30+ Genius Life Hacks From Granny That Still Work Today

Grandmas and grandpas are simply the best, aren’t they? They coddle us, they make sure we’re well-fed, they listen to all the absurd stories we’ll tell, they slip us money even if our parents tell them not to, and they simply make us feel so loved. One other thing that makes them so cool and lovable, though, is their hacks. Without the internet to turn to whenever they had a pressing concern, they had to turn to their instincts and wits instead and well, let’s just say they probably had better of those than us right now. From simple logic and experience, they managed to come up with genius ways to make life easier, and up until today, only a few things could beat those hacks. We hope we can be as cool as that when we grow old but anyhow, let’s dive into those genius granny hacks. 

DIY Shoe Deodorizer

Everyone knows that the stink from a stinky shoe can be quite hard to get rid of. Plain washing won’t completely get rid of the smell, and some DIY hacks just don’t cut it. You can also use talcum powder, of course, but who wants to go out of their way to spend extra money just for that?

Granny’s hack is to use salt instead. Pack salt into a little fabric bag, stick it in your shoes, and it will absorb the moisture and smell from it. You can also use fresh dryer sheets to mask the smell. Just make sure to take both out, though, before you put your shoes on. 

Coffee Stain On Mugs Remover

Every coffee lover out there probably has in their kitchen that one favorite cup or two that their beverage of choice has stained. Most of the time, no amount of scrubbing with dishwashing soap would be able to remove it completely. 

Instead of using soap though, granny tells us to use baking soda mixed with a little water to scrub away the stains. Even with light scrubbing strokes, the gentle abrasion of the baking soda would help lift away those stubborn marks in seconds. 

Broken Eggshells No More

No matter how many times we crack eggs for our breakfasts, there always seems to be a time when a piece of that dreaded eggshell breaks off along with the yolk and the white and it is such a hassle to get out. Sometimes, we even spend more time and lose more patience trying to get it out than cracking the egg. 

Apparently, though, we can lessen the chances of getting those pesky shards by cracking the egg on a flat surface rather than the edge of the bowl. If you still get a shard, simply wet your fingers and use it to scoop the piece out rather than using a spoon. 

Let Chemistry Do The Dishes

Imagine this. You and your family enjoy an amazing home-cooked dinner, and then, as you approach the sink to put away your plate, you see the mountain of greasy pots and pans while you hear someone saying it’s your turn to do the dishes that night. It’s very disappointing, isn’t it?

If you’ve got no will to conquer all that, an easy granny hack you can try is to sprinkle baking soda over the greasy pan and then add white vinegar to it. It will immediately start to fizz and bubble, and after a little bit of soaking, the chemical reaction will have gotten rid of the heaviest part of the work for you. Now, you can just use soap and wash, easy peasy. 

Brand New Silver

When was the last time you polished your silver accessories or home decor? You can’t remember, can you? These days, many of us will only often notice that they might need a little cleaning once they lose all their shimmer. Our grandparents, however, weren’t so careless, and they even found a hack that would save you a trip to the jewelry cleaners. 

If you want your silver jewelry, accessories, vases, home accessories, and what not to sparkle again, just wet your silver a little, take some toothpaste, and scrub it on with a toothbrush. The suds will slowly turn black, but once you wash it off, your silver will be as good as new. 

Fresh Disposal All Day

The garbage disposal is the silent fresh air killer in the house. No matter how much you clean your floors, scrub the toilet, or spray air freshener around your home, if you failed to clean out the disposal, you’ll be looking for the source of the bad odor for days.

The trick to this is freezing any citrus peel like lemon or orange peels and tossing them into your disposal once you start getting a whiff of a stink. The hard consistency will knock off any clinging debris, and the scent will keep your disposal smelling fresh. 

Bacon For Splinters

Bacon, oh good old bacon, equals yummy delicious tasty food. Nothing else comes to mind, right? That’s why this hack right here is pretty baffling to us. Apparently, bacon is also pretty helpful in getting those nasty little splinters out. 

