I am a big fan of something called “life hacks.” They generally come in the form of articles and they show you clever ways to solve simple household problems. For example, cutting the handle of a milk carton to create an instant dust pan or using paper clips to organize cables. They always make me wonder: who comes up with these? Why can’t I be that clever?
Here’s the thing: although I soak up a life hack article with the best of them, I rarely implement them. Who can find that many paper clips? And what can you use to cut a milk carton? I’m just not that practical. One of the things I liked best about my husband was that he was fiendishly clever that way. Give him a box of Q-tips and a pogo stick and he’d build you a strip mall. But I can barely remember where the light switch is.
The other night, I couldn’t sleep, and sometime in the 4:00 a.m. hour I came across an entire life hack show. Nirvana! Not only could I find out about life hacks, I could see them brought to life. Each vignette was more exciting than the last: laundry hacks, car hacks, clever, amazing. None of which I’d ever use.
But then! A bathroom mirror life hack. They did a comparison: which would make the bathroom mirror fog less: tooth paste or shaving cream? (What?!? Who knew these were the options?). They carried out the experiment. They smeared one half of a bathroom mirror with a film of toothpaste, the other with a layer of shaving cream. They wiped each off. Then they steamed up the bathroom. And guess what! They both worked. The tooth paste, however (predictably) was a bitch to get off. But the shaving cream wiped right off.
I went back to sleep delighted by the thought and determined to try it on my bathroom mirror. In the morning, voila! I smeared the bathroom mirror with my son’s shaving cream (a discussion for another day is the fact that I have a son old enough to need shaving cream). I wiped it off. I took a shower.
And the mirror stayed unfogged!
Can the building of a strip mall with a box of Q-tips be far behind?
If you’re a fan of life hacks, for a few of my favorites: click here.
