Post your weird shortcuts here
 

I don't think there has been a thread for this yet, so I figure I'll start one - post your weird, quirky, but useful trick that you use in keeping yourself/your house / whatever clean or pretty.

I'll start it off: For people with somewhat short, bushy, and straight hair, instead of spending money on expensive gels to keep my hair from poofing up, I use hand lotion, as so:

Take shower, wash hair, get out of shower. blow or towel dry hair until it's just a bit damp. Put a quarter-sized helping of hand lotion in your hand, and then rub it in both hands. apply to hair, rubbing through. Style if you want, otherwise use a hairdryer again, and watch as the puffiness goes away!

If that didn't give you a good idea for what you should be posting - a good example would be the guy in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" that used windex for everything - just make sure your example actually WORKS, and isn't carcenogenic.

I use toilet paper rolls (after the paper is gone) to keep power cords tidy.
Roll up the cable or power cord, even if connected to a device, and put the roll over it.

This is probably new to someone.

A wal-mart bag can serve as an emergency prophylactic, in a pinch.

Seriously though, I have a cigar box with a few cigar tubes that I keep screws in and keep some small tools in there with it, Pull this out whenever I need to do any computer work, the cigar tubes let me keep the different screws organized.

"the cigar tubes let me keep the different screws organized."

good one.

I use old spaggetti jars as drinking glasses :)

Cigar tubes are also the perfect size to hide a couple dollars in dimes.

I cut the top off a 2 liter soda bottle just below where the sides beome straight and use the bottom to hold silverware to drain after doing the dishes. The small ones that come with dishracks were always too small. The top serves as a good funnel.

here is one i have found quite useful on a daily basis.

i was getting sick of having to sort my extra change, and dissappointed with the auto-sorters and rollers. they were too expensive and broke relatively quickly.

i found at the dollar store plastic coin counters that tell you when you have enough for a roll for each domination.

i put the four counters in an old high-top sneaker and simply throw the change in my pocket in each container.

also, if you shower before you shave, your skin will not cut as much, or at all and your beard will be softer.

I have found a few uses for heavy duty clear nail polish.

Keep screws from turning loose.

As a glue

Add insulation to wires (low voltage only, the stuff burns) like guitar cords,
power adapters. Places where the plug is small and the wires might touch
things they are not allowed to.

As a coil dope. But it does have a low Q.

When building up a surface with cork, I sometimes paint the cork with the nail polish. The cork then continues to look new. Dirt does not discolor it.

So in effect, it is a little bottle of shellac with a brush.

I use empty Altoid tins for screw gun bits. Makes it easy to sort the bits by size and type.

I keep a hide-a-key with a house key on it hidden on my property. It is much more convenient to use than a Sawzall.

it may be more convenient but it doesn quite make the same fashion statement
:icare:

Clear fingernail polish makes a good liquid band-aid.

Clear fingernail polish is good...But for slightly larger lacerations super-glue works wonders. The secret is that blood has to accualy be coming out of you, so the superglue dosn't get inside. I Use this alot when backpacking, and it works, but if you're still scared, remember some hospitals accualy do this too.

How do you apply the super glue? This glue is a pressure glue. not a filler glue.

super glue bonds skin instantly, it really does not require any pressure, push the edges of the skin togeather and dab the glue on it like a tack weld and go back over it. It works great, I use it on the paintball field for lacerations i get from trees and slideing.

the super glue works wonders. I use it when I get cuts on my fingers before drumming in competition, because not only does it bond your skin together, it actually helps numb pain when you hold on to things like a drumstick in this situation.

I don't know if this is actually true, but I heard that super glue was actually invented during the Vietnam war to give soldiers quick patches in the field.

Duct tape was invented in WWII as a general purpose patch for soldiers.

Superglue or cynaacerletie (however you spell it) can be used to mend wounds be they make a special medical version that is supposed to be completely safe or whatever.

Neutrogena acne mask -
I don't know if it is a "shortcut," but if you have one of those deep-down, giant, painful zits brewing (you know, the kind that take a few days to reach their pussy, poppable glory) put a dab of this stuff on it before you go to bed. Don't follow the instructions and wash it off. Sleep on it. Nine times out of ten, it will be gone in a day.

