SILLY LIFE-HACKS
Influencers push influence. Here’s a “hack,” there’s a “hack.” Actually, most “hacks” are recycled ways of doing things from 70 years ago. What makes them “special” now is that they are tied with other concerns, like “how to de-clutter,” or “how to reduce the amount of plastic in the universe.” Trouble is, these things seldom do much to de-clutter or eliminate plastic or “save the whales.” They are merely clever 70-year old ways of doing things. Silly! Right?
PRESCRIPTION BOTTLES.
How many times have you read that you should not throw prescription bottles in the trash? They say you should re-use them
I agree that you should TRY to re-use prescription bottles and I have even given a few suggestions before, but the pharmacy won’t re-fill the prescription using your old bottles. In any case, you WILL get new bottles every time you fill a prescription. In your lifetime you will receive THOUSANDS of plastic pill bottles with plastic lids. You can’t stop doctors from prescribing them … I’ve tried that, too.
I reduce trips to the pharmacy AND the number of bottles for most medicines by ordering QUARTERLY re-fills. (By the way I also have reduced trips by manipulating (over time) the number of pills used so all my medicines have the SAME re-fill date … one trip quarterly. And I am working at reducing my wife’s trips, too. Soon all will be on the same trip.
However, let’s be clear, the sheer number of prescription bottles arriving at your home requires that some bottles be tossed. Otherwise you’d eventually have boxes of them gathering dust in your garage. They don’t make good mulch.
PLASTIC STORAGE CONTAINERS.
Again, they build up, don’t they! Well, we have a plan for that.
When we go to a church potluck or visit friends at Christmas we take cookies in containers we don’t want back. We don’t have them cluttering our cupboard and we don’t have to wash them after this use.
There are always some containers without lids and some lids without containers … just toss those orphan lids. Use the orphan containers next time you have a project involving nails or screws. After the project … toss the container. Another wonderful use is as a paint tray for a small brush project. No clean up for the container, allow to dry then toss.
OLD TOWELS & POTHOLDERS.
Did someone make a “loom” potholder for you which doesn’t really do the job? You have a hand-towel with a hole in it? Once again, don’t just toss them in the trash as some suggest (yes, I have read several “spring cleaning” articles suggesting such). Instead find ALL the towels and potholders that are in your house. Select all the nicer ones and store them in a tote or box. Use only the crappiest towels and potholders until you just can’t stand using them any longer. They are soiled, they are used, and you hate using them. At our house we don’t wash them when they’ve met the end of life. They are tossed dirty. It is a good feeling to not keep crappy stuff AND knowing that when they are finished with their useful life we will not have to waste laundry detergent. Then, when they are gone, we pull out the right number of slightly better ones and repeat the process. No new towels or potholders are purchased until all the crappy ones have left the house for good*.
*Yes, some towels are re-purposed into cleaning cloths or car washing cloths, etc. So don’t go out and BUY cleaning cloths. That’s just dumb unless you have an influencer podcast.
We’ve been doing this for a decade. I use the same towel all the time (it gets laundered) until it dies a natural death. I have found that it takes nearly a year to kill an old bath towel. If we bought new that would just make it harder to get rid of the nasty ones. So, we have some very nice 30 year old towels waiting. I’ll probably meet my maker before we get to the best of those.
ADULT CHILDREN MOVING BACK “HOME” HACK.
OK. This is a real problem. Set ground rules (suggestions follow):
1. The adult child WILL give you money. This is a non-discussion. It isn’t rent. It is the parent-controlled portion of his/her savings account so he/she can afford to move on later. Don’t permit your child to save his or her own money. That isn’t one of his or her strengths or he/she wouldn’t be moving back home. Your child is NOT hiring you to be his/her mom (pick up stuff, laundry, cooking, washing dishes, cleaning the house … those chores will be divided up between you and your child). When you’ve saved enough of their money to cover 5-6 months of rent (plus $200/month for utilities and food), he/she moves.
2. Your child will give you a day off every two weeks. The child will leave for work one morning and not come back until after work the following day. You need alone time. It isn’t his/her home, he or she does not get a day off alone at your home. (Make a clear distinction between your home and his/her temporary residency.)
3. You will charge another fee for food, utilities, and other common expenses (toilet tissue, laundry detergent, etc.) There should never be a “free ride.” “Oh, but my daughter can’t get a job!” Yes, she can and will get a job. Walstore is hiring. You are providing a temporary residence until he/she can move out. Without a job your child will never move. (Get the child on his or her feet as quickly as possible AND give him/her reasons to find the exit.)
4. There will be “house rules;” such as “no overnight guests or live-in friends,” or “no smoking on the property.” You aren’t running a hotel. Your house = your rules. 5. No job after 30 days means he/she must move. It may cost you a week of hotel expenses. Being a “mommy” or “daddy” to them doesn’t help. I’ve watched too many parents trapped by their own weakness.
6. Make it clear this is a ONE-TIME deal.
7. The “It isn’t his fault” trap. One thing for sure, it isn’t your fault.
There is a wise alternative. If you don’t trust your kid to do it himself, don’t let him/her move out in the first place until YOU have an emergency fund set aside from his/her earnings. You keep the money in an investment fund and it is only available if there is a true emergency, not for your child to take a vacation to the islands. Instead of moving back home, “here’s some of the money that was saved in case you failed as an adult,” and the child moves into an apartment instead of returning home.
Copyright 2026 Donald Whelpley
[PLEASE NOTE that Don is always open to discussing the thoughts and opinions he shares here and welcomes comments as shared in the comment section. He doesn’t use other social media platforms and won’t see whatever you’d like to share with him if you post it elsewhere.
ALSO, Don is always open to offer his thoughts on various topics. If you have a specific request, you can let him know in a comment; he reads – and replies to – them all. ~ Sherry]
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Just yesterday I had to throw out 5 – yes, FIVE – prescription bottles and was thinking about this. What a waste!! I maybe could use them to start seeds? Which would only postpone them ending up in the trash.
Plastic storage containers are also good for “barf buckets” – with the lids. IYKYK.
I have so many hand-made potholders and crocheted trivets from Gram, using them until they are stained and threadbare before saying goodbye to them. She’s been gone over 26 years and I still have a stack barely used for replacements. And re: bath towels: Pete & I do the same thing and can get about a year’s use out of one before having to replace it – usually like-new from the thrift store.
Great “hacks”!!
Thanks, Owly.
We are not “ordinary” folk. We know things.