11. Toothpaste and Headlights

Best Place to Purchase: Grocery stores, dollar stores
Average Product Price: $3.95*
We use toothpaste to remove plaque from our teeth, but there are many more uses for it than that, and not all of them are dental. Toothpaste contains a mild abrasive agent that won’t damage headlights (or teeth), but will instead get any dirt or grime off them.

Toothpaste for Cleaning Headlights @Mansal Denton / Twitter.com
That’s right, you can use toothpaste to clean your headlights. What you want to do is first wipe down the headlights with Windex. Then, take a fingertip-size blob of toothpaste on a soft cloth and rub it onto the headlight. The best toothpaste to use is Arm & Hammer, which has baking soda in it.

12. Rearview Mirrors

Best Place to Purchase: Amazon
Average Product Price: $25.70*
Driving at night can be a hazard, but it becomes even more problematic when you have a jerk behind you, moving with their bright lights on. They reflect right off your rearview mirror into your eyes, making it difficult for you to see.

Rearview Mirrors @kaboomdesign / Pinterest
That’s what that little tab on the bottom of your rearview mirror is for. It’s up for when you need to see during the day, and then you can flip it down for night time. That redirects the bright light out of your eyes so that you can drive more safely at night, even if there are jerks behind you.
Nearly every car model from Ford to Toyota has this feature, although some cars have specially designed mirrors that don’t need it. Either way, it’s good to know that you don’t have to worry about actually being able to see the road when you’re driving at night. The solution was there all along!

13. Running Shoes

Best Place to Purchase: Amazon
Average Product Price: $29.99*
Buying a new pair of running shoes can be quite rewarding, especially for the new year when you want to start on your resolutions. Finding the right pair requires a lot of patience in trying on different sneakers, but it’s like a match made in heaven once you do.

Extra Holes on Running Shoes @Illumiseen / Youtube.com
Everyone laces up their running shoes differently, but not everyone uses all the holes near the shoe’s mouth. Too bad, because lacing up through these finals holes will give you a tighter fit and reduce your chances of blisters on your feet. Give it a try, and you may find that your running shoes fit you much better than you initially thought.
Blisters can be so painful that they can stop you from running until they heal, only to open up again once you re-start. Instead of blaming the make of the shoes, try lacing them as we suggested and see if it makes a difference. You might be surprised!

14. Tic-Tac Containers

Best Place to Purchase: Walmart
Average Product Price: $1.22*
Tic-Tacs are the little fresh mint that you can take with you anywhere since they’re so small and fit into just about any bag or pocket. Give the container a little shake, and you may have people coming up to you to ask for one. However, getting one out seems complicated for people, even though the Tic-Tac container makers devised the perfect means to get one out.

Tic Tac Containers @countryliving / Pinterest
Just turn your container on its side so that the opening is at the top and open. The lid has the perfect grooves to present one Tic-Tac to you, saving you from shaking out half the container into your hand and having to put them all back in.
Of course, that’s presuming that you eat them one at a time as intended and not as candy. Kids around the world go wild for Tic-Tac’s too, so they may not be quite as interested in this theory as adults will be.

15. Soda Can Tabs

Best Place to Purchase: N/A
Average Product Price: N/A
When we open a new can of soda, most people can’t help but play with that little tab or bend it over and over again until it pops off. After all, what else can you do with it once it’s open? Nevertheless, did you know that the little hole on the tab was created to hold your straw?

Soda Can Tabs ©SiljeAO & stockphotofan1 / Shutterstock
For those who don’t want to put their lips to the can, you can insert your straw through the hole and sip at your pleasure, without having to worry about the straw slipping out or the carbon dioxide from the drink pushing it out.
When you think about it, it’s a genius design that should be much more widely utilized than it actually is. Now you know, you can help spread the word and revolutionize the can-drinking game for the masses, just like manufacturers intended!

16. Saucepan Handles

Best Place to Purchase: Amazon
Average Product Price: $29.95
Cooking pots and pans have made it much easier for people to prepare food in the home since people stopped cooking over an open flame. Stirring utensils have also made it easy to prevent burning or scalding of food, but there is the messy business of putting them down on a paper towel or having to rinse after each use.

Sauce Pan Hack thekitchn/Pinterest
Alternatively, you could look at the handle of your pot or pan. See that hole? You can insert your wooden stirring spoon so that it can drip right back into your pan instead of creating a puddle of food on your countertop.
That hole is typically used for people to hang their pots and pans up to store them if they want to, but it’s got a double use. The spoon holder technique is a great idea, especially if you want to minimize clean-up time as much as possible.

17. Slushy Lids

Best Place to Purchase: 7-11
Average Product Price: $1.99*
A visit to your local convenience store may inspire you to grab one of those sugary, frozen drinks. They can be quite refreshing on a hot summer day. However, instead of slapping on one of those domed lids, consider putting it on your cup the other way around.

@711Fan/Twitter.com
It may look a little strange, but you’ll get more bang for your buck. The lid will hold more slushy, providing you with more drinks at the same price. Moreover, there’s still a hole in the cap for you to insert your straw. You won’t have to worry about overfilling ever again.
The only downside is that you won’t be as protected from potential spillage situations. And, because of the way the lid is positioned, it may be prone to slipping. You’ll have to decide if it’s worth the extra flavored ice, or just too much of a gamble.

18. Analog Watch

Best Place to Purchase: Amazon
Average Product Price: $19.55*
When you’re busy at work, your own computer could end up being your worst enemy. Stepping away means that your computer will go into screensaver mode, which means wasting time having to wake it up so you can get back to work.

Analog Watch mouse @TheAnchor69 / Twitter.com
One simple trick can save you much time, and it may be as close as your own wrist. This trick only works, however, if you have a mouse with a laser sensor. Just place the mouse on your watch, and it will read the ticking second hand as movement so that your computer won’t go into screensaver mode.
Of course, there is another way that screensaver mode can be avoided. Simply going into the computer settings and changing them will give you some more time, but as a short term solution, this hack can’t be underestimated. It’s ingenious and simple.

19. Aluminum Foil Boxes

Best Place to Purchase: Target
Average Product Price: $3.99*
When you have food that needs covering up, aluminum foil is people’s first choice. However, it can be challenging to get the foil out without the entire tube coming out with it. That’s because not many people are aware of the unique properties of the box itself.

Foil Boxes @eatthis/Twitter.com
There are tabs you can push in that end up inside the tube of foil on the sides of the foil box. That part holds the roll in place so that you can tear off foil more easily—no more frustrations of having to reroll the foil and shove it back into the box.
We’ve all been there, but it’s especially frustrating when you’ve just picked up a brand new roll from Walmart, only for it to look like it’s been used and abused for a good few months. This handy hint will make wrapping leftovers a breeze – just like nature intended!

20. Spaghetti Spoons

Best Place to Purchase: Walmart
Average Product Price: $8.98*
Making a decent bowl of spaghetti isn’t hard, but it can be difficult to tell how much you should make. Sometimes, it never looks like enough, but by the end, you have way too much spaghetti in your bowl. Did you know that the slotted pasta spoon you use to drain your spaghetti with is good at measuring how much pasta you should cook?

Spaghetti Spoons @aleksjames54 / Twitter.com
The holes in the bottom can be used to calculate how much spaghetti you should cook per person. That takes out all of the guesswork to have just the right amount of spaghetti for everyone.
Of course, while this is a great guide, the portion the spoon provides probably isn’t as much as you would be served at eateries like Darden’s Olive Garden. When it comes to pasta it’s all about personal preference, but it’s good to know that the spoon has your back if you’re not 100% sure.