11 Items You Take For Granted But Use Incorrectly Every Day
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It’s amazing how unwitting we can be of the proper way to use items we take for granted daily. Chinese takeout boxes, bananas, McDonald’s burger boxes, toothpaste, soda cans, and many more everyday items are things we use incorrectly every day.
Here are 11 items you use incorrectly and inefficiently every day.
1. Small Juice Boxes Have Handle Folds
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Does your child have problems with holding their juice boxes or applying too much pressure to them? Most juice boxes have triangular-shaped folds on both sides of the top corners that most people use incorrectly. Once folded outwards, the top folds can be used as handles while drinking from the straw. Also, stick the curled straw end of the straw first into the box. Once maneuvered into a corner, you can sip every drop of juice from the box.
2. Ketchup Condiment Cups Are Expandable
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How many times have you been to a fast food restaurant and collected several of those tiny, white ketchup condiment cups? Have you ever noticed the folds on the sides of those tiny condiment cups? Slowly unfold those folds and the tiny cup will expand into a wider bowl that can hold more ketchup.
3. Soda Cans Have Built-In Tab Straw Holders
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Aluminum soda cans are something that you use incorrectly all the time. After you pull up the tab with the hole in it to open the can, you usually slide the tab away from the open. Then, you stick a straw in the opening. The straw bobs around, floats upwards, and is inefficient to use. You must constantly maintain its position. Just slide the opening tab with the hole in it over the hole in the can and stick your straw through the tab to keep it in place next time.
4. You’ve Never Used Your Pasta Spoon Correctly
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Pasta spoons, sometimes called pasta ladles, are usually black-colored, plastic spoons that are used to cook and ladle pasta. Have you ever noticed the gaping hole in the middle of the spoon? You may have used it to hang it on a wall, but it’s something you use incorrectly often. You can use that hole to correctly measure a single serving of pasta before cooking.
5. Pour The Juice Box Top Opening Spout Furthest From the Cup
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Do you notice that when you open a rectangular juice box spout from the bottom, or from the opening closest to the cup, the stream is fast, powerful, and hard to aim? The pressure inside of the box is high and moves the juice out of it with force. This can lead to a lot of spills and wasted juice over time. It may feel counterintuitive, but pour the juice from the opening at the top furthest away from the cup. The juice stream will be slower and easier to control.
6. Open Bananas From The Bottom Up
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Bananas are a fruit you use incorrectly daily. Opening a banana from the top stem downwards is the most inefficient way to open it. Depending on the ripeness and toughness of the rind, it can be difficult to open. Also, you may end up bruising or mashing the banana in the process. Always open your banana from the bottom up. It’s easier to do and will always open faster than the top stem.
7. Leave the Toilet Down
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It may surprise you but the toilet is something you probably use incorrectly daily, especially after a bowel evacuation. Close the lid before you flush the toilet. Human waste also exists in an aerosolized form. After flushing, aerosolized human waste will spray upwards and outwards into the air of the bathroom and further if the door is open.
8. You Use Too Much Toothpaste
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Have you ever seen a toothpaste commercial where the bristle is overly covered with toothpaste? Dental hygiene companies want you to use too much toothpaste so that you run out faster and buy more sooner. All you need is a pea-sized amount of toothpaste on your toothbrush to brush efficiently. Toothpaste is something you probably use incorrectly daily.
9. McDonald’s Drink Lids Double as Coasters
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The configuration of McDonald’s drink lids may differ from region to region. Also, to accomplish this trick, you may need to use the top or underside of the lid, so experiment. There should be a circular ridge or bumps on the lid that can accommodate the bottom of your drink as an ad hoc coaster.
10. McDonald’s Burger Boxes Convert Into One-Handed Trays
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Considering how expensive McDonald’s has recently become, you should get the most for your dollars. Did you realize that any McDonald’s burger box can become a tray that you can perch atop the lid of your drink? Firstly, buy a burger or McNuggets meal that comes inside a burger box along with fries and a drink. Flip open the burger box lid with the burger or nuggets on one side and fries on the other.
There should be a vertical slit opening in the fold between the both sides of the open box. Place the ad hoc tray onto the plastic lid of your drink; make sure that the straw inserts itself through the vertical slit opening in the middle of the box. Now you have a one-handed, two-sided cardboard food tray that you can balance while holding and sipping from your soft drink.
11. Chinese Takeout Boxes Convert Into Plates
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You incorrectly use Chinese takeout boxes every time you order takeout and eat directly out of the box. They were initially called oyster boxes or oyster pails by the Chinese since they were primarily used for that purpose long ago. Have you ever noticed all the intricate folds on the oyster box? They are meant to be unfolded and converted into a paper plate.
First, remove the metal handle. Then, slowly unfold the box into its paper plate form; it is not a complicated task. It’s a more convenient way to eat without eating out of the box or using your plates and utensils.
How Many Everyday Items Do You Use Incorrectly Daily?
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There are many items and things that we use incorrectly every day. While it is not the end of the world, you can save more time and money, and optimize product efficiency by using these products as initially intended.
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Allen Francis is a full-time writer, prolific comic book investor and author of The Casual’s Guide: Why You Should Get Into Comic Book Investing. Allen holds a BA degree from Marymount Manhattan College. Before becoming a writer Allen was an academic advisor, librarian, and college adjunct for many years. Allen is an advocate of best personal financial practices including saving and investing in your own small business.
