41. Fabric Samples
Best Place to Purchase: Joanne Fabrics, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, home improvement stores
Average Product Price: $0*
At most fabric and craft stores, you are able to take home a fabric sample, usually for free. This is useful for checking that your selected fabric actually goes with your home décor. It’s different seeing it at home, as opposed to only getting to look at it in the store. Also, taking home multiple swatches gives you more time to think and make your selection.
©Adobe Stock
However, fabric swatches from Michaels or Jo-Ann Fabrics have another benefit. You can wash them in the washing machine to ensure that they hold up. Even if the fabric is the perfect color and/or pattern, making sure that it can take a wash is half the battle.
42. Analog Watch
Best Place to Purchase: Amazon, Best Buy, tech stores
Average Product Price: $50-$100*
Windows and MAC screens tend to dim the screen or go to sleep right when you don’t want them to. You’re not always going to be moving your mouse—sometimes, you step away from the screen or are reading something. An improperly-timed screen sleep can ruin a project, especially if you’re working from home and need to stay on the same page (i.e. in a Zoom meeting).
Analog Watch mouse @TheAnchor69 / Twitter.com
There is a cheap solution to help you keep your computer awake without having to jiggle the mouse constantly. Get an analog watch from Best Buy or Walmart, and place it under the mouse. The mouse will track the second hand’s motion and keep the computer awak
43. Cupcake
Best Place to Purchase: Any bakery, Costco
Average Product Price: $2*
Cupcake fans can rejoice, as this life hack lets you enjoy the tastiness of a cupcake while enjoying the consistency of a cake. Bon Appetit discovered the idea of a “cupcake sandwich” back in 2012. First, buy a cupcake (or a lot of them, if you’re going to Costco, which has an awesome bakery).
Cupcake @JennaHarner11 / Twitter.com
Then, cut off the bottom half of the cupcake—the cake part. Place the cake part on top of the frosting on the cupcake and push down. That will create a “cupcake sandwich,” where there are two cake buns with frosting in the middle. Enjoy!
44. Old Tissue Boxes
Best Place to Purchase: Dollar stores, drug stores
Average Product Price: $3.39*
Pretty much every house in America has a bottom drawer in the kitchen that is filled with plastic bags. Plastic bags don’t really recycle. You usually have to bring them back to the retailer if they have a recycling program; these stores, like Walmart or Target, usually have a collection bin.
Old Tissue Boxes @Pinbusters / Youtube.com
But, most people don’t have time for that and just keep them, hoping to use them for something at a future date. Though we don’t have an answer for that, we do have an answer on how to store them more efficiently. Use old tissue boxes to maximize space-saving.
45. Saucepan Handles
Best Place to Purchase: Dollar/budget store (unless you’re a dedicated cook)
Average Product Price: $30-$50 (set)*
Insider answered the question that a lot of us didn’t realize that we wanted to ask: what are the holes at the end of saucepans for? The hole is placed directly at the end of the saucepan’s handle. While most people know that the saucepan handle hole is used for hanging up the pan when you’re done, there is another use.
Saucepan Handles @Lifehack / Pinterest
You can also use the handle hole as a rest for your spoon. It’s a convenient, non-messy place to store your spoon until you’re done with it. You can buy saucepans for cheap at local budget stores, but high-end saucepans will cost you big bucks at places like Williams-Sonoma or Pottery Barn.
46. Plungers (in the Sink)
Best Place to Purchase: Dollar/budget store, Amazon
Average Product Price: $10-$20*
Turns out all plungers are not created equal. There are few things more annoying (or gross) than a clogged appliance, but make sure that you’re not using the same type of plunger for both unclogging jobs. For a sink, use a flat plunger. Flat plungers work well on the flat surface of the bottom of the sink.
Plunger for Sink @FIX IT Home Improvement Channel / YouTube.com
The cup lays flat over the drain, creating the vacuum that will dislodge whatever is in the pipes. You can buy a sturdy, durable sink plunger at Walmart or Target. Usually, a sink plunger that is of good quality will cost $10-$20.
47. Wooden Hangers
Best Place to Purchase: Amazon, budget stores
Average Product Price: $20-$30 (30-pack)*
There are few things more icky than moths. And yet, there are few things more unpleasant-smelling than moth balls. It might seem like a lose-lose situation, but ordinary wooden hangers actually have a hidden key to repel these critters from the start.
Wooden Hangers @Merilin’s Retro / Pinterest @Mamamia / Pinterest
It turns out that wooden hangers, such as the kind you can find on Amazon or any department store, inherently repel moths. Note: you have to make sure the wood used in the hanger is cedar. MarthaStewart.com noted that only strongly-scented cedar that is fresh can repel moths and kill the young larvae. Unfortunately, if the scent fades, the moths may return.
48. Dental Floss
Best Place to Purchase: Dollar/budget store
Average Product Price: $4-$10*
Flossing: that thing your dentist always tells you to do and, hopefully, you actually do. Flossing is vital to oral health, but you might be using your dental floss all wrong. If you don’t have the floss picks and use the string instead, you probably wrap the floss around your fingers once, twice, or three times to increase tension.
Dental Floss @leenarawal / YouTube.com
You can tie your floss in a knot instead. It’ll make it easier to maneuver, and you won’t use as much, meaning you’ll be replacing your Colgate or Crest floss less often (saving cash, too).
49. Car Headrest
Best Place to Purchase: Talk to local dealer/mechanic
Average Product Price: $600-$800 (replacement)*
Your car’s headrest is surprisingly expensive, as a repair from a local mechanic or big-budget company like AutoZone can cost you hundreds of dollars. Make sure you get more bang for your buck by using your headrest as a DIY iPad/tablet holder.
Car Headrest @Callie Blasi / Pinterest
To stave off boredom on a road trip, you can attach a clear pencil case to the back of the front headrest, tying it with string or a ribbon. Then, put in your iPad or tablet. The punched holes on the pencil case allow you to tie it to the headrest without having to cut into the case.
50. Pasta Ladles
Best Place to Purchase: Dollar/budget store
Average Product Price: $1-10*
According to RD.com, we’ve all been ignoring one major feature of the common pasta utensil: the hole in the center. The pasta utensil is pretty utilitarian to begin with, as the prongs are able to tangle in the pasta and pull a bunch out at a time. The drainage hole in the middle lets water filter out.
Pasta Ladles @CasasHomm / Twitter.com
However, that drainage hole in the center isn’t only for filtering. You can also use it to measure one serving size. Stick as much pasta as will fit (at one time) through that hole, and you have a serving. The cheapest places to buy ladles are usually dollar or budget stores like Dollar Tree.
51. Fruit Stickers
Best Place to Purchase: N/A
Average Product Price: Free with the fruit
We’ve all seen fruit stickers on produce before, and, chances are, some of us have even eaten the stickers accidentally. Though fruit stickers are free with the fruit, few people actually know what the numbers on them mean. If you go to your refrigerator and pull out a piece of fruit, look at the sticker.
Stickers on Fruit ©Fowsgks001/Wikimedia Commons
There will be digits on them. If there are four digits, and the first number of the digits is “4,” then that means the fruit was sprayed with pesticides. If there are five digits, and the first number of the digits is “9,” then that means the fruit was grown organically. If there are five digits, and the digits start with “8,” that means the fruit was genetically modified during the growing process.