this would be the same old tips but was pleasantly surprised at all the clever New tips!! Thanks 🙂

  • Anonymous
    January 25, 2012 at 5:04 am

    LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!

  • Anonymous
    January 19, 2012 at 5:01 pm

    Clever ideas & such a useful list! Thanks!

  • Anonymous
    January 13, 2012 at 6:47 pm

    Love these ideas! Thank you for taking the time to share!

  • Sophia Chang
    January 13, 2012 at 5:42 am

    This is AMAZING.

  • Anonymous
    January 7, 2012 at 2:28 pm

    When painting, wrap your paintbrush or roller in plastic wrap, place in the freezer. You can then take it out in a day or two and finish painting without the headache of cleanup in-between.

    • Anonymous
      May 14, 2013 at 2:03 pm

      We put our paint brushes in a zip lock. The 9″ head fits just right in a gallon size and zips to the metal part of the handle. I haven’t tried the freezer thing though. Also, we use Glad Press n Seal on the paint pan so it doesn’t dry out and get flakes & stuff in your next day’s paint. Clean up just once. 🙂

  • Amy
    January 3, 2012 at 12:55 am

    So many awesome little ideas! Thank you!

  • txtornado
    January 1, 2012 at 10:15 pm

    Interesting ideas, thanks you so much for sharing!!

  • Anonymous
    December 30, 2011 at 5:40 am

    Interesting ideas, thanks much!!

  • M Leslie Wray
    December 28, 2011 at 8:45 am

    Hi Amy, These ideas are Great! I only knew about growing the onions and the wooden spoon on the pot (I do that all the time). So glad that I know you too! Keep it up Girl!

  • Amy Bowman
    December 27, 2011 at 4:07 pm

    Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone! Now off to try and simplify life…:)

  • anne
    December 27, 2011 at 6:24 am

    Hi there … Found you Via Pinterest! thanks for the great ideas.

  • Tina
    December 27, 2011 at 6:03 am

    When I find a post like this I don’t usually see so many things that make me say, “Oh yeah, I’m totally doing that!” Thanks for so many great ideas in one place.

  • Tina
    December 27, 2011 at 6:03 am

    When I find a post like this I don’t usually see so many things that make me say, “Oh yeah, I’m totally doing that!” Thanks for so many great ideas in one place.

  • Tina
    December 27, 2011 at 5:59 am

    When I find a post like this I don’t usually see so many things that make me say, “Oh yeah, I’m totally doing that!” Thanks for so many great ideas in one place.

  • Healthy Juicer
    December 19, 2011 at 3:10 pm

    Wow! Lots of great ideas. I cut up apples too for my daughters lunch and piece it back together. I will put a rubber band around it next time though.

  • The Pennington Point
    December 18, 2011 at 12:26 am

    These are GREAT ideas! I am constantly amazed at the cleverness of people. I see these ideas and go, “Oh DUH!” Lisa~

  • ProfessorSimone
    December 16, 2011 at 10:23 pm

    I am going to be pinning like crazy! So many great and usable ideas. Thanks for sharing.

  • kathy w
    December 16, 2011 at 7:24 pm

    Great article! I can’t wait to try some of these. Thanks for sharing.

  • Anonymous
    December 16, 2011 at 11:54 am

    I LOVE Pinterest. Yes, I am on it whenever I can find a few minutes and I follow you!

  • gotjoy3
    December 15, 2011 at 10:32 pm

    Awesome. My favorite to find out about is the hashbrown in waffle maker, parm lid fitting a jar, and the apple with the rubber bands. I will be trying. Thanks.

  • Amy Kinser
    December 16, 2011 at 4:23 am

    Man, Amy, those are some great ideas. So glad you shared them. I will bookmark lots of these in my mind.

  • adventuresindinner
    December 15, 2011 at 8:29 pm

    Fabulous list!

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