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Unexpected life hacks you stumbled across

866 replies

Janboree · 15/11/2025 20:46

I’ve just discovered that my body mist cleans my spectacles brilliantly. As good as my opticians cleaning spray and a lot cheaper. Added bonus it makes my glasses smell nice too and I didn’t like the smell of the glasses spray. I only used it as it was to hand and my other spray had run out.
Have other mumsnetters stumbled across any life hacks unexpectedly?

OP posts:
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10
Toseland · 16/11/2025 23:42

Hairspray is good at getting felt tip and crayon drawings off a wall.

JustLikeThat647 · 16/11/2025 23:42

KilliMonjaro · 16/11/2025 22:11

Eh?

I don’t get this one either! I thought it was just me.

AllTheChaos · 16/11/2025 23:45

Redheadedstepchild · 15/11/2025 22:04

Or just bang the edge of the jam jar lid on the side of a table.

Hand sanitiser gets turmeric stains out of a cheapy laminate worktop.

Something I read on Mumsnet a while ago: Always use a jam spoon. Sticking a knife into the jar of jam risks transmitting the breadcrumbs from your toast into the jam and that is why your jam turns mouldy.

To avoid large packets of crisps going stale, eat the whole packet in one sitting.

Not if you lick the knife first! After application of the jam too, just in case…

JustLikeThat647 · 16/11/2025 23:49

You can freeze all sorts of food - eg pop pesto into ice cube trays and just add a couple of cubes to your food as needed, and obvs freeze bread too (which obvs massively helps to reduce food waste).

Also, a niche one, but if your pets/kids/family/anyone else in your life are ever sick and vomit, and you have any (clean and dry) cat litter handy, sprinkle some onto the sick and it will soak it up really well.

Rescuedogblues · 17/11/2025 00:04

Oh I have some

Conditioner to shave legs.

When shaving legs pull razor up leg to shave, then without changing direction, push the razor back down your leg, the shaved hair comes out of the razor onto your leg so you dont have to run it under the tap.

A silicone pet bath tool, works incredibly well as a bath cleaning tool. I bought it thinking its purpose was for bath cleaning.

Baking paper works best if you scrunch it up first and run it under a little water, it takes on the shape of the dish or tin you're using.

If you need to cover something with tin foil, the easiest way is to tear off your tin foil, lay it on top off your dish, then lay a tea towel over and squish it to the shape. It stops the tin foil moving and takes 2 seconds

Cook tomato puree in a the pan for 1 minute instead of just squirming it in

Pasta bake sauce from a jar, put your pasta, sauce and water in your dish about 2hrs before ypu intend to cook it. You want get hard uncooked bits of pasta.

Normal crisps (especially cheese and onion) and cheese make an amazing crunchy topping for pasta bake and other dishes. Crush the crisps first.

Thrush cream and athletes foot cream are the same thing. Just check strength and ingredients.

If youre drying damp clothes on a radiator, put a dry towel over the clothes.

If you want a quick and easy clean smelling home, soak a sock in water and fabric conditioner and put on a central radiator.

RockItLikeRocketFuel · 17/11/2025 00:13

If youre drying damp clothes on a radiator, put a dry towel over the clothes.

Why?

Janeysunshibe · 17/11/2025 00:21

Butter too hard for spreading, use a cheese grated.

PigletJohn · 17/11/2025 00:31

RockItLikeRocketFuel · 17/11/2025 00:13

If youre drying damp clothes on a radiator, put a dry towel over the clothes.

Why?

Better still,

If youre drying damp clothes on a radiator,

stop.

Wreckinball · 17/11/2025 01:18

Cut 4-5” off cereal packets to fit upright in cupboard

SorryNotSorry00 · 17/11/2025 02:30

Washing up liquid is great for removing oil stains from clothes. Put some on the stain when clothing is dry, leave it for a couple of hours before putting in the washing machine and run the cycle as normal with your usual detergent.

GripGetter · 17/11/2025 03:39

theunbreakablecleopatrajones · 16/11/2025 23:35

I've got visions of the last one removing several layers of skin.

Why would you want a facial scrub to foam?!

To lift off the impurities that you've exfoliated. Baking powder facial scrub is commercially available, but I DIY it now when I want a deep cleanse. All the layers of my skin are intact thanks :)

GripGetter · 17/11/2025 04:00

Lovemycat2023 · 16/11/2025 21:14

Absolutely love this tip! For some reason I cannot make crumble - it just doesn’t happen

I've seen a lot of American recipes like this. It seems you can use the same melted butter-flour-sugar mixture packed to form a base or as looser crumbs for a topping that you scatter over the fruit. I've not tried it yet, for fear that I might start eating crumble every day!

Time4changeagain · 17/11/2025 05:26

Wear sunglasses whilst driving when it’s raining heavy, Especially when on the motorway and the spray is bad. Yes you will look like you’ve lost the plot but you will be able to see perfectly!

