Grandmas - you've got to love them! Not only do they fill your stomach with delicious cookies and pies, but you can bet your bottom dollar that you won't leave their house without a crisp $20 note in your pocket, too. But it turns out that grandmothers offer so much more than delicious cooking and money. They're also a wealth of wisdom, and these tried and true vintage life hacks from our very own grandmothers prove that grandmas are the smartest people out there.
Use Salt to Remove Lingering Smells
No grandmother would cook without onion or garlic. These ingredients are a staple in most dishes, but there's no doubt about the fact that they can make your hands smell. And no matter how hard you try or how many times you wash your hands with soap, the smell still lingers! But one life hack we learned from our grandmas is that salt can quite literally solve anything. Even the smell of garlic.
If you soak your hands in cold water and then rub salt all over them, the smells should lift off your hands in an instant. They'll also be super soft, thanks to the added exfoliation!
Use Soap to Let the Blender Clean Itself
There's nothing better than a grandmother's homemade soup. Her cooking skills are legendary, but have you ever wondered how she managed to clean her blender so well? These appliances seem impossible to clean, but it seems as though we've been making it harder for ourselves. Instead of standing in the sink trying to scrub this thing, we should just let the blender clean itself. All it needs is some soap and water.
Our grandma taught us this tried and true blender cleaning hack and all you have to do is fill the blender half-full with warm soapy water. Then, turn the blender on and watch it clean itself.
Use a Hot Knife to Perfectly Slice Bread
No trip to your grandmother's house would be complete without the smell of freshly baked bread. And while you may have tried to replicate this recipe over the years, have you ever managed to slice bread as perfectly as she used to? Somehow, our grandmas were able to cut the most seamless slices with ease. And now we know that was all thanks to a tried and true life hack.
If you heat your knife in boiling water for a few seconds and then wipe it dry, you should be able to cut through the bread without snagging on the dough inside.
Use Acetone to Bring Nail Polish Back to Life
If your grandmother loved to wear one particular color of nail polish for most of her life, then she's not alone. Grandmas love to stick to what they know - but have you ever wondered how they get their nail polish to last so long? Well, their vintage life hack was incredibly simple but also incredibly effective. Next time you find that you're running low on nail polish, grab some acetone.
Although acetone is normally used as a nail polish remover, by popping a few drops of this stuff into your bottle and giving it a shake, your once-empty bottle will last even longer.
Use a Potato to Treat Mosquito Bites
We live in a world where there are so many medications and modern treatments for ailments that have been around for hundreds of years. But grandmas prefer their tried and true treatments when it comes to mosquito bites. Sure, you could buy a fancy machine that burns you to take away the sting, but why would you do that when you could head to your kitchen and use a potato instead?
This vintage life hack states that you should cut a potato in half and place the fleshy inside on top of your mosquito bite. It should instantly start to reduce the inflammation of the affected area.
Use Lemon to Remove Beet Stains
Beets are a great way to add some color to any dish, and they're pretty delicious, too. But there's no doubt about the fact that beets can be a nuisance to prepare, as they will stain your hands and your clothes in an instant. Did you ever see your grandma wear gloves, though? There's a high chance that she didn't, as she probably knew this lemon life hack that made cutting beets a breeze.
To wash the beet stains off your hands, all you need to do is rub a freshly cut lemon over them. And if this doesn't quite cut the mustard, wash your hands in the lemon juice!
Use a Rubber Band to Help Your Handwriting
Let's be honest; our grandmas have the best handwriting. From its cursive nature to its general beauty, it seems as though they really nailed their handwriting lessons back in the day. But they might not have learned this by themselves, as they may have been helped by this vintage life hack. After all, if you add a rubber band to your handwriting exploits, you too can improve your handwriting skills.
Simply twist the rubber band around your pen and your hand to keep the pen from wobbling while you're writing. By doing this, you should have a better grip and better handwriting.
