10 effective life hacks that are surprisingly still not very popular around the world

Unpopular life hacks.

The moment you click on the internet and scroll through various social media sites, you can see countless content creators making videos and posts to give out life hacks and tips. Some of them are beneficial, whereas others are simply made for the sake of gathering clout. Each day, you learn something new that can aid in making your lifestyle a tad bit easier. u/Interesting-Eye7340 asked the Reddit community, "Which uncomplicated yet highly efficient life hack surprises you that it isn't more widely known?" Fellow Reddit users lined up to answer the question and share what they feel is an unpopular advice or life hack that can benefit other people if they learn about it. Here are ten of the most interesting tips spared by strangers on the internet, which should receive a lot more popularity compared to what it has right now.

1. Having multiple monitors

If you use a computer for the majority of your work, get a second-used monitor off Craigslist or a local sales site. Complete game changer having a work monitor and a reference one. It's never cost me more than $20, and most video cards have multiple outlets. u/turbo332. I work in IT, haha. The first computer I could plug into a wall was at 18. I’m doing okay. Helping boomers fix their computers pays my rent. And yes, I can type like a beast. I guess I win? u/Bobzeub. My grandma once had 8 monitors and 0 towers simply because they were so cheap at the secondhand store! u/CitizenHuman

2. Screw management

"When you take apart a piece of furniture, put the screws and hardware in a sandwich bag. Then write the name of the furniture and use of the screws on a notecard, and put that in the bag. This keeps screws from a single item in one place, easily visible, and easily referenced for future use (instead of sitting in a large pile of similar, nondescript hardware)." u/Extension_Resources71. "I do this when moving bed frames and such it’s huge, you have everything you need right there and don’t need to go digging. I’ve put things back together years after the fact and been very happy to find a ziplock taped to some part of it. I would never find it otherwise." u/Sparcrypt

3. Keeping your documents safe

Make a copy of your passport, visa and any other important documents and email them to yourself. If something happens to the originals, you have enough information to apply for replacements. u/NefariousnessTrick63. This saved our trip to the passport office (Canada for context). Had gone in to get passports (over an hour's drive from home) for all 3 of my kids and had already waited a few hours (which with 6-month-old twins is already a lesson in patience in itself). Get to the counter and the agent advises us the passport number from my husband's passport is missing from their forms. Why I didn't bring our passports, I have no idea. We both quickly checked our Google Drive and sure enough, had a scanned copy of all our IDs and were able to add the missing number. u/kesstral

4. Avoid sun damage on the skin

Seriously though, as someone who is hitting the half-century mark this year, I can tell you that avoiding sun damage (and having good genes) is a complete game-changer! I've never been a classically handsome man, but apparently, aging well can totally flip that script. I had lunch with a bunch of old college friends a few months back and all of them kept raving about how young I look and that I haven't changed in 25+ years. As a guy who started going bald in his teens and grey in his 20s, I never thought I'd find myself in a position where people would actually covet my looks, but here I am! All it took was 3 decades and a lot of sunscreen. u/PaperClipsAreEvil

5. Maintain your kitchen tools

Don't sweat it if you don't really know how or don't have the tools. Many farmer's markets have a vendor that will do it for you for a few bucks. Search around your local sub and you might find a good tip. Don't let your lack of skill or tools stop you from having a nice, sharp chef's knife because the important part is to boost your enjoyment of cooking in the short term, so you'll do it more. It will save you money and you'll eat better and healthier. You can learn how to sharpen your knives yourself later if you want. u/physedka

6. Doing meal prep

Meal prep + freezer + Instant Pot. My life has changed. Once every two months, prep a bunch of frozen meals that you can just throw in the instant pot. You just throw raw meat, spices, etc. into ziplocks and freeze it. When hungry, you pop this meal popsicle into the instant pot for 30 minutes and have an amazing hot meal. Minimal dishes (both during prep since it’s just chopping and throwing in bags and after cooking), so easy non-cooks in the house can throw it in and cheaper since you buy everything in bulk and spend less throughout the month. Less food wastage too. Pinch of Yum has a bunch of great recipes. u/thti87

7. Learning tips

If you’re ever learning something, whether at a work meeting or class or from a YouTube video, have a notebook where you take 30-60 seconds to jot down a summary, in your own words, RIGHT when you finish. Not detailed notes (which you can take while the class/meeting is going if you need to), but the equivalent of a TV Guide blurb summarizing what you learned. Not only will rewording/summarizing help you retain whatever you learned, but over the years, you’ll have your own personal book of knowledge to reference as a jumping-off point for learning more. u/FKAFigs

8. Navigating in a crowd

When navigating a crowded place with people going every which way, focus your gaze on the spot you're walking towards. We look at each other's eyes when trying to avoid bumping into each other and maintaining your gaze on the spot you're headed allows people to subconsciously see how to avoid you and will adjust their path accordingly. You won't have any more of those awkward encounters where you're looking at another person and you both keep trying to turn in the same direction. I read this trick on here years ago and use it all the time in stores, the mall, etc. and it really does work. Maybe it's because I look like a psychopath and people are trying to avoid me altogether, but either way, it works. u/ZacPensol

9. Making a smoothie

You can put almost any raw vegetable into a smoothie and as long as there's enough sweet fruit in there too (apples, bananas, pineapple, oranges, whatever), it will taste good. You don't even need a recipe, just throw a bunch of healthy stuff in the blender and hit the button. You can get way weirder with it than you'd expect and still not mess it up. They're expensive at restaurants but cheap and ridiculously easy at home. I'm 40 years late on this trend because I didn't discover how shockingly simple it was until about a week ago. u/Yellowbug2001

10. Cooking and cleaning

Clean as you go when cooking. Wipe down surfaces, clean a dish, pot or pan when something needs to simmer for a bit, wipe down your knives after use and dry them with a towel and put them back in the knife block. I learned it from my sister's husband, who is a chef. It makes cooking so much more pleasant. Also mise en place. Prep all your ingredients beforehand and have them ready. Again, it makes cooking more fun and less arduous and the dishes turn out better. u/CupBeEmpty