What small, everyday life tips do you have to offer?

Sam@feddit.org to Ask Lemmy@lemmy.world – 260 points –

I’ll go first. After your turn the water off in the shower but before you get out, use your hands to wipe off any standing water on your body. Maybe even give your legs a bit of a shake. This way, you won’t drip nearly as much when you get out, keeping the floor and your towel drier.

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The ability to admit fault and learn from your mistakes is the most important quality that separates a grown person from an actual adult.

Also the opposite side to it don't keep hammering into somebody once they've admitted fault and are trying to rectify their mistakes (within reason).

People will be a lot more likely to be confident in admitting a mistake and being honest about it if it isn't blown out of proportion.

Totally agree. Some people seem to think it shows moral fortitude to stick to your guns and never admit fault, but these are really the weak-willed people in society.

Another lesson of adulthood it has taken me an embarrassingly long time to learn is that when you are enjoying something and see someone—particularly a younger person—looking interested, bring them in on it. If it's something you bought for yourself, let them have a go. This may entail a small amount of sacrifice if you let them borrow it for a time, but the joy it brings will make it worth it, and the world needs more of that today. I think about people who have done this for me in the past, and I have mad respect for all of them.

Oh, this is a great one. I agree

This is what puts a stop to most legal disputes as well. These company managers are always worked up about the LIABILITY! Of course attourneys are going to tell you to never admit fault, they want to bill for as many hours as possible. Just sitting down and apologizing goes a long way.

If anything out of the ordinary lasts more than 24 hours, get to a doctor!

Three days after Thanksgiving, 2018, I developed a really bad case of heartburn. "No big deal," I thought, "It WAS Thanksgiving and I DID have the extra plate of sweet potatoes..."

Super hard to sleep, couldn't get positioned right.

Monday, pepto did nothing.

Tuesday, same.

Wednesday, super nauseated, throwing up, called out sick from work.

Thursday, the heartburn moved into my upper arms, which I didn't know was a thing. Nausea was gone, but it was replaced by the feeling that there was a giant rock in the center of my chest, heavy, pulling down on all my insides.

Advice line sends me to the hospital, hospital runs a blood test and finds I've been having a heart attack.

Every time my heart beats, it only pumps out 30% of what it should, that heavy feeling was my heart getting heavier and heavier every heartbeat.

Doc says 30% is the line between walking around, talking to people... and not.

Thursday - Sunday, Cardiac Ward.

Monday - Open heart surgery, ICU.

Tuesday-Thursday - Cardiac Ward. You'd think they'd let a dude rest after cracking you open like a lobster, fuck no! Get up and walk!

Friday - back home.

Yea getting up and about after surgery sucks but it's the best way to prevent blood clots. Very glad to hear you made it to the hospital in time!

Holy shit that was one intense week! I really feel for you. Glad you got it looked at in time and hope for calm seas ahead.

2019 was one complication after another, almost died a couple of times.

2nd heart attack in January, my heart did stop that time for 8 seconds.

8 seconds is not a lot of time... unless you're on the back of a bull or your heart stops.

I can back this, though not for a heart attack. I was foolish and never went in, twice.

My body typically runs a degree below what most of us know as the average human body temperature, though this is disputed. Some time ago I got sick. Not like sniffles and some aches, what I got brought my body into fill siege mode for a week. My temps were fluctuating from 102 into mid-104 if I made the mistake of staying covered up for too long, or sometimes just cause. I struggled to eat due to almost no appetite, though I did eat what little I could put down, and slept on-off constantly, mostly dozed. When I was awake it was constant discomfort. Just me being a human torch and downing as much fluids as I could, with a careful mixture of otc drugs. I lost 17lbs that week. Many of you are aware of how dumb I was to not bring myself to a hospital. For those of you who do not understand: My body was in a state of absolute war. Me creeping into 104° was dangerous on a level that's difficult to grasp, especially if it stays there, god forbid if it goes up another degree. Plainly put: I got lucky. I have no idea what I had caught.

The other situation was a stomach issue caused, I'm convinced, by my body reacting very poorly to pineapple enzymes. Considering I am rather strongly physically adverse to going near pineapple now I'm sort of assuming my body knows what's up. Anyway, I spent 4 days in and out of the bathroom, often nauseous, with commonly nothing to show for it. No matter what I did my body refused to process something. It's like those moments where you forget how to breathe, except my stomach forgot how to process. Tums, Peptol, toast, time, heat, cold, showers, light exercise, nothing moved whatever lever some goblin pulled to cause my body to just say no regarding processing through whatever I was dealing with.

Now neither of these situations are heart attacks. Point is, they don't have to be. Our bodies are remarkably resilient and modern medicine understands this. We have developed advanced medical techniques that, with few exceptions, exist largely to give our bodies time to figure shit out. So just go. Even if it's no more than a quick consultation and $100 for someone to say "You're probably not going to die." cause fuck me if it wouldn't have helped me in both these situations.

I agree with you wholeheartedly except for that it costs me more than $100

If a child gives you anything, anything at all, blade of grass, shell at the seaside, whatever - take it with real, heartfelt thanks. It is all they have to give.

