20 Genius Summer Lifehacks That Will Blow Your Mind

Summer is here, and although it’s nearly gone, there is still time to learn a few hacks that will make the rest of the hot months more bearable. During this hottest time of the year, it’s important to learn ways of keeping cool and making life just a bit easier.

Lucky for you, we’ve found a great collection of summer life hacks that will do just that. From keeping you cool to helping you better organize for hot weather, you will be amazed at some of these ideas. All of them are things that you can easily do at home to make the summer better, and if you don’t use them this summer, there is always next year.
Get a head start on next summer, or add these hacks to your to-do list now. They’re all easy to pull off, really cheap, and a great way to spend a couple of hours. Plus, they really will make life just a bit easier for you, which is what DIY is all about, right?

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1. Beach Bag Towel Blanket

This is an amazing project for the summer. It’s actually a tote, towel, and blanket all in one. You can store loads of beach-worthy items and accessories in it, and it folds up nicely for easy carrying. What’s really great about it is that it doubles as a beach towel or blanket, and when it’s folded up, it works as a little pillow as well. This really is the “everything you need for the beach” accessory and you can make it yourself really easily. No more toting multiple things to the beach. You just need this one bag, and that’s it.

2. Keep Refrigerated Drinks in Place

If you tend to have trouble keeping those bottles or cans of drinks in the fridge from falling all over the place, you can use binder clips to keep them perfectly in place. Just clip the binder clip to your fridge shelf, and it will keep those drinks from rolling. This not only helps you to avoid spills and other messes, but it also helps you to keep your fridge organized so that you have room for all of those deliciously cold summer treats that you may be making up. It’s also a really inexpensive fix. You can get binder clips for less than $1 each at the Dollar Store.

3. Oreo Ice Cream

Make your own delicious ice cream treat by simply crushing up some Oreos and adding it to your favorite flavor. Whether you love vanilla, chocolate, or even strawberry ice cream, adding those delicious chocolaty cookies is sure to make it taste even better. If you have time and you really want a special treat, make some homemade Oreo milkshakes. Just add your ice cream, milk, and other ingredients to the blender and throw in some cookies at the last second. Your summer is bound to be better when you have ice cream and Oreos in the same dish, right?

4. Keep Ice Cream Soft

Did you know that keeping your ice cream in a Ziploc freezer bag will keep it soft? Really. You just have to add the ice cream (still in the container, by the way) to a gallon-sized freezer bag before you store it in the freezer. The bag not only helps to keep your ice cream soft so that you can serve it easier, but it will also prevent those little ice crystals from forming and help to keep it fresher longer so you can stop worrying about freezer burn. This is a great way to prolong the life of ice cream and make sure that it’s always soft enough to serve.

5. Instantly Cool a Hot Drink

Taking a gulp of a hot soda isn’t fun, no matter what season you’re in. Seriously, even during winter, you want that soft drink to be really cold, right? Well, if you’re tired of sipping a warm soda, we've got the perfect solution, and it will turn your soft drink ice cold in just about two minutes. This is a great summer chemistry lesson, and you won’t believe how easy it is to instantly cool that drink. You just submerge your drink in a bowl of ice water, with a little salt, and it will drop several degrees in just a couple of minutes.

6. Portable DIY Air Conditioner

This is a great little air conditioner that will cool a room in just a matter of minutes. If you don’t have an air conditioner or you just want to save on your electric bill with one that’s a bit more environmentally friendly, this is a great choice. You can make it for less than $10 and in just a few minutes. It will lower the temperature in a room several degrees after only a little while, and you can “recharge” it as needed. Seriously, with a Styrofoam cooler, some frozen bottles of water, and a few other supplies, you can ensure that you never overheat again. And it costs much less than a traditional air conditioner with regards to your electric bill.

7. Keep Drinking Straws in Place

Ok, so this one may sound like a no-brainer, but believe it or not, there are those who don’t really know how to keep their straws in place when drinking from a can. If you love using straws when you are drinking those cans of soda, but you hate how your straw seems to constantly float up and out of the can, just twist the can tab over and stick your straw through that. Really, we wonder if that’s not what those were made for in the first place. They do an excellent job of keeping your straw in place.

8. Un-Messy Popsicles

If you love popsicles but hate the mess on your hands when they melt (this is particularly good for little ones), you can use a cupcake wrapper to keep the mess away. Just cut a slit in the bottom of the cupcake holder and stick your popsicle stick through the slit. It makes a wonderful holder and will keep that drippy, sticky mess off your fingers or your little ones’ fingers. Now, if you could just figure out how to put an ice cream cone through those handy little cupcake wrappers, you’d be all set, right?

9. Frozen Aloe Vera

One of the worst parts of summer is getting a sunburn. When that happens (actually before it happens), throw some aloe vera gel into ice cube trays and freeze it. The cold will be really soothing on that nasty burn, and the aloe vera gel is perfect for helping sunburns to heal and prevent peeling. You can freeze them ahead of time and stick them in a Ziploc bag so they’ll keep well in the cooler or just use them whenever you get back home. Use store-bought aloe vera, or you can squeeze the leaves of an aloe plant to get enough gel to freeze.

