These 5 Hacks Will Make Your Summer Even Easier

The cheap and easy way to pick up pet hair, strategic scanning at the grocery store, and more. July 5, 2021 [View Online]( Good morning! It’s a new week, which means a fresh batch of Monday Motivation to help get you started on the right foot. But lest things get too serious around here, we’re starting off with some tips and tricks that are perfect for summertime. Find out how to get rid of all that sand when you leave the beach, or what to do when those juicy backyard burgers compromise the structural integrity of their buns. Jillee TODAY'S GOOD THING 5 Hacks That Will Simplify Your Summer Fun [Left: A cardboard tube fire starter. Center: A phone in a ziplock bag. Right: A bag of Lay's potato chips folded into a bowl.]( Make the most of your fun in the sun with these clever and practical summertime hacks. 1. Remove Sand With Baby Powder. When you’re covered in sand after a day at the beach, a little baby powder is all you need to get cleaned up. Carry a small bottle of baby powder in your beach bag so you can ensure everyone is relatively sand-free before climbing back in the car. 2. Make Easy Fire Starters. Make a simple fire starter to jumpstart your next campfire. Just grab a small handful of dryer lint from your dryer’s lint trap and tuck it into a cardboard tube from a roll of toilet paper. Place the fire starter in the fire pit with some kindling, light it, and you’ll have a roaring fire in no time. 3. Flip Your Hamburger. When you’re eating burgers this summer, eat them upside down instead. The top half of a hamburger bun is typically thicker than the bottom half, so it’ll stand up better to the moisture from your sauces and the burger itself. No more crumbling burger buns! 4. Protect Your Phone. Protect your phone from water, sunscreen, sand, and all manner of other hazards by zipping it into a small ziplock bag. Not only will it help keep your phone safe, but you’ll still be able to use the touchscreen too. 5. Fold Bags Into Bowls. Turn a bag of chips into its own bowl by pushing 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. It’s a simple solution for serving without dirtying a single dish. [15 More Brilliant Summer Hacks]( [15 More Brilliant Summer Hacks]( Related • [10 Affordable Kitchen Gadgets That Make Summer Cooking Quick & Easy]( • [How To Stay Cool This Summer - Make Your Own DIY “Chillow"]( • [The Secret Way To Save Big On Everything You Need For Summer]( ⚡️QUICK TIPS⚡️ • Dig those dusty rubber bands out of your junk drawer, because there are 10 surprisingly useful things you can do with them. [Read more →]( • If your formerly white pillows have taken on a dingy, yellowed look, learn how to whiten them back to a much cleaner state. [Read more →]( • We could all stand to cut back on the amount of food we waste, and these 10 tips make a great place to start. [Read more →]( CLEANING The Most Affordable Way To Pick Up Pet Hair [A hand covered in a rubber cleaning glove passing over an ottoman with striped upholstery.]( You don't need a fancy brush or tool to pick up pet hair—just grab one of your cleaning gloves. We must really love our pets because we sure spend a lot of time and effort cleaning up their fur. There are all sorts of products that are meant to make the task easier, but as any pet owner knows all too well, some work better than others. But there's a simple option for picking up pet hair that may not cost you a dime, because you probably already have one at home: a rubber glove. The slightly tacky exterior of a cleaning glove grabs onto pet hair surprisingly well—just pull the glove on and swipe it over a furry surface and you’ll see what I mean! You can make your cleaning glove even more effective at picking up pet hair with the help of your trusty hot glue gun. Just add a few lines and dots of hot glue to the palm of the glove and allow the glue to dry, and you can pick up even more hair per swipe. SHOPPING Scan Strategically At Self-Checkout [Left: Jillee using self-checkout at the store. Right: Putting a frozen pizza into a bag with other frozen items.]( Scan items in an orderly fashion for benefits both during checkout and once you get home. One of the best things about going through the self-checkout stands at the grocery store is that you can bag your stuff any way you like. You can save yourself a considerable amount of time and effort by scanning your items in the order you intend to bag them. For instance, a good general guideline is to put bigger and heavier items at the bottom of each bag and layer lighter or smaller items on top. But you may also want to consider grouping certain types of items together in the same bag, like frozen foods or produce. Scanning your items in the order you want to bag them will help eliminate any need to rearrange items after you've put them in a bag. And if you play your cards right, it'll save you time at home too because you can easily unload all your frozen stuff or all the produce at once. JILLEE'S PICK Bathroom Bliss For Just $25 [Left: Jillee holding the Greenco Bidet Toilet Seat Attachment in its packaging. Right: The Greenco bidet installed on a toilet.]( We installed the [Greenco Bidet Toilet Seat Attachment]( in the bathroom at the OGT Studio a little more than a year ago. But because we work at the studio somewhat irregularly, it took me longer to get accustomed to using it than it probably would have otherwise. But today, not only am I used to using the bidet at the studio, but I'm currently searching for one to install in my bathroom at home. That's the thing—if you’ve never used a bidet, at first it seems “out there,” unnecessary, etc. But once you experience all the [benefits of using a bidet]( those knee-jerk reactions seem pretty silly. The advantages are clear: you use less toilet paper, which saves money and trees, and you just feel cleaner and more refreshed than after using toilet paper alone. The Greenco model (which still looks and works like it’s brand new) is extremely affordable at just $25, so it feels like the case for bidets is pretty much making itself! [See the Greenco Bidet Toilet Seat Attachment on Amazon](. Related • [3 Surprising Reasons Why You Need A Bidet (And How To Pick One)]( MONDAY MOTIVATION Even Buried, You Can Grow “Sometimes when you’re in a dark place you think you’ve been buried, but you’ve actually been planted.” – Christine Caine When my daughter graduated college, the keynote speaker at the commencement was a woman who had experienced homelessness for a time and struggled to survive. But she was tenacious and determined to get an education, and after years of hard work, she eventually graduated from Harvard at the top of her class. As I listened to this woman share her story with the graduating class, I wondered how many people simply saw her life as a rags-to-riches, Cinderella-type fairy tale. I wondered how many people minimized everything she had suffered through simply because she was now in a place of stability and success. I'm certain she hasn’t forgotten how it felt to be homeless and hungry. Just like I haven’t forgotten feeling so lost that redemption seemed out of reach. When it feels like the weight of what you're up against is burying you, you can’t see a way up to the surface, to rehab, to Harvard. Sometimes you can’t see anything at all. But you don’t have to see a way up to start growing. You don’t have to see the sun to turn toward the light. A seed doesn’t know it’s becoming a flower, it just gathers what it needs and grows a little bit every day. If you’re in a dark place, be like that seed. Focus on what you can do today with the resources you have, and trust that brighter days are ahead. A FEW MORE THINGS... What's Coming Up? This week, keep your eye out for a printable that will help you get the right amount of food for your next get-together, a handy tip for a reader about organizing plastic storage bins, and a recipe for a tasty (and healthy) summertime snack. On This Day: In 1946, Louis Reard’s design for a bikini swimsuit debuted at the Paris fashion show. (This is a two-for-one, because apparently the anniversary is celebrated as National Bikini Day every July 5.) What did you think of today's email? [Not good]( | [Just okay]( | [Loved it!]( 🏠[Visit the By Jillee Shop]( 🤗 [Join OGT Free]( Let's connect! 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