My older sister gave my dad a dead bird she found when she was little. It ranks among the highest I've ever heard anyone shriek.

You guys just walk out of the shower soaking wet? You don't dry yourselves in the shower and then step out?

I always do this. My gym has push-button showers, and I always do it there too. However, yesterday, my stupid brain thought “but what if you elbowed the button while towelling off?” Never done that before, but somehow did it almost immediately after I thought that, soaked my towel. Cheers brain.

I will never understand people who leave puddles or wet bath mats instead of drying themselves in the already wet shower.

I just hang the bath mat up to dry afterwards, problem solved

But why create the problem in the first place? Why not step onto the bath mat with dry feet?

I hang it up to keep it out of the way and to keep feet that haven’t just been washed off of it, so it’s more of an added bonus. Plus, I’d bang the shit out of my elbows trying to dry my hair in my shower stall and if I don’t dry that first, it’s pointless.

Of course not! We're supposed to feel ourselves up after every shower like a psycho (taking longer and removing less water), step out to get the towel, slip, and ultimately get some time off from work!

Yup. Towel is around the corner from shower door. Now way to get it without stepping out. I feel like I dry quicker outside of the humidity trapped in the shower. And you can buy a bathmat or use diatomaceous earth (recommended) to step on for this purpose. It's quite common.

I get my towel and hang it over the shower wall beforehand, because ain’t no cold air getting me before I’m mostly dry.

Find a place where you live to have a "sit spot" every day. Ideally outside, but if weather doesn't cooperate, where you can see outside. You don't have to do or think anything, just sit (or stand) and enjoy the view. It doesn't need to be epic, just something you like looking at. (In one of my places, it was the way a particular building interrupted the horizon that I found interesting.) No phone, no computer, no book - just breathe and observe.

It doesn't need to be for long. Start with two to five minutes. I usually do longer when I can.

Yes, it's a type of meditation. But a type that works better for this neurospicy gal than sitting in utter stillness or listening to music.

Currently, it's the picnic table near my bird feeders first thing after waking for my spot. In the morning and evening they are most active, so I sit with a cuppa and enjoy watching them negotiate who eats first while I wake up and caffeinate. It soothes my nervous system in a way notifications and doomscrolling can't, and makes me better able to handle my day.

This is an excellent one, and one that works great for my level of neuroflavor too.

In my case, in have a big sturdy chair in my back yard next to a pond I built. Having external stimuli to focus on really helps calm the mind and be aware in the moment.

Must be satisfying, having the pond you built part of the experience too. I'm just stumbling into the realization that I'm probably going to be in one place for a long time, for the first time, and if my luck continues the WFH will too. In other words I'm realizing I need to widen my scope for how to enjoy my home, to a longer term and to things like that.

Definitely. And even doing the maintenance chores for pond upkeep is a meditative exercise most of the time. Things like cleaning filters. Obviously feeding the fish is an everyday positive. I keep the food container under my big chair out there.

I’m also in a similar situation where I have been in the same place for a long time, and I expect it to stay that way. It’s ideally located and we’ve made it our nice place to be, pond included.

This is one of the best I’ve seen. Thanks!

For the love of God. Get enough sleep. That shit will catch up to you when you're older.

I’m a runner and I can definitely tell that the largest determining factor for my physical performance isn’t diet, days off, etc; it’s sleep. Sleep is SO important.

Edit: The others are still very important, but sleep is paramount.

That shit will catch up to you when you're older.

Especially as one of the risk factors for dementia is sleep deprivation

This would be concerning to me but I'll forget it in 15 mins.

After dealing with babies who didn't want to sleep or sleep for long for a few years, I found nothing that can reverse or help with the effects. Fuuuuuuuck. Get it where you can.

I used to not get enough sleep. Now I drive every day. Huge incentive to sleep 8 hours a night.

Sleep debt is real and the interest rate is very high.

I'll compound this with also learning what sleep schedule works best for you. Some people require 10 hours, others 6. Some people do very well with polyphasic sleep, others just need one uninterrupted bout at night.

I usually sleep about 5.5 hours at night and I take a midday 20 minute nap, and I always feel very strong, energetic, lively. If I sleep 7+ hours at night I'm super groggy and have inflammation the next day.

If you're ever randomly angry or sad for reasons that are out of your control and not the fault of anyone around you, make a small announcement. Something as simple as "I'm upset about X, sorry if it seems like I'm being short or snappy with anyone."

Identifying and vocalizing your feelings is superpower. Good step toward living in a sincere manner. Obviously there are limits (Kant look away), but it makes life much easier when you aren't worried about being cool and cagey.

I don't like your comment, and I'm sorry if you take that personally.

Do super soft yoga in the morning.

When i tell people i do yoga every day before work, they think its MUCH HARDER than it is. I get up, drink a whole glass of water, and sit on my mat. If its cold, i use a space heater. I put on an easy yoga video on YouTube (i love Yoga with Adrienne) and i only do the floor parts lol.

I am in such better shape, i have more energy, I've lost weight, my posture & balance are better, and i can self-regulate my emotions a thousand times easier. I am so, so much happier with this simple lil 20mins starting my day.

