We've all spent some time looking for ways to make our lives easier.
But sometimes the hacks we see that promise a way to do something more simply or quickly are actually more complicated than just doing it the way we've always done it.
Ready to genuinely make life easier, Redditor One_Seat4219 asked:
"What's the most overrated 'life hack' everyone swears by but which actually makes life more complicated?"
Just Table Salt
"I don't know if this qualifies, but I keep seeing spam videos of people taking seawater and boiling it for 'free salt.' You can literally get a thing of Morton salt for, like, $1.50."
- AustinBoe
"In China, they have a popular phrase for stuff like this, which translates to ‘taking off your pants to fart.'"
- callisstaa
"In Denmark, we have a similar phrase: 'crossing the river to get water.'"
- ScriptThat
"Along those lines, I bought an ice cream maker. It took me just one time to make a premium home ice cream, to figure out I can buy the best ice cream available, and it's still cheaper than making ice cream at home."
"Turns out, buying heavy cream at retail prices is a killer. So, it's really only useful if you want to make particular flavors."
- astroproff
Not-So-Simple Recipes
"Those YouTube videos of an 'Amazing Quick Meal With Two Simple Ingredients' that take 12 more ingredients, four different kitchen appliances, and half an hour to produce something that looks like fried vomit."
- Fleenicks
"Yeah, or they hide recipes in the ingredients."
"The ingredients will be like:"
"One cup of caramelized onions that you've already prepared."
"One pound of pasta you've cooked."
"One cup of homemade pesto sauce."
"Then the instructions are... combine."
"See?! The recipe only takes three minutes!"
- Longjumping_Youth281
Saved Time Or Money, You Can't Have Both
"Hacks that save a dollar or two but take a lot of time to execute. You may as well just work another hour in a job."
- HiddenA
"My wife used to drive all over looking for the cheapest gas. I pointed out she was using a whole gallon to save $1.50, plus the 40-minute round trip to the far side of town."
- Tthelaundryman
Fresh Laundry Secrets
"When people post about making their own clothes washing 'detergent.'"
"They're like, 'Just buy these four products, a bucket, and a mixer for a drill, etc. Grate these soap bars, mix with these powders, cook in a pot with water, and then add to the bucket with more water. Then mix with more water to five gallons.'"
"And you end up with five gallons of terrible 'detergent' that will gunk up your clothes, break your washer, and probably give you rashes since your clothes are full of that stuff."
"Just buy a good detergent on sale for about eight bucks and use one to two tablespoons per load, and you'll get clean clothes and a long-lasting washer. The largest jug of detergent will get you like 200 loads when you use the CORRECT amounts, not what they 'recommend' on the bottle."
- F**kOffImCrocheting
Extreme Couponing
"Hardcore Couponing. The average person is spending more driving to all the different stores than they are saving."
"Plus, all the hours spent clipping/organizing/planning could be spent on other things. And I say this as someone who hardcore did hardcore couponing for two years."
- Sephiroth0327
Unrealistic Morning Routines
"Very long and elaborate morning routines."
- Inevitable-Season-62
"Roll out of bed and make pour-over coffee during my morning meeting. Also feed the animals, I suppose."
- ThatS**tAintPat
"Tumble outta bed and stumble to the kitchen, pour myself a cup of ambition, yawn and stretch, and try to come alive."
- GregoryGosling
Productivity Apps
"Almost all 'productivity apps.' They take more time to set up and maintain than they will ever save."
- Jennysnumber_8675309
"Productivity apps were originally meant for teams of people to collaborate on a project. Unless you organize a long-term project or have a bad memory of what you're supposed to do next, they don't make sense for an individual."
- Grouchy_Exit_3058
"I tried using Notion for my master's degree, and it lasted a few weeks before I realised I was spending more time messing about with that than actually learning any of the content. Sometimes the work involved in making something is what will help you remember it, but not so much in my case."
