Simple things that make your life so much edit?

[LeonoraFlorence]

Every night my phone battery would be low and without fail I’d be sitting awkwardly at a funny angle on the couch trying to look through Mumsnet whilst it charged plugged in. DH ordered me a charger for about £10 with a cable over 1m long and it has changed my life! What other small things have made your life much more pleasant?

Heated windscreen
Amazon prime
Multiple charging leads around the house and in the car
Laundry service 🤭
Alexa alarm

Remote controlled dimmable bedroom lights. Keyless car entry. 3m lightning cable

A toilet roll holder that attaches just at one end (IYKWIM) - so you can just slide the empty roll off to replace rather than having to fiddle with taking it apart.

Sounds daft, but everywhere else I've lived has had the fiddly sort, it was the first thing I changed when we moved in and it still makes me happy 10 years later!

And of course, Amazon prime

Reading glasses in every room, in the car and in all my bags.

Yes, the keyless car thing!

A decent laptop

Cloud storage

My eufy robo vac.

6 school shirts rather than 3/4! Liberating to not need to do a mid week school uniform wash. Only regret is it took 12 school years to realise how much of a difference it makes 😂

Having all my socks identical so no pairing up needed. Navy blue ones from Sainsbury’s. I live in fear of them being discontinued so keep buying them whenever they’re on offer.
Freestanding air conditioner. You have to throw a hose out of the window (like an old tumble dryer) and it sounds like a helicopter is landing in the bedroom but it’s so cool and all the white noise means nothing else can disturb me.

My wheely bag for work. No more sore shoulders from lugging around a laptop and everything else I need.

Horse - where do you get the reusable liners?

This one shows how very stupid I am, because it's taken me so long to realise that an adapter plug with hairdryer and straighteners plugged in is much easier than unplugging one then the other! Doh!

My keysafe. Not that 'small' as it was quite pricy to install but just knowing i won't lock myself out or ever find ds sitting on the doorstep again, also i can arrange for people to let themselves in as needed. Stress levels hugely reduced.

Netflix

I have an actual netflix-and-chill day, but all by myself. Everyone else is banned from the bedroom (unless they're bringing me gin and crisps...And then they must immediately fuck off again!) while I have marathon tv binges of my fave tv series & films.

I just love it

My iPhone. I resisted smartphones for so many years because I thought my trusty old Nokia 3310 did everything I needed it to. Now, I grudgingly acknowledge that they are in fact very useful devices. I still don’t spend every waking minute taking selfies and posting them on social media, though.

A pencil case for my bag in which I keep a lip balm, a portable charger (will do 5 full iPhone charges), two lightning cables (2 sockets on charger), a folding usb plug (the Apple one), an Apple Watch charger and a usb to micro usb lead.

They are MINE! The lightning cables are pink so if borrowed by one of the boys in my house I can identify them.

It works so well and I'm never without charge!

A small zip up bag for my bag in which I keep paracetamol, ibuprofen, spray plaster, antihistamine cream and tablets, orajel, Zovirax, a small perfume, an inhaler, a toothpick and three nights of mine and DS2s medications.

I can easily transfer the pencil case and medication case to any bag.

Small fabric bags for life. They fold up to nothing and they have their own section in my bag. They're brightly coloured so I spot them if they get left out after shopping. They save me about £1 a shop!

Also, the travel electronics bag.

It has a separate set of iPhone chargers and an extension lead in it which has 4 plugs and two usb sockets.

I leave 4 usb plugs plugged into it.

Then we only need one European adaptor.

Triple laundry sorter has changed my life. Everyone puts their laundry into the right bag and I only wash a bag when it is full. No more daily small washes for me!

Three baskets for the clean laundry - one for wet things/going to and from the washing line, one for ironing and one for ironed/no need to iron hinges ready to go upstairs to be put away. And - they stack.

Two clothes horses.

Cordless dyson. House has never been so vacuumed.

Wall calendar with four columns. I buy the same style one from m and s in November every year.

Notebook with a pen on an elastic. I take it everywhere. Everything I write down goes in it. No more bits of paper with lists or notes or reminders.

Magazine subscription. Makes me sit down and read it. And it is half the cover price.

Amazon prime for the next day delivery when I really need it.

Keyless ignition in the car. Getting the car valeted every couple of months. Also saved sitting positions is amazing as I am so short. I just press 2 and the seat lifts and slides into position —can’t believe that I still have to use my hand to alter the rear view mirror, honestly—.

Tumble dryer.

A washing machine with a decent 20 minute cycle at 1400 revs.

Finally fixing the light in the windowless pantry so that it comes on when you open the door. It was temperamental for nine years before we got it fixed.

Superdrug vitamin e skincare range. The oil cleanser takes my make up off so quickly and easily that even when I’m knackered I do it and it’s completely transformed my skin. It’s cheap too.

Decluttering my clothes so I actually have space in my wardrobe.

Swapping my Mac for a chromebook, it’s so fast and because I do everything online it doesn’t need get clogged up with messy folders which stress me out

OPI nail polish drying drops - I always used to smudge my polish, it’s amazing

Buying things in bulk now I have the storage space - I love having a good stock in and not worrying about running out for ages

Gym membership - I swim every other day and it’s so good for my mental health and means I’m way more productive the rest of the time

Oh and the readly app! A monthly
Fee and so many digital magazines to read. I’ve made loads of interesting recipes and read really interesting publications that I would never have normally come across, as well as all the usual favourites.

A sellotape dispenser. Revolutionised wrapping presents at Christmas. Brought me infinite joy!

The Honeywell App that controls the heating from my phone.
We landed at an airport 1.5 hours away last winter and it was bitterly cold.Switched heating on at the airport and when we got home our house was lovely and warm.

I have made a zipped floor cushion or pouffe for each bedroom and filled them with the spare duvets that previously lived in black plastic in the loft. No more hunting in the dusty dark for the right sized one when visitors come to stay.

Cheap - my digital cooking thermometer. No more guessing if meat is cooked through properly. It was less than a tenner.

Expensive - my Bissel. It's bloody brilliant. It vacuums and washes the floor at the same time. Chugs through pet hair with no problem at all and is super easy to rinse and clean the parts. It was very spendy though but worth every penny.

USB wall plugs.
De tangling brushes for dds.
Heated seats in my car.

Ziploc bag to keep small bits like lip balm, perfume, paracetamol etc so don't have to root around my bag.

Basically never took it out of my bag after flight last month, too handy.