We appreciate anything that can simplify our lives, and it’s interesting to note that many of the useful tricks we employ actually originated in Asia. For generations, the clever people of this continent have come up with innovative ways to repurpose everyday objects to solve common issues. We think it would be cool to showcase some of the most successful Asian hacks. Have fun exploring them!
A Little Too Salty
During the winter season, many people tend to consume more bowls of soup. Cooking enthusiasts often take this opportunity to experiment with new recipes and test their flavors. However, it’s possible to accidentally oversalt the soup while trying out a new recipe.
Your soup hasn’t been spoiled, so don’t discard it. Rather than doing that, you can cut a potato and put it in the soup, whereby the potato will absorb the excess salt.
Make Your Flowers Last Longer
Adorning your kitchen counter or table with flowers is a lovely gesture. Nevertheless, flowers have a brief lifespan, and therefore, you would require purchasing new ones frequently. Fortunately, there are packets available that can elongate the life of your flowers.
An alternative approach would be to mix a small amount of vinegar and sugar into the vase and fill it up with water. Subsequently, you can carefully arrange the flowers in the vase, which ought to extend their lifespan.
Freeze Your Onions
Onions are frequently used in numerous dishes as a fundamental component, requiring them to be sliced or diced frequently for meal preparation. However, they emit a material that interacts with our tear ducts, leading people to shed tears.
One easy and well-known solution to this issue is available to you. Freeze the onion before chopping it. After leaving it in the freezer for a short period, remove it and proceed with cutting it. This method will ensure that you can cut the onion without experiencing any tears.
Get Rid of Scratches
Wooden furniture often attracts scratches and damages, which can give it a unique character. However, some individuals may prefer to remove these imperfections. Is there a way to do this without requiring the assistance of a professional?
Using a walnut, gently rub it over the scratches. The natural oil present in the nut will minimize their visibility. Although the scratches may not disappear completely, they will become less noticeable.
Soap and Your Zipper
Having your zipper stuck can cause frustration, discomfort, and shame. Many people attempt to forcefully resolve the issue which often makes it worse. However, an uncomplicated resolution does exist.
The bar of soap sitting close to your sink can solve the issue. Glide it along your zipper’s length, and it will function as a lubricant, making it easy to unstick the zipper.
Wash Your Face
Throwing out milk is a common practice in many countries when its expiration date is surpassed, but there are still beneficial uses for it. It is not recommended to dispose of it unless it has undesirable lumps in it.
In case the milk is still in its liquid form, it can be applied to your body to cleanse it. The milk retains its enzymes, vitamins, and minerals that can contribute to making your skin feel smoother.
Roll An Egg Over a Bruise
Have any of you ever witnessed a Korean show where an individual is using an egg to massage their bruises? If not, it does exist, and it’s an unexpected life hack that actually proves effective.
If you have a deep bruise, it’s recommended to roll an egg over the affected area. Pressure applied on the bruised area by the egg can accelerate the healing process by helping dissolve blood clots responsible for bruises.
Make Measuring Honey Easier
Honey, which is a viable substitution for sugar and commonly incorporated into various dishes, poses a difficulty in its application due to its exceptionally adhesive nature. One may encounter complications while attempting to blend it into the mixture, resulting in a likely mess.
You could apply a small amount of oil or cooking spray on your spoon before dipping it into the honey. This will help the honey to easily slip off the spoon.
No Streaks
Everyone enjoys a clear glass window because it enables us to gaze outside and appreciate the beauty around us from the comfort of our homes. However, to maintain its cleanliness, it requires regular cleaning. Using paper towels for this purpose can be costly.
How about following the example of many individuals in Asia by utilizing your old newspapers instead? By combining warm water and vinegar, this approach can bring back the shine of your windows in a more budget-friendly and eco-friendly way.
No More Clumps
Living in a moist area might have led to the lumping of sugar or salt, causing inconvenience and sapping the taste of these items. However, the good news is that there is a simple remedy available right at your home.
Grab some of the raw rice and put a small amount of the grains into the jar with the salt or sugar. Doing this will soak up any moisture and stop any sticking together.
No Elmer’s Around
For ardent crafters, nothing is more sorrowful than an inadequate supply of glue. However, if you ever find yourself in such a situation, there is a pantry item that can be used as a substitute.
