The life of a university student is never easy. As students we are usually busy, broke and on the lookout for quick and affordable shortcuts. The art of balancing the large amounts of assignments with our blossoming social lives is a struggle that is challenging and at times rather expensive. Since we want to maintain this balance, it’s absolutely important that we be open to any quick-fixes that will save us precious time and money. Below are ten useful pointers that helped me survive my years at university.
Life Hack #1- The Kool-Aid Toilet Bowl Cleaner
School, sleep, party, repeat. Nowhere in there does it say clean! Students are always looking for a quick way to clean. Well did you know that you can clean your toilet with Kool-Aid! Sprinkle the orange or citrus flavoured powder mix into your toilet bowl, swirl it around in the bowl and let it sit overnight. In the morning when you’re getting ready to go to class, a stainless and citrus-smelling toilet bowl will be waiting for you.
Life Hack #2- Honeyed Hangover Remedy
We all know that as students we may party a little too much! A brutal hangover on a Sunday morning is no laughing matter when there is a pile of homework waiting to be completed. A quick hangover remedy is to eat plain saltine crackers with honey on it. The high fructose in the honey actually removes the alcohol in your system.
Life Hack #3- Instant Beer Chiller
Have to work late on a Friday and your roommates neglected to put your beer in the fridge for you? Instead of chugging down lukewarm beer, wrap a wet paper towel around the bottle and throw it in the freezer. In 15 minutes, your beer would reach the perfect temperature for consumption.
Life Hack #4- Iron-Free Wrinkle Remover
Have you ever had to dress up for a presentation or an interview but all of your nice shirts are wrinkled? Whatever the reason, most students don’t have an iron in their dorm rooms. If you have a wrinkly shirt, throw it in the dryer with a few ice cubes for 5 minutes for a wrinkle-free, ready-to-wear shirt.
Life Hack #5- Stackable Microwavable Dinners
A microwave’s minute doesn’t exactly feel like a minute. What’s worse is that during that microwave minute, you and your roomie fighting over who gets to use it for their dinner. Placing one dish on a cup and the other dish right beside it will easily cook both meals at the same time and spare you and your roommate from future microwave-related conflicts!
Life Hack #6- Alarm Clock in a Glass
8 AM classes are just absurd. Waking up early enough to attend these 8 am classes can be a struggle in itself. If you have a tendency to sleep through the alarm, put your phone in a glass when you go to bed and pump the volume to its highest and loudest setting. I can assure you that in no way will you sleep through another class again!
Life Hack #7- Pop-Tab Space Saver
Is there a tiny closet inside that small dorm room of yours? Instead of debating which clothes will be coming with you to school, save space in your closet by hanging multiple clothes on pop tabs from your hangers.
Life Hack #8- Post-it Keyboard Cleaner
Did you just finish a late night study session filled with pop, chips and other munchies? You are bound to have crumbs fall in between your keyboard. Rather than buy those expensive keyboard cleaners, you can use the sticky side of post-it notes to sweep in between the keys to get out all of the crumbs.
Life Hack #9- No Stove, No Problem
Don’t have a stove in that tiny dorm room? No problem! Every student has a coffee maker and you can use it to boil hotdogs, eggs or vegetables! First pour water into the coffee machine, then place your food into the coffee pot, and turn on the machine (hopefully with no coffee in the filter!) and watch your food get cooked to perfection!
Life Hack #10- Drive-Thru Laptop Stand
Who has room for a desk in that tiny dorm? Most of us students do the majority of our studying and projects while lying comfortably in our beds. However, leaving your laptop on your bed or lap can result in overheating and in the extreme case, a nasty burn mark on the legs. Next time you grab some fast food, ask for a drink tray and you will have the perfect and free laptop stand/cooler that’s perfect for your bed!
We understand that it’s neither easy or cheap being a university student in this day and age. We hope that these creative and budget-friendly hacks inspire you and help make life easier for you. Always remember that the simplest solutions to some of life’s little annoyances can be right in front of you.
