Tips and Tricks

Everyday practical knowledge can include a range of little tricks and essential skills that help you save time, money, and effort. For example, some life hacks suggest that you can improve your daily routine by using a bit of salt added to your toothpaste to gently remove yellow stains and brighten your smile, as well as by cleverly organizing everyday items (like using newspapers to remove shoe odor or ice cubes in your dryer so your clothes come out wrinkle‐free)^[1].

Other practical ideas come in the form of home improvement hacks. One article describes using a piece of uncooked spaghetti to light deep-burning candles, using lemon juice on highlighter stains in books, or even repurposing a PVC pipe (by drilling holes to create a slow feeder for a pet) to solve everyday challenges around the home^[3].

Beyond these quick fixes, everyday practical knowledge also means mastering basic “adulting” skills. This can include everything from personal grooming, meal planning, and cooking full meals at home to budgeting your money, managing bills, and even knowing how to use common household tools like a hammer or a screwdriver^[5].

Health-wise, practical everyday tips might be as simple as starting the day by drinking a glass of water to help combat morning dehydration, taking short daily breaks from technology, getting a bit of sunlight to boost your mood and vitamin D production, or even incorporating a short stretching routine to relieve tension—all small habits that accumulate to improve overall well-being^[6].

In terms of broader life skills, several sources stress that practical knowledge also means knowing basic procedures such as driving a car, changing a tire, mowing the lawn, or even basic home maintenance like cleaning, organizing, and simple repairs around the house. One resource provides a long list of these skills—from using a phone book and writing in cursive to budgeting, paying bills, and managing household emergencies such as knowing what to do if there’s a fire or a power outage^[10][11].

Altogether, practical everyday knowledge spans both quick, inventive hacks for daily tasks and the essential life skills that help you live independently and safely, from simple cleaning and cooking tips to money management and emergency preparedness.

Here are some practical habits you can adopt to keep your phone’s storage from getting full:

• Check your storage usage regularly by going into your phone’s settings to see a breakdown of what categories (apps, photos, videos, cache, and other files) are using the most space so you can take action before storage issues become a problem^[2][10].

• Back up your photos and videos to a cloud service (or transfer them to an SD card or external storage if available) and then remove the local copies to keep space free for everyday use^[2][8].

• Uninstall or offload apps you rarely use. Many modern devices provide an “Offload Unused Apps” feature that removes the app while saving its data, so that you can always reinstall it without losing settings^[5][19].

• Clear cache files periodically since many apps accumulate temporary files that build up over time and take up space. Use your phone’s built-in settings (or a trusted file manager) to remove these outdated files without affecting your personal data^[4][13].

• Organize your files and delete duplicates or unwanted media such as old screenshots, duplicate photos, and unused downloads. Regular housekeeping in your gallery and Downloads folder can prevent storage from slowly filling with unnecessary files^[7][18].

• Manage messaging apps by disabling automatic media downloads and frequently reviewing message attachments that might clog up your storage over time^[19][12].

By following these regular maintenance habits—checking storage usage, backing up important media, offloading unused apps, clearing the cache, and keeping your files organized—you can prevent your phone from running out of storage and ensure smoother performance over time^[14][15].

Here’s a safe, step‐by‐step order to clean up your phone’s storage without deleting important data:

1. First, open your phone’s settings and check exactly what is taking up your storage. Look at the breakdown (apps, photos, videos, system data, etc.) so you know where to focus your cleaning efforts^[2][14].

2. Back up your important files such as photos, documents, and videos by either uploading them to a cloud service or transferring them to external storage. This extra step ensures that anything you remove later can be restored if needed^[10][11].

3. Next, review your photos and videos. Delete duplicates, blurry shots, or screenshots that aren’t important. If you want to keep these memories without filling up your internal storage, use an “optimize storage” option or transfer them to external/cloud storage^[2][13].

4. Then, move on to the files in your downloads folder. Delete any items you no longer need. These files often accumulate unnoticed and can be removed safely since they aren’t personal data^[3][9].

5. After that, clear cached files and temporary data from your apps. Check within each app’s settings or use a built-in cleaner tool to clear cache. This will remove nonpersonal data while leaving your apps and saved files intact^[3][10].

6. Then review your apps. Identify apps you rarely use—either offload them (which removes the app but keeps your personal data in storage so you can reinstall later) or uninstall them entirely if you do not plan to use them again^[2][11].

7. If you’re comfortable with advanced options, use your phone’s built-in or hidden cleaning tools—for example, some Android devices let you access system logs or additional cache cleaners through secret menus. This can free up even more storage without affecting your important data^[4].

Following this order keeps your essential information safe while gradually freeing up space. Each step targets specific areas so you can perform a clean-up without accidental loss of important files.

Duplicate photos take up space because even though they appear to be the “same” image, each copy is stored as a separate file that uses up storage. For example, photos can be duplicated due to issues like cloud syncing problems, importing photos from multiple devices, or even conversions (such as converting a Live Photo into a still image without deleting the original) that leave two or more copies on your device^[1][6].

There are several ways to find these duplicate photos. On iPhones, the built-in duplicates album in the Photos app helps by automatically grouping exact matches, though it might miss near-identical images that only differ slightly. To catch those, third-party apps like Clever Cleaner use smart algorithms to scan your entire library and flag both exact and similar copies^[1][4].

On Android devices, duplicate photos are often created from multiple downloads or messaging app shares. Using the built-in options within Google Photos—for instance, its feature that groups similar images and lets you choose a “top pick”—or using file manager apps and dedicated third-party duplicate photo removers can help you identify and remove extra copies^[5][6].

In cloud storage, duplicate images may arise from multiple uploads and syncs between different devices. Tools such as Duplicate Photo Cleaner let you scan locally synced folders from your cloud (like Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud) and effectively identify and remove any duplicate files, reducing space consumption and organizing your digital photo library^[9].