Get out the pot and a packet of rice and boil some sticky rice. Once it is cooked and cooled, you can then use the rice as a paste. It is used a lot in Japanese paper arts.
Make Things Cleaner
A lot of us tend to have unused chopsticks at our homes that we get with our takeout meals. These chopsticks are usually stored in a drawer and hardly used until we order Chinese food again. However, it would be beneficial if we could make use of these chopsticks more frequently instead of just letting them sit unused.
You can use chopsticks to eat almost any food, and they can be helpful if you don’t want to touch your food directly or leave any odor on your fingers after eating.
Stop the Apples From Browning
The minute you cut into an apple or avocado, the air begins the oxidation process. This is why they turn brown. But what do you do if you have to cut them for a recipe and have a few minutes before you’ll get to them?
Well, one way to halt the oxidation is to use an acid. So cut a lemon or lime and spritz the apple or avocado with it. Then sprinkle a little salt, and you won’t have any browning.
Pain in the Back!
Everyday life and hard work often lead to back and neck pains. This is especially true for those that sit all day behind a desk in front of a computer. That is why there are so many things out there to help relieve the pain.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money trying to fix these issues though. As long as you have some rice and a sock, this will do the trick. Simply fill the sock with rice, maybe drop in a little essential oil and then tie it up. Throw that in the microwave for 30 seconds and then place it on the afflicted area.
I Don’t Want to Try it On
Who wants to spend time in the fitting room of a store? Not many of us enjoy the task of trying clothes on. In some places in Asia, you can’t try stuff on, so they created a fun way to check if your pants are going to fit you!
You see, your neck is typically half the size of your waist. So by taking the pants and wrapping the waist around your neck, you can see if you have the right size. If the pants meet in the back, then you are good to go.
Handy Trash Can
Those old newspapers that you have stacking up in your recycle bin can be used in many ways that can help save money. Not only can you clean those windows, but you can also fold them into small little wastebaskets.
This is a great staple for your lunch apple if you like to have lunch in the park where they aren’t always garbage bins nearby. Simply fold the newspaper into a little bucket and toss your trash in it instead of on the ground.
Tea Bags in Shoes
Some of us, no matter what we do or how little we sit, just have stinky feet. It can be a problem in the house and in public if you want to get some air for your feet. The big problem, though, is that the smell lingers in the shoes well after your feet have aired out.
But you can help your shoes de-funk themselves pretty easily. Just take those tea bags (if they’re used, let them dry out) and place them in each shoe. The bag will absorb the smell.
Test Your Oils Heat
Fried food is delicious! But when you are getting the oil up to temperature, you can be a little unsure of when to drop the food in. You can buy thermometers to help with this, but why bother when you have a perfectly good tool right in your kitchen drawers.
You can take a pair of chopsticks and place them in the center of the deepest part of the pan. If the oil begins to bubble up around the base, then your oil is ready.
Ants Don’t Like Spicy Things?
There are just some places in the world that no matter how clean your house is, the bugs find their way into the home. This may be because of weather conditions, but that doesn’t mean you have to put up with it.
If you have a problem with ants, the people of Singapore have a great solution. Use dried sichuan peppers around all the houses. The smell is not pleasant for ants, and the scent can even be strong enough to kill them.
Air Dry Your Face
Your skincare routine is important to help keep that youthful glow and combat any acne problems. Everyone has their own system, and there are tons of products to help you ensure you get the cleanest face.
Despite the different routines, there is one thing you can do to make sure your face keeps that supple skin. Simply let your face air dry instead of patting or rubbing it dry with a towel.
Rubber Can Help With That Lid
How frustrating is it to want that pickle and not being able to get the lid open? Then you have to try to find someone in the house to get it open but what if you live alone? This could be a major emergency.
But don’t worry, just reach into your junk drawer and grab one of those many rubber bands that you have lying around. Then wrap it around the lid and use it as a grip. It should be a lot easier, and then you can enjoy that pickle.
Wooden Spoon Over the Pot
You know, a watched pot never boils, but an unwatched pot often boils over. Then you have a huge mess to clean up, and no one wants that. So how do you keep it from boiling over without sitting there and staring it down?
