A lot of life hacks are over 100 years old and yet they still do wonders today. Sure, a lot of things have changed through the past century but some still stay the same. We have rounded up a list of the best century-old life hacks that you can still do now.
1. Remedy shoes that are slightly too big
Are your shoes just a little loose or maybe half a size too big for you? Remedy this problem by adhering a piece of velveteen or soft, plush fabric on the inside of the heel. The shoes will fit better and they’ll be comfortable!
2. We’ve all needed this trick ever since rings were invented
This one might be a little more well-known, but it’s still useful. If you ever try to take your ring off and find out that it’s stuck, just grease your hand up with some soap. Once the soap gets between the ring and your skin, it should slide right off.
3. Fit corks to tight bottles
Sometimes a cork goes missing and you need to substitute a spare one you have on hand. After all, you don’t want your wine to go bad. If your spare cork is too big for your bottle, just compress it by rolling it under your shoe. If you’re paranoid about germs, try doing it on a table under a cutting board instead.
4. Make a DIY foot bandage for minor accidents
If you have an injury on your foot, you’ll need a bandage that stays firmly in place. Use a roll of gauze or cotton bandaging to wind around your foot and ankle, looping alternatively around each in a figure-eight pattern. Then fasten in place on the ankle with a safety pin.
5. Use olive oil to get rid of sticky residue
Oil is great at breaking up stickiness. Just pour a little bit onto a cleaning cloth and rub gently. You can use whatever kind of oil you want — even regular food-grade oils like olive or vegetable will do the trick.
6. Keep colors from running with saltwater
Modern washing machines are a little more sensitive than the ones people used back in the day, but there’s still the potential of brightly colored fabrics running. This is especially true for anything that’s been dyed or colored at home, including T-shirts designed with markers or tie-dye items. To keep colors from bleeding in the wash, soak them in water with two large handfuls of salt for 24 hours.
7. Make a simple gate latch
No need to spend money on buying a pre-made gate latch for your yard. Just make your own! Just use a wedge or piece of wood and secure it to the swinging gate with a loose screw. Move it up or down when you want it in the secured position.
8. Make a DIY chicken water fountain
More and more people are looking into urban farming and living off the land. That includes having chickens for eggs! If you or someone you know has chickens, use a wine glass and some wire loops to create a water fountain. Just make sure the mouth of the bottle is about half an inch away from the bottom of the catch pan.
9. Pull out stubborn nails stuck in the wall
When nails get stuck in the wall, it can be a long and frustrating process to get them out. Using pliers isn’t always effective, either. To maximize the strength of pliers, fit a small block of wood or another object under the pliers as support when pulling out the nail.
10. Get salt stains off your boots
Anybody who lives in a cold climate will tell you that winter roads and streets can wreak havoc on your clothing. Road salt leaves annoying stains that can devastate boots and other items. Remove the stains with a bit of baking soda and two tablespoons of hot milk. Rub a little polish on to get your shoes shining again.
11. Get eyelashes out of your eye the old-fashioned way
Getting an eyelash or piece of grit in your eye can not only ruin your day, but it can actually be dangerous. Foreign objects in the eye mean the possibility of a scratched cornea or an infection. To get the object out, place a small drop of oil into the corner of your eye. The object will stick to the oil and give you some relief.
12. Get some nice thin slices of toast
It can be tough to try to cut a loaf of bread, especially if you want thin slices. But there’s no need to struggle! Just run your knife under very hot water and then cut quickly while the metal is still warm.
13. Get perfect potatoes every time
If you want to improve your potatoes, try this easy hack. Just add a bit of sugar to the water while boiling (not too much!). When the potatoes are soft, drain the water and return the pot to the stove for a few minutes, occasionally shaking slightly. Voila — perfectly textured potatoes!
14. Revitalize your faded flowers with almost no effort
If you have a vase of flowers that’s started to grow stale, there’s an easy way to perk them up. Put them in hot water and let them sit until it’s cooled. Then trim the ends and replace them in cold water again. They’ll look fresh within minutes.
