As far as the writers of the TV series " MacGyver " were bear on in the late ' 80s , a bar ofchocolatecould stop a sulfuric acid leak – and as it turn over out , they were right . Sometimes , the easiest answer are right-hand in front of us , with simple tools and elementary methods .
Despite our desire for rest , studies show that in the longsighted run , we may be able to make ourselves smarter by doing things the hard way . What researchers have found is that every metre we learn a Modern skill , resolve a problem or finish a labor that needed to be thought through ( for example , planning your route rather than trust on yourGPSmapping programme to do it for you ) , you ’re boosting your working memory . That ’s all well and good , but what ’s the pointedness of deal the backbreaking way to , say , tear into a knobbed dish of take - out ? There ’s a part of all of us that sometimes just wants to take the promiscuous elbow room out , the umber taproom way out , especially when it come to thing like figuring out the tip and loosen knots . Here we have a list of legerdemain that would make MacGyver majestic , or at least keep you from tripping over your untied shoelaces . Let ’s start with how to get into that take - out old bag .
10: Untie the Delivery Bag Knot
So , you probably unremarkably soften into the moldable bag from your local deliverance spliff with scissors hold , but that can be mussy if you happen to snip off midland packaging , and scissors are n’t always handy . It can be hard to muster up the longanimity for fiddling with a tight knot in an crusade to get to your General Tso ’s crybaby , but with some basic knot - untying cognition you may do it with your own dextrous digit .
You ’re going to untie the knot using cleverness or else of a blade . This method of untying the bag knot does n’t involve picking at the fictile hold hope to successfully loosen the loops . The key to the successful knot untying is to twist and crowd , not to pick . Twist one of the end of the bag hold ( the part that sticks out above the knot ) into a tight , square form , then push it through the knot to get to your delightful dinner party .
9: Slice Tomatoes
enquire why yourtomatoslices are n’t perfect like the ones on your preferent deli sandwich ? It ’s probably not your technique ; it ’s more likely that your kitchen tongue is dull . A dense brand is go to make you work harder as you slit . You ’ll also use a heavier helping hand to pierce the love apple cutis , and that operose deal does two thing : It increases your risk of cutting yourself , and it increases the mushiness of your tomato plant slices .
Aside from the obvious confidential information ofsharpening your bladeto make slice easier , try using a serrated knife , such as a bread tongue . You may have better portion keep your slices firm and intact because the serrate edge wo n’t have any trouble piercing the tomato ’s skin . Slicing Lycopersicon esculentum is also a great task for your kitchen mandolin , testis slicer or meat slicer for double-dyed , uniform slices every metre .
8: Take Scratches Out of Furniture
Maybe your novel pup scrub your wood floor or you noticed a new scratch in your dining table after a dinner party party . fix scratches in furniture is easy , does n’t expect sanding , varnish or stain , and does n’t require a head trip anywhere other than your kitchen . Kitchen ? Yes – for awalnut .
It ’s the oil from the walnut meat that does the study here . Walnut crude penetrates the Grant Wood and can be used just as linseed or tung petroleum to keep wooden piece of furniture and floor from drying out – and as it sprain out , if you surface a loot with it , the scratch will blend back in to the surrounding wood color . And since walnuts are non - toxic , as long as no one you ’re preparing food for has a testicle allergic reaction you could also use them to counterbalance any lolly in wooden bowls and kitchen utensils ( and the oil is sound for maintaining wooden cutting boards ) . Simply rub the inscribe area with a shelled walnut to find out the scratch disappear , and then buff with a soft cloth .
7: Find Studs
You may see some people knocking along a paries , listen for the tone of voice to change when they reach a scantling , but there is a more exact engineering science we can put to work for us . There are two ways to figure out where the studs in your walls are : bribe the late and greatest stud finder at your local computer hardware store , or grab a magnet off your refrigerator ( or two , look on how powerful those magnets are ) .
slip - edge electronic sensor - style stud poker finders are tantalising . They work by find the border of woods studs – the latest engineering in stud finder uses electromagnetic pulses to detect scantling locating . But you do n’t need to use a extra dick for this problem . All you really call for is amagnetto find a stud . Magnets can be used to find the metal drywall fasteners in Sir Henry Wood stud ( these are the jailer or nail from when the drywall panels were installed ) – and they ’ll also find the locations of metal stud ( ordinarily discover in commercial building rather in our base ) .
While you’re able to buy magnet - style scantling finders , you’re able to easy make one ; just link up a short piece of twine to a kitchen magnet and dangle it against the wall . When the magnet swings toward the wall , you ’ve hit a rivet . And once you ’ve discover the first stud , finding others base on its locating is fairly easy : Studs are normally 16 inches ( 40.6 centimeters ) on center , which means from the center of one stud to the center of an next rivet ( but since this varies appear up your local computer code to be sure ) .
6: Tie Your Shoes
Most of us learn to tie our shoes using what ’s squall a granny knot , but all these class it turn out we ’re doing it wrong , or at least we ’re doing it inefficiently . The nanna knot , as it turn out , is an unbalanced knot , meaning it ’s a type of knot that may contribute our shoelaces to easily bend , coming loose or coming completely undone . The knot we should be using is one called the reef knot – a binding air mile used in glide , in operation , and in efficient shoelace tie .
Tying a Rand knot with shoe lace begins the same as a granny air mile , but here ’s the key difference : Once you ’ve made a grummet with the correct lacing you ’ll wrap up the left lacing behind the loop ( around the front would make this a granny knot knot ) . Pull it tightly through the loop you make at the foundation of your knot when you wrap it around the correct script loop , and you ’ve stimulate yourself a balanced shoelace naut mi .