It’s simple! Just grab that wooden spoon out of your holder next to your stove or reach into your drawer and lay it across the top of the pot. This small obstruction will stop the water from boiling over.
Coriander Cubes
One of the longest parts of cooking is the prep process. You have to chop herbs and veggies and meat. But why not take a little work out of the process by really prepping? Chop those herbs up and get ready to have dinners organized for future occasions.
To ensure this, place the cut-up herbs in an ice cube tray and then cover them with a little water. Then, freeze the trays and when you’re ready to use them, just plop them into the dish, and you are set.
Grab Some Soy Bean Paste
Cuts and wounds need to be taken care of so they don’t get infected. You have to apply bandages and clean them out regularly and there are plenty of medications that you can use. However, there are also several natural remedies that work just as effectively.
In Korea, many people still use the old-school method of treating wounds, which is using soybean paste. The bacteria in the paste helps disinfect any wound, and it smells pretty good too.
Vinegar and a Burned Pot
We have all been so excited to try a new recipe that we have let it cook a little too long. The food was good, but the mess left behind included a very burnt pot that we have to figure out how to clean.
There is a great hack that can help with this. Pour vinegar in the pot until it comes up over the burns. Then put it on heat and let it boil. This should remove all the burned bits pretty easily.
Corn Silk Tea
After a long night of whatever you got up to, there is a good chance you will wake up with a bit of a puffy face. There are many beauty hacks out there that you can try, but we bet you haven’t heard of this one yet!
The corn silk from the ears of corn can be brewed into our tea. You can use it as a wash for your face or you can simply drink it. The compounds in it will help with swelling as well as it will get the toxins that cause it out of your body.
Clean Ceiling Fan
Dusting is no fun, and though we all do it, there may be one place that you happen to forget. That’s right, that ceiling fan that is out of sight. But it actually collects a lot of dust and needs to be part of your dusting regime.
We have the solution for this! Take an old pillowcase and wrap it over the blade. Then slowly pull it off, and voila, a clean ceiling fan!
No More Paint Smell
Sometimes you want to change things up, and that could mean that you choose to paint some room in your home a different color. This will bring that beautiful paint smell into your home, and sometimes it can get rather unbearable.
If you want to eliminate it, then place a few onions around the room, and they will gradually absorb the chemical smell. So then you won’t have to worry about getting a little dizzy when getting your interior design on.
Straighten Your Collar
One of the hardest parts of the shirt to get super crisp when ironing is the collar. It is small, and the iron is a large, surfaced tool. But it is also the most noticeable if it isn’t done right. It also gives a bad impression, so you want to make sure you nail it.
One way to do this is to use your hair straightener in the morning. After all, it is a tiny iron, and so it will work perfectly for that collar. You’re welcome for that tip!
Polish Those Shoes
To make your look final, you have to wear a nice pair of shoes. This is especially true when you are dressing up, and that may mean pulling out those leather wingtips. But they have been in the closet for a while and maybe are not as polished as you would like.
That’s okay, just grab a pair of pantyhose and that shoe polish. Or just use the pantyhose on their own. This will get those shoes looking on point for whatever event you are heading out to.
No More Little Shards
Dropping and breaking glasses is something we all hate to do. Not only because you have lost a glass but because you have to clean it up. The biggest issue is there will always be a small shard that you miss and find later.
But you can make putty out of water and flour that you can use to pick up all the glass. Plus, you will protect your hands from getting cut. Problem officially resolved!
Shhh… it Will Be Alright
It’s hard to go out when you have a baby. You are always worried that they will begin crying and won’t be able to be calmed down enough to allow you to finish what you are doing. But there is a hack that many Japanese grandmas swear by.
Take some water into your mouth and then get close to the baby’s ear and swish the water around. This mimics the sound they heard in the womb, and they should calm down.
Save That Rind
Watermelon is a sweet treat that many people love to eat in the summer. But there is a thick rind, which can’t be eaten (for the most part), so it ends in the trash or compost pile. Many people in Asia would disagree with this act.
Why do you ask? Because you can rub it on sunburns to relieve them. Do this before you shower, and the vitamins in the rind will help soothe that burn, and it will smell nice too.
Just a Mosquito Bite
If you are visiting or living in an area where there are many mosquitoes, you will likely have a few bites. But you don’t have to go out and buy that ointment to get rid of the swelling and pain.
