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Original poster

Let's start a thread of just random advise / hacks

380 replies

washingmachineslivelongerwithcalgon · 21/08/2023 17:19

No specific topic, just great advise you'd give.

Keep it simple.
(Apologies, I didn't know which other category to put this under that would gain traction)

I'll go first:

  • don't sweat the petty stuff, & don't pet the sweaty stuff.
  • if you can't open a food jar, pierce the top to get the air out and it opens right up!
  • drizzle a tablespoon of marmite into the cooking fat before you roast your potatoes (and drizzle some over the spuds)
  • if you don't have egg cups, use shot glasses
  • hair spray gets most things out of carpets. (Learnt this when staying at a boyfriends house as a teen and dropped lipstick. Blind panic and hairspray saved me!) used it ever since, in emergency situations.
OP posts:
BendAndStretch · 24/08/2023 09:11

@OnAPostItNote Don't microwave eggs! They can explode! And if you put it in boiling water, you're increasing the risk of scalding water shooting at your face 😬

KirstenBlest · 24/08/2023 08:31

@sashh, but if you use brown paper, you can reuse it or compost it, which is much better than recycling.
I recycle as much as I can, but I don't recycle if I can re-use or compost it.

KirstenBlest · 24/08/2023 07:54

i buy large tins of pilchards from Asda for the cat £130 for 400g (she gets dry as well).
I love DCat but I don't love her that much

OnAPostItNote · 24/08/2023 07:48

For a fussy dog….I have started to make my own dog food out of mince, marrow fat peas and pasta. (Still use dry food as well).

i buy large tins of pilchards from Asda for the cat £130 for 400g (she gets dry as well).

Easy soup from onion, veg stock and large bag of frozen peas. (Blended)

teens love the air fryer.

Meal in minutes…Tesco finest fish cakes (air fryer for 7 mins) with a poached egg on top served with salad. Crack the egg into a large mug of boiling water and microwave for 1 min. Saves on dirtying pot.

iron less.

dunelm mill’s ‘dear curtains’ are like curtains the would cost £100s on. If you order online you can add option of black out thermal linings

sashh · 24/08/2023 07:10

KirstenBlest · 24/08/2023 06:58

Metallic wrapping paper is not recyclable. Use plain brown paper and a pretty reusable ribbon instead.

Some is. You need to do the 'scrunch test'.

KirstenBlest · 24/08/2023 06:58

Metallic wrapping paper is not recyclable. Use plain brown paper and a pretty reusable ribbon instead.

sashh · 24/08/2023 06:51

Needhelp101 · 23/08/2023 10:35

Some great tips here.

Silver wrapping paper can be used for literally any celebration/occasion. Weddings, christenings, birthdays...

If you have small pets with water bottles that are going green, pour in a handle of dry rice, add some water and agitate vigorously. Rinse out and you have a clean bottle.

Silver wrapping paper is no good for a golden wedding, but I do tend to use generic metalic paper.

Keep cling film in the fridge, it unwraps much more easily than kept in a drawer.

AngryBirdsNoMore · 23/08/2023 22:21

@washingmachineslivelongerwithcalgon i hope you’re ok OP

Dreamerdeciever · 23/08/2023 16:16

Unless you were very young and circumstances (e. g. going to different universities and so on) split you up NEVER EVER get back together with an ex.

If you did the breaking it off, chances are you'll get bored again and upset them twice.
If you got dumped, you will not be able to forget they broke up with you and no matter how good things are now, you'll feel resentful.
Also, you will not give a damn how they feel if this time round YOU get bored and break it off. I'm not saying anybody would be psychopathic to see an ex again with the sole intent of dumping them this time around, however, it's human nature not to give a toss about hurting someone who hurt us.
You won't set out to be nasty, it's just you won't care about their feelings.
Not worth it.

PizzaPlease7 · 23/08/2023 11:50

ElizaWinter · 21/08/2023 17:45

Save money on bottled water by filling a bottle with water.

😂😂

GilbertMarkham · 23/08/2023 11:02

Milkand2sugarsplease · 21/08/2023 23:37

Baby vests come down the body in the event of a poonami!! Or if you have one like mine who prefers it coming down to going over his head.

Some brands like H&M also do wrap style baby vests, so no need to pull them over either end.

