9 Life Hacks We Learned This Year That Made Our Days Easier

There were more life hacks in 2023 than we can count — especially the ones we discovered through social media. But the ones that made our life easier, brought some serious perks to our day, or just made sense are the ones we will still be doing well into 2024. These are the life hacks we learned this year and our lives haven't been quite the same since.  

We're thinking red should be the color of the year for 2023. Light therapy, especially red light therapy, was all the rage this past year and we're not letting go of the trend anytime soon.

Salt lamps, red lights, and light therapy lamps make self-care simple and can even have impacts on mental health. We'll be burning our salt lamps well into 2024.

We've had a lot on our plates this year — the productivity was off the charts. The best hack for keeping the productive juices flowing is scheduling a few power hours throughout the month. 

During a power hour, you set a timer for an hour and do all the little things that must be done but usually fall to the back burner. You might flip your mattress, order your license plate tags, and clean the microwave in that hour. The power hour is short in the grand scheme of things, but it helps us stay on top of all the little details in life we may not always have time for.  

Who would have ever guessed that our greatest cleaning tricks would come from a TikTok video or an Instagram reel? 2023 gave us too many cleaning hacks to count, but these are the tidying and deep-cleaning tips we're keeping in our supply closet from now on.

• We got creative with DIY clothing racks for our dryer-free spaces. 
• We discovered the easiest way to declutter our home. 
• We learned all the wonderful ways to use vinegar in our laundry. 
• We tested the viral lid cleaning method on our upholstery. 
• We tried all the different ways to use a Magic Eraser. 
• We even learned how to clean quickly for unexpected guests. 

Social media meal-prepping videos taught us just how many uses there are for a waffle iron. We had no idea you could make eggs, cinnamon rolls, and quesadillas in the waffle iron. We even discovered waffle iron brownies and salmon patties. Who knew one appliance could do so much? 

Maybe we should have paid more attention to budget hacks in 2023. At least we learned how to save some cash by making our coffee at home. In doing so, we discovered the iced coffee cube hack.

Keeping an ice cube tray full of coffee in our freezer helps keep our homemade lattes cold and strong. We may have even tried freezing some creamer to make our iced coffee progressively sweeter. 

One thing is for sure, we dedicated some serious time to our favorite social media feeds in 2023. But, we also learned the importance of stopping the scroll from time to time. A social media detox is more than a helpful hack, it's an important practice for mental health and making sure social media is serving us instead of the other way around. 

If 2023 had an ingredient of the year, it would probably be cottage cheese. Add protein powder and plant-based proteins to the list as well. This was the year we learned the importance of eating enough protein throughout the day. We might be ringing in the new year with a slice of cottage cheese cheesecake or a protein-packed smoothie. 

For a year of productivity and focusing on self-care, a manageable morning routine was a must. We learned all about building a morning rhythm that works best for our current season of life. Starting the day off on the right foot makes all the difference in crushing our goals and checking off our to-do list.

From cleaning our blender the right way to learning how to make the best peanut butter sandwich, we know our way around the kitchen after this year. Adulting is a lot easier when you know all the best tricks for making your kitchen the true heart of your home. 

For nearly every room in our home and every part of our lives, we found a hack for making life a little easier. Whether we needed a productivity hack that actually worked or just wanted to add a little protein to our favorite meal, 2023 showed up for us in a big way. Now we plan to tackle 2024 with the best version of ourselves.