Unless you’re a professional body builder, sometimes it feels like opening tightly-sealed jars can be the biggest struggle on Earth.

Whether you’re trying to make a batch of cookies and can’t get the peanut butter jar open, or desperately need that tomato sauce for the spaghetti, it can be so frustrating to put all your strength into trying to get it open, only to have it refuse to budge.

The worst, though, is when your kids are crying that they want whatever it is in that jar, and you just can’t seem to pry it open! How do you explain?

You don’t have to! Fortunately, there are lots of little tricks to help with opening jars— ones that don’t involve a “Honey, can you help me open this?” to your spouse. These ideas are all quick, require little-to-no actual materials, and are all mom-approved, so that your kids can eat their pickle and go on with their lives without a major temper tantrum.

One of the simplest ways to open a tight jar is to add some traction to your force. Grab a dishtowel or a rubber glove, and wrap it around the lid. Sometimes you just need a little extra grip to get it open!

If that doesn’t work, you could try running the lid under hot water. This step can cause the metal to expand a bit so that the lid comes off more easily.

To help even more, tilt the jar down so the water can get into the underside of the lid. If the jar is wet, you’ll probably need to use the dishtowel again on this one when you actually go to open the jar.

Another quick and easy hack is to give the bottom of the jar you’re trying to open a good, hard whack with the heel of your hand. Repeat this a few times, and it will eventually break the seal and be loose enough to get open.

You could also tap it on the bottom of your countertop, but just make sure you’re covering that with a towel so you don’t damage it.

If none of that is working, it’s time to break out the big guns: a spoon. Wedge the tip of the spoon into the underside of the lid and wiggle it back and forth in an effort to break the seal. Keep going around the entire jar and then try to open it again with your hands. Hopefully it’s looser now!

There’s one more trick we have up our sleep—or at least, that this mom has up her sleeve—that just requires a butter knife. It’s probably our favorite way to open a stuck jar, since it takes little to no time and always seems to work.

Check out the video below to learn how to do it!

What do you think of this cool way to open a tight lid on a jar? Try it on your next tight lid and let us know how it worked for you!