- ImWithStupidKL
Vinegar With Baking Soda
"Any 'hack' that involves mixing vinegar and baking soda to clean better. The bubbles do nothing, the carbon dioxide does nothing, and the sodium acetate you make... also does nothing."
- Wenfield42
"Vinegar and water/dish soap absolutely claps fruit flies, though. That’s one of the good vinegar hacks."
- evergladesbro
Extra Or Exotic Ingredients
"All those two/three ingredients recipes in instagram reels that promise things like 'apple and milk bread,' but then go on to say, 'Now add two cups of dates, a spoonful of tahini, some nutritional yeast and nigella seeds,' or a similar list of things that invariably is way longer than the promised two ingredients and bound to include at least one exotic thing that you don't have at home."
- Clau_Schwa
"I saw some guy on instagram who does a lot of reviews of 'hack' recipes online do one where it was something like 'three-ingredient brownies!'"
"I don't remember what it was or what the ingredients were exactly, but it was something along the lines of 'chocolate, peanut butter, bananas, salt, flour, butter, and oil,' and the guy making the review was mocking all the people who were saying, 'That's way more than three ingredients,' because 'everyone should have salt, flour, and butter at home already.'"
"And all the comments were agreeing with him about how dumb the haters were because 'those are super common ingredients.'"
"Like, common ingredient or not... that's still more than three ingredients, which is what you were claiming your brownies were. and having it already inside your house doesn't mean it's not still an ingredient."
- MangoMambo
Fruit Peeling Hacks
"Most tips on how to prepare food suggest a slightly less efficient way."
"'Remove a mango rind easily! All you need is a knife, spoon, glass, plate, a colander, your firstborn child, and three blind mice…'"
"My dude, mangoes and avocados are soft fruits. You can just scoop them out with a spoon."
- MoobyTheGoldenSock
Downloadable Apps
"Downloading almost all apps. Web version is fine and doesn’t eat all my storage…"
- IJAvocado
"Also, the dedicated app can pull much more of your personal data from your device. That's generally why the services are pushing the 'download our app' button."
- mastah-yoda
Never Give Up
"'Don't be a wuss, don't give up.' Sometimes giving up is the strong thing."
- OldCardigan
"I was listening to a podcast that had author David Epstein as a guest, talking about his book 'Range' (great book), and he said something like:"
"'They say winners never quit. No, winners quit all the time, that's why they're winners, because if something's not working for them, they move on to the next thing, until they find something that works for them and they can win at. They're not wasting time on things that aren't working.'"
- RUA_bug_Bill_Murray
"I broke my foot eight miles into a marathon and finished the race anyway because I didn't want to give up. 10 years later, all I have to show for it is the occasional foot pain in the same spot."
"F**k the 'never surrender' mindset. Take care of yourself."
- DrafiMara
Electricity Savers
"Unplugging all your normally "always-on" appliances, then plugging them back in to use them, then repeat... all to save 75 cents worth of power in a year."
- ByWillAlone
"My Boomer mom is afraid to leave the house with her washing machine plugged in. Not to save electricity, but she’s afraid leaving anything plugged in while she’s away will start a fire."
"Yet, she never locks her doors. Saves time."
- Sa-ro-ki
Constant Notifications
"Email notifications. The constant email checking is excessive. The world won’t fall if you batch check your emails."
- EnvironmentalStay242
"Disabling these years ago was such a good decision for my peace of mind, and workflow."
- Adro87
Folded Sheets
"That way that they fold fitted sheets. It’s just as easy for me to ball them up and toss them in the closet."
- FreakyStarrbies
"I do a half-and-half thing. I mostly fold them, but I put all the sheets and pillowcases inside the other pillowcase. It's easy to squish flat, and it keeps everything together, plus it hides your s**tty fold job."
- SomethingAboutUsers
It's understandable why these "hacks" became trendy in the first place, because what they promise could be groundbreaking in the average home and really improve a person's life.
However, since many of these are far more involved than advertised and fail to deliver on their promises, these hacks cause far more inconvenience than benefit.
