Adulting 101: Helpful Tips for Every Day Living That You Never Learned In School

Adulting 101: Helpful Tips For Every Day Living That You Never Learned in School.

Posted on August 3, 2018 by NANCYCOZART

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“Adulting” is Awesome… But I’d Rather Be “Kidding”

Back when I was a kid, life seemed simpler. There were no bills to pay. Summertime was filled with adventure. There were ice cream trucks, playgrounds, swing sets, monkey bars and jungle gyms. There were neighborhood friends to play with. We played “Tag”, “Red Rover, Red Rover”, “Red Light, Green Light” and other childhood games. We jumped rope and played jacks. We rode our bikes to the park. We went swimming in the summer at the neighborhood pool. We went ice skating in the winter at the neighborhood ice skating rink. Those were the good old days!

“Adulting” is awesome…but at times, I would rather be “Kidding”. “Adulting” is a lot of work. It comes with its share of stress and complications. Compared to Adulting, “Kidding” is much more fun! When you were a kid, you could sleep in during the summer when you were on summer vacation. You could hang out with your friends and watch TV after school. You could play in the backyard. When we were young, life was much less stressful. As an adult, life seems to be filled with problems and issues. This was not something school prepared us for.

Helpful Strategies for Every Day Life

I have come to realize that life does not come with a handbook or instructions. There are no owner’s manuals. It would be awesome if every baby was born carrying an owner’s manual with instructions on how to navigate through life. It would be great if life handed us a book on useful tips and tricks for every day living. It would be even better if we were all given instructions on how to avoid life’s lemons.

It would be perfect if your entire life was mapped out and there were directions on which way to turn at every fork in the road. Unfortunately, life does not come with instructions. As such, we are all just trying to figure out this thing called life and navigate these winding roads the best that we can.

Adulting 101

Back in elementary school, there was never a class on Kidding 101 and how to survive the childhood years. In high school, there was never a class on Teening 101 and how to cope with every day teenage challenges. In college, there was never a class called Adulting 101 to help us navigate the challenges of every day living as an adult. I wish there had been such a class. Maybe I could have learned many tips of the trade. Math, English, Science, Social Studies. All of those classes were okay. Art, Music and Gym class. Those classes were fun. But why were there no classes to help you get through life’s twists and turns? There was never a class on how to cope with stress or how to manage grief. There was never even a class on helpful strategies for every day living.

If there had been a mandatory class called “Helpful Life Strategies 101” or “Adulting 101”, I would have raised my hand in class and asked the teacher a lot of questions. I would have taken notes. I would have highlighted the chapters that were relevant to my life.

Helpful Hints: Insights and Ideas

I learned a lot in elementary school, middle school, high school and college. But one thing that was missing from all my classes was help on how to deal with life’s challenges. There were no helpful strategies for every day living.

Fast forward some thirty something years later…and I still feel like I could benefit from a class on how to cope with life’s lemons. Since there are no helpful guides at my disposal, I have decided to write this blog to share insights and ideas on helpful hints for every day life.

Helpful Tips and Tricks for Every Day Living

I have compiled a list of helpful tips and tricks for every day living. This is something I was never taught in a classroom. Through the school of hard knocks, I was able to find some new strategies and helpful tips for daily living. Having faced numerous problems and challenges in my life, I have come up with new coping strategies. With tears and fears, come new life coping skills. I have devised some helpful tips and tricks for every day living. Listed below are some of my tips of the trade.

Problem: Finding my Car in a Crowded Parking Lot. Solution: Take a Picture.

I have learned many tips to overcome problems. For example, I have gone to baseball games, parked my car in a stadium multi-level garage parking lot, and then have had problems finding my car in the parking after the game. I could not remember where I had parked. As a result of having this same problem come up several times, I devised a way to solve the problem. I came up with the idea to take a picture of the parking lot sign near my car.  I took a picture of the sign, or of the button on the elevator. I have even texted myself a message with the parking lot level to remind myself where I parked. In addition, I have started taking pictures of the scenery where my car is parked. As a result, I am now able to find my car in crowded parking lots.

The last time I parked in stadium parking, I took a picture of where my car was parked. I took a picture of the sign: “Red Level Fourth Floor”. I also took a picture of the baseball stadium, from the spot where I was parked. After the game, I was able to find my car very easily. As I stepped into the parking garage elevator, I confidently pushed the elevator button, as I knew exactly where I was parked…thanks to the pictures on my phone. Someone stepped into the elevator. I offered to press the button for him. I asked him “which floor”? He said he couldn’t remember. I then told him about my helpful hack for finding my car. He said my idea was brilliant!

Problem: Can’t Remember What I Need To Buy at the Grocery Store. Solution: Take a Picture of the Inside of Your Refrigerator and Freezer. 

Have you ever gone to the Grocery Store, but you forgot what you needed to buy? You couldn’t remember if you needed milk and eggs? I have had this problem many times. In fact, I have ended up with two sets of milk, two sets of eggs and duplicate sets of sour cream. Solution: Open your refrigerator and freezer doors. Take a picture. When you get to the grocery store, look at the picture. This will help you to avoid buying items that you already have at home.

