LPT: If you get flea bites, do not scratch it, as it can make the itch worse

Recently, I got flea bites from our dog. I realized that in contrast to mosquito bites, which creates a welt but usually goes away in 1-2 days, flea bites are very tenacious. It creates what's called "papular urticaria" with significant histamine release due to our body's hypersensitivity reaction to flea bite-enzymes (as compared to mosquito saliva).

Scratching the itch makes the lesion worse due to release of further histamine from the bite. The best thing is to wash it, ice it, and put anti-itch cream (ie calamine lotion, benadryl topical)

https://redd.it/1xd3j10
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LPT: Forget your medication? Link it to a daily routine .

Hi. When taking medication daily it helps to use specified containers. But still you forget it every now and then.
What helped me was to make a routine, connecting the medication taking to bringing your drink (coffee, tea) to the table. Or, in the evening before bedtime: locking the door/turning out the lights.
The taking of your meds gets anchored to one of your daily routines.
Best!

https://redd.it/1xd6j5n
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LPT: You can slide through your text by sliding on your spacebar on mobile.



https://redd.it/1xdalhm
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LPT - Mark your cords with a silver Sharpie.

That's it. Write what the assorted black power boxes and cords in your life are with a silver Sharpie.

While it seems like an integral part of your life today and how could you ever forget, in ten years when it's thrown into a box with fifty other black cords you will have no idea. I've also found it very handy in trying to figure out what to unplug when working on things attached to a power strip.

https://redd.it/1xdiou5
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LPT: When you get a new phone, immediately photograph the box showing the serial number and IMEI. You will need this information exactly once in your life and it will be at the worst possible moment.

I learned this after my phone was stolen and I had to file a police report, contact my carrier to block the device, and deal with an insurance claim all within about 48 hours of a pretty stressful event. Every single one of those processes asked for the IMEI number. The phone was gone. The box was in a recycling bin somewhere. I spent two hours trying to find the information through my carrier account, my email receipts, and a Google account backup before I finally pieced it together. The fix is genuinely thirty seconds of work. When you take your new phone out of the box, before you do anything else, take one photo of the side of the box that has the serial number and IMEI printed on it. Send it to yourself in an email with the subject line "phone IMEI" or save it in a folder called "important documents." That's the whole tip. Bonus: this is also useful if you ever sell the phone, trade it in, or need to verify it's not a refurbished unit being passed off as new. Carriers and manufacturers will also sometimes ask for it for warranty claims. The information is also in Settings on most phones but if your phone is stolen, broken, or wiped, that option disappears. The box photo exists independently of the device, which is exactly when you need it.

https://redd.it/1xdly9k
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LPT: Imagine you’re jelly to get up out of bed!

I don’t know if this will work for anyone else, but sometimes when I’m struggling with motivation to get out of bed, I just imagine Im a pile of jelly/jello, and because i’m so slippery and jelly i just sort of bounce and roll and slide out of the bed out of the covers. I don’t even think about it, I’m just a pile of jelly so I have no brain to even think about it. And before I know it i’ve wobbled out of bed onto the floor and am ready to get go and start my day

https://redd.it/1xdqer7
@r_lifeprotips

LPT: Devices that have lithium ion batteries, charge cycle them every few months

I had a drone that I hadn't used for years, until I bought another product by the same brand and wondered if the drone needed any updates and what had changed. All 3 batteries refuse to light up. On closer inspection, they're swollen, and battery protection has turned them off permanently. The cost to replace them is more than I'm willing to pay to have this thing ready to go if I ever use it again.

My dad passed away and being the tech kid I got all of his devices to go through. Same deal, all of the security camera batteries and robot vac battery are dead beyond usage. Replacement batteries for the cameras are exorbitantly priced now they're out of production.

The tip is, some devices have smart batteries with battery protection circuits. They'll stop you from charging if the battery is damaged from chemical degradation, but paradoxically they take a little bit of power to run and will empty the batteries to the point where that degradation can occur.
Check your old devices with lithium batteries, charge cycle them every so often, and keep them healthy and ready to go.

If you go and check your batteries now, make sure they're not swollen before attempting to charge them. If they don't charge, don't attempt to take them apart, take them to a recycling facility.
If they're fine cosmetically, but very flat, they might take a long time to trickle charge during a "low current recovery" stage before the device shows any life. Do this somewhere away from flammable goods just to be extra safe.
Check old phones and laptops for signs of swelling (screen popping off, bulging keyboards on laptops). If kept inside these can become fire hazards as lithium batteries when punctured can cause an internal short circuit and cause "thermal runaway" which can be incompatible with having a house to live in.

https://redd.it/1xdysve
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LPT: Don't answer those social media posts like, "Your first car, first street you lived on and first dog is your rock star name" Countless people are sharing these and answering them without realizing it is security questions 101 for all of your online banking and many other security measures.



https://redd.it/1xe6cqq
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LPT: Normalise teaching your kids that safe adults don't ask you to keep secrets from other adults



https://redd.it/1xe6mk7
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LPT - You can use virtual credit cards that expire the next day when signing up for free trials.

