Successful lifehacking is a combination of trial-and-error, internet searching and A/B testing. Here are a few of my favorites in no particular order.
- Coping with change
Problem: What the heck to do with all the coins that accumulate over time?
Traditional solution: Coinstar
Hack: Self-service checkout machines
Summary: Why use coinstar when there is a free coinstar right in front of you? Using the self-service checkout machine at your local grocery store, simply pour all those dimes, copper Lincolns and quarters into the coin slot. No need to sort or roll any coins. Your bill magically drops from $9.42 to $6.11 after you empty your pockets. Now use your credit card to pay the balance.
Pro-tip: Best to use this hack during non-prime time hours. You can get some funny looks when you pour your change jar down these machines throats as dozens of customers wait patiently in line to check out their rotisserie chicken and ice-cream.
2. Removing a master link from a bike chain
Problem: You are doing bike maintenance and you need to reuse the master link from your chain.
Traditional solution: Purchase link pliers
Hack: Use a coat hanger and regular pliers
Summary: Rather than purchasing this niche set of pliers, you can instead bend a coat hanger. Feed the hanger through the ends of the master link you are trying to remove. Use regular pliers to compress the coat hanger and your master link will come apart.
Pro-Tip: You still need a chain breaking tool to remove a regular chain link.
3. Killing blue lights so you can sleep
Problem: Your bedroom if filled with numerous electronic gadgets that blink and act as an unwelcome night light while you are trying to get your beauty rest.
Traditional solution: Purchase various boxes with wire exits or more commonly resign to live with your miniature bedroom light display.
Hack: Use black duct tape to cover the flashing light consoles on the devices.
4. DIY barcodes. CAUTION: This one actually may be more trouble than its worth.
Lost your gym card, library card? Need a spare?
You can print your own barcode. I thought this was going to be an easy hack, but there are tons of barcode languages. The difficulty is finding the one compatible with the reader. It took some trial and error before I discovered that barcode language for my library uses Code-39. My hacked library card now works, but it probably would have been easier to just requested a new one from the librarian.
PRO TIP: Print out a few different barcodes and try and have the size similar to the original. Best to trial on a self-service machines where a clerk is not looking at you like you are nuts.
5. Downloadable royalty free ebooks
After 70 years a book is royalty-free. Where can you get these free books? Guterberg.org is a great site to find these downloadable e-books in the most popular formats.
PRO-TIP: Download these ebooks from your phone or tablet with an ebook app like Overdrive or RBdigital.
6. Free guitar tab
Ultimate-guitar has all the songs. The most epic guitar songs are brilliantly decoded including complete solos.
PRO-TIP: The desktop version is more friendly than the mobile or app version. The mobile or app version has a number of premium requests which get in the way of reading the tab. The desktop version can be printed out without difficulty.
7. AB Testing with Dollar Tree
The Dollar Tree offers more than substandard generics and puny-sized branded items. Generics are sold side by side to smaller packaged brand name version. They say, “you get what you pay for”, but sometimes that is false. The downside of a failed generic is the waste of one measly Washington bill. Have fun and do your own A/B testing.
Some generics that are equal:
- Shave gel (very similar to Edge quality),
- Dish washing soap,
- Hand soap,
- Zip Lock bags.
Brand items at reduced pricing and smaller, but still good value:
- toothpaste,
- toothbrushes,
- aluminum foil,
- candy.
Specialty items that are lower quality, but worth the price trade-off:
- helium balloons,
- birthday and greeting cards,
- wrapping paper.
Items that don’t match up:
- laundry detergent (no Tide killer here),
- paper towels (dollar store version are like sandpaper).
Its an eclectic mix filled with wondrous discounts and a few embarrassing whammies. A fun A/B laboratory with more delight than disappointment.
8. Depersonalize your laptop
A good PC laptop runs around $500. A good Apple runs double that. Not dirt cheap, but considering the utility, well worth it. A tablet is another low cost personal computing solution. What is valuable on your system is not the hardware but the digital bits that you save over time. Tax documents, personal photos, correspondence, videos and other digital files are a hassle to move and retrieve when your computer finally gives up the ghost or is so slow that you gotta Old Yeller the fella.
The solution is the cloud, right? Well, yes and no. The cloud is a huge part of the solution, but it is s l o w and pricey. In addition to backing up on the cloud, a USB external drive is a godsend. The cost per storage is low and the speed is virtually the same as using the computer’s internal drive.
A good computing configuration:
- applications running on the local hard drive,
- files saved to a USB drive, and
- important files backed up to the cloud.
On the external drive, you should have two folders. One with important files that should be also saved to the cloud, and another for throw-away files that you don’t care if you lose. At the risk of being redundant, I will restate an important condition. External harddrives can be lost or stolen and will eventually fail. Having files saved on an external drive does not eliminate the need to backup to the cloud.
Ultimately the cloud will get faster and cheaper. At that point, we can do away with the need for an external drive. For now an external drive is a very valuable device for file security, backup and mobility.
If your laptop crashes or is stolen and you have not also lost the USB external drive in the process, you can simply plug in the external drive in your brand new computer and you are back in business. You will need to reinstall your applications but your valuable data files are fine. The other awesome advantage is that when it is time to e-cycle your old friend, you don’t have to worry about cleansing the internal hard drive of your sensitive files.
9. Free Audiobooks
A am a huge fan of the public library system. You can find thousands of downloadable audiobooks available for download using your library card. You do not have to go to the physical library to download an audiobook. Sign into your library’s website, search the catalog and download your book. The two best audiobook apps are Overdrive and RBdigital. You need to create a user account with these apps linked to your library which is a bit of a muddle. The muddle is worthwhile. It is a one time process. Once you have setup your app, audiobooks are easy to download and enjoy with a few clicks of a button.
PRO-TIP: Use your phone or tablet to download the audiobook. Have your RBdigital, Overdrive and library username and passwords auto-saved so you don’t have to do the login dance every time you want to listen to a new book.
10. De-Costanza your wallet
You know what weighs 0.0 lbs and can save all your paper receipts? The 0s and 1s, aka digital bits, that you save to your phone. More specifically your camera feature on your phone.
Snap your receipt and then toss the scraps. For important receipts or if you are hyper-organized, you can forward the photo to your email with a nice easy-to-find header like Ikea — Dining Table-1–2–2020. Next time you are needing that receipt, you can do a keyword search in gmail and your receipt is available.
11. Craigslist your art
Craigslist remains a vibrant marketplace to buy and sell local goods. Running a search in the San Francisco Bay Area produces 3000 results for the keyword “art”. It is easy to find deals on art for any style, color, frame, and size.
12. Key your phone
In the future, our phones or biometrics may obviate the need for antiquated metal keys. We are not there yet. If you are still in the old school lock and key paradigm, combining two of your must have items in one can save you from the dreaded lock out.
As with any red-blooded American, I am unnaturally attached to my mobile phone. I am more likely to walk out the door without my keys than my mobile phone.
I have my front door key wrapped in a business card and tucked in a credit card sleeve of my phone. If I lock the door and then realize, opps, I forgot my key, I can pull out the spare key from my phone case. For non wallet style phone cases that are not overly snug, you can put the hideaway key behind the phone.
Of course if you forget both your keys and your phone, then you are stuck. If you have a hideaway key, no need to use this hack. The downside to this hack is that you are adding some extra bulk to your phone, but the advantage is that the hidden key offers peace of mind.
Cheers and happy hacking.
