I'm thinking about things that might improve my life

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

I'm wondering about small purchases that might improve my life. So far I'm thinking:
A couple more phone chargers - one to keep downstairs and one for work

A small, non-pod coffee machine for the bedroom. Any recs?

A plain black cashmere scarf, so I don't need to have to match to cost and/or outfit!

What small things improve your life and might improve mine too?!

Stationary drawer - stamps, envelopes, pens, batteries, tape, scissors, glue (both scotch and parcel).

Maintenance stash with spares of every lightbulb in the house. Basic tool kit. Tube of polyfilla and trowel, some spare paint for touch ups/quick repairs.

One spare shampoo, conditioner, facial wash, deodorant, etc. The stuff I NEED on a daily basis. Order replacements as soon you start using the spare.

Coloured towel set per person. This one is a new one for me. I like Ikea's.

Hooks everywhere. A big shelf in the utility room.

I do at least one load of laundry most days so it doesn't pile up.

Similar to a PP, I throw out all my socks and underwear every two years and buy new ones.

Buy birth control pills online and in 6-month packages.

Deal with mail straight away, i.e. record appointments, pay bills, toss away or file same day. Saves a LOT of clutter.

Swapped to a GP clinic that has a daily walk-in clinic, rather than the closer, much harder to book GP.

I loved my spin dryer but it broke down & now I don’t have room for it anyway. White knight stopped making them last year.

It’s things like extra oven shelves that can make all the difference.

When I’ve fitted the freezer I’m going to cut down the shelf to make an extra shelf in the Tupperware cupboard for the scales 🙌

I don't have any tips apart from every sunday I put together a chicken tray bake ready to be cooked on Monday

That’s such a good idea-what do you put in it? Do you just make it up in the baking tray, cover it with foil and leave in the fridge?

Stationary drawer-stamps, envelopes, pens, batteries, tape, scissors, glue (both scotch and parcel).

Drawers really shouldn’t be stationary as they need to open and close .

@fedup21 😂😂

If you have asthma, like me, keep a spare part-used ventolin in the car/handbags you use frequently/coat pocket. Can never be too careful with asthma.

I keep snacks bars, crisps & juice cartons for packed lunches (not all used all the time) in a box on top of the cupboard.

I have a box of birthday cards ready to use at short notice with a book of first class stamps.

A second freezer.

Lots of underwear & comfortable bras (although need one more).

What I consider my weekly wardrobe - black jeans, blue jeans, muliple plain t-shirts, couple of hoodies & a cardigan. I can grab all quickly for the same section of my wardrobe for rushed mornings.

Toothbrushes in both bathrooms.

Piano lessons are paid in cash weekly so take out at the beginning of the month & keep in a kitchen cupboard.

Dc have a school uniform drawer each which includes socks/tights.

Lots of hairbrushes!

Oh I love stuff like this!

• A cordless Dyson mounted on the wall in the kitchen - means I can grab it easily
• Phone chargers in (almost) every plug socket
• A mini version of my make up bag in my car at all times (plus hairbrush, hair ties and pack of wipes)
• Hand cream in a dispenser next to the sink
• Second fridge freezer in the utility room
• Weekly scheduled car cleaning (inside and out) Someone comes to the house to do it before the start of each week

I've a few Contigo mugs in stainless steel. They're dishwasher proof -a must for me.
Expensive but worth it.

We ditched all our hangers for velvet effect ones so my clothes don't slip off. They all match, are super slim so we get more on the rail and weren't expensive.

Chest freezer in the garage. Tested to work down to - 10 degrees so no worries if it's a cold winter.

Extra shelf in one of our kitchen base units. Enabled me to sort out our baking trays and make better use of the space.

Watching this with interest.

Top of my list is a Victorinix Swiss jelly card. So useful when you need scissors, tweezers, a knife etc - I always have one with me.

Cashmere wrist warmers from Turtle Doves to keep me warm while letting me get on with things.

Tape on a dispenser - game changing for wrapping gifts.

I don’t have lots of charging cords. I should get more. One is not practical.

Prep Monday's dinner on Sunday, so today I've done bolognase sauce in the slow cooker some of which I'll make a cannelloni with for tomorrow and some will go in the freezer for another time. Last week I did a beef stifado in the slow cooker, then reheated in a pan on Monday.

More than a weeks worth of school uniform for DD so if it's a crazy busy weekend there's no pressure to iron shirts and cardis as there's still a couple of days worth done.

Pot of coins in the pantry which DD can help herself to for all the school things (£1 for cake sale, non uniform day etc)

Meal planning. Always cook double where it's a freezable meal.

Home delivery for everything. Food, clothes etc.

Stash of birthday, leaving, new home etc cards in a box. Anyone can help themselves when needed!

Oh and I've just bought a handheld Shark hoover, best £100 for a long time. Super easy to clean up the mud etc after dog walks.

Great thread OP!

I measured the space in my chest freezer and bought some cotton canvas bags which fit nicely when filled with packets of frozen food. I now have separate bags of fish, veg and bread products which I can haul up to find things. I am short, and handles are so helpful!

For years I used to cool scones/buns on an old wire tray which was slightly too small when batch baking, and needed scrubbing by hand. I have now bought TWO slightly smaller stainless steel trays. They give more cooling area between them yet can fit in the dishwasher. Such a luxury.

A really simple thing which has helped was to buy a spare potato peeler...I was always losing it, or having to fish it out of the dishwasher!

Another one recommending Contigo travel mugs, they sell them in 2 packs in Costco!

Oh and baskets for in kitchen cupboards and the fridge. So much easier and quicker to pack shopping away and keep the cupboards tidy. I have one for crisps, treats, spices, vegetables etc. Then a couple in the fridge for cheese, yogurts etc.

We ditched all our hangers for velvet effect ones so my clothes don't slip off. They all match, are super slim so we get more on the rail and weren't expensive.

I did this too recently. Looks so much more streamlined.

Great thread. Marking my place to read later!

Work from home at any opportunity and batch cook a massive chilli using ready chopped onions, mushrooms and peppers from Morrison’s. Freeze 12 portions or so and one night a week dinner is sorted. The next time you work from home repeat for bolognaise.

Handbag organiser that keeps everything in place, and you can swap quickly.between different bags.

Basket in our (tiny!) hallway, so that anything needing to go upstairs can get dumped in there and taken up when we do kids' bedtime.

Evernote app, so that pretty much all paperwork can be photographed and then filed virtually rather than cluttering up the house.

Also, not a purchase, but Kondo-style storage and folding generally - I can't believe the difference the vertical clothes folding makes to being able to find stuff (makes it worth the extra time folding the laundry) and also boxes within drawers/shelves to contain different stuff....I've just deployed an old laundry gels box in my pull-out pantry shelves to house my stash of chocolate bars kondo style, and it's made me unfeasibly happy

Oh, and I'm another massive fan of the flock hangers!

Sundae spoons (teaspoons with a long handle). Bought them for spoon feeding DC1 who’s now 21.
Much easier for measuring, scraping out jars and keeping your fingers clean.
Longer handles mean you have greater dexterity while eating, so life feels a little more elegant!

I bought a mixed size pack of re-usable elastcated plastic covers (Lakeland) for any bowls/cups/dishes/plastic food containers (with missing lids - v common in my house!) in which you want to store leftovers or unused ingredients in the fridge. V cheap and, I've found, v useful!

Would love a filter coffee maker that can be set to come on at a certain time and keep warm all day - not sure if this actually exists ?

I wear 70 denier black pop socks under trousers for work. Every other September, when they come into the shops, I buy several packs. No need for sock matching, either after washing them or in the morning. Chuck 'em in the drawer and just grab two when needed.

One of these. Junk mail, old letters, bills, no need to shred or chop up with scissors to get rid of personal details, one quick stamp and the information is obliterated. Much easier.