Old Lady Says - Things I've Learned the Hard Way

Oops! I meant to put down a stair block.

Do not put buckets of lava in your hot bar until you are ready to use them. 

When dealing with suspicious sand, remember that sand is affected by gravity - if you remove the base of a sand stack, the rest of the column will fall and any suspicious sand over the block you removed will turn into regular sand.

Always use the right tool - it will save you time. 

Store the items in your hot bar in the same place every time - this may keep you from trying to kill a zombie with a baked potato. (You can use a few slots for rotating items).

When exploring, if you always keep the bed and the boat in the hot bar, it is easier to make sure that you haven't left them behind when you move on. 

When exploring, when you get out of bed in the morning you will be facing the opposite direction from when you went to bed.

Cats do not scare creepers. Leave the cats at home. 

When you put down a bed, be sure to touch it right away to make it a spawn site.

Do not set up camp right next to a big dark cave or in dark forests.

Do not despair when watching videos of Minecrafters who start the game and kill the Ender Dragon in five game days. The only player you are competing with is yourself, and besides, I think those other players cheat.

Don't let anyone else tell you are playing the wrong way. 

If it is cheating to "keep inventory after death" in Java, why isn't it cheating to "keep inventory after death" in Bedrock?

Memorizing some craft recipes can save you time; however, remember that (as all things Minecraft) things are constantly changing.*

Don't be afraid to try new things; however, you don't need to be the first to try the Beta versions, wait until the wrinkles are ironed out.** 

When following advice from a video or blog, check to make sure what version of Minecraft they are using, and when the advice was given.  If there are comments, read them.

Little bits of dust coming from the ceiling indicates that it is unstable and if you hit the wrong block it will all fall on you.

Little drops of water coming from the ceiling indicates that there is water above you.

Little drops of lava coming from the ceiling indicates that there is lava above you.

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*In Java Minecraft boats were crafted without adding a shovel as an oar, then they were crafted using a shovel as an oar, and then they changed back to the original way of making them without a shovel as an oar.   For a while I kept wondering why I had all those shovels piling up in inventory.

**"Definitions of ironing. noun. the work of using heat to smooth washed clothes in order to remove any wrinkles."