Interesting. Well I've got the water part down at least

I sometimes sit on the floor.

My buddy got rid of his couch in favour of floor. He doesn't like it and neither do guests, but it's a thing

I fell down the last three steps of my stairs today

Happens to the best of us. It will feel just like you had a strenuous workout at the gym for the next 4 or 5 days though (all about framing)

Sounds really good, will have to give this a try

Nice, mine a little different.

I brush then meditate with water bottle then fresh up. Then I either hit track or open gym after proper warmups.

I'll take your advice one step further: after you've hand-squiggied yourself, do a quick towel dry in the shower. Dry your feet as you step out and you won't get any water on the floor

I genuinely assumed this was how everyone did it.

Tbh I didn't always, but one day teenage me was drying off over the floor, feet sliding around, using a second towel to soak the puddle I made, when I had the thought "Why don't they put a drain in the bathroom floor?" Then I turned and looked at the shower that I just got out of and realized that I'm a fucking moron

A good example of giving a little thought to the everyday things.

I was about to type the same. I dry in the shower and dry each feet before slipping them into my sandal when I step out.

Then what's even the point of feeling yourself up? But you're right about the floor! I have a textured faux wood floor in my bathroom and I don't even own a Batman bathmat. (Sadly, I also don't own a batman. ☹️) It's never slippery after I shower.

You should invest. Nothing gets you dry better than a good Batman.

Get mental help, especially if you are a man. It's ok to cry, and doesn't make you any less of a person

And I'm going to add something that helps me talk to my therapist: "If it's mentionable, it's manageable."

After you've tried to deal with something yourself and haven't succeeded, telling someone about what's going on, no matter how unimportant or embarrassing or burdensome or shameful it feels, is the first step to living a life of contentment.

Go to a hardware store, buy multiple packs of microfiber so you have multiple colors, assign a color to a specific task (blue = bathroom, grey = kitchen, orange = car detailing) and liberate yourselves from paper towels.

If you wash them in cool water with little detergent and some vinegar, dry on low without fabric softener, they'll remain absorbent and streak-free for a long ass time. As they go bad (burned from wiping down a hot oven top etc), cut them in half and use them for rags for 'greasy jobs' (you'll know which is which because they're cut in half)

I would modify that to say use microfiber for things you really need microfiber for (e.g. cleaning glass or waxing cars, where you really need it to be lint-free and non-scratching) and get bulk packs of cotton bar towels from a restaurant supply store or Costco business center for everything else. This minimizes the release of microplastics.

Surgical cloths. They have to be disposed of if they were even in the operating room. They still sanitize them though. You can probably find them for free, but if you pay any money it will be incredibly cheap. They are very low-lint and have a coarse texture that makes them perfect for cleaning.

If the chore takes just a few minutes, fucking do it now. Right now.

And please make sure you communicate an expectation: that you can’t be the only one doing all the small chores.

I am in control of my own life. All small chores will cower in fear before me. No one can carry this burden but me. (Because it only takes a few minutes)

Get a step counter and aim for 10,000 steps a day. First it makes you aware of how much (or little) you're moving each day - you have a real number you can see and a target to aim for. Second it sets you a reasonable goal to achieve every day no matter how you're feeling.

It's good for your mental health as well as physical health. There is good evidence that people who do the equivalent of 10,000 steps a day are generally healthier on many metrics, and the benefits plateau at around 10k. And on a bad day, going out for a walk to hit your 10k can make a huge difference to your mental health.

It's a simple, achievable but impactful lifestyle change that almosr anyone can make.

Edit: while you can get a step counter on your phone (including privacy apps like Pedometer on F-droid), I'd go for a dedicated clip on simple counter. There is something about a physical object dedicated to the task that makes a difference to me sticking to it. Also if you walk around without your phone a clip on device will keep on counting.

As a runner, I think this is some of the best advice you can give someone. My mental health has never been better since I’ve started taking care of my physical health.

while you can get a step counter on your phone (including privacy apps like Pedometer on F-droid), I’d go for a dedicated clip on simple counter. There is something about a physical object dedicated to the task that makes a difference to me sticking to it.

Honestly this advice is just as good as the first tip!

Smalltalk starter pack:

  • (during the day) "So how's your day going?"
  • (in the evening) "So how was your day?"
  • (before the weekend) "what you up to on Saturday?"
  • (before the week) "what's your week looking like?"

Easy small repeatable things that open people up. I use it on everyone, and I make sure that I care about the answer because I'm genuinely curuous

Floss the teeth you want to keep.

Use Voice Notify to read notifications if you drive a lot or work with your hands a lot. Also useful if you have notification addiction, by restricting what it can read.

Change your car's oil often.

Sennheiser noise canceling over the ear headphones are comfortable enough to sleep in even if you're a side sleeper. Combine with brown noise for a good night sleep if you have snoring people or animals.

Sennheiser noise canceling over the ear headphones are comfortable enough to sleep in even if you’re a side sleeper

Hard disagree. If you accidentally cover the mic in the right way, you'll be greeted by a loud, high-pitch feedback noise that will violently wake you up.