Problem: Too many cleaning supplies and nowhere to put them. Solution: Place a shoe rack on the back of the laundry room door. Fill with cleaning supplies. 

Did you ever find that you had too many bottles of cleaning solutions and you didn’t have any place to put them? Try placing a Plastic Shoe Organizer on the back of your laundry room closet door. Works like a charm!

Problem: You need to organize the bills that have arrived in the mail. Solution: Turn an old Kitchen Trash Bag box into a bill organizer.

Use one Tall Kitchen Trash Bag box for bills that you need to pay. Use another one for bills that you paid, but you need to file.

Problem: You are having a Barbeque, and you need dishes for the condiments. Solution: Use a Muffin Tin to serve condiments.

This will also help you cut down on the number of dishes you will need to wash later.

Problem: You have so much loose change that it won’t fit in your wallet. Solution: Store loose change in coffee cans. 

You can store the loose change in coffee cans. Place in the back of your refrigerator to keep coffee cans safer, in the event of a burglary.

Problem: You have too many boxed goods and not enough room in your pantry. Solution: Add a plastic shoe organizer to the interior door of your pantry.

You will double your pantry space instantly!

Problem: You bought Pizza for carry out and want it to stay warm on the drive home. Solution: Turn on the seat warmer for the front passenger seat .

Place the pizza in the passenger seat. Pizza calls shot gun! And stays warm, to boot!

Problem: You need more space in your closet. Solution: Use soda can tops to create a second tier to your hanger. 

This works well for organizing and maximizing hanging space in a small area.

Problem: Your wall cabinet is broken and needs to be replaced. Solution: After you replace the old cabinet with a new cabinet, turn the old cabinet into a bookshelf.

Once the doors are removed, the cabinet becomes a useful bookshelf.

Problem: You have too many golf balls and nowhere to store them. Solution: Fill empty egg cartons with golf balls. 

I learned this helpful tip from my grandfather! You can use empty egg cartons to store paper clips and safety pins, too!

Problem: Your sock drawer is a mess and it needs to be organized. Solution: Create a do-it-yourself sock organizer.

Using square pieces of felt and glue, you can create a honeycomb organizer to organize your socks in your sock drawer.

Problem: You have so many keys and you can’t tell them all apart. Solution: Color code your keys to match your cars and your house. 

If your car is red, color code your key by painting red nail polish on the top of the key. If your car is blue, color code your key with blue nail polish. If your house is white, color code your key accordingly.

Problem: You need to organize small toys. Solution: Organize small toys with cardboard shoe boxes. 

You can stack them easily. You can also list the contents of the box on the outside of the box.

Problem: Your desk chair needs repair. Solution: Give your desk chair an instant facelift by using a pillowcase as a furniture cover. 

You can use pillow cases and fitted sheets to create your own furniture covers for chairs, recliners and lounge chairs. Tuck in and fold as needed.

Problem: You need to organize your pens and pencils. Solution: Use a small plastic cup.

This also works well for tools such as screw drivers, and for other small items.

Problem: You need to organize your post-it notes and office supplies. Solution: Use a shoe box to organize desk items. 

You can cover the box with wrapping paper to give it an instant facelift.

Problem: You have lost a loved one and you are feeling grief stricken, lonely and upset. After time goes by, you find you need to get some relief from your feelings of grief. Solution: Get out of the house and stay busy. Get active, and take some exercise classes. 

I discovered that by taking Zumba exercise classes, Yoga and line dance lessons, it helped me to focus and concentrate on learning the dance steps. It temporarily took my mind off the grief. When trying to focus on learning new dance steps, it diverts your mind from focusing on grief. Physical exercise is beneficial for mental health, too. When you exercise, it helps to increase endorphin levels in the brain, boost your mood and helps to reduce stress.

Problem: You have an idea that pops in your head, but you have no paper or pen handy to write it down. Solution: Text yourself a note. 

There have been times that I have an idea that I want to remember. Sometimes, I might need to remember the date and time of an event. If I don’t have access to pen and paper, I will sometimes text myself a message so that I will not forget.

Problem: Life has been giving you lemons. Solution: Make lemonade!

Don’t forget to add sugar and water, or your lemonade will be very sour! If life has been giving you lemons, turn those lemons into lemonade. Life is short, so don’t waste time feeling upset about life’s challenges. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Happiness is all about perspective.

If you have been feeling unhappy or stressed, try volunteering at a soup kitchen, or a homeless shelter. It will make you feel good to help needy families. It will also help to keep life in perspective. If you have a roof over your head, food on your table and clothes on your back, you are more fortunate than you think. If you have family and friends, you are richer than you think. Money is an illusion. It can’t buy you happiness. The only things you can take with you when you leave this world are the things you have packed away in your heart.

Tips that Have Worked for Me

These are just some of the tips and tricks for every day living that have worked for me.

Do you have any other tips? If so, please post a comment!

Visit my blog “My Wonderful World of Words” on WordPress at nancycozart.wordpress.com

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