9 Secrets No One Ever Told You About Everyday Items

PLUS: 5 tips for getting more from your tablet, weeknight-friendly pan-fried pork chops, and more. PLUS: 5 tips for getting more from your tablet, weeknight-friendly pan-fried pork chops, and more. June 28, 2022 [View Online]( TOGETHER WITH [Noom]( Good morning! The people who invent and produce the items we use around the house may believe their products are completely intuitive, but in Today’s Good Thing, you'll see that isn’t always the case. I’ll tell you about 9 everyday items with easily overlooked features that might change your life. And in a new Tech Tip Tuesday, we’re taking a break from smartphones to give tablets some well-deserved shine. Learn 5 creative ways to get more from your tablet below! Jillee TODAY'S GOOD THING 9 Secrets No One Ever Told You About Everyday Items [Photos of tin foil, Instant Pot, toilet paper, and tennis shoes.]( From bobby pins to plastic wrap, these everyday items have secrets you’ll wish you’d learned sooner. It never ceases to amaze me how much there is to know about even the most mundane household items. Every time I think I’ve seen or heard it all, I learn about a new and extraordinarily useful feature I’ve somehow overlooked for years. Today I'll be sharing a list of such features with you, featuring 9 everyday items that people either use incorrectly, or that have features that often go unnoticed. If you’re like me, once you find out what you've overlooked about these household items, you’ll wonder how you missed them in the first place! Learn what not to do to make mascara last longer, a simple way to make plastic wrap easier to use, a tip that will help keep hair out of your face, and other surprising tidbits about everyday items. Check out the list at the link below, but fair warning—when you’re done reading, you may find yourself eyeing other items around the house and wondering whether they're hiding secrets too! [9 Secrets No One Ever Told You About Everyday Items ➜]( Related • [15 Things In The Kitchen You’re Using The Wrong Way]( • [7 Features Of Everyday Items That Have Surprising Purposes]( ⚡️QUICK TIPS⚡️ • Feeling queasy or under the weather? Start by making ginger tea, then learn about 8 other uses for fresh ginger. [Read more ➜]( • With the help of these 7 useful tips, you can outsmart your local porch pirates and get your packages safely delivered. [Read more ➜]( • With hot weather comes sweat, and with sweat comes sweat stains—brush up on how to remove sweat stains here. [Read more ➜]( QUIZ CORNER OGT Pop Quiz If you followed my method to clean out your washing machine, which of these cleaning agents would you use in the process? Don't worry—this is purely hypothetical, and not at all an admonition of the state of your washer. (Scroll down to see the correct answer.) A. Vinegar B. Rubbing alcohol C. Dish soap D. Bleach TECH TIP TUESDAY 5 Ways To Make Better Use Of Your Tablet [A photo of a kitten ]( Looking for ways to get more from your tablet? Try these 5 creative tablet tips. 1. Control Your TV. If you have a smart TV, there's likely a free app you can download to your tablet that will control your TV. Search the app store for your TV brand to see what’s available. [Learn more at Electronic House](. 2. Keep User Manuals Handy. Most user manuals for appliances and devices are now available online, making your tablet the perfect place to keep them handy. Download the files of important user manuals and store them in the Books app, or else on a cloud-based service like Dropbox or Google Drive. 3. Make Chores More Entertaining. Having a tablet can make everyday chores a lot less dull. Bring your tablet into the kitchen so you can watch your favorite shows while making dinner, or listen to your favorite podcast while you clean or fold laundry. 4. Play With Your Cat. As it turns out, cats can play mobile games too! The cat food brand Friskies put out a mobile game called [Cat Fishing 2](, where cats can score points by successfully swatting fish swimming in a pond. 5. Entertain Your Passengers. Even if your car didn’t come with entertainment features like a built-in DVD player, your tablet offers a way to keep your backseat passengers entertained. With the help of a [headrest mount](, you can securely rig up your tablet to keep your little passengers happy during long drives. TOGETHER WITH NOOM Take Control Of Your Health With A Plan That Fits In Your Pocket Fed up with restrictive diets and weight loss gimmicks? Try a different approach and learn the “why” behind what you eat. After trying restrictive diets, excessive workouts, and every weight loss trick in the book, failing to shed those extra pounds can leave you feeling tired and frustrated. And even if you do manage to lose weight, it can easily creep back on over time as you return to your old ways. What makes lasting weight loss so difficult is that it’s more than just a physical process – it’s a psychological and emotional one, too! Luckily, there’s a new way to approach weight loss that adapts specifically to your unique needs. [Noom]( is a healthy lifestyle program that can help you to better understand yourself and the choices you make. With Noom’s easy-to-use app and the help of coaches and other Noom users, you’ll have the support you need to not only start your weight loss journey, but avoid returning to old habits that could undermine your progress. [Over 80% of Noom users have lost weight]( following the program, and many celebrate non-scale victories like better health and improved confidence. Find out how quickly Noom could help you reach your goal weight by taking the quiz below! [Start Your Journey To A Healthier Lifestyle Today ➜]( [Start Your Journey To A Healthier Lifestyle Today ➜]( Supporting our sponsors makes it possible for me to continue sharing the tips and tricks that make your life easier! [Check out Noom]( for help building and maintaining new habits for healthy weight loss and lasting change. - Thank you! COOKING Quick Pan-Fried Pork Loin Chops [Photos of pan-fried pork chops.]