HD450?

Yeah I've had that if I use a firm pillow. On a really soft one it rarely happens. Maybe once a month or less. Maybe I adapted my position somehow as well. Lying fully on it now while writing. Only affected the left side on mine.

I've had both H450 and HD458, had the same issue on both of them, though as you note only on one side. Apart from that and them repeating "connection lost" forever, they are great headphones.

To add to your first one, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD BRUSH YOUR TONGUE, TOO. It makes a world’s difference and I’m actually astonished how many people I’ve interacted with that noticeably don’t do it.

Even better, get a proper tongue scraper like this one. Scrape all that stupid, nasty bullshit of your tongue first. THEN brush your teeth & tongue. THEN an alcohol-free mouthwash.

It's a lot easier to brush the bad bacteria & waste away if most of it has been physically removed before the brushing.

alcohol-free

Spoilsport.

I know you're being funny, and I appreciate the joke. 🙂 But I am so serious...alcohol-free. Not only is it less 'sketchy', but it's better for you & will result in better breath.

Ever smelled a chronic alcoholic's breath, particularly after they haven't had a drink for a while? Rancid.

It's the same with the alcohol in the mouthwash; it kills all the bacteria & flora in your mouth. Good & bad. It wipes the entire landscape clean, and unfortunately, the bad/stinky bacteria tends to be more resilient than the good bacteria. It multiplies & becomes a persistent, dominant presence. Which doesn't help your breath, even with regular brushing & tongue scraping.

Change your car’s oil often

Yes this is definitely something to keep on top of but don’t feel the need to do it too too often ex. Once a month assuming you drive a normal amount. Check the manual in your glove box and stick the recommended service interval. It should list miles driven and a length of time. Change it at which ever of those come first.

Some on YouTube claim these specs are only to ensure your car makes it to the end of the warranty period, so a more frequent change might be better.

Yeah, I suspect that's probably true. The prescribed maintenance routine on my VW suddenly got very, very lax after 250,000 miles.

Data on flossing is actually quite limited. It's not harmful, but many people can maintain healthy teeth without regular flossing. Depending on your saliva production and tooth spacing, some may benefit more than others from this.

A lot of people change their car oil too often based on pre-synthetic era oil change recommendations and car shop and oil manufacturer recommendations.

Hide an extra roll of toilet paper somewhere in the the bathroom, use for emergencies, tell no one. I smash one flat and put it up behind the false drawer covering the vanity sink.

Ah, the turkish cigarette trick!

We called it that back in the day, because turkish cigarettes were the absolute worst smoke you could have. But in need, a friend indeed...

God I miss smoking. I quit near as not 20 years ago after a parent died of lung cancer, and still every once in a while I could f'kin eat one whole. You can "quit" but the craving never really goes away.

Forgot my vape at home while out in town a few months ago. Stress and shit happened. Bummed a dart off the guy working on my truck. And it was like I never quit. It was so good. Words cant describe. Shit was amazing. But it was just the one. I've stayed quit. Only because of my family tho. Not like risk of lung cancer really matters anymore. WWIII, climate collapse, etc. Very few of us are gonna live long enough to die of natural causes.

If you are vaping, then did you really quit?

I quit the tar and arsenic and 100 other odd chemicals in american cigs. I didnt quit nicotine.

As someone who mixed his own vape fluids and slowly lowered the nicotine to ~1.8mg/ml and then went cold turkey first on nicotine and then also on vaping. The craving for a cigarette full of tar is still there once in a while when drinking or when completely stressed out.

Most of the time it's my brain wanting "5 minutes of fresh air" while working on a problem or thinking back about a good time such as a beer, a smoke and good company during a backyard bbq. I can do those things without the nicotine, and I do.
It's rare now though, especially compared to how it was when I was still vaping nicotine.

I was a pack per day for almost 20 years. Switched to vapes 5+ years ago and stepped down the % and then stopped just like you. Haven't had a smoke/vape in probably 2 years at this point. I still get a craving now and then but it passes, fuck cigarettes and paying lying tobacco companies to kill me.

I’m just replying to this because I wanted to see what color came after purple in Voyager…

Edit: It’s pink!

As a smoker who quit before ecigs, if you do quit nicotine, it's hard. But it gets easier every day. Now it's just a long forgotten memory.

Do what you think is right, but actually take some time to determine if it's actually right or just feels right

Don't wait for someone else to challenge your beliefs do it yourself first, use the Socratic method if you need a starting point

Rewarding or ignoring bad behavior is the same as encouraging bad behavior

Leave places/systems in the same or better state than you encounter them

Don't play rigged games

Keep a bowl by the door for keys and loose change

Awesome, just don't keep the keys in open. Any easily accessible closed container or cabinet drawer would be sufficient.

Absolutely. I keep my keys in my room; they stay in my Outside Pants. I can’t go leave the house without them, and I can’t lose them. They live there.

..."Outside Pants"? I feel like this might be the real tip here. Please, explain.

Of course!

