‘What’s a life hack you swear by that almost no one knows?’ – 21 awfully British tips and tricks

Life hacks are ten-a-penny on the internet: millions of small ideas intended to make a big difference to your life. But how about life hacks specifically aimed at improving your day-to-day experience of living in the UK? They’ve been discussing this on the AskUK subreddit after user GainsAndPastries posed this question:

‘What’s a life hack you swear by that almost no one knows? Spotted this beauty over on the main AskReddit sub, so what is a more UK based life hack that almost no one knows?’

There were plenty of people who wanted to share their very British strategies for simplifying life (some more sarcastic than others), like these…

1.

‘I do this thing where I drive on the left on motorways unless overtaking. Really takes the stress out of it all. Looking around, I think I’m the only one who knows.’
–Revolutionary_Laugh

2.

‘If there’s a massive queue at the roundabout to turn left, go in the right lane and go all the way around the roundabout instead and then take the left turning.’
–TSC-99

3.

‘And when there’s two lanes to queue (eg on a slip road), use BOTH lanes. Don’t queue up in one lane as soon as you can, and don’t treat people who ‘cut in late’ as if they’re arseholes: they’re the ones doing it properly.’
–rennarda

4.

‘When the train/tube is packed going in one direction, to the extent you may not get on the train, for instance after a large football match with everyone trying to head home, take the train/tube one stop in the opposite direction and then get on the train. Saved me many times, you tend to get a seat and if the queues are massive, you often save time.’
-Craft_on_draft

5.

‘Don’t leave it too late in life to tell people what you really feel about them, tell them to fuck off now.’
–cupidstunt01

6.

‘If you live with messy housemates who like to overflow the bin to the top, buy bin bags that are double the size of your bin and are made of a sturdy material so that even when the contents overflow you can still lift it and have enough space to close it and throw it away.’
–wafflesandfries13

7.

‘Order Domino’s through Just Eat app. Add one pizza to basket. Then, add a deal, usually BOGOF. Then, remove the first pizza you added, leaving only the deal in the basket. Place order.

Wait for pizza gods to smile upon you, as your two pizzas, plus a third, will be delivered; the third is not charged and is the same type which you deleted from your basket.’
–BastCity

8.

‘If you’re ever skint and need a quick meal, hit up Tesco Express or Co-op just before closing. They chuck out the reduced section hard. Like, 10p sandwiches and ready meals sometimes.’
–mr_rivinem

9.

‘Hot water bottles filled with ice cold water save my life every summer. Muggy nights aren’t a problem anymore. Other people might do this but I’ve never heard anyone say so!’
–ohsaycanyourock

10.

‘I don’t know about ‘no one else knows’ but I always swear by taking a four-way extension lead abroad. You only need one plug adapter that way and can use all your regular chargers/power leads as normal.’
–Ok-Bag3000

11.

‘Get the Co-Op app (it costs £1 to sign up but is absolutely worth it) and use two of their weekly offers in conjunction with a meal deal. I get a meal deal each week and managed to get a mega white Monster, a sandwich and a protein yogurt for about £2 the other day, I was telling everyone I knew.’
–iamalittlepige