Use Toothpicks and Dental Floss to Cut Cakes
Grandmas are world-renowned for their baking skills, and most grandmothers have mastered the art of baking a cake. But while their kitchens were normally full of pots and pans that made cooking easy, you might not have all of these utensils yourself. You don't need to worry, though. If you don't have two separate cake pans to make a layered cake, all you need is some toothpicks and dental floss.
If you stick the toothpicks around the edge of the cake, you can use these as a guide to pull the dental floss through the cake. In seconds, you'll have two cakes rather than one.
Use Salt to Clean a Burnt Pan
The biggest thing we love about grandmas is that they have so many tried and true life hacks that we've never heard of. And next time you accidentally burn your pan, you don't need to worry about scrubbing away for hours or just giving up and throwing the whole thing in the trash. Our grannies discovered that these burnt pans could be brought to life, and all you need is some water and salt.
Fill the burnt pan with salt and water, give it a mix, and then put it on the stove to boil for around 15 minutes. By the time it's cool, the burnt bits should simply wash off.
Use White Vinegar to Unclog a Shower Head
Although we all look forward to a shower at the beginning or the end of the day, it can be irritating when you realize that your shower head is clogged with limescale and other dirty deposits. This can build up over time, but you'll be happy to know that our grandmas have a handy life hack that will transform your shower head in as little as an hour. And all you need is a plastic bag and some white vinegar.
By filling a bag with white vinegar and placing it over your shower head for an hour, you'll find that the crusty deposits would have loosened. Then, you should be able to just wash them off.
Use Kitchen Essentials to Make a Couch Cleaner
Hands up if your grandma's couch was dirty? We're going to assume that none of you have your hands up, as these ladies knew exactly how to keep their couches clean. Their life hack was to avoid harsh chemicals or store-bought couch cleaners. They instead focused on essential ingredients they already had in their kitchen cupboards and put water, baking soda, fabric softener, alcohol, and cleaning vinegar into a bottle ready for spraying.
And you can do this, too! Simply spray this concoction on your couch, brush with a hard-bristled brush, and then wipe clean with a dry cloth. In seconds, your couch should be as good as new.
Use a Potato Peeler to Make Chocolate Shavings
There are so many vintage life hacks out there, and some of them are so simple we just don't know how we didn't think of them before. And that's certainly the case with this one. After all, we knew a potato peeler was designed for peeling potatoes and other vegetables, and we watched our grandmothers use one of these kitchen utensils for years. But we had no idea we could also use it to make chocolate shavings.
All you have to do is peel a chocolate bar as you would a potato and use the shavings as you wish. Of course, you can't go wrong with shaving the good stuff all over your bowl of ice cream.
Use Salt to Treat Grease Stains
There's nothing more irritating than spilling your food down your favorite shirt. But do you know what's even worse? Spilling greasy food down your favorite shirt! Of course, it's not always possible to put your clothes in the laundry as soon as the grease hits the fabric - but that doesn't mean that your shirt is ruined forever. This tried and tested grandma hack can solve all of your grease stain problems.
Next time you spill something down you, cover the grease stain with salt. This will absorb as much of the oil as possible until you're able to head to the laundry room.
Use Bananas and Eggs to Make Pancakes
Nothing compares to grandma's banana bread, but have you ever had one of those days where you just really fancy pancakes? Of course, cooking them from scratch requires quite a few ingredients, but there is a way to combine your grandmother's love of banana bread with your love of pancakes. In fact, you can make pancakes with just two ingredients - with banana being one of them and eggs being the other.
All you have to do is mash up a banana and whisk in two eggs, and before you know it, you have the perfect banana pancake batter. It's delicious and easy!
Use Aluminum Foil to Clean Your Silver
Whether your grandma passed down a gorgeous piece of silver jewelry or whether you picked up some genuine silver cutlery from the thrift store, there's probably going to be a time when you're going to have to clean your silver. And while you could shell out on some chemicals to help you do that, our grandmothers had a life hack that was a little more natural. And pretty easy, too.
