By Lauren Bruce and Michael Davies
- Put your phone in a glass or ceramic cup to amplify sound – Some of us are heavy sleepers. Unfortunately, it doesn’t help when you’re running on little sleep and don’t want to get up anyway. One quick idea is to put your phone in a cup or mug, with the speaker facing the bottom of the cup. This will amplify the sound and (hopefully) wake you up. Want to take it a step further? Place your phone in the cup across the room, so you’ll be forced to get up to turn it off. You can also use this to play music a little louder than your phone’s speaker can typically handle.
- File your clothes to save space – When you fold your clothes the traditional way, not only are you digging to find your favorite shirt and messing up your piles, but you’re also losing precious space. By filing your shirts, you save space and time, and it looks pretty cool too. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to close that drawer? Yeah. Thought so. To fold a shirt for filing, first lay it face down. Then fold it in half. Next, fold both sleeves over so they’re on top of each other, then take the top half of the shirt, fold it over twice and you should have a little rectangle of a shirt that you can now successfully file away.
- Hang wrinkled shirts in the shower – Have an important event or just an overly wrinkled shirt? Short on time? Hang your shirt on a hanger in your bathroom when you shower. The steam from your shower should remove the wrinkles from your clothes so by the time you’re done showering you’ll be that much closer to being ready to go.
- Organize your notes with colors – Oftentimes, note taking can be boring and unorganized. To stay more organized, use a different colored highlighter for each section, or create a key. Use one color to highlight definitions, another for key points, and another for important names and dates. Make sure you create a key to help you keep track. This can particularly help you understand concepts better if you’re a visual learner. Changing colors will keep you attentive and help you study better for tests.
- Use a binder clip to organize desk cords – Desk cords can be messy, confusing, tangly, and just overall annoying. Keep them organized and within reach by attaching a binder clip to the edge of your desk and labeling the clip with what the cord corresponds to. Just take the cord and slip it through the metal clasps on the clip to hold it in place. Then take a small piece of paper and tape and label each cord with “laptop,” “phone” etc.
- Turn your phone/computer into warm light in order to fall asleep faster after studying late – Blue artificial light can worsen your quality of sleep, but what about that paper you needed to write before your 8AM the next day? Shifting the hues on your phone and laptop can help you get to sleep faster. On your iPhone, you can go to settings/display, brightness, then turn on “Night Shift.” Although it’s also accessible in the control center, you can also get an app for your computer called Flux, which is free and will do the same thing.
- Put dryer sheets on your fan – Air fresheners and sprays can sometimes be too fruity or fragrant when you’re just trying to freshen up a room. So next time you just want a fresh, clean smell, tape a couple dryer sheets to your fan and put it on a low setting.
- Use snack rewards for hard assignments – Reading can be really hard to get through, especially when you know there’s something more fun you could be doing. Give yourself a little motivation! Pick your favorite candy or treat and reward yourself after each section of reading you do. You can go by paragraphs, pages, or chapters depending on how big your reward is.
- Use soda can tabs to save closet space – This is a great tip to reuse your old soda tabs and also save space in your closet. After removing a tab from your favorite drink, slip one metal hook of a coat hanger through one of the holes. Then get another coat hanger and slip it through the other hole of the soda tab. Hang one of the hangers on as normal.
- Use ornament sorting cardboard to sort socks in drawer – Ornament sorting cardboard is a great way to create sectionals in drawers. Since you can add or remove a section, It allows you to sort socks, underwear, shirts, pants or anything else you might need. A second option is to use a six pack container. Cut the cardboard in half so that the handle is cut off and should fit into your drawer perfectly.
