This article was originally published on RightLivin
Easily Remove Stamps From Envelopes
Did you ever find yourself struggling to take out a stamp that you mistakenly put on an envelope? If yes, then no need to despair. You should be able to use your microwave to help remove that stamp in no time, with a few simple steps.
Simply place the entire envelope in your microwave and turn the heat on to medium for 20 seconds. That should be enough to loosen the glue, so you can peel it right after.
Regularly Disinfect Your Kitchen Sponge
Let’s be honest, too many of us forget to clean or to change kitchen sponges. But once you realize the number of germs that are probably growing on the bacteria heaven that your moist sponge is, you might want to clean it or change it more often.
Soak the sponge in some water and leave it for a few minutes. Afterward, place it in your microwave on medium heat for about two minutes. That should be enough time to clean it and, if you’re feeling fancy, add some drops of lemon to freshen it up.
Bring Some Life Back To Your Stale Bread
There is no reason to throw away your stale bread before you try this small trick. Take baguettes for example. They are definitely a favorite, but many people prefer to not buy them because they go stale pretty quickly.
Simply dampen a kitchen towel with some sprayed water, and place the bread into the towel. Then, put both in the microwave for ten seconds on high heat. This will add some needed moisture back to your loaf of bread.
Create Your Own Personal Kiln
In addition to cooking your food, your microwave could be much more helpful in other aspects of your life. For example, if clay pottery has always been something you’ve wanted to try, but you don’t really want to pay for the expensive classes, then just set up your own clay station at home.
To make your own kiln, try placing the clay items you’ve created in the microwave covered with some baking parchment. After a few minutes, the piece should be set and perfectly hardened.
Crisp Your Chips In The Microwave
Isn’t it just the worst when you excitingly grab your bag of chips and realize that someone left it open, so they’re all soggy? And since soggy chips really do take the whole fun out of it, how about trying to salvage those chips with your microwave?
Lay the chips on a paper towel and give them a good blast for a couple of seconds on really high heat. And just like that, your chips will be all crispy again.
Toast A Bunch Of Nuts
Let’s be honest, who doesn’t like a yummy bowl of toasted nuts? Though many of us end up not going for the snack due to how time-consuming they can be, just listen to this trick.
Pour half a teaspoon of vegetable or canola oil onto the microwave plate. Then, top it with one cup of nuts. Microwave it for a minute, stir, and then another minute until they are toasted. It should take you about three to eight minutes to be ready.
Peel Tomatoes Or Peaches With Ease
This is for if you feel like eating some fresh veggies or fruit with their skin off. Or, perhaps you want to cook and you don’t feel like struggling to take their skin off.
For a quick and easy solution to take their skin off, you can place your tomatoes or peaches in the microwave for approximately 30 seconds on medium heat. Then, let the fruit stand for about two minutes before you begin peeling them.
Bring Your Dried Mascara Back To Life
While some people love applying makeup on a daily basis, other people may put it only once in a while. For those who only wear it occasionally, the mascara might get a little bit dry with time.
If you feel like it’s not time to toss it away yet and you’d like to bring it back to life, just put your mascara in the microwave for a couple of seconds, and voila!
Peel Garlic Easily
You may love or hate garlic, but there is no doubt that its wonderful flavor and uses are infinite. Still, sometimes it’s incredibly hard to peel them, which discourages anyone from using them.
If you’d like to make your life easier, then place a head of garlic in the microwave and heat it up for 15 seconds on medium heat. In no time, the skin will be loosened and you can easily peel it!
Prevent Those Tears The Next Time You Cut Onions
Cutting onions can be a huge mission, and while there are several hacks out there to prevent crying during the process, many of them can be pretty disappointing. So next time, try this one. Simply cut the onion’s root and take the tip off of it.
Then, microwave it for about 30 seconds on full heat. You can then begin cutting your onion, and your eyes should be safe.
Create Your Own Heating Pad
Heating pads are useful for a number of things - they heat us when it’s cold, and they really help out whenever a part of our body feels sore. Whatever the case is, there is no need to keep buying heating pads since you can simply and easily create your own.
Just grab a clean sock and fill it with a bunch of rice, sew up the top part, and make sure that nothing can escape. Then stick it in the microwave and ta-da! You've got a cheap and easy heating pad.
Bake An Entire Cake
For many of us baking a whole cake in the microwave is unheard of. But believe it or not, it’s possible, and it comes out absolutely yummy!
