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Handy Hacks That Make Your Household Chores Easier

No one (okay, very VERY few people) like doing household chores. Putting on some music can ease the process, but being more productive by cutting your cleaning time is even better. These simple and handy hacks will ensure you save time doing your household chores, so you have more time to do the things you truly love!

Get Rid Of Clothing Wrinkles With Ice Cubes

ice cubes on a black cloth- the first of our hacks.
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Tired of hand ironing every, single item? Or have you just given up entirely and go to the office with an embarrassing amount of wrinkles? Either way, this hack will solve your problem. Place your dryer on the hottest setting, and put in a couple pieces of clothing along with three ice cubes. Leave them in for 10 minutes max and voila! Wrinkle-free fabric!

Pick Up Glass Shards With Bread

spongey white bread used for cleaning up glass.

For the clumsy ones amongst us, dropping a glass or shattering a bowl can be pretty commonplace in the kitchen. As much as we sweep and swear there’s no remnants left, there is always the chance you’ve left a shard or two. To avoid any additional painful accidents, try dampening a piece of bread and pressing it to the floor where the glass fell. The glass will be absorbed into the bread without slicing your hands or feet in the process.

Clean Bathroom Surfaces Naturally With Grapefruit

grapefruit can be used for cleaning hacks.

Having a bathtub sounds luxurious, until you have to clean away the gross residue and stains left behind. (Makes you wonder how DIRTY you really were…) If you want to avoid using harsh chemicals that are bad to breathe in, a safe alternative is grapefruit! Rinse the designated area you want to clean, and then sprinkle some salt on a sliced grapefruit and scrub away. This combination quickly removes stains and leaves your bathroom smelling fresh and sweet. We love any cleaning hacks that help the environment too!

Clean Your Blender In Seconds

a blender with an orange smoothie inside.

How many of you love the idea of a smoothie, but the thought of having to clean the blender afterwards is enough to turn you way? No longer will you dread cleaning the blender, as this is one of the fastest hacks ever! Instead of taking apart the blender and risking cutting yourself in the process, fill the blender with water and a little bit of soap, put on the lid and blend!

Photos: Freepik

Does The Moon Really Have An Effect On Our Behavior?

While the likelihood of someone transforming into a werewolf Jacob Black style is slim to none, there are many stories about people going “loony” during the full moon. There are reports of increased crime and emergency room visits during this lunar phase, yet is this just all a coincidental nightmare?

a full moon seen through the trees.

The Moon’s Effect On The Tides… And The Water In Our Body

It is well-known knowledge that the moon has an effect on the tides. Just as Earth has a gravitational pull, so does the moon. While it’s not strong enough to lift us off the planet entirely (thank goodness for that) it does have the effect of pulling the water, making it “bulge.” As a result, we get high tide on the side of Earth that’s nearest the moon.

a moon over the water, showing the tides on a beach.

That said, as humans we also have a large amount of water in our bodies. In fact, men’s bodies are composed of approximately 60% water (55% for women). This leads many to believe that the moon’s gravitational pull of water then also means it’s pulling humans, and likely having an effect on our behavior.

Enough With Beliefs, What About The Facts?

Many people have their hunches, but science is the only way to truly prove if this lunar behavioral phenomena is real. A group of researchers in Canada decided to research if the moon had any behavioral effect on patients. The researchers composed their investigation by recording all of the patients who complained of chest pain with no medical reason behind it. A majority of the patients also suffered from some psychological issues, such as mood disorders or anxiety.

a woman holding a glowing yellow full moon.

The results found that there was zero correlation between the chest issues, which they determined to be a psychological issue, and lunar phases. According to Dr. Geneviève Belleville who led the study, “One thing is certain: we observed no full-moon or new-moon effect on psychological problems.”

Full Moon Or Something else…

Given the solid conclusion from the research study, the full moon is officially off the hook as scapegoat for one’s crazy behavior. Turns out, if one is acting a little loony, they might just be that way… always.

Photos: Pixabay, Unsplash

Are You Brushing Your Teeth The Correct Way?

Yes, as a matter of fact, there is a right and wrong way to brush your teeth. Beyond just avoiding cavities and decay, having proper toothbrushing technique helps to keep your heart healthy too. Seeing as we all have (hopefully) been brushing our teeth since before we could remember, you might think you are a PRO at this point. Nevertheless, you could be doing your twice daily routine improperly– putting your health at risk in the process. Fix it up with this simple correct guide!

man smiling with thumbs up, brushing his teeth.

The Time Taken For Brushing Teeth Is Key

It’s been drilled into our heads since childhood that brushing your teeth twice a day is the standard, once in the morning and once at night. This routine is perfectly healthy, so long as you brush your teeth for the right amount of time. According to Popular Science, the best teeth brushing is properly done with at least two minutes for each session. Realistically, this is probably longer than you are used to. In order to change this habit and ensure you are brushing for the right duration, you can bring a timer with you to the bathroom (on your phone works) and just brush away!

woman smiling while brushing her teeth.

The Harder The Scrub Does NOT Mean The Better The Clean

Brushing your teeth should be gentle to your mouth and gums, not a harsh scrub fest. You should be aiming to brush at a 45 degree angle to your gums and using soft bristled brushes. If you find your gums habitually hurt after brushing your teeth, chances are it’s due to wrong technique and brush, both of which are easy fixes!

toothbrush with toothpaste on it.

Keep It Interesting

If the main reason you don’t brush your teeth properly is because it’s boring, try to find ways to keep it interesting. Play music while in the bathroom or put on a video to distract yourself. That way the time will fly and you’ll keep up your health.

