Sometimes the best household tricks aren’t the ones you carefully research. They’re the things you try when you’ve already tried everything else, you’re out of ideas, and you figure there’s really nothing left to lose.
That was the idea behind a recent Reddit discussion asking people to share their biggest “I can’t believe this actually worked” life hacks. Some of the best involved simple household problems and solutions that sounded just ridiculous enough that you’d probably never think to try them yourself.
Peanut butter wouldn’t come off a pair of shoes
One parent said their baby got peanut butter all over a pair of shoes, and scrubbing wasn’t getting it clean. They left the shoes next to an anthill overnight, and by the next morning, the ants had cleaned off the peanut butter.
Pasta kept boiling over
One person was tired of pasta water boiling over the sides of the pot and leaving a mess on the stove. They started laying a wooden spoon across the top of the pot while cooking and said it prevented many of those boil-overs.
A phone kept sliding off the dashboard
One person needed a way to keep their phone from constantly sliding off the dashboard while driving. They wrapped a rubber band around it to add some grip and said it stayed put.
Windshield washer jets were completely clogged
After trying compressed air and a pin without success, one person still couldn’t get the clogged windshield washer jets on their car working. They put denture-cleaning tablets in the washer-fluid tank, left them overnight, and said the jets were working the following day again.
A bird was trapped inside a store
A retail worker needed to catch a bird that had gotten inside the store but didn’t have anything designed for the job. They propped up a cardboard box, placed bread underneath it, tied a string to the support, and pulled it away once the bird walked underneath.
A cat disappeared somewhere inside the house
A teenager couldn’t find their cat despite searching the bedroom over and over. As a last resort, they brought in the family dog and told her to “get the kitty,” and the dog immediately went to a dresser where the cat had somehow gotten inside the drawers.
An old TV was too far away to change the channel
Before remote controls were everywhere, one person wanted a way to change the channel on an old television without getting out of bed. They used a long curtain-rail tube with screws taped to the end to reach the controls from across the room.
Cooked chicken took forever to shred
Instead of pulling cooked chicken apart by hand or using two forks, one person tried using a hand mixer. The beaters quickly pulled the cooked chicken apart and did the shredding for them.
A broken Jeep wouldn’t move
One person’s older Jeep stopped moving at a traffic light after part of the drivetrain failed. Because the vehicle had four-wheel drive with manually locking front hubs, they locked the front hubs and shifted into four-wheel drive, allowing the Jeep to move using the front wheels until they could eventually get it repaired.
A pair of broken glasses wouldn’t stay on
One person woke up to discover the arms of their glasses had broken off, leaving them with lenses they couldn’t keep in place. They put a hat over the glasses to hold them against their face until they could find a better solution.
A door was locked without a deadbolt
One person said they had successfully opened doors that were locked but not deadbolted by sliding a credit card into the latch. The card was ruined in the process, but they were able to open the door.