There are tons of recipes online for literally any kind of cake, but for most of them, all you need is some flour, oil, salt, and the milk of your preference. Some cocoa powder wouldn’t hurt either.
Cook Some Yummy S’mores
Who says that you need a bonfire or a barbeque to cook up some s'mores? It turns out that your microwave can easily do the job. Grab your sweet treat and put it in the microwave for as little as 15 seconds until you see the marshmallow puffing up.
Once it’s ready, you can take it out and top it off with your favorite crackers.
Get Your Solid Beauty Products Warmed Up
So many of us have full drawers or even cupboards with a ton of beauty products that we end up not using for years. And when you finally remember they’re there, they might no longer be as warm or as useful as they once were.
So if you’d like to warm up the products that have completely solidified because of the cold, just place them in the microwave for a couple of seconds and they’ll be all loosened up.
Shuck Your Corn In The Microwave
By using the microwave to shuck corn you could save a ton of time. It could sound a little bit too good to be true, but this trick is actually used by several chefs around the world. Start by cutting the stalk end of the corn but make sure to keep the husk intact.
Then, put it all into a microwave for about two to four minutes. Once it’s done, just grab your uncut end and shake it, in no time, you’ll see it all flying right out.
Speed Up The Soaking Time Of Your Beans And Lentils
Sometimes you may not be in the mood to soak up your lentils and beans for too long. Instead of waiting an entire night until they are properly soaked, put them in a microwave-safe bowl and cover them with water.
Add a little bit of baking soda to it and microwave it on high heat for about ten minutes. Afterward, leave the bowl for about 30 to 40 minutes, and then your dish will be ready to go.
Steam Your Veggies
Who says you need a fancy steamer or steamer basket to get your wonderful veggies steamed? The microwave works just as well and pretty quickly too. First, cut your vegetables the way you like them.
Then, put them in a microwavable bowl, cover them with a very thin layer of water and top it with some plastic wrap. Then, heat it up on high heat for a few minutes, and your veggies should be steamed!
Cooking Your Pasta Was Never So Easy
Though you may think that the microwave is not a place for your pasta, you might rethink that once you hear about this hack. All you need for it to work is your dry pasta, a bowl, and water.
Just put the amount of pasta you want in the pot, add the water until it’s all covered by a few inches, and then place the bowl in the microwave for two to three minutes more than what is suggested in the instructions.
Make Homemade Potato Chips
I mean, who doesn’t love some yummy homemade potato chips? And the best thing is that you can make your own if you have a microwave in hand. All you need is some potatoes cut as thin as possible. Then, toss them in the microwave with a little bit of olive oil and salt.
In order for it to work, just make sure that you place them in a single layer before you turn on the full heat for about four minutes. Once they’re cool, dig in!
Soften Old And Clumper Brown Sugar
Brown sugar doesn’t take that long to clump up, so if you ever experience this little glitch, use your microwave to find a solution.
Put your sugar in a bowl, cover the top part of your microwavable container with a damp kitchen towel, then, microwave it all for about 30 seconds at a time. In a few minutes, the clumps should be gone.
Cook Your Dish Of Corn On The Cob
Who would think that corn on the cob made in the microwave could taste so good? Apparently, it does, and you can easily make it at home.
If you’ve got some fresh corn on hand, simply remove all of the husks and silk, then add about two tablespoons of water into a place and put two full-sized cobs on it. Top it all with another plate and put them in the microwave for around five minutes.
Get Your Potting Soil Sterilized
Did you ever think that you could boost up your gardening situation with your microwave? It may be another hack that sounds weird to some, but it’s actually incredibly useful. To begin, get some soil in a resealable bag and add a bit of water.
Then, leave the bag open in the top part and put it in the center of your microwave. Heat it at about 180 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit for about three minutes and then seal the bag until it cools.
Cook Up Some Delicious Pieces Of Bacon
It’s undeniable that the smell of bacon is probably one of the best smells out there. They remind us of weekends and fun times, and they're basically the perfect snack to go with anything.
If you want to cook it quickly, start by covering a dish with a paper towel, add the bacon in one layer, and then add some more sheets of paper on top of it. Microwave it for a few minutes and it should get perfectly crisp in no time.
Soften Up Your Ice Cream
The next time you crave some ice cream but feel discouraged after seeing that it's frozen solid, think about this hack. Soften your ice cream by placing the entire pot in the microwave for a couple of seconds.
Or you could also put some water in a bowl, heat it up in the microwave, then put your spoon in it for a minute or so until you feel it warm. Then, you may eat your ice cream!