Photos: Freepik, Pixabay

Keep Your Information Safe By Avoiding These Online Actions

In the digital age where anything and everything is done online, it can be difficult to keep your information and identity safe. Even people who think they are being hyper-aware of the information they share on social networking sites can find themselves the victim of a cybercrime. To keep your information safe, you should avoid at all costs doing these common online actions.

Online Personality Quizzes

woman's hands on a mobile phone on facebook, with many faces of people in the background.

Facebook lost a lot of its credibility (and was fined big time) after a quiz site called “Cambridge Analytica” created personality quizzes that stored the information of all of its participants (and the Facebook friends of those participants). What seems like an innocent quiz about “what type of dessert are you,” is actually taking personal information from under your nose. Questions like “what was your first car” might seem innocent, but it’s the answer to a lot of security questions online… That said, you should avoid these quizzes at all cost, especially if they are from an unknown source.

Public Wifi

a hand clicking on wifi on a phone and other sources of information around it.

When you’re on vacation and don’t have wifi or data, it can be tempting to check in to the public wifi whenever you can. However, often these “public” hosts are not reliable, and actually track all of your actions while surfing. Logging into your email, monitoring your bank account, and checking other sites with personal and private information might all be traced and saved by hackers. It is best to wait until you are at a private Wifi zone with a secure password.

Text Message Promotions

a girl clicking on a link on her phone for more information.

Cyberhacks can also occur via text message through what is called “smishing.” If you have ever received a text message for a store discount with a link that redirects to a site asking for personal information, delete immediately! These are unlikely to be originally sent from the company. If you are not sure if the promo is valid or just a scam, try searching the domain name online to see if it is truly connected.

Posting Boarding Passes

An apple watch showing a boarding pass with personal information.

You have every right to feel ecstatic about your upcoming trip and sharing it with the world. However, sharing a photo of your boarding pass (or passport, license, etc) makes it possible for hackers to steal your identity. While a boarding pass might seem innocent to share, it actually contains information that could be used to access a frequent flyer account and credit card information. Ensure your vacation has zero security breaches by traveling with caution and care!

Photos: Freepik, Pixabay, Unsplash

The New iPhone Camera Is Giving People Anxiety

There is always lots of press and commentary surrounding the release of a new iPhone. The most recent, the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, were revealed Tuesday night with a bold new upgrade from the already impressive previous design of the iPhone X. These new phones now have three rear cameras, which help to create professional looking photos (even at night). However, this new design comes at a price… triggering anxiety in people with trypophobia.

color variations of the new iPhone 11 Pro

What Even Is Trypophobia?

According to Irena Milosevic, author of “Phobias: The Psychology of Irrational Fear,” trypophobia is an “intense fear of a repetitive pattern of holes.” This might sound very strange upon reading, but when you look at some visual references, you might be shocked at how much your skin crawls. Looking at items with repetitive holes like honeycombs and seed pods cause certain people to experience a variety of symptoms, including disgust, anxiety, vomiting, and distress. If the following picture makes you feel nervous, you too might feel triggered by the new phone.

a honeycomb that can cause people trypophobia

People Tweet About Their Anxiety From The New iPhone

While it may sound comical, it is actually a very serious condition. As the triple camera does create a creepy hole-filled void, many people took to Twitter to share their disgust and discomfort with the new iPhone’s camera appearance.

Viewing the new iPhone 11 Pro design is incredibly unnerving for people who have trypophobia, causing various physical and emotional responses. Which leads to the question, how do people get anxiety from looking at these images?

The Origins Of Trypophobia

It is believed that 18% of women and 11% of men in the adult population globally have symptoms of trypophobia, potentially deriving from survivalism. Specifically, researchers at the University of Essex say this phobia “arises in part because the inducing stimuli share basic visual characteristics with those of dangerous organisms.”

Given the considerable chunk of the population affected by this phobia, it could mean a drop in sales for Apple (or maybe people will spend less time on the screen?) Nevertheless, Apple has yet to respond to the public concerns about the anxiety induced by the design.

Photos: Unsplash, Twitter: @BenGeskin ,

This Simple Solution Will Help You Cut Back On Screen Time

With smart phones having access to download apps for just about everything, it’s no wonder that most of us are spending more hours looking at a screen than we would like to admit. Sure, many of us have jobs that require working on a computer, but what about the rest of the day? The time can add up, and studies show that excessive screen time is bad both for our physical and mental health. So how can we reduce it without locking up our phones entirely? This one simple solution.

person working on a computer, while also having a laptop and phone screen open.

Declutter Your Phone’s Home Screen

How can removing apps from the phone screen make you spend less time on the phone? The theory is that by not seeing apps that we notoriously use to waste time (like Instagram, Twitter, games…) we will be less likely to open them. This theory is similar to what commonly happens in supermarkets. You go in with the intention of buying one thing, and come out with all the special items on display. But the cookies were calling my name! Same goes for those apps. You might go in your phone simply to respond to one message, and end up 20 minutes later scrolling deep in your Instagram feed.

phone screen with many apps.

Decide Your Own Strategy

What apps are kept on the home screen are your call. For most people, the messages, email, calendar, and settings all serve very specific purposes that typically we don’t get lost in. Therefore, these are most likely “safe apps” to leave on the home screen. The other apps however, are better off on other pages so they are less accessible. Remember, out of sight, out of mind!

The Screen Solution Success Rate

woman looking serious, holding a phone and showing screen to camera.

Undoubtedly, having to swipe one or two screens is not that huge of a time obstacle to prevent you from spending time on your screen. However, if you don’t have these apps displayed first thing when you unlock your phone, you are less likely to be thinking about them. It’s ultimately a test of your own self restraint, and if reducing your screen time is a true personal goal. Just think about all the time you will have for other activities in your life!

Photos: Unsplash