By placing your jewelry in a boiling pot filled with 1 liter of water, a tablespoon of baking soda, and a piece of aluminum foil, your silver will go from tarnished to sparkling in just 10 seconds.
Use Your Knuckles to Count the Days of the Months
Back in the day, our grandmothers didn't have smartphones to remember how many days were in each month. Because of that, they created a quirky little life hack that can still be used today! They didn't write it down on a little piece of paper and carry it around with them everywhere. Instead, they used their own limbs - and used the depressions in their knuckles to count the days of the months.
As per the image above, if the month is on a knuckle, it has 31 days. If it's on a depression, it has 30 days or less. It really is as easy as that.
Use Salt to Make Your Own Shoe Deodorizer
Although we live in a world where there's a solution for everything, this wasn't the case when our grandmas were in their prime. They had to come up with their own life hacks for everything, including their smelly shoes! Back in the day, they didn't have dryer sheets or specifically-designed shoe deodorizers. Instead, they had small little bags and a whole load of salt. And it turns out that that's all anyone needs.
By placing a bag of salt in your shoes, you can instantly give them a refresh. The salt will suck out any moisture or odor and leave them good as new in no time.
Use Baking Soda to Freshen up Your Fridge
With so many different foods in one moist refrigerator, it's no wonder these places often stink. And while it could be easy to buy modern inventions that claim to remove these odors, you might want to take a leaf out of your grandma's book instead. There's a high chance that she didn't use any gadgets or gizmos for this task but instead used baking soda to freshen up her fridge.
By placing a bowl of baking soda into the refrigerator, you can just let the powder soak up all of the unwelcome odors and go on with your day. It really is as simple as that.
Use a Muffin Tin to Cook Lots of Eggs
If you used to head to your grandma's house for breakfast on a Saturday morning, you might have taken these breakfasts for granted. Back in the day, they were delicious. But now you're older, you might appreciate them for the triumph that they really were. After all, how did your grandma manage to cook for so many people at once? Well, there's a high chance that she used a muffin tin to cook all of her eggs.
This is a great way to bulk-cook eggs for many people at a time. All you have to do is crack the eggs into the tin and cook in the oven for around 15 minutes.
Use Baking Soda in Your Beauty Regime
You might associate baking soda with, well, baking! But our grandmothers had so many life hacks that revolved around this powder - mostly because it's one of the greatest products you can add to your beauty regime. For starters, baking soda can act as an impressive exfoliant for the tougher areas of your skin, such as your kneecaps or your elbows. All you have to do is mix it with water and rub on your problem areas.
As if that wasn't enough, our grandma also found a neat way to remove sem-permanent hair dye with baking soda. However, it's best to dilute the baking soda before you do that.
Use a Bottle as a Rolling Pin
If you inherited your love of baking from your grandma, then you're not alone. They seemed to be able to cook anything and everything - even if they didn't have all of the appliances and utensils you can buy in stores today. In fact, many grandmas didn't even have a rolling pin! But who needs a rolling pin when you have another similar-shaped item in your house? You know, like a wine or oil bottle.
Using a bottle won't affect your rolling skills at all, as this is a tried and true life hack from some of the best cooks in the business. Yes, our grandmas.
Use Your Fingers to Calculate the Sunset
In today's day and age, we only have to look at the weather app on our phones to tell us when the sun will set. But back in our grandmas' day, they didn't have this technology. Instead, they had to rely on their own life hacks to read the world outside. And when they wanted to know when the sun would set, they just had to go and find the horizon line.
By holding your fingers between the sun and the horizon line, you can work out how many minutes you have left until sunset. And each of your fingers represents 15 minutes.
Use Baking Soda to Remove Coffee Stains
Although there's nothing better than starting the day with a cup of Joe, it's no secret that coffee stains can ruin your favorite mug. One cup can turn a yellow mug into a vessel of brown residue, and sometimes soap and water just don't cut the mustard. But you'll be happy to know that our grandmothers came up with a life hack that can remove old coffee stains in an instant.