Needhelp101 · 23/08/2023 10:35

Some great tips here.

Silver wrapping paper can be used for literally any celebration/occasion. Weddings, christenings, birthdays...

If you have small pets with water bottles that are going green, pour in a handle of dry rice, add some water and agitate vigorously. Rinse out and you have a clean bottle.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 23/08/2023 10:01

spitefulandbadgrammar · 23/08/2023 08:14

To make your house smell lovely, clean it and open the windows instead of covering it in unguents.

If you’ve got a blackboard or trendy blackboard wall, don’t write on it straight away as the writing will leave ghosts. Scribble on some chalk and wipe it all over turn off for a first layer. Anything you write on top can now be properly wiped off.

From the distant depths of my schooldays - don't 'scribble' on it or you'll leave ghost scribbles.

Get a stick of chalk and rub the length of one side on sandpaper until it's flattened and roughed up. Then carefully, slowly and gently run it across the board horizontally and then vertically so the entire board is covered. Then use a blackboard duster to take off excess, followed by a soft cloth (with no fabric softener in it) to blend it. For the first writing, rub the tip of the chalk on sandpaper so you don't press too hard and create additional ghosts.

Going on from that, yellow duster cloths are perfect for this - if you buy a packet, stick them straight into the washing machine on a very hot wash to get as much yellow dye out as possible before you stain the carpet of anything else they touch. They look like they've been dyed with food colouring/Tartrazine when new, they need to look more like the colour of a just ripe enough to eat banana when they come out of the machine.

spitefulandbadgrammar · 23/08/2023 08:14

To make your house smell lovely, clean it and open the windows instead of covering it in unguents.

If you’ve got a blackboard or trendy blackboard wall, don’t write on it straight away as the writing will leave ghosts. Scribble on some chalk and wipe it all over turn off for a first layer. Anything you write on top can now be properly wiped off.

InMySpareTime · 23/08/2023 07:29

Reduce jet lag by moving your daily routine 2 hours a day towards that of your destination before you go, so by the day of the journey you're already on Destination Time.

OrderOfTheKookaburra · 23/08/2023 07:29

If your DC's school still uses paper forms, take a photo of said form before you put it in the safe place, so that when you invariably forget about it/lose it you have a copy.

Also, if you have to respond with said form (eg permission slip) put it in your calendar with a reminder for the evening before and 1 hour before everyone heads off for the day. Reminds you too both fill the form in and put it in child's bag/drop off at office.

You'll also be everyone's favourite parent if there is a class chat and you pop in a reminder on that chat with a copy of the form.

Riapia · 23/08/2023 07:19

If you have to catch an early morning flight have two breakfasts the day before.
Use the time saved on the day of departure to check your documents and passports.
😉

CrazyFrogDingDing · 23/08/2023 05:07

If you wear knee / thigh high boots, store them by clipping the tops to a trouser hanger ( the ones which have clips at either end ) then hang in your wardrobe.

CrazyFrogDingDing · 23/08/2023 04:59

A few drops of your favourite smelling essential oils on a make up pad, placed inside your vacuum cleaner makes the room smell lovely as you hoover.
Wipe some over radiators and lightbulbs too.

CrazyFrogDingDing · 23/08/2023 04:57

If you have a glass top hob that has got dirty, especially if a pan has boiled over, when it's cool, spray some oven cleaner on it and cover with cling film. Leave it an hour then remove the film and wipe.
One shiny new looking hob with minimal effort.
Even if your hob doesn't look dirty, you'll be surprised at how much dirt it shifts.

EvelynSalt · 23/08/2023 04:36

If you crack an egg for an omelette or something and a bit of shell drops into the egg, use the eggshell to scoop it out. The eggshell sort of attracts the broken bit of shell.

CheerfulYank · 23/08/2023 04:33

I’m not sure why, but keeping my children’s pajamas in the bathroom made nighttime a lot easier. Our washer and dryer are in there too, and being able to just toss the clean ones into a communal pajama basket helped tremendously, especially when they were very small. They could just go from their high chair straight into the tub and then a clean set of pajamas would be right there, without me having to run upstairs for some.

ThinWomansBrain · 23/08/2023 04:09

Learn the difference between a verb and a noun.