Clever solutions to petty problems...

[lorilu]

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Here's your chance to brag and "astound your friends!" (that last part is a quote from an old advertisement, just to be funny lol)

What unique innovate solutions have you contrived to solve your life's little annoyances?

I'll start. One thing that drives me crazy is my long sleeves falling down over my wrists and hands when I am in the kitchen. They NEVER stay rolled up. Even the kind that have the ribbed band on the bottom, it doesn't take long for them to fall down and get into the food I am making or get wet in the sink.

So I dug into my sock drawer to find a pair of cotton crew socks I never wore because they were too tight on the ankle. I cut the cuff off and I put them over my pushed up sleeves to keep everything in place while working in the kitchen. This has worked marvelously for me over the past 2 years, and those socks were so tight, the cuffs still haven't stretched out.

 

[JoanneF]

What a great idea for a thread - I'll need to have a think!

 

[curlydog]

Here's your chance to brag and "astound your friends!" (that last part is a quote from an old advertisement, just to be funny lol)

What unique innovate solutions have you contrived to solve your life's little annoyances?

I'll start. One thing that drives me crazy is my long sleeves falling down over my wrists and hands when I am in the kitchen. They NEVER stay rolled up. Even the kind that have the ribbed band on the bottom, it doesn't take long for them to fall down and get into the food I am making or get wet in the sink.

So I dug into my sock drawer to find a pair of cotton crew socks I never wore because they were too tight on the ankle. I cut the cuff off and I put them over my pushed up sleeves to keep everything in place while working in the kitchen. This has worked marvelously for me over the past 2 years, and those socks were so tight, the cuffs still haven't stretched out.

That's great! That band isn't letting anything slide!

When I was a teenager training for sports in winter, I modified socks in a similar way. In late November and early December it was too cold to wear a short sleeved T-shirt, but a long sleeved T-shirt was too hot. I cut the feet off a pair of knee socks and wore the leggings on my forearms. This left my hands and upper arms uncovered to dissipate heat & sweat, but it prevented me from getting chilled by wind gusts.

(Side note on sartorial fashion. Arm garters, like the kind you see being worn by people singing in barber shop quartets, were an early solution to the problem of one-size-fits-none sleeves sliding down over men's knuckles. When sewing machines first made mass production of ready to wear garments practical, men's shirts were sometimes sold with sleeves long enough to clothe an orangutan. The arm garter solved the problem of ill fitting shirts. The garter would cinch the excess fabric to the upper arm, where it was concealed by the suit jacket typically worn by men of the era. In a casual situation, such as when someone was getting a haircut in a barbershop, the jacket might be removed. The garter would then be visible.)