Little Fixes

In the past few months, and especially over the summer, I have been constantly on the lookout for little daily annoyances and ways I could fix them.  None of these are big things, most were free, but a few minutes (or even seconds) that could ease a little stress and make life just a tiny bit easier. 

Once I started looking for them it was amazing at how fast I found them and found easy ways to fix them.  I'm going to aim to share these occasionally, in hopes of inspiring others to find and fix their little annoyances and maybe make your day just a tiny bit easier.  It's amazing what a difference those can have!

1) Problem: Drinking less water at the lake
We make many trips to the lake over the summer and usually take along a 5 gallon water jug that I borrow from my parents every summer.  Supposedly the tap water is fine at the lake, just tastes different from the city water we are used to, but I've never drank it and we're long in the habit of just taking along our water.  The summer is usually hot but I found that most days at the lake I was drinking less than my goal of 82 ounces.  I determined the problem was that at home I refill my water bottle using a Brita filter pitcher we keep in the fridge so the water is always cool.  At the lake I refill my water bottle with room temp water from the water jug.

The super simple solution: Add ice to my water bottle.  This sounds like the easiest fix ever (and it is) but I could not believe how long it took me to figure out.  I'd add a couple ice cubes every time I was refilling my water bottle, my water stayed cold and all of a sudden I was drinking at least my daily 82 ounces.  It was that easy.

Note: that picture has nothing to do with drinking water at the lake BUT it is at the lake and it turns out I have ZERO pictures of the 5 gallon water jug OR my water bottle at the lake so...that will have to do.  Also, I miss those sunglasses (they broke in New York. =(  )

2) Problem: Matt and I have matching toothbrush cases and I was always grabbing the wrong one.
We've had these toothbrush cases since our honeymoon I believe and 75% of the time I was grabbing his instead of mine.  It was 3 seconds of frustration every time I went to brush my teeth away from home. 

Solution: I took some nail polish, painted a ring on the outside of mine and now I always know which one is mine and always grab the right one.  This was free and took about 20 seconds + drying time. 

3)  Problem: Hunting through spice cupboard for taco seasoning spices
I've been making my own taco seasoning (here!) for about 6 years and have to refill my jar a couple times a year.   We don't have a lot of spices but every time I went to make it I had to go through them all to find the handful I needed.

Solution: I put all the taco seasoning spices together on one shelf so when it's time to make more I can just grab the 5 spices (plus the cayenne that doesn't fit but I know that's the one that is separate) and can make my seasoning.  It saves about 30 seconds and a little bit of frustration every time!

4) Problem: Matt's car cup holders always having trash in them
Every time we go to the dentist we get little bags with our "freebies" (toothbrush, paste, floss) in them.  I've been using one of these as my car trash bag forever (that I do change out a couple times a year) and Matt had one in his car too.  But the trash in his car never seemed to make the trash can.  This really bothered me because we mostly drive his car when we are together (since it gets double the gas mileage of my Jeep) and I always want to put my water bottle in a cup holder but they generally have trash in them.  (And by trash I mostly mean candy wrappers.)

Solution: I found an $8 car trash can on Amazon and it fits in a cup holder on the driver door.  Now we (he) don't have to unfold a plastic bag to throw items away in his car and trash (candy wrappers) actually make the trash instead of filling up the cup holders where I want to put my water bottle.  Luke also finds the car trash can pretty amusing. 

5) Problem: Having library books due on a variety of days
Our usual library day is Friday.  We've gone to our local branch (super close to our house) on almost every Friday  for the last 12 years.  I might miss 1-2 Fridays a year when we are in town but don't go to the library.  The problem is, I have SO MANY picture books I want to read that I usually go to the library at least one other time a week to pick up Luke's library holds, so I can have 2 sets of holds to pick up each week.  PLUS we go to the main branch once a month on top of our usually weekly visit.  So while most of our books are due on Fridays, there are usually a couple due on the occasional Tuesday or Wednesday.

Solution: On Fridays I renew everything due in the coming week, before next Friday.  That way I don't miss a random Tuesday due date from one of my bonus trips.  Most picture books we read and return before they are due but some stick around and renewals (and occasional late fees) on odd days are hard to keep track of.  On Fridays I check the app for what is due, either round up to return or renew them, and all of a sudden we have next to no late fees. 

Have you been making little fixes?  Do you have ideas for little fixes you could be making?  Tell me so I can find more things to fix and feel a tiny bit happier!

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