Also, this stuff works well as a poultice to pull infections out of small puncture wounds, ingrown hairs, etc.

I use a binder clip - you know the ones from the office supply cabinet - to clip a spare key under the bumper of my car. Just pinch one of the wire end til it comes off, thread on the key and replace the wire. I've had to use it a bunch of times, sure beats using a wirehanger ...

heres a new one I have yet to try - you know these new oscillating toothbrushes - the ones that are battery powered for 6 bucks. The Oral B brand has a removable head that when taken off renders the unit as a very targetable vibrator, that can used in a pinch - if a more industrial strength vibro is not readily available at hand!

Slip a 2l pop bottle on the end of your rifle. Voila, a one shot silencer.

The only gotcha I've heard about super glue as wound closer is that apparently the drying process is exothermic - releasing a fair amount of heat and can thus burn. The medical version doesn't do this! I think there are several over the counter, slightly safer versions - liquid bandaid, maybe?

Crazy glue is the best for paper cuts, which I suffer frequently at work. The liquid bandage stuff just isn't tough enough to hold it together long at work. It just eventually peels away in a few hours.

You have to cut a small hole in the bottom and tape it on. It'll work for more than one shot that way. Chechen soldiers have been known to use this on .22's to snipe against Russian soldiers.

Ya. Tape the shit out of it with duct-tape. Keeps the bottle from shattering. Of course, this thing doesn't work too well if you need to shoot from a distance, as it makes aiming impossible.

Regarding the hole, the first shot will be quiter if you don't put a hole int hbottom, but the bullet will not fly true. Its a trade off.

Super glue is great stuff. Closure Medical makes the stuff used in Emergency Wards. Just make sure its clean and dry before applying. Not on the face (eyes!!!!) and never to replace a knocked out tooth or post. The glue is VERY damaging to the root of the tooth.

When I did it with my 30-06 the whole end of the bottle was blown apart. I considered doing it last night at 3:30ish when there was an elk about 30' from my bedroom window.

Note to self: stick with silenced .22.

Take old baby food jar lids (from the glass jars) and attach them to the underneath edge of the workbench. Fill the jar with nails, screws, etc. Then just screw the jar onto the cap. They are clear so you can see what you have in them and they are somewhat out of the way.

Extend the life of your dryer by cleaning the lint tray out, and actually wash with hot water. - http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/dryer.asp

My dad was amazed when I opened a few jars of sauerkraut in seconds, because I used a beer can opener on them :P You can use it on practically any sealed jar, opens it in a jiffy :thumbsup:

i shave and brush my teeth in the shower.

I ended up shaving half an eyebrow off shaving in the shower one time... I gotta use a mirror...

same here. and clip my toe/fingernails.

Ever need to know what day a holiday falls on this year? Faster than finding a calender, memorize it! Every year, I jot down the first day of the month a Sunday falls on. Figuring out the rest is a piece of cake, and it is no different than memorizing a long distance phone number. This year is 26631-53742-64. So Christmas, December is the last, a 4. Sundays are then 4,11,18,25. My birthday, 4th of July, july corresponds to the 7th digit, the 3, a Sunday, so the 4th is a Monday. Simple! Amaze your friends! Provided you can add 7 repeatedly without taking off your shoes.

OB brand tampons make the perfect instant dressing for a gunshot wound, be it a .22 or a .38. They swell up instantly and plug the hole. Any larger, use a whole roll of gauze turned sideways.

is that true? and...how do you know that?

I have an old coffee pot basket, metal with lots of little tiny holes in the bottom, that I use as a parts basket for very tiny parts that I want to soak in my auto parts cleaner. Works great for carb and ignition parts.

Those six dollar oscillating tootbrushes are great for polishing small things and cleaning anything small that has holes, ridges, etc.

if you have an indentation on your carpit from a table leg or something... just pour some salt water on it and after it dries zamous

homeairfreashner just lit a match after you go to the loo;)

:eek:

After some of the loads I drop, I fear there'd be quite an explosion.