Just reach into your vegetable crisper. When you do, grab yourself a cucumber. Then cut it up and use the juice from that vegetable on your bites.
Save That Shrunken Sweater
Sometimes when you’re doing laundry, a piece gets mixed into the load that wasn’t meant to. This leads to you washing it in the wrong heat and with the wrong temperature, which in turn can lead to a shrunken sweater.
But there is a way to save those sweaters. You will need to combine water and hair conditioner in the sink and let the sweater soak for about half an hour. This should reverse at least some of the shrinkage.
Keep That Freezer Tidy
The freezer can get out of hand quickly, and if you’re not careful, you won’t know what is what. This may make for some pretty interesting meals, and no one wants a surprise like that. So keeping the freezer organized is pretty important.
In many Asian households, you will find that they organize everything in bins so that they are easily found. Labeling the bags helps a lot too!
One Too Many?
We have all done it, right? Went out and said we were only going to have a few, which turned into having one too many. It is totally understandable. You are having a good time getting caught up with some friends and just lose count sometimes.
The next morning though, you will feel it. One thing to help with the dizziness while in bed is to take one foot and plant it on the floor. This helps give your body a sense of balance, according to many Koreans.
Make Extra Rice
Rice can be eaten with a lot of meals, so when you decide to cook some, go ahead and make some extra. This won’t go bad because you can easily store it in the freezer, which many people don’t know.
All you need is plastic wraps or freezer bags. Then put the rice in either of these two options and throw it in the freezer. When you’re ready to heat it, all you have to do is throw it in the microwave. Now, your daily meal prep will be so much shorter!
Corn on the Cob
Corn is delicious when it is on the cob. But this can be messy to eat, especially on the go. There is, however, a pretty clever way that is used in Japan that might be worth looking into if you love corn cob.
You have to get one row out by moving your finger around the area. Then you just keep repeating the process until the cob is clean and you can empty the corn pieces in a bowl below so you don’t make a mess in the process of de-corning the cob.
Rinse With Rice Water
Keeping your skin nice and supple gets harder with age. With the environmental aspect, many people struggle with keeping their skin hydrated. In Japan, many women have a beauty secret.
They use rice water to wash their hands. The vitamins in this help keep your skin nice and smooth. You can use this in your hair as well.
No Iron, No Problem
The last thing you want to do is show up to the conference in a wrinkled dress or shirt! But what do you do if your hotel doesn’t have any irons or you just don’t have the time for all that? Well, there is a simple solution.
Hang your clothes on a hanger in the bathroom, and then hop in for that nice hot shower. The steam from the shower will get rid of most of the wrinkles.
Extra Tea Leaves?
There are some foods that, when they sit in the refrigerator, begin to permeate the interior with some funky smells. Things like cut onions or even Kimchi will leave you wanting to clean out your refrigerator every time you open it.
But it doesn’t have to be like that. Those used tea bags or leaves that you have used can be the solution. Let them dry out, and then place them in the fridge. These will absorb the smells.
Ouch!
Burning yourself when in the kitchen unfortunately does happen. While it sucks and hurts a lot, all you have to do is calm down and look around to find a remedy. There are many of these that are out there, including this unique option from Asia.
Who knew that soy sauce wasn’t just great for flavoring our food but also helps with skin burns? Well, if you didn’t, now you do! Simply rub a little of this sauce on the burned area and it will relieve the pain and reduce redness.
One-Stop Cure
Eastern medicine and philosophy have a plethora of healing remedies that are crafted from natural ingredients. One of the most used ingredients when it comes to colds and other illnesses is the oil from the eucalyptus plant.
This oil can be added to balms or even water to help cure things like colds, headaches, muscle pains, and so much more. So really, eucalyptus oil is a great thing to keep in the house.
Cool it Down
Maybe you’re naturally warm-blooded, or you live in a hot and humid part of the world where trying to cool down in the summer is a struggle. You’ve probably tried everything, and maybe you haven’t found the thing that works for you yet.
Well, until now. Try to freeze some water bottles and tape them to the back of a standing fan. Turn it on, and the fan will draw the air in and pull it through the coolness of the bottles. This is guaranteed to cool you down. You’re welcome!