If we’re in the house, we hang out in our room and we have our pyjamas, our inside pants. We put on outside pants if we need to leave the house. Those are the dirty pants in which our keys and wallets live. Inside, we do not have to worry about the cleanliness of our pants, because they’re inside pants!

Take a lunch break, both of those things, lunch and a break. Do anything other than work and sit down to eat something so you can enjoy it. Take a break in the middle of the day, you're worth it and you deserve it.

One of the hardest things for me. My relax space is home and I can't make it there on my lunch. My brain doesn't wanna switch out of work mode because then it could take way too long to switch back.

Can you go for a walk about? When my brain doesn't want to turn off work, I'll either watch something in netflix or listen to an interesting podcast while walking.

Use a calendar. Put every item into it and let it direct you around. Throw out any other calendar or appt reminder you’re using.

If your job needs its own calendar, set up your calendar apps to show both somehow (there are different ways to do this).

The stress of trying to remember every meeting, appointment, or scheduled task goes away.

Also add payment reminders (for everything if you don't autopay, but even with autopay keep the big ones in there too so you can make sure they went through).

Also add travel time blocks for appointments that are far away so you don't accidentally overbook yourself, especially if you have to leave work for a doctor or something.

Family considering dinner vaguely "next weekend"? add a 3 day event so you remember to confirm a time with them. Everything gets a calendar event.

I used to always just remember my homework assignments in high school and never failed to forget at least one or two a week. Taking the two seconds to add things to a calendar as they come up is a huge game changer.

If you shower at the gym, you don't need a whole bath towel to dry yourself. A regular hand towel is sufficient, and it takes up way less room in your gym bag.

Bonus points for those really thin microfiber types. You wring them out as you go to get the majority of water off your body, the rest air dried quite quickly after that.

Protect your head when doing contact activities,sports, etc. Brain injury and seizures are a terrible thing to live with.

And cycling.

Ditto on the cycling. I’ve only ever gotten in one bad accident on my road bike, but if I hadn’t worn a helmet, I wouldn’t be here today. I got ran off the road by a car overtaking another when they shouldn’t have, went straight for a tree, used the roots as a sort of ramp to launch myself 5ish feet in the air, and landed helmet first on the road again with my bike landing on me soon after. I’ll never get on the bike without a helmet unless I’m on the trainer, no matter how short or safe I think the ride is.

Yikes! Glad you're ok. A friend of mine had a much less dramatic hit by a car but landed on her head and had a lot of difficulties from it.

If you have a tankless water heater, and have to run the tap for a really long while to get hot water, look into timed recirculating pumps. It'll save you a ton of money and make you kick yourself for not doing it sooner.

I looked up what that is,

It moves hot water from your water heater through your pipes and back again, keeping the water in the pipes hot and ready for use

While that sounds great from an end point perspective - my water would be hot straight from the tap - this would necessitate keeping the water in the pipes hot 24/7 so that it'd be ready at a moments notice at any time.

That would be SOOO much more expensive! Just imagine! So much energy/money lost keeping some pipes hot for the few times a day you need to use the hot tap.

Sounds like a great system for places like a hospital where on demand, correctly heated water throughout the building complex is a must, but those places have £££ to burn.

I do agree this is a problem though, I've sometimes wondered if there's an instant electric heating system one can install under the sink (I know these exist), but rather than only heating water that way (which would use electricity and be WAY more expensive than the gas boiler), if it heated the water only when needed - and when it detects the incoming water is hot (as the boiler's caught up) it can stop heating the water itself, you know?

A little initial heat burst for the first 15 seconds basically until the boiler catches up, that'd be great and not too big of an additional cost to run :-D

Many pumps come with built-in timers so you can turn them off when sleeping. You can also connect them to smarthome switches and set a routine to turn them on and off only when needed or via remote apps, wireless switches, or voice control (Alexa, turn pump on.)

We found the cost savings to be non-trivial. Main reason I put one in was because we had a teenager who started the shower running, then went away and got distracted. This solved the problem. And with a smarthome controller, it also reduced costs.

Also, those under-sink instant heaters do exist, but they're only good for a single faucet. They won't work with showers and baths.

Lots have motion sensors you install so when you walk in the room it starts.

The secret to keeping water hot is minimising surface area and, of course, insulation. If you want instant hot water you can actually buy electric hot water tanks with, say, 10-15L capacities that go under the sink so the hot water only needs to travel the 50cm or so. Very cheap and much more simple than instant heaters.

Amazing quality of life upgrade. It feels like a million bucks to have hot water instantly. However, when I looked into this for my home it seemed like it saves water at the increased energy expense of heating your pipes, right? For me it would end up costing more than living without it.

Do I have this wrong?

That's why I put 'timed' in there. You can program when they shut off so it just goes back to the way it was before. Like when sleeping or out of the house.

A more fine-grain solution is to get a non-timer (cheaper) version of the pump, and one of those Alexa, Google, or Homekit compatible power switches, then not only can you set the time through a smart home routine, but can override them whenever walking out or coming back.

If using a traditional water heater, you're heating the whole tank all the time. And with a tankless but no pump, you're running gallons of clean water down the drain, waiting for it to get warm. It's all a tradeoff, but this, at least, only heats the water circulating inside your pipes and only during the hours you set.

