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The Best Collection Of Summer Tips And Tricks
As warmer weather approaches, it’s time to start thinking about outdoor summer fun! Barbecues, days spent by the pool, and weekend jaunts to the beach are all a little easier when you have a few tricks up your sleeve.
Make the most of your summer fun with these 20 creative and useful summertime hacks!
And for more brilliantly simple hacks you won’t want to miss, be sure to check out my eBook Hack Your Life! You can buy it in my shop, or download it for free if you’re an OGT Plus member!
20 Brilliant Summertime Hacks You’ll Use All Season
1. Remove Sand With Baby Powder
Did you know that baby powder makes it really easy to get sand off your skin? Carry a small bottle of baby powder with you to the beach this summer. It’ll help everyone get sand-free before they climb back into the car.
2. Keep Mosquitos Away
Before your next outdoor cookout, buy a couple of extra limes. Slice each lime in half, and press a few whole cloves into the flesh. Place the clove-studded limes around your food table to help keep mosquitos at bay!
3. Keep Mosquitos Away (Option #2)
Another natural way to repel mosquitos is to use citronella candles! You can find them in stores and online, but you can also make your own easily. They’re inexpensive to make, and smell lovely too!
Related: Make Your Own Citronella Candles For Backyard Bugs
4. Use Helpful Kitchen Gadgets
We all love summer-specific produce like watermelon, fresh corn on the cob, and locally-grown tomatoes. If you’re eating a lot of summertime foods, you may benefit from a handy kitchen gadget! These tools will save you plenty of time and effort before the season is through. Check out some of my favorites at the link below!
Related: 10 Affordable Kitchen Gadgets For Summer Cooking
5. Make Your Own Fire Starters
Need a cheap, quick, and easy way to start a campfire? Use dryer lint! It catches quickly and you’ll have a roaring fire in no time.
Related: How To Make Your Own Fire Starters
6. Flip Your Hamburger
When you’re eating burgers this summer, try eating them upside-down instead. The top of a hamburger bun is usually a bit thicker than the bottom part, so it will hold up better to all those toppings and sauces. (This is one of my favorite summer life hacks, as I hate struggling with a crumbling burger bun!)
7. Be The Hostess With The Mostess
We love dining outdoors during the summertime, especially when friends or family are visiting. I have a few clever hacks that I like to use to make entertaining easy and stress-free, and you can find all my best summertime hacks for entertaining at the link below.
Related: A Few Handy Hacks For Summertime Entertaining
More Ideas You'll Love
8. Make Some Sunscreen
Get the scoop on SPF from my blog post all about sunscreen by following the link below. You’ll learn what ingredients to look for, what to avoid, and even how to make a homemade sunscreen with zinc oxide!
Related: Simplifying Sunscreen – What To Avoid & How To Make Your Own
9. Protect Your Phone
Protect your phone from water, sunscreen, and all manner of other hazards by keeping a small ziplock bag with you. That way, whenever you find yourself in an environment that’s probably not great for phones, you’ll have something to keep it safe. (And don’t worry, you can still use the touchscreen when it’s in the bag!)
10. Shop The Dollar Store
You’d be surprised at the selection of summer essentials they carry in dollar stores these days! You can find party supplies, games, pool toys, flip flops, and so much more. Check out my complete list of summertime dollar store deals at the link below!
Related: Save Money This Summer By Buying These 10 Things At The Dollar Store
11. Fold Bags Into Bowls
You can turn a bag of chips into a simple serving bowl with no extra materials needed! Push the bottom of the bag into itself, moving the chips towards the top as you go. Then fold the top of the bag down to give the top a nice, clean finish. Ta da! A simple solution that won’t dirty another dish.
12. Grill Without The Mess
Grilling outdoors is a summertime tradition, but it’s also a pretty messy affair! You can keep the mess to a minimum by using a grill and oven mat like this one. You can place them in the bottom of a gas grill to catch drips, or use them right on top of your grill grates on any type of grill. Just toss the mat in the dishwasher to clean it.
Related: 7 Smart Ways To Use Grill Mats On The Grill
13. Hide Valuables In Plain Sight
There’s a simple way to know that your valuables won’t get swiped at the beach or pool… hide them in a diaper! Just place your valuables inside a clean diaper, then roll it all up and secure it with the tabs. No one wants to look too closely at a rolled-up diaper, so you can rest assured your valuables will stay hidden in plain sight!
14. Camp Like A Pro
Going on a camping trip this summer? There are plenty of brilliant tips and tricks that can make it a great experience for everyone! Check out the link below to learn great hacks for meals, camp decor, activities, battling bugs, and more!
More Ideas You'll Love
Related: 10 Clever Ideas That Will Make Camping Easier & More Fun
15. Shoot Stunning Sparkler Photos
Still have sparklers leftover from your Independence Day activities? Now is the perfect time to learn how to snap the perfect sparkler pic. Learn how to master a long exposure that will perfectly capture a message “written” in the air with a sparkler. You’ll be Instagram famous before you know it! ;-)
Related: How To Take Great Fireworks Photos
16. Get Smooth Summer Legs
Feeling wary of baring your legs this summer? You won’t be after you try my secret method for silky soft legs! Once you see how nice your legs look with a close shave and your softest skin ever, you’ll be ready to rock those shorts, no problem!
Related: How To Make A Simple Exfoliating Scrub For Your Smoothest Legs Ever
17. Freshen Up Musty Beach Towels
We put our beach towels through a lot during the summertime, and they can start to smell a little funky after a while. If your beach towels could use some freshening up, never fear! There’s a simple process that will strip that smell out and get them smelling good as new again. Check it out at the link below!
Related: How To Fix Your Smelly Towels In 3 Easy Steps
18. Clean Grill Grates With An Onion
You can clean the grates on your grill with just a half an onion and a BBQ fork! Just stick the onion half onto the fork, then rub it along the grates of the grill. It’ll pick up all the gunk without the need for harsh chemical cleaners.
Related: 11 Strange-But-True Ways To Clean Things With Food
19. Catch Popsicle Drips With A Cupcake Liner
Frozen treats like ice cream and popsicles can melt fast under the hot summer sun! Keep the messy spills and drips contained by threading a cupcake liner or plastic lid onto the stick.
20. Learn The Best Corn-On-The-Cob Hacks
Everyone’s got their own methods for buttering, serving, and eating corn on the cob. It’s one of the trickier summertime staples, but well worth the effort in my opinion. :-) I’ve shared all of my best corn on the cob hacks in the post at the links below:
Related: 10 Brilliant Hacks For Easy And Delicious Corn On The Cob
Do you have any summertime hacks you’d add to this list?