By making a paste from water and baking soda, the abrasive nature of the baking soda should scrub away the coffee stains without too much hard work on your part.
Use Salt to Clean Your Iron
Long gone are the days when your mom or your grandma would iron your clothes, which means that it'd down to you to do it yourself. However, irons can be tricky - especially when you've had them for a while. Before too long, residue starts to build up on the base and the whole thing starts to stick to your clothes. This can even stain your clothes if you're not careful, but you can solve that problem.
A tried and true vintage life hack is to sprinkle some grainy salt on a towel and then place a hot iron on top of it. This should pick up any dirt or residue, leaving you with a perfectly clean base.
Use Salt to Stop Boiled Eggs Cracking
Although many people still have boiled eggs as adults, this was a pretty common dish for grandmas to cook for their grandchildren when they were younger. But if you've ever tried to replicate this dish yourself and suffered the heartache of your egg cracking in the water, you might have wondered how your grandmother managed to do this so perfectly. Well, it turns out that you just need a little bit of salt.
By placing salt in the boiling water while you're boiling your eggs, the shell shouldn't crack. Even if it does, the salt should stop it from exploding all over the place.
Use Lemon Juice for Healthy Nails
Nowadays, you don't have to drive too far to find your nearest nail salon. And while these have been around for years, they're more common now than ever. So, your grandma might have done her nails herself back in the day. And a life hack the older generation made full use of was using lemon juice to promote healthy and long nails. Yes, soak your hands in hot water and lemon juice and watch the magic happen.
Not only will the lemon juice help to remove any stains you may have only your nails and fingers, but it should also help to promote nail growth. So, they'll be no need for nail extensions.
Use Potato to Lighten Underarms
If you ask your grandma for a beauty hack, there's a high chance that she'll come back to you with an obscure hack that you've never heard of before. But back in her day, she had to be inventive. They didn't have endless beauty salons and modern beauty treatments, which meant that they had to think of new ways to do things like lighten their armpits. And if you want to do the same, you could use a potato.
By rubbing the fleshy part of a potato under your arm, your dark armpits should lighten. However, you will probably need to do this a few times to achieve your desired results.
Use Vinegar to Clean a Tablecloth
Although we're sure that our grandma had a table under her tablecloth, we never saw it. She wouldn't serve anything on the table without first putting on the tablecloth, and it was always so clean. And it turns out that she kept it so clean by utilizing an easy life hack that we've now adopted ourselves. So, the next time you spill something on your clean tablecloth, grab a towel to get the initial moisture out of the material.
Then, you're going to want to mix warm water with dish soap and two tablespoons of vinegar and pour it over the stains. After letting it sit for ten minutes, you should be able to wipe it clean.
Use Baking Sofa to Clean a Greasy Range Hood
As soon as you start cooking, you know you're going to have to deal with some cleaning. Your kitchen will become dirty as grease, food splatters, and nasty smells fill the air. And this is especially true when it comes to a range hood cooker. This hood can become extremely greasy over time, and sometimes soap and water just won't clean it up. But our grandma's hack can solve that.
To give it a deep clean, dip the hood into a bucket with 1/4 cup of baking soda, some hot water, and some dish soap. After ten minutes of soaking, it should be as good as new.
Use Pastry to Make Edible Bowls
One thing we loved about our grandma was that she was always creative with her cooking. She always made each meal fun, and your grandmother might have done the same! In fact, it was common back in the day for people to make edible bowls to eat their ice cream - and now we finally understand how our grandmas did this. And it's always a bonus when you don't have to do the dishes, right?
To make an edible bowl, roll out some store-bought pastry and mold it around an upside-down muffin tin. When it's baked, you should have the perfect edible vessel for your ice cream.
Use Orange Peels to Make Scented Vinegar
One of the best vintage life hacks we learned from our grandmother was using vinegar as a natural cleaner. And while there's no doubt about the fact that vinegar can make your whole house stink, our grandma's house always seemed to smell delicious. So, how did she do it? This tried and true hack allows you to still use vinegar as a cleaning agent while offering a citrus-scented twist.