Always remember that it can always get worse. Always.

Edit for clarification: And will.

Definitely. I don’t know where the quote came from, but it always sits in the back of my head: “you’re always two steps away from losing all your stability.” No matter your lot in life, you’ve probably built a routine. That routine can always be destroyed by something in a flash.

Use a whiteboard eraser to clean the dashboard offgas gunk off the inside of your windshield.

I have a wand thing with microfiber pads. Not only does it allow me to reach the the windshield in front of me, I can clean the passenger side as well.

Try to eat healthy and perform a minimal workout every day. Eat more fresh fruits or vegetables. It's quick to make a simple yogurt bowl with fruit and granola, or a salad with lean meat or chick peas. Start with a few push ups, crunches, reverse crunches, and at least a 30 minute walk. Small changes gradually will help you feel better with how you look and feel with a small time investment.

Preach. Get a food scale!

I counted calories for a bit to eat healthier and balance my nutrition.

I stopped after 3 months but I quickly realized that serving sizes ae WAY smaller than you'd think.

A bowl of cereal or chips could be 2 or 3 servings. Donuts and muffins are garbage. Ham and cheese? Triple the ham and cut the cheese in half. Mayo is horrible but plain mustard is 0 cal.

I didn't eat any less but I made my meals healthier and lost weight without changing my workout.

I also ate bad stuff without cheating. Chicken salad for dinner and a scoop of ice cream for a late night snack under budget.

There is nuance to nearly everthing that exists. All of life happens with the grey area- perfectly balanced between the black and white boundaries most people refuse to look away from.

Life is too short to please everyone.

And certainly do not feel bad saying no to a salesperson. Don’t even feel bad completely ignoring one who approaches you unsolicited.

Handle one fragile thing at a time, with your attention dedicated to it. No random thoughts and no multitasking or you might break something.

And think through what you are going to do before you start moving it.

If you see a problem you can fix, it's best to fix it right away because very often it can become way worse if you leave it for later, costing more time, effort, and money to fix than if you just took care of it immediately. Everytime that little voice says "you can fix that later" you tell it to stfu.

Similar: the five minute rule. If you're struggling to get started on a big task, do it for five minutes. Best outcome is that you keep doing the task, and it gets done. But even if you've had enough, then at least that's five minutes' worth you don't have to do later.

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If you're having a hard time opening a jar or bottle, wrap a rubber band around the lid, then use that to grip and twist it. I don't know why it works so well but it does.

I don't know why it works so well

Because the torque you can apply to the lid is usually limited by grip strength/friction, not arm strength/leverage.

And if that doesn't work, you can bop the side of the lid with a butter knife a few times, tends to release the most aggressively stuck lids. Downside is the lid is permanently dented, but small sacrifices.

Also use a towel or cloth on top of the rubber band so it's gentler on your hand / skin.

Why it works: this fixes the problem of poor friction; metal doesn't grip well against skin (especially if your hand is wet or oily). The rubber band grips well against the metal of the lid and your skin (or towel).

I pop the bottom of the jar with my palm and it usually loosens up with a loud “schloop!” noise.

I usually just use a kitchen rag, and when that isn't good enough I run the lid under hot water for a few seconds, carefully tap the circumference of the lid against the counter, and try again.

Even better: purchase an inexpensive strap wrench with a rubber strap (something like this) and keep it in the kitchen for stubborn jar lids. For the jar lids that even a strap wrench alone can't quite open, I've had success by using the strap wrench on the lid while holding the jar itself with a silicone oven mitt (or oven mitt with rubberized grip--the rubber band trick might work here as well).

If you work from home, make it a point to get up and get dressed for your shift. Dressing casual is fine. Consider putting on shoes or house shoes too. There's something about it that wakes you up and gets you in the right mind every day.

I have an interview in a few minutes and had just put on shoes when I read this!

I work a lot at home and I do this a lot.

But I also have nude days too, to balance it all out.

Fully dressed for WFH. Nude for in-office. Nude with shoes on for client meeting (in-office or WFH).

If you're not going to soak your dishes, at least splash some water on them and leave them upside down. The food bits won't harden as much and you won't have to scrub as hard.

But why upside down. Just leave them filled with water in sink.

Reduce air exposure and conserve water, especially with bowls and containers that are deeper than a dish.

Utensils will get dried eventually when upside down and you'll have to wash them within few minutes or wetting utensils would be of no use.

Yes, they will dry up eventually but not within a few minutes, that's just not true. My tip was meant for people who still plan to wash their dishes within a reasonable amount of time. I wouldn't be doing this myself if it wasn't useful.

Keep an eye on your own morale. You'd be amazed how much even a strategically placed snack will do for your future.

“Strategically placed snack” is hilarious, lol.

Snacks can be extremely fateful. You could argue a sandwich played a very important role in starting World War 1. Imagine all of the unsung snacks that put some world leader in a slightly better mood and omnicide was averted.

Take a few drinks if water first thing when you wake up.

I take a mug of electrolytes instead. It does wonders for my morning energy levels

If you use fresh ginger root, you can use a spoon to scrape of the brown skin. Scrape the edge over the skin and it will just peel off.