15. Make your candle the perfect size for any holder
In this day and age, candles are usually for decoration, not for light. But that doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating when they’re too big to fit in their holders. To pare a candle down to size, just soak it in some hot water until the wax grows soft, then push it into the holder for a secure fit.
16. Don’t throw away cracked eggs
By now, we’ve all perfected the grocery store egg check: opening the carton and turning over each egg to make sure there are no cracks. Thankfully, if you do have a cracked egg, there’s no need to throw it away. To keep cracked eggs from leaking in a boiling pot, add a little vinegar to the water. Presto — hard-boiled eggs without any waste.
17. Keep the strain off your wrist when carrying a full pitcher
Carrying a pitcher of water or other liquid the wrong way can injure your wrist and lead to a messy spill, or worse, broken glass. To carry pitchers securely, use the old trick that’s still used by waiters and waitresses. Just hold the handle at the top and hook your thumb over the lip of the pitcher to support the weight.
18. Clean all that residue out of bottles
Plenty of people reuse or upcycle bottles these days, but you’ll want to make sure they’re completely clean before you do. To rinse out any sticky residue from the inside of a bottle, fill it with water, soap, and some sand, then give it a couple of swirls. The sand will scrape the goo from the interior, leaving it clean and ready for reuse.
19. Use a safety pin if you don’t have a needle
In a pinch, safety pins can replace certain kinds of needles (usually the big kind used for sewing yarn or elastic). Just fasten the pin through the material that you’ll be threading and push the whole thing through the fabric. It’s an easy way to get a sewing job done in an emergency.
20. Keep your furniture shining with this DIY furniture polish
If you have a lot of wood furniture or other wood surfaces in your house, it’s nice to shine them up every once in a while. You can make your own furniture polish by combining paraffin wax with vinegar in a 50-50 solution. Add a couple of drops of scented oil if you like for a fragrant solution.
21. Get wine cool in no time at all
If you need to cool wine down in a rush, just wrap it in some thick cloth-like flannel and put it in a tub of cold water. In about ten minutes, you’ll have icy cold wine ready for drinking. By the way, the modern college version of this is to wrap it in wet paper towels and stick it in the freezer.
22. Prop pot lids open with a clothespin and a tack
If you need to keep a pot lid cracked while you’re cooking, take a tip from your grandmother. Use a wooden clothespin (not plastic — it will melt!) and a tack to prop the lid. Push the tack into one side of the clothespin and clip it onto the pot lid, tack side down.
23. Get mud stains out of clothes with raw potatoes
Mud stains are the worst: they’re hard to get out, and you can’t throw muddy clothes into the wash without the risk of damaging your machine. To get the worst of the mud off before you wash, rub the stains with raw, peeled potatoes. Then throw in the wash … and toss the potato out to be safe.
24. Take care of a sprain at home
There’s no doubt that sprains are annoying and painful, but thankfully, they’re not usually serious. To take care of them, elevate the sprained limb on a pillow and wrap in cool, wet bandages. Keep them consistently wet by running a bandage from the limb to a pitcher of water. Then let gravity do the trick of moving the water down to the sprain.
25. Keep nuts and bolts extra secure
This one might have a niche audience these days, but it’s still a useful tip. If you have a bolt that’s a little bit lose, drill a hole in it and insert a bent pin. It will keep the bolt nice and tight.
26. Ditch the weather app for some good old-fashioned prediction
We’re a little spoiled by smartphones these days. With a quick tap, we can find out the weather forecast for the next week. The next time you’re without cell service, take a look at the sky to see what weather lies ahead. Just look at the clouds on the horizon: if they gradually get bigger, rain is probably on its way, but if they get smaller, expect a sunny day.
27. Get rid of the old stumps in your yard
Have a stump in your yard that just won’t die? Drill some holes into the top of it. Then remove the bark from the sides and drill holes there as well. Fill the holes with rock salt and let it soak into the wood.