Ever been annoyed you forgot about a free trial? Most card companies let you use virtual cards and set a shutoff date. I use these to sign up for 7 day free trials, set the shutoff date to tomorrow and then they can’t charge my card. Just thought I’d share!

https://redd.it/1xedks9
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LPT get telemarketers to block your phone number from their system by recording the call.

Most flagship phones today have a "record call" button on the call screen.

When you press it, a robotic voice announces that "this call is being recorded" so that both sides can hear and nobody is unaware of the recording.

I was getting four or five telemarketing calls everyday. Until I pressed that button and the person on the other side hung up. I tried calling back, and my number got routed to a voice that said agents were unavailable and hung up on me.

I thought I was recording a call for a government complaint. What I actually found was the life hack. The next caller that called me, I did it again. Like they were programmed to do it, they hung up and blocked my number.

I was a five calls that I got that day, four than instantly hung up on me and block my number. One guy hung on to make the sale so I just told him I wasn't interested. He was polite.

TL;DR announce that you are recording the call to telemarketers and they won't call you anymore.

https://redd.it/1xefc8b
@r_lifeprotips

LPT: When you’re about to send an angry message, write it in your notes app first

Writing it out helps you get the anger out of your system without consequences. Wait 30 minutes, then reread it. Most of the time you’ll either soften it a lot or realize you don’t need to send it at all.

Bonus: you can’t accidentally hit “send” in your notes app.

https://redd.it/1xehd44
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LPT: Self Checkout Speed Run. Pack your shopping cart barcode-up. Use the hand scanner to blip everything right in the cart without unloading. Pay, roll out, and pack into reusable bags at your car.

Produce items will need to be taken out and weighed, so keep them together.

https://redd.it/1xeiljg
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LPT: Buy footwear with stitched soles rather than glued ones, they last longer and are fully repairable.



https://redd.it/1xengwa
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LPT: You can bypass selfie verification by searching "stock photo of person looking all directions" and holding the camera up to the screen



https://redd.it/1xentxh
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LPT: f you're planning to do a food tour in a trip to a foreign country, do that as early as possible in the trip.

This is especially true if youre visiting a country with a very different cuisine and/or you're staying longer. Most people start missing the food they're used to by the end of the trip. At the beginning of the trip, youre more open to trying new food, generally.

https://redd.it/1xew7m5
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LPT: When someone gives you a quote, the most important question isn’t “How much?” It’s “What’s NOT included?”

This is especially useful when hiring movers, tradespeople, cleaners, or anyone providing a service.
Two companies can quote completely different prices for what sounds like the exact same job.
The cheaper quote might exclude things like equipment, travel, rubbish removal, extra labour, or cleanup.
Instead of just asking for the total, ask:
“What might I end up paying extra for that isn’t included in this quote?”
Then ask for those exclusions in writing.
Sometimes the cheapest quote turns out to be the most expensive one.

https://redd.it/1xey2hu
@r_lifeprotips

LPT: How to turn up to cinema exactly when the movie starts

If you don't feel like watching bunch of ads and trailers and eating up half of your popcorn before movie even starts, just check theater's website for showtime and length of movie, then subtract movie length from ending hour and you can arrive pretty accurately at the actual start of the movie. Staff won't make any problems if you already have a ticket, and you can always blame a traffic etc.

https://redd.it/1xey7pn
@r_lifeprotips

LPT: Add a diced hard-boiled egg or two to ramen noodles.

I add my eggs after I cook the actual noodles, but there are many ways this can be done - you can add a raw egg as it begins to boil, and if you stir just a little, the egg will stay somewhat intact and will cook.

It’s absolutely delicious to add eggs. Anyone who has not tried this should try it! Go for the hard-boiled first because it’s tricky to get the raw egg-method to come out right.

I was completely unaware of this until I saw a few posts here many years ago. Once I tried it, I was completely taken aback.

My favorite is two beef ramen packs and two diced hard boiled eggs.

Adding red kidney beans, or any type of beans, is also a really delicious idea! Eggs and beans work out rather well when added. That shit is really yummy.

What else do you all add to your Ramen noodles?

https://redd.it/1xfaedd
@r_lifeprotips

LPT: Not everything on your to-do list is equally important.

If you use a to-do list, try adding something called MITs (Most Important Tasks).

Let’s say you have 20 things on your list. Instead of treating all 20 as equally important, pick 2 or 3 that matter most. These are the tasks that would make the biggest difference if you got them done. Highlight them, circle them, or put a star next to them.

You can do this with your daily, weekly, or monthly to-do lists. Just look at what’s on your list, decide which tasks matter most, and make those your priorities.

Think about it. You could check off 15 things on your to-do list and still leave the 3 most important ones unfinished. You got a lot done, but did you get done what mattered most?

That’s the whole idea. Your to-do list helps you remember everything you need to do, while your MITs help you decide what to focus on first.

https://redd.it/1xfcudv
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