College Hacks (3 page)

Sick of old smelly food containers? Put some crunched up newspaper inside and leave overnight. The paper will absorb the smell by the morning.

Set your dorm room temperature between 60°F and 67°F. This is said to be the best temperature for a good night’s sleep.

A coat hanger makes for a perfect kitchen towel holder. Just cut it in the center of the long horizontal part and slide a paper towel roll right through. Use the handles of your kitchen cabinets to hold the hanger up.

Put Febreze car deodorizers on your air vents to make your room smell amazing!

Drop your nail polish on the floor? Pour some sugar on it. The sugar will immediately clump up the nail polish, making it easy to sweep away.

Get your roommates to try the microwave challenge: While microwaving, see how much of the kitchen you can clean up.

Need to clean your electronic devices? Use a coffee filter. It works like a charm and leaves your screens scratch free.

Put a stocking over a vacuum cleaner to find tiny lost items like earrings.

Feeling homesick? Draw a picture of your favorite comfort food. Seriously! A study showed that people who drew pictures of pizza and cupcakes had up to a 28% positive increase in their moods.

Adding a tablespoon of vanilla extract to a gallon of paint will make your finished dorm room smell like cookies instead of chemicals, and won’t affect the color.

When you’re finished painting your dorm room, put some of the same paint in a baby food jar for quick touch-ups.

Roommate’s phone alarm going off? Call their phone and it will turn it off.

Dorm room a little stinky? Put dry tea bags around your room. They will absorb the unpleasant odor.

Out of clean pillowcases? Use a T-shirt.

Stick pieces of Velcro to the back of your remote and the side of your coffee table. You’ll never lose your remote again!

Homemade air freshener: Mix together 2 tablespoons of baking soda,
¹
⁄
₈
cup of fabric softener, and hot water. Pour it into an empty spray bottle and spritz your room.

1. Honey.
   A teaspoon of honey is great for soothing a sore throat and for curing a hangover.
   
2. Horseradish.
   Mix 1 tablespoon of horseradish with 1 cup of olive oil. Let sit for 30 minutes, then apply as a massage oil to any muscles aching from the flu.
   
3. Gatorade.
   Drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost instantly.
   
4. Toothpaste.
   A little bit of toothpaste makes an excellent salve for a burn.
   
5. Altoids.
   These breath fresheners are not only great to pop in right before a date, but they are also a fantastic cure for a stuffy nose.
   
6. Elmer’s multipurpose glue.
   Pour a drop over a splinter, let dry, and peel the dried glue along with the splinter right off the skin.
   
7. White vinegar.
   Soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to a bruised area for 1 hour. This will reduce the blueness and speed up the healing process.
   
8. Quaker oats.
   Mix two cups of oats with one cup of water, microwave for 1 minute and apply to any area of the skin causing muscle and arthritis pain.
   
9. Listerine.
   Soaking your toenails in Listerine mouthwash will get rid of toenail fungus.
   
10. Peppermint oil.
    Spiders hate peppermint oil. Put some in a squirt bottle, spray the area where you’ve seen them, and watch the spiders run.
    

Research shows that being continuously sleep-deprived makes you dumb, irritable, distracted, unhappy, and fat. The exact opposite of what you want to be while at school.

Fruit fly problem? Put some fruit or honey in a cup and cover it with plastic wrap. Poke a few holes on top and watch your problem disappear.

Using your phone as an alarm clock? Put it in a glass cup. This will amplify the sound of your alarm and make it a lot harder to sleep through it.

Having trouble sleeping? Try blinking your eyes really fast for a minute. Tired eyes help you fall asleep quicker.

The best way to clean a microwave: Put a cup of hot water mixed with vinegar inside the microwave, turn it on for three to five minutes, and wipe clean with ease.

Make your dorm smell like Christmas by adding a few cinnamon sticks, 4 orange halves, 1 cup of cranberries, and 2 rosemary sprigs into a large pot. Cover the mix with water and let it simmer all day long.

Looking for something? Scan from right to left with your eyes. You’ll pick up more since your brain isn’t used to reading that way.

Get rid of water stains on your furniture by spreading mayonnaise over the stain and leaving it for 15 minutes. Seems bizarre but it really works!

Use a blow dryer to instantly defog any mirror.

Having a dorm room movie night? Put your sweatshirt on backward and use the hood as your own personal popcorn bowl.

Trying to sneak out at night without your roommates knowing? Lifting up on a door while opening or closing it will often keep it from squeaking and waking people up.

Need a quick repair manual? On
www.iFixIt.com
you can download the repair manuals for almost anything.

Dorm Room Tip: Buy a plunger before you
need
a plunger.

A bundle of chalk hung in a closet will absorb extra moisture and keep your clothing fresh and dry.

