Right now I’m on a deep dive in the Parent Hacks archives. It’s sort of like a treasure hunt; I’m looking for gems tucked among nine years’ worth of posts so I can polish them for the forthcoming Parent Hacks book.

Many of the best hacks are hard to find because they’re hidden in the comments which this site’s less-than-stellar Search function doesn’t reliably access. This hack is one example. — Asha

From Elisabeth in the comments of this kid’s cooking hack (edited for brevity): 

Do you use nonstick cooking spray or spray oil to coat muffin tins, dough rising bowls, and baking pan? Hold the pan in front of the open dishwasher while spraying. You won’t get the oil mist all over the kitchen and it will be washed away the next time you run the dishwasher.

Why didn’t I think of this? FOREHEAD SMACK OF BRILLIANCE.