If you have a deep splinter, just slice off a little bacon fat and tape it over the splinter entry point with a band-aid. Leave it in overnight, and when you wake up, the little fragment would have transferred to the fat or risen to the surface. So next time you look at bacon, don’t just think about eating it, okay?

Self-Cleaning Blender

We love our morning or post-workout smoothie drinks so much! Unfortunately, we don’t love them enough to keep going through the annoying task of scrubbing out the blender every single morning. Fortunately, though, granny has a hack for it. 

Instead of scrubbing the thing yourself, just let it clean itself. Just fill it up with hot water and a few drops of dishwashing liquid, then let it run for about 10 seconds, and the magic will happen. By the time you pour out the blended water, you won’t have anything left to scrub. Pretty neat, right?

From Chicken Scratch To Neat Handwriting

Handwriting can tell so much about a person; however, whenever people see it, they won’t judge your mental fortitude or outlook in life. They’ll be judging it by how neat or untidy it is. If you’re one of those who always hear that your handwriting looks like chicken scratches, here’s a hack for you. 

Take a rubber band and twist it around a pen and then your wrist in the position you normally write in. This helps give you more grip and more stability, which helps with the neatness of the handwriting. Now, you can finally write that love letter you’ve always wanted to write with no shame. 

Natural Microwave Cleaner

Cleaning the microwave may need a lot of elbow grease to get it sparkling inside and out unless you do it the smart way, of course. For this, all you need is a microwavable bowl, the peel of one lemon, half lemon juice, and a half cup of water. 

Mix all ingredients in the bowl and then microwave that on high for three minutes. Once you hear that ding, though, don’t take it out immediately and just let it chill there for another five minutes. The steam will help loosen up all the grease and gunk in your microwave, and all you’d need to do is wipe it all off nice and easy. 

Salt For Onion and Garlic Smell

When we’re chopping onions, it doesn’t just leave us with tears. It also leaves us with this stink on our fingers that doesn’t go away no matter how much you scrub it with soap. The same goes for garlic. Sadly, as much as we love letting people know we know how to cook, we don’t want stinky fingers all day long. 

Luckily, granny has an old-school trick for that. First off, soak your hands in cold water. After a few minutes, take a generous amount of salt and rub them on your hands. Not only will this get rid of the smell, but it will also make your hands softer because of the exfoliation. 

Knuckle Calendar

When we talk about dates, we usually think of day, month, or year, right? Nobody asks how many days are in a particular month. Just in case, though, you have a neat trick here that will let you know the answer without looking at your phone. 

Just use your fist. By that, we don’t mean you punch the person, of course. Instead, take your knuckles as the months with 31 days and the depressions as those with 30 (28/29) days. January starts at your pinky’s knuckle, followed by February on the depression next to it, and so on until you reach July at your pointer’s knuckle. At that point, the count starts again on your pointer’s knuckle with August and reverts back in the direction of your pinky until December lands on your ring finger’s knuckle. Get it? Be honest. 

Baking Soda vs Fridge Smell

We all have a talent of opening the fridge at random moments of the day for absolutely no reason but boredom, and sometimes, it seems we also have a talent of leaving things in there so much longer than we’re supposed to. The result? A stinky fridge.

Ignoring it and hoping it goes away all on its own will get you nowhere. Instead, just take some baking soda, pour it into a bowl, and place it where the stink is strongest. You’ll be amazed how many nasty odors that little bowl can take away. 

Lemon For Pretty Nails

If someone wants to pretty up their nails, they’ll probably want to book an appointment at a salon. And while the entire salon experience is somewhat like therapy, why would you spend a couple of bucks when you can pretty up your nails the natural way?

In the old days, our grannies used a mixture of lemon juice and water to remove stains from their nails and promote their growth. You simply have to soak your nails in that mixture for 10 minutes and rinse and moisturize, and you’ll keep your nails looking pretty good. You can also do this while you’re putting on a face mask and such to emulate that spa/ salon relaxation experience. 

