Kari Byron Shares Genius Holiday Life Hacks

Breeze through the season with helpful holiday life hacks

From the LifeMinute Team

November 19, 2014

Kari Byron has moved on from busting myths to sifting through the plethora of Internet life hacks (those helpful how-to shortcuts that make life a little less stressful) to bring you the best of the best on her American Express web series EveryDay Genius. Kari says of AMEX, who launched its EveryDay credit card last April, "They're into celebrating everyday moments, which is perfect for this holiday season...We've tested millions of different life hacks and come up with a few of our favorites; that way, your holiday season could be a little easier."

And now, a few of Kari's faves...

Fearless and Tearless Onion-Cutting

"I don't know about you, but I'm the line cook at my house and I hate cutting onions," says Kari, "I hate the tear factor and the runny mascara. Now, what makes this life hack genius is that you may have known that you need a sharp straight edge blade. But you may not have known, if you take that onion and you pop it in the freezer for 15 minutes before you start cutting, it's going to cut down on the tear factor exponentially. It works really, really well. I tried this recently on holiday with my mom and she was really impressed with me -- which is what it's all about, impressing your relatives on the holidays."

Un-scratch That

Kari says, "Now, if you've ever been in the situation where you're at the holiday table and someone grabs the dining room chair and just scrapes it across the wood floor...that sound is awful because you know there's a scratch. Now, we can make that a little less stressful. We've got Canola oil, 3 parts [and] Vinegar, 1 part. Mix them together, take a rag, wipe it across the scratch, and it's like magic -- that thing just disappears. I love that one because I have a 5 year-old who has no respect for my floors."

Handling Holiday Hang-ups

"Now if you're trying to decorate your house with all the family portraits before everyone comes over, I personally have a hard time hanging things straight, which everyone tends to notice often and tell me about, so this life hack was one that was my favorite," explains Kari, "Now you take a little bit of toothpaste and put it where you need your nail holes to be. You put a level on top of your picture and just press it against the wall, and it leaves marks in the perfect spots. You just wipe away the toothpaste, and you've got an efficient way to hang pictures straight."

Want more life hacks for holiday and every day? You'll find 24 different life hack videos on EveryDay Genius. And Kari encourages you to fill her in on all your life hacking. "In fact, if you want to tell me how they work for you," says Kari, "Please go down to the comments section #EveryDay Moments and let me know."

You can catch EveryDay Genius on the American Express YouTube channel at youtube.com/AmericanExpress.

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