I didn't believe how easy this was when at first I tried this.

I wear button up shirts for work, and I only button and unbutton the second one down and pull the shirt on and off over my head (I never button the top button). By not buttoning and unbuttoning the other ones, it reduces the stress on the threads, and greatly reduces the chance that you will have a button pop off.

Take it easy for about half an hour or so after eating and then do some kind of physical activity. I learned that this has the best effect for lowering blood sugar in battling type 2 diabetes, but I think it's generally good advice for anyone? It doesn't have to be a heavy workout or anything. Even just getting up on your feet and walking around a bit makes a difference.

Always keep stock of water in an extra overhead tank or atleast an extra lid bucket bathrooms for emergency when tap water ran out. Just make sure to change water every two weeks to prevent bug parties in it.

If you don't have kettle then have a lot of water bottles especially that can store warm drinking water for long time, to never run short of warm drinking water in winter.

I try to always keep 30L to 50L of water safely stored in the food cellar.
If you store it properly it can stay safe and drinkable for years, I replace it about once a year though.

Once a year 😅

My water is stored in a dark and cool food cellar that stays at 12-15°C (Below 60°F) all year round and in sanitized food-safe water containers. So far the water has had neither colouration, smell or taste after a year of storage.

The next bit is a citation from "Livsmedelsverket", which is responsible for food safety in Sweden, and has been through a rough Google Translate because it's too long for me to care to manually translate it. A link to the Swedish PM is found at the bottom.

TL;DR: In a biologically stable system (low carbon content in the water and limited possibility of utilization carbon from the material, there is really no upper limit to how long the water can last stored from a microbiological point of view. This according to microbiologists and risk assessors at the Swedish "Enheten för biologiska faror" (Unit for biological hazards).

Preface
This PM constitutes a scientific basis for microbiological risks during the growth of bacteria in water stored in a can for a long time.
The material has been produced to order by The unit for sustainable food consumption and will be the basis for advice on how how long a consumer can store water.

Responsible for the report's content is Jakob Ottoson, microbiologist and risk assessor at the Unit for biological hazards.
The report has been fact-checked by Roland Lindqvist, senior microbiologist and risk assessor at the Unit for Biological Hazards.

The Swedish Food Agency

[...]

Risk characterization
Questions and answers
The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has a website on behavior and storage of drinking water in cans Creating and Storing an Emergency Water Supply
| water, Sanitation, & Hygiene-related Emergencies & and Outbreaks | Healthy Water | CDC. Make Water Safe During an Emergency (Print-only) (cdc.gov)
Among other things, it is stated that the water is replaced every six months and that the cans are sanitized with chlorine.
a. Evaluate whether the information on the CDC website is useful for Swedish conditions.

Answer: The short answer is yes, the information can be used under Swedish conditions.
However there is theoretically no upper limit to how long the water can be stored.
For example, specified a shelf life of 2 years in tetrapack and 12 months in bag in box on the water that was taken revealed in a pilot study (Livsmedelsverket 2024b).
The specified chlorine concentration for sanitization is large and not really necessary (see further below).
Of the potential pathogens frequently detected in drinking water systems (see Hazard Identification), including bottled water,
M. avium and A. hydrophila have the potential to infect humans via the gastrointestinal system.
However, there is no epidemiological connection that this has happened and the likelihood of illness following consumption of stored water is assessed as very low and limited to an immunocompromised population.
However, smell and taste can be affected by any microbiological growth.
In a biologically stable system (low carbon content in the water and limited possibility of utilization carbon from the material, there is really no upper limit to how long the water can last stored from a microbiological point of view.

[...]

What is the best way to clean the cans?

Answer: The best way is to rinse out of the can.
Any remaining stains that may be made up of biofilm is wiped or washed away in a way that prevents as much as possible that the material is scratched because this gives bacteria in the water a larger surface to attach to and new carbon sources may leak from the material.
If necessary, cleaning agents, e.g. hand washing detergent, used, but then it needs to be rinsed off thoroughly.
If necessary, the can can be disinfected with chlorine.
However, the latter is not necessary as there are no obvious ones microbiological hazards in the water if it is initially of drinking water quality that was filled into a pure dunk (see answer to question 1).
A certain excess of free chlorine can, however, extend the time to the build-up of new biofilm (Huang et al. 2020) but can also lead to unpleasant odors and taste of the water and the formation of harmful by-products such as trihalomethanes (Food Administration 2024a).
In case of recurring problems with visible growth, smell or taste within six months, however, sanitizing with chlorine, or buying a new storage container, can be one alternative.
A spice measure (one ml) of chlorine (12% chlorine by weight) in three liters of water gives a total content chlorine corresponding to 50 ppm.
The vessel should be rinsed out after the treatment (in about 30 minutes) and air dry before refilling with new water.