Two-Ingredient Pancake

If you’re one of those people who can’t stay longer than 5 or 10 minutes in the kitchen to prepare your breakfast, this hack is for you. It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s mess-free, and the best part is you only need two ingredients. 

Banana and eggs: that’s all you need. For step one, mash up a banana in a bowl. Step two, whisk eggs with the banana (2 eggs for 1 banana). Step three, fry that up with butter or oil. It would take around 10 minutes tops, and all you have to do is sprinkle some honey on there or whatever topping you want, and you have breakfast or a snack. 

Potato Underarm Whitener

A lot of people are obsessed with whitening and brightening their underarms. If you go online, you’ll probably find dozens and dozens of DIY hacks and tips to make those underarms whiter and brighter using lemons, baking soda, and whatnot. 

One thing that isn’t as well-known as the others for underarm brightening, though, is potatoes. While we’re not sure if it’s really effective, our grannies apparently used to cut up the root crop in half and rub it in their underarms to lighten it over time. Try it. Maybe it’s the hack that finally works the best for you. 

Salt Vs Carpet Stains

When that red wine spills on your gorgeous light-colored carpet, it can definitely ruin a supposedly perfect evening of relaxation. Don’t panic immediately, though, because the solution is just in your kitchen pantry. According to this old-school hack, all you need is salt and some blotting towels.

First, you have to remove as much moisture as possible from your carpet then completely cover the stained area with salt. Let it sit for a few hours and when it’s completely dry, vacuum everything up nice and tidy. 

Double Your Sponges

Our grandparents are masters of getting the most out of what they have, especially in the kitchen. For instance, while most of us would simply use a whole sponge as it is, our grandparents cut it in two and for very good reasons. 

Not only will cutting your sponges in two get you longer use from that one sponge, but it will also take up less space on your sink area and dry faster, which helps prevent mold from growing on them. 

Quick Egg Party

Grandmas know all about cooking for large groups of people. They’ve mastered it, and when it comes to cooking eggs for a big party or family reunion, they have an easy hack that can help make all your egg troubles go away. 

If you want to make 6 or more eggs at once, bust out your muffin tins. Oil each slot, then crack the eggs in, season them, and pop them into your preheated oven. Depending on how high you got the heat up, your eggs will be nice and ready to serve in 14 to 18 minutes. 

Cool Wine Without Ice

Ice isn’t actually all that quick to make, and sticking things in the freezer isn’t always the quickest way to chill your wine or drinks. If you’re ever stuck in a situation where you need your drinks cooled immediately, though, just grab yourself a tea towel. 

Simply wrap the tea towel around the bottle then run it under cold water for a few minutes. That will immediately do the trick and you won’t ever need to worry about running out of cold drinks ever again. 

Peanut Butter Gum Solution

Anyone who has had gum stuck in their hair can tell you that it is one of the most horrid things to happen to your locks. Not only is it disgusting, but it’s also extremely frustrating to get out and might even make those who love their locks so much cry. 

Many people would immediately reach for the scissors out of desperation, but thankfully, there’s no need for that drama. Just reach for some peanut butter instead and slather it all over the gum-affected area. The oil will make the gum less sticky and easier to pry out of your precious hair. 

Ketchup Copper Shiner

More often than not, simply polishing your copper pots, pans, and knick-knacks doesn’t cut it. Sure, you’d get a little bit of shine, but we all know it’s not like brand new copper shine. The key to getting that kind of shine is ketchup. 

Drop a dollop of ketchup on a rag and sprinkle some salt on top, then use that to polish your copper pots, pans, mugs, trays, and whatnot. It might smell like you had a ketchup party in your kitchen, but it’s all worth it for all your shining copper items.

Salt Those Grease Stains

No matter how old we get, we can never eliminate that accidental spill or that accidental drop of greasy things on our shirts. When this happens, you always got to act fast to wash it before the grease sets in, but when you’re at a dinner with your partner’s parents or when you’re in an important dinner meeting, there is just no way, right?

