Texture-train a Cat, and More

9 Tricks to Improve Your Life*

1 Train Your Cat with Texture

pets Because cats are so particular, you can take advantage of their sensitivities to guide their behavior. If you’ve got a rascal who likes to spend the night sleeping on your antique couch or prancing across the kitchen counter, cover the surface with a sheet of aluminum foil or sticky paper before you go to bed. Cats hate both textures and will soon learn to find a new, more agreeable perch—and the days of finding little paw prints next to the microwave in the morning will be over.

2 Defog Your Windshield

Auto Cool weather brings foggy windshields, obstructing your view and distracting you from the road as you try to find the right air-vent/temperature combo. Instead of fiddling with the knobs, toss a few silica packets—the kind you find in shoeboxes and new purses—up on the dash. They’ll absorb the moisture that would otherwise cling to your windshield.

3 Peel Apples in a Snap

Food There’s more than one way to skin an apple. Instead of taking a peeler to the whole bunch, drop them in boiling water for 20 seconds, then promptly move them to a bowl of ice water. The skin will come off clean in your hands.

4 Snap a Photo Even with Full Storage

Tech If you don’t have time to go through the pictures on your phone to free up storage space before snapping a photo, begin a new post in the Facebook or Twitter app instead. Click the camera icon and take the photo there. It’ll circumvent your phone’s built-in camera app and save the photo to your camera roll.

5 Zap Static Cling

home Colder, drier months mean more static electricity in the air and in your clothes, causing the fabric to bunch and stick to your body. Attach a few safety pins to a sock and toss it in the dryer with your most staticky threads (namely, synthetics such as nylon and polyester). The tiny bits of metal will act as lightning rods and absorb all that static electricity you’d otherwise carry around with you.

6 Trick Yourself into Spending Less

money When you go holiday shopping, try using cash— specifically, new bills. A study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that people spend old bills more readily. In fact, they spend more than twice as much when they’ve got old bills in their wallets as they do with crisp new bills. A little psychology could save you a lot.

7 Freeze Away Candle Wax

Home Don’t struggle to get that melted candle stump out of the holder. If the wick isn’t glued down, put the whole thing in the freezer. After about an hour, the last of the wax will shrink away from the sides, allowing you to pop it out with tweezers or a knife.

8 De-gunk a Can Opener

Cleaning Those tiny metal gears have a way of holding on to bits of food and not letting go. To clean them, clamp the opener onto the edge of a folded sheet of waxed paper and twist as if opening a can. The stiff sheet will break off bits of grime from the wheels while the wax residue lightly lubricates the gears for a smoother operation.

9 Heal a Cut with Petroleum Jelly

Health Paper cuts and other finger nicks hurt like crazy. Instead of messing with an ill-fitting bandage, spread petroleum jelly over shallow cuts. That will stop any bleeding and help start the healing.