5: Clean the Microwave
Cleaning themicrowaveoven does n’t require oven - scrubbing chemical result or atomiser - on foams . All you need is water and some white distilled vinegar , which will help oneself cut grease .
Here ’s what to do : integrate one - half cupful of urine with one - one-half cupful of white distilled acetum in a microwave oven - safe bowl . ( Use at least a four - cup arena , otherwise you risk your piddle boiling over . ) microwave oven on eminent for several instant , until the water come to a rolling boil and the microwave oven window steams up . permit it cool for a few mo before opening the door , then pass over the loosen nutrient dust with a damp parazoan and you ’re done .
For a more pleasant olfactory property , instead of using acetum add a few slice of orange , lemon or lime to one cup of piddle and microwave until boiling .
4: Save Money
There are two bragging thing you’re able to do to alter your financial outlook and increase your savings : Create a budget and pay yourself first .
create a personal budget may sound like a unmanageable or tedious task , because more than 50 percent of Americans do n’t keep one ( and as many as 20 percent of us do n’t have any idea how much money we in reality spend every month ) [ source : Forbes ] . Before you’re able to save money , you need to know what you ’re spending it on . Remember to revisit your budget from time to time because as your needs deepen , so will your financial goals .
And when it comes to those fiscal goals , here ’s that 2d piece of music of advice from the expert : Pay yourself first . Have a certain amount from your paycheck automatically deposit into your savings account or else of relying on yourself to remember to transfer it at a late date ; out of raft , out of mind . Experts recommend birth no less than 10 percentage of your pay automatically posit into a savings accounting [ source : Schwartz ] . Part of this saving should first go into establishing an emergency investment firm if you do n’t already have one – aim for enough savings to cover up about 3 to 6 month of your expenses , as just - in - causa money – then begin paying down debts .
3: Open Blister Packs
You wo n’t be surprised to learn that you ’re not the only one who ca n’t open those plastic bundle that electronics , toys and so many other things seem to be encased in these days . That hard moldable packaging , also sleep with as grapple , oyster or blister packs , was introduce to detershoplifting , but as a consequence of its tamp - proof feature of speech , it ’s also get laid to cause accidental injury when consumers hear to open their purchase . In fact , consort to estimates from the Consumer Product Safety Commission , every class more than 6,000 Americans are treated inemergency roomsfor injury find from their endeavor to open up plastic packaging – unremarkably lacerations or puncture wounds ( and ideate how many more of us just reach for a band - aid ) [ source : Elliott ] . The arcanum to bulla - pack winner ? Put down the scissors hold and the knife and give your can opener a go instead . Not only is it similar to some of the special tools on the market project to do open these packages , it in reality works . And you belike have at least one in your kitchen decent now .
2: Prevent Blisters
When you have a blister it can be a pain in the , well , infantry , for sure , but there ’s an easy way to prevent friction blister without buying special drogue or shoes or whatever else you may have tried : A study comport with groups of cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point , N.Y. , base that applyingantiperspirantto your feet reduces your betting odds of developing infantry bleb . While as many as 48 percent of the cadet who used a placebo discussion complained of bleb , only 21 percent of those who treated their feet with antiperspirant before hike sustain any foot blisters [ source : Knapik ] .
Here ’s why : Friction causes blisters , and when your skin is sweaty or moist , you increase that friction and the odds of develop blister . Antiperspirant fixes this problem because it ’s made to reducesweat– in this case you ’re just using it on feet instead of underarms . To keep a white mess , use a clear control stick or a spray .
1: Figure Out How Much to Tip
work out out how much to go away for a restaurant tip was a little more unmanageable for some of us before there were apps to calculate it . There are several ways to calculate a tip in your school principal , though , and they are n’t hard – this method will work out no matter what ( some calculations are base on thetax , but some states do n’t charge revenue enhancement so those methods are n’t foolproof ) .
Here ’s what you ’re aiming for : Tip your server or wait 15 percent of the pre - tax bill ( and as much as 20 per centum for excellent service of process ) [ source : The Emily Post Institute ] . Despite how many of us have trouble with this , one of the best ways to figure out that 15 percent in your head is no more than a two - step procedure .
First , calculate one percentage of the bill . have ’s employ a $ 24.00 neb as our good example : One percent of a $ 24.00 bill is $ 0.24 ( just move the decimal point two places to the left ) .
Next decide how much you ’d wish to fee . For a 15 percent tip , reproduce $ 0.24 by 15 , which be a $ 3.60 point . Twenty percent for great service ? Multiply $ 0.24 by 20 for a $ 4.80 tip – and so on for calculate 16 , 17 or any other percent you ’d like .
Lots More Information
Thanks to this clause , I am now an expert tipper . I used to use another method acting , which , to be honest I never really wish unless I was calculating 20 percent . It go like this : First I ’d calculate 10 percent of the bill , divide that lead number in half , tot the two together and there it was , the tip amount . So for example 10 percent of a $ 24.00 bill is $ 2.40 . Divide $ 2.40 in one-half to direct five percent . Add $ 2.40 and $ 1.20 for $ 3.60 , a 15 per centum bakshis . Figuring a 20 percent lead learn only two step . First calculate 10 percent of the bill and then double that figure . So , 10 percent of $ 24.00 is $ 2.40 . two-fold that phone number – $ 4.80 – for a 20 percent wind . I ’m fatigued just explain it .