Until you can get home and deal with the stain, the best course of action would be to cover the stain with salt and just let it absorb all of that oiliness as best as it can. If necessary, you can brush off the initial layer and add a new layer of salt to really get all that moisture out and then wash it as soon as you can. 

Separate Glass Cups

When glasses stacked on top of each other get stuck, our first instinct would be to apply force to pull them apart, but that could end up in two ways: the glasses slip out of your grip and end up on the floor, or they shatter in your hands.

To get your glasses to separate effortlessly and safely, you only need physics. First, fill up the top glass with cold water and then dip the lower cup in warm water. You’ll find that they’ll immediately pop out of each other easily and without you needing to strain a muscle or risk getting cut.

Be Your Own Weatherman

Weather forecasts are permanent fixtures in our day. We base our activities, plans, our choice of clothing, and even how we style our hair on what the weatherman says. Did you know, however, that you can be your own weatherman?

If you didn’t have time in your morning to get your daily dose of weather forecasts, just look out for distant clouds in the sky and pay close attention to them for a few minutes. If it grows smaller as it grows nearer, then it should be a fine day. If it grows bigger and unsettled, you can probably expect a bit of rain for that day. 

Protect Your Valuable Jars and Vases

Jars and vases are great ornaments that can make any room in your home look lovely and classy. Unfortunately, it only takes one overexcited kid running around or a clumsy sway of your hip to send those precious jars and vases crashing to the floor. 

To avoid any costly and unnecessary incidents like this, it’s wise to take precautions. Instead of just filling up your jars or vases straight with flowers or other ornaments, fill it up first with a little sand. This acts as a weight that helps keep your jars and vases grounded, especially those that are a little top-heavy. With this, you can be a bit more relaxed and prevent yourself from letting out too many “Be carefuls.”

Homemade Couch Cleaner

Couches are supposed to last decades and even generations. One of their biggest flaws, however, is that they’re very difficult to clean. Depending on the fabric you have on your sofa, a few drops of hot choco can be impossible to take off and can ruin your couch forever and make them look beaten up even if they’re still newish. 

According to granny, though, the key to keeping your couch stain-free and in tiptop shape is to use a mixture of water, alcohol, cleaning vinegar, fabric softener, and baking soda rather than any commercial couch cleaning solution. You simply have to spritz this on the stains, brush them out, and wipe the area with a dry cloth, and your couch will be looking and smelling close to brand new. 

Unburn Your Burnt Pans

Whether you cook or not, you’d know that a burnt pan is one of the worst things you can have on the sink. It’s not only discouraging to look at, but it’s also not an easy item to clean. According to granny, though, it can be easy if you have just a little bit of salt. 

Just fill the pot or pan with water and mix in 2 to 3 tablespoons of salt. After that, put it on the stove and let it boil for at least 15 minutes, and then let it cool. You’ll soon find that the burntness will lift away a lot easier, and you won’t have to do any scrubbing at all. 

Slice Your Bread To Perfection

Fresh bread can never be a bad thing. Its scent alone can already warm any cold and bitter soul and set stomachs grumbling, and then there’s its warmth, fluffiness, and all-around goodness. The only problem? It’s not easy to get those clean, perfect slices if the bread is too fresh and crumbly. 

To get those smooth and even cuts without all the snagging, crumbling and dragging, first dip your knife in boiling water and wait until it heats up a little. Wipe it off and then enjoy getting those nice and even cuts like a master baker.. 

Sunset Watch

As cool as it is to have all these apps and watches that can tell us the time, humidity, weather forecast, wind direction, and whatnot, doesn’t it still make you feel a little bit cooler to be able to tell time just by looking at the sky like some kind of pirate or treasure hunter from the movies? 

If you’re into that, then you’d be delighted to know that you can apparently tell how long it will be until sunset with your fingers. Just hold out your hand in front of you, placing it between the sun and the horizon line and minus the thumb, count each finger as 15 minutes worth of time. It might not be the most accurate, but hey, you can feel like an adventurer who knows the ways of the world at least. 

