Life is hard enough. We could all use some shortcuts.

Frozen Herbs

If they do it to fruits and veggies, then the next natural step would be freezing herbs too, no? I don’t know about you, but when I’m on the hunt for a ‘sprig’ of rosemary, or a ‘few’ leaves of basil, I usually end up returning from the grocery store with an herb stash that could outfit an entire restaurant. Since most nights I’m cooking for two, I was pleased to come across this solution from theKitchn to prolonging the life of my lovely leaves with olive oil and my trusty old freezer.

Drink (Not Ice) Cubes

In the category of ‘why-didn’t-I-think-of-that?’ is a brilliant little idea that involves the freezer once again. Prevent watering down your most important beverages (cocktails and coffee!) by making frozen cubes of your base liquid. Cupcakes and Cashmere shows us how its done when it comes to bloody marys, while Hither & Thither takes the iced coffee route.

No-Stick Measuring Cups

It may look all put together here on Mint Sprinkles, but I am the queen of causing a chaotic mess and using every dish in the kitchen when I’m cooking up a masterpiece. This little trick has cut down on having to use a million different measuring cups for jumping from liquids, to sticky substances and back again. Simply apply a thin layer of non-stick cooking spray to the cup before loading up the sticky ingredient and it will slide right out! If you want to avoid additional oils, giving the cup a good blast of very hot water directly before scooping up the stickiness should do the trick as well.

Sticky Bobby Pins

If you have super straight hair like me, you may be familiar with the disappointment and inadequacy involved when your bobby pins go slip sliding out of your hair every SINGLE time you try to pin it up. This simple tip from Pretty Gossip has saved my updos! Hit a handful of bobby pins with hairspray and voilà! They stay put!

No-Tangle Jewelry

I mentioned this once before in my 10 Perfect Packing Tips, but it’s so genius that it bears repeating here. Prevent pesky tangling of small necklace and bracelet chains by feeding them through a handy plastic straw like so!

Boot Saver

If you live in a four season climate like me, there will be a chunk of time when your tall boots will sit idle (if you are lucky this is about 9 months, if you are me this is about 3 months). To keep them looking fresh from season to season, place either an empty wine bottle or rolled up magazine in each boot. This will keep them upright, thus preventing creases.

Have any handy home-grown ninja tips I should know about? Let me know in the comments below!

xo Ali