Dye Your Own Yarn At Home
While Kool-Aid is a refreshing drink, it can also serve as the perfect instrument for a DIY craft project. Save yourself some extra money by mixing some Kool-Aid powder with some water.
Choose the color you want to use for your yarn and add just enough yard to the mixture you created. Make sure that the entire thing is all covered up and then place it in the microwave for a couple of minutes.
Clean And Disinfect Your Cutting Boards
Cutting boards are great and incredibly useful, but they’re another item in our kitchen that we often forget to clean properly. If you’d like an easy way to keep them germ-free, there are a few hacks you could try.
One of them could start with cutting a lemon in half, and begin rubbing the halves on the board. Then, put them in the microwave on medium heat and leave them for a minute. That will leave it smelling fresh and germ-free.
Make A Homemade Proofing Oven For Baking Bread
Proofing ovens may cost hundreds of dollars, so if you’d like to make one of your own with the help of tools that you already have at home, then listen to this one: first, heat up a cup of water in your microwave for just a few minutes.
Let it become steamy and then place the dough inside and let it proof. And that’s it, your bread will be ready to be enjoyed.
Make Some Poached Eggs
Many of us have mastered the art of making scrambled and boiled eggs, but what about those yummy poached eggs? It can be really tricky to make them, but if you use your microwave you may be able to find a simple solution to the situation.
Put a third of a cup of water in a bowl, splash some vinegar, crack an egg into the water and then prick the egg yolk with a toothpick. Once you cover the top of the bowl with some plastic wrap, place it all in the microwave for a minute, and voila!
Bake A Batch Of Brownies
Seriously, everyone loves brownies - so how about learning a quicker way to make the fudgiest and most chocolatey goodies? Instead of spending hours baking, simply melt some butter in a bowl, add sugar, cocoa, some eggs, and flour.
Mix it all up and, after pre-greasing a microwavable dish, add it to the microwave. In five minutes your brownies will be ready!
Make Your Own Cloud
If you have kids and you often find yourself looking for new ways to entertain them, then make this your next homemade science project. Grab a bar of Ivory Soap, place it on a microwavable plate, and heat it on high heat for about two minutes.
You’ll see the soap bar expanding right in front of you and in a second an entire cloud will be created.
Put A Stop To Explosions In The Microwave
No one loves explosions in the microwave, especially when they result in a huge amount of time cleaning up afterward. There is a very simple way to prevent them from happening though.
When you heat up things such as potatoes, tomatoes, or squash, take a knife or a fork and pierce a few holes before heating them up. This will allow the steam to escape while it heats up.
Enhance The Taste Of Lemons
Many people may not know that putting your lemons in the microwave for a little bit should make its taste much stronger than usual.
Just put it in the microwave for a few seconds, but make sure to not leave it for long as the lemon could explode. While the lemon is still warm, roll it along the side and the juices should beautifully flow inside.
Make Some French Toast
For the best microwavable french toast put some butter in a mug and melt it in the microwave, then add some nutmeg, maple syrup, cinnamon, milk, and of course, an egg. Mix it all up and start adding pieces of bread to it.
Once it’s all combined, let it absorb a bit, put it in the microwave for about 70 seconds until it’s solid, and enjoy.
Clean Your Microwave
So many of us use our microwaves on a daily basis and barely give them the deep clean they deserve. Instead of spending hours scrubbing it, cut a lemon, and squeeze it into a bowl of water.
Then, place each lemon half in the bowl and put it in the microwave. Heat it all for five minutes and all the dirt and gunk will be loosened up for you to wipe off.
Get The Juice Out Of Any Citrus Fruit
Make sure that you get all the juice out of your citrus fruit the next time you make some freshly squeezed juice. Put the oranges, limes, or lemons in the microwave for about 10 to 20 seconds to gently warm it up.
That will allow it to release much more juice once you begin squeezing it. Just make sure you don’t leave it in the microwave for too long.
Test Your Container Before Putting It In The Microwave
Grab a cup or pot that you know for sure to be safe for the microwave and fill it with water. Then, place the cup or pot in a new container without putting the water in it.
Afterward, microwave both pots at once for a couple of minutes until the water begins to boil. Touch the new container with care, and if it’s hot or warm, then you might not want to put it in the microwave again.
Get Your Coconut Oil To Liquify
Coconut oil is one of those immensely useful ingredients - though it can be a total pain when it solidifies. Once it’s solid, it can be really annoying and hard to use, be it for cooking or for adding it to your beauty routine.