10. Natural Highlights

Fresh lemon juice is perfect for giving yourself natural highlights. You just squeeze the juice of a fresh lemon into your hair and then spend some time in the sun. Really, this has been a thing for decades, and it works perfectly. You can either squeeze the juice straight into your hair or save it in a spray bottle and then just spritz your locks before you head out to the beach or pool. Lemon juice is healthier for your hair than dyes and bleaches and it gives you a natural highlight that you just can’t get from a bottle.

11. Forget the Mosquitos

If mosquitos tend to enjoy you for breakfast (or lunch or dinner), you can avoid the itchiness by applying toothpaste. For some reason, toothpaste really helps to ease the itch of a mosquito bite. You just dab a little on the bite, and it will instantly stop the itching. Keep a tube (you can get sample tubes at Wal-Mart for about $1 each) in your summer first aid kit or in the car to help alleviate the itching while you are away from home. It’s cheaper than anti-itch medication, and it really does the job well.

12. Freeze Water Bottles

If you throw your water bottle in the freezer before using it, you can ensure that your water stays really cold for a long, long time. You just fill the bottle about half full of water before freezing, and then when you’re ready to use it, fill it the rest of the way up with water. You’ll have instant ice water, and the ice will keep your bottle cooler for longer. This is great for those summer runs when you really do want your water to be cold, but the temperatures turn ordinary water bottles into hot water in a hurry.

13. Create a Beach Safe

You can make a handy little safe with an empty lotion bottle and keep your possessions safe while you are out and about at the pool or the beach. Just empty the bottle and wash it out well. Use bottles that have removable tops (most are large enough for you to keep cash, keys, and even a cell phone in them). Then, just throw your stuff in your lotion bottle and stick it in your bag. Not only will it help to hide away your valuables, but it will also make it much easier to keep up with your cash and keys when they are neatly stored together.

14. Bag Your iPhone

Really. Put your iPhone or iPod in a zippered sandwich bag to protect it when you are at the beach. The bag will keep moisture and sand away from your phone, and because Ziploc bags are see-through, you can still see who is calling or even play your games while your phone is in the bag. Make sure that the bag you use is a clean and dry one. You certainly don’t want to put your iPhone into a dirty bag where it can get damaged. This actually works with all smartphones, and you can even keep your reader in a bag to keep it safe as well.

15. Take a Fitted Sheet to the Beach

A fitted sheet at the beach keeps the sand away from you and your things. Just turn up the corners a bit, and you can keep your cooler and other items safely away from all of that sand. You can also lay out without worries of sand being all over you when you head home. Plus, sheets are a bit larger than most beach towels so you’ll have loads of room for picnicking or generally enjoying the fun and sun. Take a couple of them along so you’ll have room for all of your things on one, and you can lay on the other.

16. Arrange Condiments in Style

A muffin tin serves as the perfect condiment server. Really. You just add your condiments to the little compartments, and voila! You have the perfect serving tray for ketchup, mustard, relish, and anything else that you are serving. This works well for cookouts or anytime you are serving nachos or other dishes that require several condiments. Another trick, if you are serving outside, is to place cupcake papers upside down over the cupcake sections to protect your condiments from bugs. They fit perfectly and will help to keep those pesky flies from landing on your food.

17. Keep Your Steering Wheel Cool

Actually, this little trick won’t really keep the steering wheel cool but it will help you to prevent burning your hands when your car has been in the hot sun. Turn the steering wheel as far as you can when you get out of the car. That way, when you get back in, you do not need to actually touch the part of the steering wheel that has been in the blazing sunlight. You can just turn it back quickly (to avoid initial burning) and then drive on without worries of singeing off your fingerprints.

18. Easily Remove Sand

Baby powder is quite possibly the best thing that ever happened to adults. Honestly. If you are heading to the beach, take along some baby powder. Believe it or not, if you sprinkle your sand-covered feet with baby powder when you’re ready to leave, the sand will literally fall off. Instead of tracking up your car and, worse, your carpeting at home with sand, you can just remove it easily with the baby powder. It works, and it works really well. Plus, baby powder is much cheaper than shampooing carpets to get that sand out.

19. Get a Tan Tattoo

Elmer’s glue is the perfect thing for getting a really nice tattoo when you are heading out to the beach. Even if you are just soaking up the sun at home, you can draw a design on your skin with Elmer’s glue and then just peel it away when you’re finished sunning. The glue works as a barrier to keep sunlight off your skin, so whatever design you have drawn will be a bit whiter once your tan sets in. If you tend to tan quickly, this could be a great way to get a customized tattoo without actually having to go under the needle.

20. Keep Your Drinks from Being Watered Down

Summer means cool drinks, but what’s cooler than a great iced coffee? There’s a trick to keeping your iced coffee nice and cold without watering it down. Just freeze your coffee into cubes before you make your icy drink. That way, when the ice starts melting, you’ve still got the great taste of coffee, without the extra water. You can also do this with Kool-Aid for the kids or just about anything else – aside from soda, that is. Freeze a little lemonade or iced tea into cubes and add them to your glasses, too. Just about any summertime drink you can imagine will taste better with flavored ice cubes.