( It's hard to say what I like more about these chops—how good they taste or how quickly they cook! Moist and tender pork with a delicious crispy coating, these pork chops are simplicity at its finest. And the best part about using thin, boneless chops? They cook up in minutes, making them perfect for busy weeknights. The whole family is sure to love them, so you may want to make a few extra servings! Here’s how to make them: Stir 1 teaspoon of salt into 1/2 cup of flour, then pour the flour onto a plate in an even layer. Pat 4 boneless pork loin chops dry with a paper towel, then place each chop into the seasoned flour one at a time, ensuring they are thoroughly coated on all sides. Place a cast iron pan over medium-high heat and add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan (about 1/4 cup or so, depending on the size). When the oil is hot, place as many of the flour-coated chops in the pan as you can fit while leaving some space between them. Cook the chops until the edges start to brown, about 3 minutes, then turn them over and cook for 3 more minutes, or until the center reads 145°F. (The 6-minute cook time is perfect for thin chops, but thicker ones may take longer.) Serve the finished pork chops with mashed potatoes and a salad, or with your sides of choice. [See the full recipe ➜]( JILLEE'S PICK An Epic Saga Of The Making Of England [An image of the front cover of ]( At the rate I go through books, there's nothing better than discovering a lengthy series, and not just because I get to take a break from choosing new books! The difference between reading one book and a multi-book series is akin to watching a movie versus a multi-season TV series—there's just more story to get invested in. I picked up the first book in [The Last Kingdom Series by Bernard Cornwell]( after watching the [Netflix series]( of the same name and wanting to learn more about my Viking ancestors. And while I can't say I enjoyed every aspect of the series, I did really enjoy the journey of Uhtred of Bebbanburg on the whole. Uhtred of Bebbanburg was loosely inspired by Uchtred the Bold, a real-life ealdorman of Northumbria in the early 11th century. The events in The Last Kingdom Series are seen through the eyes of Uhtred, a boy born into aristocracy in 9th-century Northumbria, only to be captured by Danes and raised among Vikings. Speaking of Vikings, they were both the reason I picked up these books and the reason I nearly abandoned them. The Vikings were raiders who lived in a very violent time and place, and the series' many graphic battle scenes reflect that. However, I chose to press on in spite of the violence because of my interest in the time period, and I ended up learning a lot! In the end, my fascination with Uhtred of Bebbanburg kept me engaged through all 13 books. He made me laugh, cry, and even loathe him at times, but I felt like I could have read about him forever. [See The Last Kingdom Series by Bernard Cornwell on Amazon ➜]( A FEW MORE THINGS... Weight Loss Without The Restarts: It can take years of trial and error to finally figure out the trick to maintaining a healthy lifestyle (and a healthy weight) once and for all. Luckily, Noom can save you the struggle of going it alone by teaching you how to identify and change the habits that have been holding you back. [Take The Quiz Today ➜](* Don't Have A Tau: Today is Tau Day, a spin on Pi Day celebrated by proponents of [tau (τ)](. Pi (π) is the mathematical constant based on the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, but some argue tau—the ratio of circumference to radius—should replace pi as the primary circle constant. The value of tau is approximately 6.28, which makes June 28 a fitting day to honor it. Words Of Wisdom: "Look, I don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive you've got to flap your arms and legs, you've got to jump around a lot, for life is the very opposite of death." - [Mel Brooks](, American comedian and filmmaker, born June 28, 1926. 🤔 Wordle: [Solve today's 5-letter word](. *Sponsored by Noom. ANSWER A and D. (Full credit for either answer!) Last Friday, I shared a 5-step process for [cleaning a front-loading washing machine](. The first step was to run a wash cycle with vinegar to eliminate mineral deposits and detergent residue, and the second was to run a wash cycle with bleach to take care of bacteria. It was a bit of a trick question, but in a way that increased your chances of answering correctly. (Does that make it a treat question?) 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! [facebook]( [instagram]( [pinterest]( [youtube]( If you have thoughts, comments, questions or a tip or trick you'd like to share, I'd love to hear from you! My inbox is always open, so just hit "reply" and let me know what's on your mind. See you tomorrow! Sending you bright ideas and simple solutions to help you create a home and life you love. My mailing address is: One Good Thing by Jillee 841 S. Main St. Heber City, UT 84032 If you're not happy please reply to this email to tell me why. Update your email preferences or [unsubscribe]( [here](. View our privacy policy [here](.