Use baby oil to remove gloss paint from your hands after decorating

Pumice stone is better than any chemical for removing limescale from toilets

Tomato sauce gets rid of fox poo smells from that pain in the arse dog who seems to think it’s perfume

Givethegift · 17/11/2025 06:57

Some of these “hacks” are a little… gross

Lastfroginthebox · 17/11/2025 07:16

JustLikeThat647 · 16/11/2025 23:39

Another jar lid one - boil about a cup’s worth of water in the kettle and, once boiled, pour it into a mug, pop the jar lid-down into the mug and wait for about 5 minutes. Take the jar out and it should unscrew pretty easily.

And one for if you need softened butter, but prefer keeping your butter in the fridge so it’s always rock-hard. Boil the kettle and pour the boiled water into a mug, let it sit for a couple of minutes and pour it all out. Then turn the mug upside down, pop however much butter (still in its wrapping) you need into the mug, and wait for about 5-10 minutes, by which time the heat from the mug will have softened the butter nicely.

Why would you turn the mug upside down and then put the butter in the mug? Don't you put the butter on a plate and put the upside down warm mug OVER the butter instead?

Lastfroginthebox · 17/11/2025 07:17

Time4changeagain · 17/11/2025 05:26

Wear sunglasses whilst driving when it’s raining heavy, Especially when on the motorway and the spray is bad. Yes you will look like you’ve lost the plot but you will be able to see perfectly!

Use baby oil to remove gloss paint from your hands after decorating

Pumice stone is better than any chemical for removing limescale from toilets

Tomato sauce gets rid of fox poo smells from that pain in the arse dog who seems to think it’s perfume

I love the sunglasses while driving in the rain tip - that sounds like genius!

KateDelRick · 17/11/2025 07:25

Lastfroginthebox · 17/11/2025 07:16

Why would you turn the mug upside down and then put the butter in the mug? Don't you put the butter on a plate and put the upside down warm mug OVER the butter instead?

Yes. I've read that's what you do.

TeachMeSomething · 17/11/2025 07:44

NomNomNominativeDeterminism · 16/11/2025 11:26

Lemsip left to stand cleans a tea-stained cup.

… Made a cup of lemsip which wasn’t drunk or cleared away for a couple of hours. Old tea stains washed out easily.

Does anyone have a way of cleaning sticky scorch marks from the bottom of an iron?

Paracetamol. Hold it with tweezers and rub over the hot iron. Magic!

KilliMonjaro · 17/11/2025 07:54

Time4changeagain · 17/11/2025 05:26

Wear sunglasses whilst driving when it’s raining heavy, Especially when on the motorway and the spray is bad. Yes you will look like you’ve lost the plot but you will be able to see perfectly!

Use baby oil to remove gloss paint from your hands after decorating

Pumice stone is better than any chemical for removing limescale from toilets

Tomato sauce gets rid of fox poo smells from that pain in the arse dog who seems to think it’s perfume

Why would sunglasses help?

Dontevenlookatme · 17/11/2025 07:56

Use a dry stainless steel scouring thing (the curly one) on the inside of a dry mug to get heavy tea stains off. You don’t need to press hard. It will come off like a powder which you can then rinse away. I’ve also used a stainless steel scourer on my Dualit toaster to get stubborn stains off between the slots. Seems to have done no damage and came up like new. I’m not too precious about mine as it’s ancient.

KilliMonjaro · 17/11/2025 08:10

moggerhanger · 16/11/2025 22:10

If you have chunky wool knitwear, and you're willing to do some handwashing, give it a final oil rinse after your Woolite or whatever. Lukewarm water, spoonful of olive oil. Swish the water really well, so the oil droplets are tiny, and then drop in the woollens. Swirl them around, drain, dry. NB real wool only - doesn't do anything for acrylic.

Mmm oily knitwear…. 🤔

MincePudding · 17/11/2025 08:12

Tulipvase · 15/11/2025 22:04

Not sure it’s a tip/hack particularly, perhaps everyone does it ,but I do now store a complete set of bed covers/sheet in the matching pillowcase. I read that here years ago.

My tip is also bedding related.

I only have plain bedding sets for the king bed and patterned for the double. No more umm-ing and ahh-ing about which fitted sheet I need!

Similar with towels. All towels and bath mats are now the same colour so I'm never faffing for a set.

It makes the house feel so calm and put together 🤣 I know, I'm sad!

Batoutofhellish · 17/11/2025 08:51

TeachMeSomething · 17/11/2025 07:44

Paracetamol. Hold it with tweezers and rub over the hot iron. Magic!

Yyncan get a tube of stuff from Lakeland for cleaning the bottom of the iron. It works really well.

Lastfroginthebox · 17/11/2025 08:52

KilliMonjaro · 17/11/2025 07:54

Why would sunglasses help?

They'd probably have to be polarized ones, which would then cut out dazzle and glare. I imagine it could be really helpful.

GlassofRosePorfavor · 17/11/2025 08:53

Dip your finger in cream, lip balm etc away from you - eating soup style. That way it's not stuck under your nails

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