No air conditioning in your dorm? Put a two-liter bottle of frozen water in front of your fan and it’ll be like you have your own personal air conditioner.

If you ever want to call a meeting with your roommates, just turn off the Wi-Fi router and wait in the room in which it’s located. You’ll round up all of your roommates within minutes!

Get rid of any lingering odor by taping dryer sheets on top of your vents.

You can fix scratched wood by mixing
¹
⁄
₂
cup of vinegar and
¹
⁄
₂
cup of olive oil together and rubbing it on the scratched surface.

When moving in, pack heavy items, like your books, in a rolling suitcase. Boxes are hard to carry and tend to tear when they’re too heavy.

When putting together build-it-yourself furniture, use a muffin tin or ice cube tray to separate all the screws, nails, and fasteners. This will make for easy access during the build.

Add a magnetic strip to your wall and never lose your bobby pins, tweezers, or nail clippers again!

Dorm room too hot and stuffy? Hang a damp towel over an open window. Your place will cool down in a matter of minutes.

• Bed sheets and blankets
  
• Pillows and pillowcases
  
• Mattress pad
  
• Foam topper
  
• Mini fridge
  
• Alarm clock
  
• Floor and desk lamps
  
• Calendar
  
• White board and/or bulletin board
  
• Paper clips
  
• Stapler and staples
  
• Trash can
  
• Condoms
  
• iPod dock
  
• Area rug
  
• Wall décor
  

Take a picture of the inside of your fridge on your phone before you go grocery shopping. You’ll never forget anything at the store again!

Got a stuck zipper? Rub it with the tip of a graphite pencil and it’ll work again.

Mom not there to take your splinter out? Apply a paste of baking soda and water and wait for the splinter to pop out of the skin.

If you wake up with a sore throat, mix water, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons vinegar, dash of cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice together. Drink it and you’ll feel better within the hour. Works every time!

1. Get the right amount of sleep
   
2. Reduce your stress levels
   
3. Practice mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
   
4. Stop chewing gum
   
5. Improve your posture
   
6. Try acupuncture
   

Flattened pillow? Put it in the sun for thirty minutes. The sun will absorb any moisture caught in the pillow and plump it up.

Need to dry your clothes quickly before class? Throw a dry bath towel into the dryer along with your wet clothes. They’ll dry much faster.

Something in your eye? Hold your eyelashes and pull your eyelid down with your fingers, then blink rapidly several times.

Get rid of nighttime coughs by putting Vicks VapoRub on your feet and then placing socks over them. Your cough will stop within minutes.

Feeling sick? Eating 10–12 almonds will have the same effect as taking an aspirin.

Get something in your eye? Pour water into a bowl big enough for your face and open your eyes in it. The irritating object should come right out.

Looking for the best way to fold a T-shirt? Fold the bottom fourth of your shirt up. Place the left side of the shirt toward the center, folding at the shoulder, and do the same with the right side. Fold the right sleeve in toward the center so that the left side is folded neatly. Fold the bottom half of the shirt up and flip the entire shirt over, so that the folds are hidden beneath.

1. BEER: Sponge with white vinegar solution.
   
2. GREASE: Sponge with dry-cleaning fluid, then sponge with detergent solution. Repeat until stain is gone.
   
3. INK: Flush with cool water and blot up excess ink. Sponge with vinegar solution.
   
4. MUD: Let dry, then brush and rinse repeatedly with cold water.
   
5. PAINT: Sponge with thinner or turpentine until paint disappears; sponge and rinse with water.
   
6. WINE: Sponge with detergent solution followed by vinegar solution.
   
7. VOMIT: Put coffee grounds on it first to get rid of the smell and dehydrate it so you can sweep it up. Then sponge the remains with a solution of
   ¹
   ⁄
   ₅
   cup of salt to 1 liter of water.
   
8. COFFEE: Sponge lightly with dry-cleaning fluid, then sponge with warm water.
   
9. BLOOD: Sponge with ammonia solution, then with detergent solution.
   
10. CORDIAL OR JUICE: Get to it fast! Sponge with detergent solution, then with ammonia solution, and finally with vinegar solution.
    

Gum stuck to your clothes? Boil vinegar and pour it over the gum. Use a brush to wipe off. The gum will come off instantly!

Break something?
www.FixItClub.com
will show you step by step how to fix just about anything.

Something stuck under the fridge? Tape a paper towel roll to your vacuum. You can easily bend and flatten it to reach places!

There are a ton of hiccup remedies out there, but recent studies have shown that the level of CO
₂
in your bloodstream is the key. Therefore, breathing into a plastic bag for about 30 seconds should guarantee you relief.

Mom not there to stop your nosebleed? Put cotton on your upper gums right behind the small dent below your nose and press against it hard. This cartilage is where most of the blood comes from.