WE FOUND A FIX!

25 creative cures for everyday dilemmas, from cleaning to cooking to tech and more

- Caroline Fanning

1 CLEANING

Cast a Sparkling Shower Spell

Keep a dishwashing wand filled with dish soap in your shower and give the tiles a quick scrub while you wait for your conditioner to set. A 30-second once-daily buff will keep soap scum from building up-and keep you from having to do a full overhaul on cleaning day. You'll step away from a cleaning session smelling fabulous rather than smelling like Fabuloso.

2 TECH

Find Find Out Who's Selling Your Personal Info

Let companies tell on themselves by putting the company name as your middle name when you purchase or sign up for something online. When you receive a message addressed to Wile "Acme Corp." Coyote, you'll know who sold your information to other companies that are now spamming your inbox. Then use your discretion when dealing with them again.

3 HOME

A Sure Tip for a Smooth Paint Job

Before busting out the brushes and rollers and applying a new coat of Agreeable Gray paint to your foyer, apply a coat of lotion to your arms, hands, face and any other exposed skin. An oily barrier atop your skin will save you (and your arm hair) from wayward paint splatters, which will wash away with ease.

4 KNOWLEDGE

The Student Becomes the Teacher

Rather than quizzing your kids for their big chemistry exam, have them give you a lesson. The Feynman Technique, a study method named for Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman, hypothesizes that you fully grasp a topic once you can successfully teach it. So after your freshman attempts to put the test material into sophomoric terms, any lingering questions will reveal which chapters they need to go back to and study more. If you totally understand everything, then so do they.

5 COOKING

Use Your Common Cents