20 Life Hacks Learned in Married Life

Since being married for only two years, I’ve had to figure out a lot of things for the first time – mostly with cooking (since I didn’t do much of that before), but a few other things too. You will probably find these silly, but maybe (hopefully) you will appreciate some of my new found discoveries, too.

1. I don’t cut my strawberries anymore. I get a straw, stick it through the strawberry from bottom to top and the nasty stem-part pops off!
2. When it’s too cold outside to grill, I make my steaks and burgers in the oven – and I think they taste even better!
3. I have no patience for cooking potatoes in the oven. (Does anyone have time to wait around for an hour+ for dinner anymore?) So I wrap them up in foil and stick them in the crockpot on low all day. They’re ready when I get home!
4. I soften my butter by putting it in a cup and setting it on top of a warm stove while I’m preparing other things.
5. The key to cooking rice on the stove without it sticking to the pot is mixing in a chunk of butter and not lifting the lid for at least 20 minutes.
6. It’s actually possible to make a perfect, yellow omelet in the oven with a greased cast-iron skillet in just 5-6 minutes.
7. Setting a wooden spoon on top of a boiling pot of water will keep it from overflowing onto my stove.
8. My ice cream scoop doesn’t get ice cream stuck all over it if I dip it in warm water before scooping each scoop.
9. I make tea in the coffeemaker by running hot water through the coffeemaker into a pot with tea bags dangling in the water.
10. Homemade whip cream tastes way better. I just pour some whipping cream and powdered sugar into a bowl while mixing it with a hand mixer simultaneously. So fluffy!
11. I eat my berries with a toothpick so I don’t have to clean silverware or stain my fingers.
12. I fold my sheets and then stick them inside the matching pillowcases to keep the sets together.
13. Amazon Prime and Target REDcard make my shopping experiences so much easier.
14. Slicing up a little bit of fruit and cucumbers to put in water is an inexpensive way of serving refreshments to guests and making them think you’re fancier than you really are.
15. Buying bulk paper towels, toilet paper, plates and cups twice a year from Sam’s keeps us stocked for the entire year.
16. The step trashcan is God’s gift to cooks with their hands full.
17. Ikea silverware lasts longer than the expensive silverware we got as wedding gifts.
18. When going to a party, the key to giving a great gift is packaging it creatively – it’s half of excitement for the other person.
19. Spending time with Jesus each morning puts me in a much better mood for the rest of my day.
20. Keeping a magnetic notepad on my fridge has helped me to remember what I run out of, and better ensures that I restock it when I go to the store later that week.

I’m sure the list will continue to grow! Thanks for reading. :)