Salt For Eggcellent Eggs

Boiling an egg has got to be one of the easiest things in the world to do. You simply fill up a pot with water, plop in the eggs, and bring them to a boil. Sadly, we still somehow get something wrong and end up with a cracked egg that has only half of its whites left since everything else landed up dispersing in the water. 

Apparently, all you need to prevent this failure from happening is a little salt. It won’t stop the egg from cracking, but it will help solidify the white faster when it escapes out of the shell. Now, you’ll just have to deal with a strange white glob on the side of your egg rather than useless odd pieces of cooked egg whites floating in your cooking water. 

Fresh Scented Vinegar Cleaner

White vinegar is one of the most beloved home hack ingredients out there because it cleans so many things so well, but not all of us want to feel like we’re living in sour salad land every single day. Fortunately, there is a way to freshen up that pungent vinegar smell. 

Place some orange peels into a container, then fill that up with white vinegar, seal it, and let it rest for at least two weeks. By that point, the vinegar should be smelling pretty fresh and citrusy instead of just sour. Now instead of a salad, you’ll feel like you’re in an orchard or at least a giant fruit bowl. 

Yarn Watering Solution

Sure, it may be easier to leave a plant behind when you go on vacation, than, say a dog or a cat, but that doesn’t mean that they deserve any less fussing over or care for when we need to go away for an extended period of time. Plants are even easier since all you need is a bucket and some strands of yarn. 

To make sure your plants don’t die of thirst while you’re away, just set up a bucket of water near your plants and connect them with threads of yarn. This way, your plants will still be able to get the water they need, and you won’t have to bear so much guilt for leaving them behind on their own. 

Nail Polish Reviver

There is such a joy in painting your nails all those fun colors and making your hands as pretty as they can be. Unfortunately, there are just those frustrating times when you reach for the bottle of your favorite color only to find out that it has thickened into some sticky goop way before its time. 

Fortunately, our grannies have found a hack to save our favorite nail polishes. Simply place a few drops of acetone into your bottle of nail polish and shake well. Keep checking if the texture is good and repeat the process as needed. 

Unclog Shower Heads

We feel like we don’t pay much attention to our showerheads. As long as it’s still spewing out water, we just keep showering like normal. Once it starts going haywire, though, our first thought would always be to replace it. That’s not the way to do it, according to granny, though. 

One of the main reasons why your showerhead is shooting out water in all directions could be because of all the minerals clogged in the holes. To get rid of these, fill a plastic bag with white vinegar and immerse your showerhead in that. Tie the bag securely in place, then leave it for at least an hour or two. Afterward, take the bag off and run your shower on hot to push out all those loosened deposits. 

Aluminum Silver Polisher

Now, here’s a strange hack that we’ve seen for the first time. If you notice that your silver is tarnished and you simply don’t want to go through all the hassle of going to the jeweler’s to get it cleaned, you only need to boil it quickly in a mixture of water, baking soda, and get this, one piece of aluminum foil. 

More specifically, you need one liter of water, one tablespoon of baking soda, and aluminum foil. Mix all this and bring them to a boil, then submerge your tarnished silver for about 10 seconds. If it works, your silver should be looking good as new. Who knew?

Baking Soda Beauty Trick

There is a good reason why people love baking soda so much. It’s not only good for food and cleaning, but it’s also a great addition to your beauty regime. From exfoliation to a little bit of brightening, baking soda is apparently a fantastic beauty ally. 

If you feel a little roughness on your knees or elbows, a paste made from baking soda and water can act as a natural scrub. Gently rub it on the area, then rinse. In addition to that, baking soda can also help fade semi-permanent hair colors. Just to be sure, though, consult with a specialist first before you dump an entire box of baking soda on your hair. 

Anti Grease Fire Agent

Grease fires don’t just happen to people who are astronomically bad in the kitchen, okay? It can happen to everyone, even the best cooks, with just a bit of distraction. If ever it happens to you, though, just follow granny’s hack, and you’ll be safe. 

If the fire is still small and manageable, take your baking soda and just dump it on there but don’t move the pot or pour water in it, or else the flaming oil might just burn you. If the baking soda doesn’t work, cover the flames with a metal lid and if that still doesn’t work, bust out your fire extinguisher. 