Citation from
Livsmedelsverket. Ottoson, J. 2024. PM 2024: Vatten på dunk - Riskvärdering. Livsmedelsverkets PM. Uppsala.
PM 2024
ISSN 1104-7089
https://www.livsmedelsverket.se/globalassets/publikationsdatabas/pm/2024/pm-2024-vatten-pa-dunk-riskvardering.pdf

Some of us have a habit of listening to that nasty little voice in our heads that says we're a failure, that we're weak, that we have to work harder than anyone else to just be.

Next time you hear it starting to list all the 'bad/wrong' stuff you've done, tell it to shut up ... and keep telling it to shut up every time you realize you're listening to it. Then think on a good thing you did for a friend or neighbour.

Self-flagellation should never be our bestie.

If you use q-tips to clean your ears, first use a wet one, and then a dry one. Did wonders for me.

Oh my goodness I just tried this. Thank you so much, stranger.

Sticking to the shower theme, if you're able and don't have really hard water, spray the walls of your shower before getting out. It'll get rid of the soap residue and keep it clean longer. Don't do this with hard water unless you feel like squeegeeing it off or you'll make it worse.

Doesn't this make mold grow?

There may be more caveats here :/

I don't have tile in my bathroom and have a decent vent fan and dry air so I have never had any issues related to this.

One's sleeping position can influence their lifespan and sleep enjoyment. Sleep on your left side.

Isn't it super normal to move and turn while sleeping? Is sleeping on the left side so much better that doing it for the first hour only has a noticeable impact? Or do you also need a weighted blanked to keep you in place for it to have that effect?

Sounds like pseudoscience to me.

My heartbeat is very uncomfortable when sleeping on my left. Apparently it’s a common problem. Sleeping on my right solves this for me.

Wait, what? My cat only spoons with me when I lay on my left side, so of course I prefer laying on my left side now. Does he know something I don't??

I actually spent a long time forcing myself to sleep on my back because I was a chronic stomach sleeper and was having back pains. Now it’s the only position I can sleep in, lol.

Either side, according to your later link

Whether you should sleep on your right or left side depends on which health issues you face.

If you’re changing batteries on a device and get the used and new ones mixed up - or simply aren’t sure if they’re dead or if the issue is elsewhere - you can drop the battery on its base from about 10 cm high. If it bounces, it’s empty; if it doesn’t, it’s full. Allegedly, this doesn’t work with all types of batteries, but it probably works with the ones you’re using, which are likely Alkaline AA or AAA ones.

For anyone who's confused as to how this sorcery could work, it's due to the chemistry/physics of the battery. As batteries discharge, there is more crystal growth of the electrolyte. Crystals can store mechanical energy like a spring, while the electrolyte in solution absorbs energy. It's like dropping a water balloon vs dropping a solid rubber ball.

Get a cheap battery tester. I've pulled two batteries from a device and had one completely dead while the other still has a full charge. I keep all my good used batteries in an old clear vhs case.

Following up on your tip - towel dry in your bathtub or shower to prevent your floors or bath mat from getting wet. Helps prevent mold as well!

After your turn the water off in the shower but before you get out, use your hands to wipe off any standing water on your body. Maybe even give your legs a bit of a shake. This way, you won’t drip nearly as much when you get out, keeping the floor and your towel drier.

Are there people that don't do this? Wouldn't they absolutely soak their bathroom floor?

Heck, I do this and then use a small towel to get the rest of the initial water off while I'm stood in the shower, that way when I step out I'm no longer dripping wet, and my big main towel can do the rest of the work without needing to get soaked itself.

It can just be thrown on the bed to dry, no need to unfold it, and the smaller very wet towel is easier to find somewhere to hang up.

Anyway that's my system, a little addition to your tip :-)

I'm so glad you said this; my roommate didn't do this. The (single) bathroom mat would be absolutely soaked when he'd get out of the shower, and would remain that way for hours after. Everytime I mentioned it he'd say "that's what a bathmat is for" and I eventually had someone else mention how they had their socks soaked before I finally got him to start drying himself off first

My question is, "do people not dry off in the shower before getting out?"

My roommate doesn't do this and the floor and bathmats are always SOAKED when he's done.

I think body hair holds onto a considerable amount of water, so people without much body hair don't carry as much water with them when they step out.

If you work from home set up alarms on your phone for your regularly scheduled meetings 5 minutes before they occur.

get a super absorbant chamois towel and once over with that, then use your super soft towel

It's weird no one has mentioned, but never wear a condom.

I think you have this wrong. You can prevent those awkward situations, fumbling around in the dark bedroom, digging through your pants for the condom that you always keep, then fishing around on the floor under the bed because it fell out of your pocket and tumbled under the bed if you just wear one all the time because you just never know.

I think of it like the emergency brake in my car. In an actual emergency, you're not going to have enough time to yank it (the brake, you pervert! We've moved on!), so just always drive with the emergency brake engaged. It's the safest way.

As long as we're sharing time saving tips and talking cars, it saves a lot of time to just leave your left turn signal on. I mean, how often do you turn left or change lanes? You'll save a LOT of time and all the other drivers will thank you with honks. I sure get a lot of honks driving under the minimum highway speed in the left lane with my left turn signal on and emergency brake engaged while wearing a condom for safety! They all wave at me with one finger, which must be a more efficient way of saluting because it uses so many less fingers!