Are you sick of pulling your lunch from the microwave only to find it’s still half cold? One local mom offers a microwave hack that’ll ensure your leftover pasta is al dente every time. Plus, she explains how a can opener can help you easily open a plastic bubble pack and how a pool noodle can keep restless sleepers safe in bed.
Do you have tip or a life hack that you swear by? Tell us about it. We could feature you in an upcoming issue of Metro Parent and give you $25.
Reheat food faster
Want that plate of pasta to get heated up and into hungry little tummies faster?
Leaving a hole in the middle of the food, creating a doughnut-like shape, eliminates that pesky problem of the grub not being heated through to the middle.
The reason? More science than we’ve got room for here, but bottom line: Heat is absorbed from the outer edges to the inside, so eliminating the inside allows more even heating.
Open bubble packs easier
How many pairs of scissors have you ruined trying to unleash a dinosaur or doll from a hard plastic pack? How many curse words have you uttered as you’ve tried to free a toy from its tiny tomb?
Too many to count, right?
Well, free your family’s stuff more easily by using a can opener. This trick even works with irregularly shaped packages. Just use the can opener to cut through a corner or side, and you can rip into the rest of the package with less hassle.
Keep restless sleepers safer
Even after your kids are past the crib stage, a “big boy” or “big girl” bed can be a little scary. What if they roll out of the bed in the midst of a deep slumber?
Sure, you can push the bed against a wall, but that still leaves one side exposed.
A simple solution? Put a pool noodle under the fitted sheet on each side of the bed. That little bump will help kids stay on the bed in the middle of dreamland – where they belong.
Get wrinkles out quicker
Forget the steamer and iron. Get wrinkles out of a shirt, skirt or lightweight slacks while you busy yourself with other tasks by tossing the clothes in the dryer with a few ice cubes.
Place the dryer on the hottest setting to create steam, leave it for 10 minutes or so and voilà , your clothes are wrinkle-free and ready to wear.
Got a great tip or trick that you live for? Visit MetroParent.com/TipTrick and tell us all about it. If we like it, we’ll feature it in an issue of Metro Parent and send you $25.
Photo by Lauren Jeziorski