Anti-Tablecloth Stains

We all know that our moms and grandmas love their tablecloths, so whenever we have dinner with them, we practice utmost caution to avoid spilling anything lest we suffer their wrath. If you do happen to spill a little something here and there, though, don’t panic. Granny has got your back. 

First off, blot out as much moisture as you can with a paper towel. Then mix warm water with two tablespoons of vinegar and one tablespoon of dish soap. After letting that sit for about 10 minutes, take a soft sponge and dab that mixture onto the area until the evidence marks of your crime are gone. 

Easy Cake Layers

More often than not, the best part of a cake is the cream between the layers, but what if you can’t bake enough layers with the pans you have? No problem! Just bake one large cake as usual and just cut it in half. 

To be extra precise, though, and to have those even layers, try sticking toothpicks on the side of the cake at even distances. Then wrap a long string of dental floss around the edges of the cake using the toothpicks as a guide, cross, and pull until you have two perfectly even layers. It’s way easier and more precise than using a knife.

Potato Fighter For Mosquito Bites

Mosquito bites are as annoying as they come. They make you uneasy, they distract you from relaxing, and they itch like crazy, and who knows what diseases those mosquitos are carrying, right? If you have a potato lying around, though, you won’t need to worry, according to this hack. 

Apparently, you can minimize the inflammation of a mosquito bite by placing the inner part of potato on it. While we’re not sure if it actually works, it’s hilarious to imagine anyone walking around with half a potato taped to their leg or arm. 

Salty Irons Equals Clean Irons

Our irons will not always be gliding effortlessly across our clothes. There will come a time when all the residue buildup on the plate will cause snagging and maybe even burning of clothes. Fortunately, it’s not so difficult to save out irons. 

All you need is a tablespoon of coarse salt. Place a towel on your ironing board and take that tablespoon and sprinkle it over a certain area. Then with your iron set on the highest possible temperature, iron over the salt. Much like exfoliation, the salt will break down and take the buildup away and leave your plate looking brand new. To really get that shine, wipe down your iron with a damp cloth once it starts cooling down to get rid of the remaining buildup. 

DIY Edible Bowls

Why aren’t edible bowls a thing everywhere yet? It’s one of the best creations on the planet. You get to eat your plates and avoid doing any dishes. Isn’t that something you’d want? For us, it definitely is, so thank grannies for this baking hack. 

Get yourself some store-bought pastry dough or even just cookie dough, roll it out, and cut some circles. After that, take your muffin tray, flip it upside down, oil it, and press your cut-out dough on the domes to form that bowl shape, then stick it in the oven as usual. All you have to do after it’s cooked is fill it with ice cream or whatever delights you want to put in them. 

Say No To Greasy Range Hood Filters

Given that their sole job is to collect grease, it only makes sense for range hood filters to, well, be greasy. As disgusting as it is, it’s what you need it to be, and if you don’t want it to lose effectiveness, you have to clean it regularly. Thankfully, granny’s hack makes doing that a little easier. 

According to granny, you have to fill up a bucket with boiling water, mix ¼ cup of baking soda and dish soap into it. Then, submerge your exhaust fan filters in it for around 10 minutes. This will help break down all that nasty grease, so when you take it out, you can just gently scrub it as usual without getting grease fingers, rinse, and you have clean filters again. 

Lemon vs Beet Stains

You can fight us on this one, but beets are amazing. They might not always taste the best, but they’re highly nutritious, and they add a wonderful pop of color to any dish. Unfortunately, it’s that very color that can make them a pain to prepare. Once your fingers are stained with that red color, it will be so hard to get it off. 

You can wear gloves, but who wants to waste gloves on beets? Instead, after handling some beets, wash your hands with lemon juice just like our grannies used to do. It should take the stains right off, but if the stains are a little bit more stubborn, you can try soaking your hands until they come off. Don’t forget to rinse thoroughly with soap afterward, though.