

You don’t need James Bond gadgets and gizmos to make your life better. Here are 14 clever life hacks that I’ve discovered. They’ll save you money and time while impressing anyone that witnesses your ingenuity.

Age Wine 5 Years With a Blender

If you don’t want to spend a fortune on aged wine, simply pour an inexpensive wine in a blender and blitz it for 20 seconds. This clever method of aeration is scientifically proven to soften the tannins and open the bouquet, which ultimately makes your wine taste better.

Amplify Your iPhone With a Bowl

Want some extra volume for your iPhone? Simply place your device in a medium sized bowl and crank the tunes. The concave shape of the bowl will amplify the sound by about 13 decibels.

Keep Your Collar Stiff With Paperclips

Lost those little plastic things in your shirt collar? No problem, just replace them with paperclips. Slide the wide end of a jumbo-sized paperclip inside the collar, and leave the narrow side underneath. Don’t forget to remove the clips before tossing in the wash, otherwise the metal will rust and stain your shirt.

Easily Cut Pizza With Scissors

It’s hard to believe those little steel wheels were specially designed to cut pizza – they’re anything but easy to use. Instead, grab a pair of utility scissors and cut your pizza fast and with ease.

Cure a Headache With Hot Sauce

If you can stand the heat, try eating a chili pepper next time you get a headache. The compound that gives spicy food its kick is called capsaicin and has been used for over 9,000 years in Native American cultures to relieve painful headaches.

Freshen Your Home With Your Oven

That can of ocean breeze next to your toilet isn’t meant for the whole house. If you’re in a bind and need your house to smell good fast, here’s a trick realtors have been using for years: Put a bit of vanilla extract into the oven at 300 degrees for an hour.

Measure in Seconds

If you get tired of measuring out cups of water when you’re cooking things like macaroni and cheese, ditch the measuring cups and try this: Turn your faucet on full blast with a measuring cup underneath and count how many seconds it takes to reach the 1 cup mark. Now you can let the water run straight into the pot for a designated amount of time – in my case, I know KD always needs 7 seconds of water.

Floss in the Shower

Dentists always say you should floss more but sometimes it’s hard to find time. Fully utilize time in the shower and add flossing to your daily routine – it will immediately improve your dental hygiene.

Get More Coffee for Free

Next time you’re out try ordering a medium sized coffee but in a large cup. If they ask why, tell them it’s for extra milk or so it doesn’t spill in the car. More often than not, they’ll over-pour and give you a large coffee at no extra charge.

Relieve Mosquito Bites With Salt

Itchy bug bites are the worst. To quickly relieve your mosquito bites, simply lick the tip of your finger and dip it in salt, then rub the salty saliva solution into your bite – It works every time.

Cure Brain Freeze With Your Tongue

For an ice cream lover there’s nothing worse than brain freeze. It’s painful and it stops you from eating ice cream – both awful things. Essentially, brain freeze is a nerve response that causes the rapid constriction and swelling of blood vessels, which results in pain. The cure: Tilt your head back and press your tongue against the roof of the mouth for 10 seconds.

Boost Mental Performance With Gum

A number of recent studies show that chewing gum can temporarily boost your memory, attention span, and overall mental abilities. The latest study is from St. Lawrence University and concludes the benefits last about 20 minutes – they also suggests you choose the sugar free kind, chew quietly, and don’t blow bubbles.

Perfect Leftover Pizza With a Pan

Never microwave leftover pizza again. For fast restaurant quality pizza, reheat the slices in a large frying pan on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Put some aluminum foil over top and by the time the bottom is crispy the cheese is melted.

Make Better Ice With Plastic Wrap

When you put regular freezer ice into a drink you’re contaminating it with the flavours of everything else in your freezer. Improve your home bartending skills by making better ice. Start with distilled or filtered water, put plastic wrap over the tray while freezing, then throw the cubes in a sealed Ziploc bag until you’re ready for a drink.

This article was originally published in Urban Male Magazine: