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?

@Bloomburger. I downloaded the app & opened an account. You select your library and enter your library card number. It works with libraries worldwide. I hope you can get set up, you'll never look back! I've used it for years and even read all the crappy gossip mags!

Cordless Dyson.

Unlocking the front door first thing in the morning.

Reframing things/changing my reaction to things.
For example:
Scenario 1 crockery is piled haphazardly in the general vicinity of the dishwasher.
Previous reaction "ffs why are there plates on the side, why is it so difficult to open the dishwasher to see if there's space? Oh look, look at ALL THIS SPACE, God I must be so clever look at me, I can open the dishwasher door!"
Reaction now "adults clear up after themselves" (& I leave it)

Scenario 2 other people's lives/relationships taking up waaaaay too much headspace.
Previous reaction "why is she dating someone who seems to be embarrassed about her, as if she gets" sneaked out" in the mornings, don't think he even makes her a tea? "
Reaction now. " let them crack on"

Aaaaah so much more peaceful inside my head now, even if the dishes still pile up.

Oh I've just remembered a good one from a previous thread - hang up outfits or clothes that complement each other next to each other in the wardrobe.
Saves time in the morning picking something to wear.

Using baskets in the food cupboards - makes them easy to clean and sort as you pull them out.

^^

Great tip

If you have stocard and apple pay you can transfer your store cards onto Apple Pay.

Oh god, I need one of these robot vacuums. I thought they’d be really expensive.

I dust all the crumbs off my worktop for the robo hoover to deal with, then spray mop. Mines just a basic eufy.

My iPad (which my kids bought me as a birthday present last year, how did I manage before?)
Readly app
Various music apps
Reusable silicone baking sheets
Silicone spatulas
Hessian sacks for storing spuds in
My giant powerful fan which is on all year round for my awful hot flushes I have one in every room practically
Ditto water sprayer for same reason
Bose music system - just brilliant sound and I listen to a lot of music

Phone charger in the car, extra battery pack to charge my phone while out that i keep in my bag.

Little purse with pens, note book (plus crayons for dd) and lip balm so can always find it in my bag.

Keep bags packed for regular things, like a swimming bag for dds lessons, and ballet stuff etc.

Keep a spare pair of glasses in the car just in case.

Shoe basket near the door with every day pairs, other shoes separate. Means there aren't tonnes of shoes everywhere in the house!

Toilet seat for kids plus steps in both bathrooms, no need to take them up and down

Two laundry baskets - one is free to hang out the second load before the first one is packed away.

Always always unpack preschool bags at end of day. Always!

Keep a snack in my bag at all times (muesli bar)

Keep my ear phones in a separate zipped pocket so they don't go crusty etc.

Most recent - iPhone battery recharger I enjoyed my holiday mire knoeing my phone (camera now!!!) wasn’t going to run out if charge & it made the long day if travelling so much better knowing I could use my phone (MN) without worrying about the charge.

Enough cables of appropriate lengths

Not a ‘thing’ but ‘something’ that makes my life much better/easier - not having clutter & having a place for everything. Dealing with stuff as I go ( mail etc)!

Having a stock of loo rolls/kitchen towels/dishwashing liquid/toothpaste/deodorant etc.

Small clear bags in my bag (sold as pencil cases mostly I think) with different things in them (pain killers, plasters, hair ties, pens, all kinds of things!) & another with stamps, vouchers, gift cards, etc. I take bigger ones (originally John Frieda gift set bags) on holiday with ‘first aid’ ‘coughs & colds’ ‘Travel plugs/chargers/adapters etc’.

I love my various clear bags that always gave the same stuff in, easy to grab & goid to know I’ve got the essentials on a day out or holiday etc.

Sorting bed linen into sets and folding them into a pillow case before putting away in the airing cupboard.

Child is sick in the night? Just grab one of the kiddy pillowcases- no more hunting for a single sheet and new duvet cover.

Unexpected guests who need to stay over? Grab one of the grown ups pillow cases!

Every time there's an "I need to save money thread" I comment about all the money saving that can be done with a library card (borrow films, music, books, ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, newspapers, box sets, etc etc) and I always get quite a lot of criticism for suggesting a library as a money saving asset!

But you all love it! Using the library more keeps them open. So please everyone fall in love with your library. You don't even need to visit, you can do it all online.

I reckon my library saves my hundreds of pounds every year. (Former book and magazine addict)

BlackAmericanoNoSugar's sock system reminded me about my sheets system, different colours for different size beds; blue for single, white for double, grey or green for king. Makes changing sheets so much easier! No more trying to fit a double on a king bed.

A proper laptop backpack with enough room for overnight bags/clothes

A car cover for my (old, non fancy) car - no deicing needed after I whip it off.

Swapped a load of double wall sockets for plates which also have usb connections, so no need to find a plug adapter.

Multiple 3m charger cables around the house.

Lighting timers.

Koppla usb plug/full toiletry set that lives in my suitcase.

The longer charging cable for phone was a revelation. I have one on my was courtesy of Prime.
If you have dogs like mine, they take care
of crumbs on the floor.
Instant Pot is great, I didn’t know rice could taste so nice.

A 99p phone mount from eBay that clips onto the car air vents. That and a double usb cigarette lighter charger have travelled the world with me!

Which Dyson cordless do you have? I keep looking at them (& feeling faint at the cost) but am undecided - do they cope with hairy dogs??

@Plainandsimple. Me too.

Google Keep Notes app - such an easy system & very satisfying to tick off

Buying bread and / or milk every single time I go to a shop (I have teen boys!)

Getting all three DC to get everything ready the night before - packed lunch / sports kits / books, shoes, etc - to minimise any morning stresses

Watching the Moon - love your early cinema idea. Might steal it!

Don’t get a Dyson V6, load of crap- we’ve had the head thing replaced three times in two years. I think you need the V11 to avoid such problems, which cost about £650.

@goldpaperstars yes this!!! I am always rushing out the door so would often leave some toys on the floor etc. But then when I came back in it just looked so chaotic. Now I've realised it actually only takes 30 seconds to put them away and it will be so much calmer on my return!

My spray mop. So awesome.

On the keyless car entry. I need to lock my front door so my keys are in my hand as I leave the house so unlocking the car is no bid deal. Is this not the case with most people?

Not for me. My car key stays in my bag, my keys are on a different ring.

My list - keyless car with a 360 degree parking camera, Hive heating and Hue lights all controlled by Alexa or remotely. Cordless vacuum, Kindle, steam generator (I actually like ironing). Learning to fold a king size fitted sheet into a perfect square. Smart TV - Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube etc all in the one place. iPhone wallet, all our boarding passes at the touch of a screen. Mari Kondo folding. To name but a few.