All you need to do is fill a glass bottle with vinegar and orange peels. If you leave it for two weeks before using it, the nasty vinegar smell should be replaced with a delicious citrus alternative.
Use Citrus to Make Fancy Ice Cubes
Whether you live in a hot area or just can't drink something without ice in, there's a high chance that you have countless bags of ice in your freezer. However, many of you might long for the days when your grandma would make you iced tea with deliciously flavored ice cubes. So, why not follow in her footsteps and do the same? Ditch the store-bought ice, and use a muffin tin to make your own fancy ice cubes from scratch.
To do this, line the muffin tin with the flavors of your choice. This could be pieces of fruit, mint, or even coffee. Then, fill the tin with water and place in the freezer until you're ready to use them.
Use a Wet Finger to Remove Egg Shells
There's nothing more annoying than trying to crack an egg and getting bits of shell into the bowl. Thanks to the slimy nature of the raw egg, it can seem impossible to remove the broken shell - and sometimes you just have to deal with a bit of crunch in your cooked eggs. However, our grandmas had a life hack that could change the egg game. Yes, say goodbye to rogue shell!
Instead of trying to dig out the shell with a spoon or other kitchen utensil, you can simply wet your finger and pull the shell out using your own hands.
Use a Muffin Tin to Make Upside-Down Cakes
Although upside-down cakes seem to have gone out of style since our grandma would cook them when we were younger, we want to bring them back! After all, the added fruit and syrup make the cake even more delicious - even if they are considered to be old-fashioned. And if you want to know how to cook these cakes, you might want to invest in a muffin tin rather than larger cake pans.
By using a muffin tin, you can make individual cakes that offer the same amount of fruit, batter, and syrup. Just make sure that you only fill each hole 3/4 full, so the batter doesn't overflow.
Use Salt to Remove Carpet Stains
Although more and more modern homeowners are choosing to opt for wooden or hard floors, our grandma loved carpet. Their houses would be filled with long shaggy carpets that were always spotlessly clean. But how did they deal with stains? Well, it turns out that they knew a life hack that would help to remove stubborn stains - including red wine stains. And all they needed to use was some salt.
As soon as you notice a stain, you should first remove as much moisture as you can with paper towels. Then, cover the whole area with salt and let it absorb the rest over the next few hours.
Use Folds to Create the Perfect Cake Lining
Although baking a cake may seem easy, parchment paper can make or break your baking efforts. After all, a fold in the wrong place could dig into your batter and leave you with a misshapen cake. Our grandmas never had that problem, though, as they had a tried and true method to ensure that they lined their cake tins with a perfectly round piece of parchment paper every single time.
To do this, they would fold the paper into a triangle before trimming the edges into a curved shape. When you open it back up again, it should be a perfect circle for your circular tin.
Use Baking Soda to Put Out a Grease Fire
Of course, we all hope that we'll never be affected by a grease fire. These can be extremely devastating and destructive and are notoriously difficult to put out. And while it's always best to call the fire brigade if you discover a large grease fire taking over your kitchen, you could try and put out the fire yourself if it's manageable - such as a small pan on fire. But how do you do that? Well, we learned from our grandma that grease and baking soda don't mix.
To put out a small grease fire in a pan, simply grab a bottle of baking soda and pour the whole thing into the pan. The powder should instantly smother the fire and soak up the excess grease.
Use Lemon to Clean Your Microwave
Thanks to the life hacks we learned from our grandma; we know that it's always better to work smarter and not harder. And why would you spend two hours scrubbing away at a microwave when you don't have to? Our grandmother spent just under ten minutes cleaning her microwave, and it was always spotlessly clean and smelled delicious. She did this by using a microwave-safe bowl, some water, and some lemon to her advantage.
To do this yourself, place the water and the lemon in the bowl in and microwave for three minutes. Instead of taking it out immediately, let the bowl sit in the microwave for another three minutes to loosen the dirt inside. Then, give the microwave a quick wipe.