10 Helpful Hacks To Share With The Lefties In Your Life

Happy “Left Handers’ Day” everyone! I might be a bit biased since I am a leftie myself, but I think that left-handed people are some of the most creative and innovative people out there! :-) So in honor of our special day today, I thought I’d share 10 of my best “hacks” for left-handed folks, as well as a few interesting facts about lefties! For the right-handed people reading this post, you’re very welcome here, so don’t worry. (As long as you share this post with all your favorite lefties!) ;-)

Left-Handed Facts & Figures

Only 12% of people are left-handed, and males are twice as likely as females to be left-handed.
Left-handed people are, on average, 15% richer than right-handed people.
On the other hand (heh heh), left-handed people are 3x more likely than right-handed people to struggle with alcohol addiction.
Four of the last seven U.S. presidents have been left-handed.
Some notable lefties include Michelangelo, Bill Gates, Marie Curie, David Bowie, and Mark Twain. (So you’re in good company!)

10 Hacks Just For Lefties

1. Smartphones

The “accessibility” category in your smartphone’s settings menu should have options that make it easier for lefties to access different parts of the screen.

2. Computer Mouse

If you would prefer to use your computer mouse with your left hand, you can easily change the mouse settings. Set it so that the right-side button is the primary button for selecting, and set the left-side button as the secondary button.

3. Smudge-Free Writing

Look for rollerball pens – they’re less likely to smudge while you write. Hard lead pencils will smudge less, as will wet-erase markers (as opposed to dry-erase).

4. Can Openers

Rather than struggling with a right-handed can opener, just spend a few extra dollars on an electric can opener! They’re really easy to use, and fairly inexpensive.

5. Notebooks

Spiral-bound notebooks can be annoying to write in for lefties. One way to get around this is to use filler paper in a binder. Then you can remove the paper to write on it, and place it back in the binder when you’re done. Or just opt for composition-style notebooks instead of spiral-bound.

6. Writing

For a left-handed writer, the prime paper position is slightly to the left of your body, with the right side of the paper angled towards you.

7. Dining

Sit at the left edge of a dining table if you can! That way your left elbow won’t be knocking into someone else’s right elbow.

8. Makeup

Use angled brushes to apply your makeup. It takes a bit of getting used to, but since I’ve started using them I’ve been smudging my makeup much less often!

9. Simplicity

Instead of seeking out products especially for lefties, just choose the simplest version of the item you’re looking for. For instance, ice cream scoops with buttons have them on the right side, but you can just get a plain, button-free scoop instead.