Blog: Get hacked

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Sometimes you need a good short-cut in life; I’m here to help

KayCie Gravelle | Fulcrum Staff

If you’ve ever been on the Internet there’s a good chance you’ve seen at least a few (or 80) lists that show you how to “Hack Your Life”. Everything from the bazillion ways you can use bread clips to organize all the dangly bits in your day to day life, to how to save money on gardening tools (cut up plastic jugs, it works). As the Fulcrum’s online editor it’s probably pretty clear that I really love the internet and therefore I have tried a lot of these life hacks and while some of them are more wishful thinking than anything else there are some that have become part of my daily routine. That being said, I present you, dear readers, with a list of life hacks that will save you time, money, and headaches.

Iced coffee cubes

Every time I make a pot of coffee that is more than 2 cups worth I end up with leftover deliciousness that I throw in a juice container and use later for iced coffee. A little hazelnut creamer and some ice cubes is really all you need to skip that trip to Starbucks and save yourself four dollars. The only downfall is that while I’m enjoying my tasty iced beverage the ice is melting and therefore watering it down. This is just unacceptable to me, so I decided to throw some of my leftover java into an ice cube tray and use those to cool down my caffeine. Instead of watery grossness you get a little extra coffee and a whole lot of yum.

Elevator bypass

Have you ever wanted to do laundry in your apartment building but don’t want to end up stuck at the back of a packed elevator with a full basket of dirty clothes in your pajamas? I can help you with that. Did you know that if you hold the “close door” button at the same time as the button for your floor you can bypass all other stops? It’s how emergency personnel and building management get around high-rises so quickly. Remember that this life hack–while convenient for you–can be incredibly inconvenient for others, especially if there’s only one elevator to choose from. Use this life hack responsibly and remember that you don’t always have to be living at warp speed, but if you get to the basement and realize you forgot your laundry room key then by all means, hold those buttons down.

Embroidery floss headphones

This may be the most helpful life hack I’ve ever used. You know when you wrap your ear buds around your iPod or unplug them and roll them neatly up for safe-keeping and then you retrieve them later and they’re in a knot that you couldn’t have tied if you tried? Yeah, that’s annoying, I just want to listen to my tunes as I travel around the city and instead I have to perform minor surgery on my wires as I cross the street to the bus stop. It’s not that I have no patience, it’s just that I have very little so when I saw a girl with hemp wound around her headphone wires I couldn’t for the life of me understand what the benefit was. After a little research I realized two things: that girl is a freakin’ genius and I could be too. I went home and pulled some colourful floss from my embarrassingly hefty stash and spent roughly three hours wrapping it around my headphones. Not only does it look super fun but you can colour code the left and right sides and your headphones will never tie themselves into brain-bending knots ever again.

Hanging shoe rack space saver

The living arrangements as a post-secondary student can often leave you kind of low on space, especially bathrooms. Think about all the things you may need in there; body wash, shampoo, conditioner, face wash, a loofah, a razor, shaving cream etc. If you have a roommate (or several) a small bathroom can be kind of hard to manage. Alas there is a solution! Buy yourself one of those plastic shoe organizers that hangs in your closet and attach it to your shower curtain rings. The organizer is plastic so it’s easy to keep clean and can handle water.

You can pile all your things into the pouches and you’ll never have to worry about knocking a Shopper’s Drug Mart aisle worth of stuff onto the bathroom floor (you’ll also avoid accidental slippage, bonus). This little trick can also be handy for craft corners, kitchens, and bedrooms.

Chill drinks fast

Nothing worse than warm beer, right? Except lukewarm water, juice, iced tea, pop; beverages are better cold is what I’m trying to say here, so the next time you’ve got people over and you forgot to get your drinks chilled try this. Wrap a wet paper towel around the bottle and put it in the freezer for 15 minutes. It’ll be nice and cool when you take it out, don’t forget it in the freezer though, that is a mess even life hacks can’t really help you with.