To make it liquid again, just put it in the microwave on high heat for a few seconds and it should be ready to go!
Make Home-Made Pickles
If you’re a fan of pickles then try to use this hack to start making your own! Grab a microwavable bowl, add some celery seeds, sugar, vinegar, turmeric, onion, mustard seeds, and a pinch of salt. Combine it and add in the cucumber slices.
Put it all in the microwave for seven or eight minutes, while stirring it at least twice in between. And just like that, you’ve made pickles.
Make The Easiest Scrambled Eggs
Scrambled eggs are easy and great, but they often require way too much effort to clean up after. To change this, just use your microwave. Crack a few eggs into a mug, whisk them up with a fork, add some seasoning and a splash of milk, then place it in the microwave for 45 seconds.
Take it out, mix it, and add it for another 45 seconds and you’re done.
Soften Crystallized Honey
Honey can be the best way to sweeten up your food while adding some very important nutrients to your diet. But when it becomes crystalized with the cold or with time, then use your microwave to soften it up.
Just microwave it for a couple of seconds and in no time the crystals will all have melted leaving you with a flowing pot of honey.
Froth Your Milk
Milk frothers are great and all but you don’t actually need them if you have a microwave. Just pour some milk into a jar and screw the lid on it. Shake the jar for about 40 to 50 seconds until you see that the milk has doubled its size.
Then, remove the lid and microwave it for about 30 seconds and your milk will be perfectly frothed.
Make A DIY Medical Compress
Hot compresses can be really useful to treat ear infections, sore and tired muscles, and sinus congestions. So instead of heading to the store to buy one - make your own.
Grab a wet towel, fold it up, and put it in a ziplock bag. Place it in the microwave with the ziplock open, and microwave it for two minutes. Then, take it out, seal the bag, wrap it in another towel and you’ve got your compress.
Warm Up Your Dishes
Here's a sneaky trick that restaurants do that we bet none of you even noticed.
So to recreate that restaurant atmosphere, put your empty dishes in the microwave and heat them for a minute or two before you begin serving up your meal. That will allow your food to stay warm for longer when you have your homemade fine dining experience.
Pre-Cook Your Meals Before You Grill Them
Grilling veggies can take forever, and sometimes you just want them ready to eat in no time. So to speed things up, pierce your potato, bell pepper, or whatever vegetable you’d like to grill with a fork, and put it in the microwave for a couple of minutes.
Then, add them to the grill and the vegetables should take much less time to get ready.
Make Crispy French Fries
After a day or two, french fries become so soggy that the excitement of eating them simply goes away. But instead of throwing them away, what if we told you that you could “revive” them?
Just lay them out evenly on a piece of paper towel, then sprinkle some vegetable oil and place it in the microwave for about ten minutes. Then remove them and let them rest for a bit until they are crisped up.
Clean Up Candle Wax
Burning a candle can be incredibly calming, and it can fill your entire home with a wonderful scent to your home. But when the wax starts getting everywhere, it can be really annoying to remove it from your candle holders.
But again, do not despair, just place the holders in the microwave for a bit and that should make it easy to take it all off.
Cook Special Fish Dishes
Cooking fish may feel a little weird at first, especially if you don’t do it often. So if you’d like to try to take things slowly, simply wrap your fish in a plastic wrap that can be microwaved.
Leave it for a few minutes in the microwave until the fish is cooked to perfection. If you put a few herbs with some lemon slices, your fish will seriously be delicious.
Speed Up Your Dinner
Instead of cooking those TV dinners in the microwave, literally any meal could be sped up by using the microwave. You can steam, poach, heat things up, but always remember to stir it and to check it regularly, especially if it’s liquid-like soups and sauces.
Also, you need to make sure to take the food out a couple of minutes before it’s completely cooked.
Make Some Parmesan Wafers
Parmesan wafers are perfect to spice things up when you don’t feel like the usual chips. To make them, just cover a plate with parchment paper and cover it all with the thinnest layer of parmesan.
Then, turn it on on full power for about 30 seconds and you’ll see them becoming brown. Remove them and there it is, you’ve got some parmesan wafers.
Dry Out Almost Any Herb
One of the best ways to impress anyone in the kitchen is by making your own aromatic herbs. And while you may think that it will take forever to get that to the right point, it doesn't have to. Lay the herbs on a kitchen towel and microwave them for 30 seconds.
Then, flip them over and add them for another 30 seconds. Continue flipping and microwaving them for some five minutes until they are dry.