Life hacks, day to day time saving tips, common sense to you but not to others?

[Namechange8123]

I've had a search and can only find (years) old threads along these lines, so I've started a fresh one.

What are your day to day life hacks that make things easier? Could be common sense to you, but others could benefit?

My contributions are freezing lemons and limes to double up with your ice in your gin, layer the cot sheets in DC cot with another sheet and bed mat so if they have an accident, you whip the top layer off and don't have to remake the bed, tin foil behind the radiators...

What do you have?

@Sgtmajormummy - where did you get the scissor/spatula utensil from?

Mine was from a mail order company but Amazon has them.pizza scissors

Thank you!

put a few bin bags in the bottom of your bin under the bin liner that's in it, and they are there ready when you need to empty the bin.

I think some of the other ones were in chat before OP - we need to ask HQ to move this over so it doesn't get lost

what is fridge gravel?

I cut pizza and quiche before I cook them. Then you get gnarly bits which are the best (says me only). Plus my kids ddo their own laundry. (they're mid teens).

Also. Cook peas in a hot frying pan with the lid on. Or if I'm using the oven I chuck the peas in there for the last five minutes. Depends on how often you eat peas though....

If you’ve got a meal in the oven and need beans/peas/sweet corn etc you can put them in a Pyrex jug on the bottom of the oven and they’ll cook at the same time. Works for gravy too.

Obvs add water to the veg.

You can batch cook stuffing balls & freeze in Tupperware.

You can buy de-frosting trays, it’s just a rectangle of black aluminium but things defrost really quickly on it. Some aren’t dishwasher safe so be careful.

Wear a miners helmet to bed. Not only does it provide emergency light in the event of a power cut, it also protects against unexpected falls of plaster from the ceiling

I've never had an odd sock situation. How? All socks go in a zip laundry bag, then pegged in pairs to dry.

So that's my tip. Laundry bags. Great for camps too. I have giant ones from when I was at Sandhurst. You pop all your green kit in a named bag and share the machine with another cadet. Grab your names laundry bag and job's a good 'un.

I use those same laundry bags (renamed now) for DC camps.

Don’t bother buying a new carpet. Just get some of those square samples and strap to the bottom of your feet - voila! New carpet feel without the cost!

Mine is random but I did it today and DD was quite impressed - when you've liquidised or blended something put a bit of washing up liquid and water in the liquidiser and turn it back on - you don't spend ages rinsing then as it gets in all the nooks and crannies!

Recreate the experience of owning a boat by standing in the shower tearing up £50 notes.

how many more Viz Top Tips can we remember

And another one. Use a small paint brush to dust nooks and crannies you can't get to. I've just used a very stiff one to scrub a narrow gap in my shower tray (the only alternative is to squeeze a cotton bud down there).

How on earth can you cut a quiche before you cook it? It’s liquid!

for kids painting sessions put the water in ice cube trays so you have clean water for each colour - keeps the paints clean and the light colours do not get contaminated.

@yesbutno I do that with my slow cooker too. If my liner leaks and I end up with any bits burnt on, I fill with hot soapy water and afterwards it just wipes off!

Am I the only one worrying about whoever it was who writes out the cards for the year ?
What if someone dies ?
I think I'd find it very depressing tearing up their card 4 months later.

Keep a xmas notebook to jot down gift ideas throughout the year. It's especially useful when the dcs see something in a shop or at a friend's house they like, then xmas shopping is easier.

I was about to post this. Rather than a notebook, I keep the list on my phone/laptop. I also set up camelcamelcamel alerts for the items, so manage to get a lot of them at bargain prices. By the time Christmas comes, a fair chunk of it is already sorted, and for cheaper than it would have been otherwise!

Create an enduring “list“ book for holidays or activities to help with packing and planning.

For example we usually have a couple of weeks on the beach in the med. I have a list in the list book for beach holidays, it helps me to pack and then when I get home I update it with anything I didn’t wear or needed more of. Then the next year I refer to the list again.

Works for loads of things - having a list of meals to refer to when meal planning, birthday party planning, christmas, camping etc

Also once a week add a regular 30 mins into your diary to have some planning time.
I have another list (stored on my phone) and I work through it in those allotted 30 mins.

At the moment it’s got on it -
Check up coming birthdays and events. Check online banking is rallying with my budget.
Make a meal plan.
Check nursery app for updates/events.

I usually do this on supermarket shopping day and it helps with making my list.

@ChocolatelyAsFuck thank you!

I have going away bags stocked with duplicates of things I use.

Eg a wash bag with toothpaste, face cleanser, make up remover, etc in it. I have a makeup bags with dupes in it too. When I finish a mascara I take the travel one for every day and buy a new one for the travel bag - keeps it fresh.

I have a first aid type travel bag with sanitary towels, paracetamol, anti histamines etc.

One with duplicates of all my chargers (phone, kindle etc).

When I am going away I just need to pick up the bags of stuff I need and I know I have everything. I started it when travelling lots for work but keep ii up even now I travel less.

Do not allow plastic containers into the cupboard without their lids. If one half gets broken, don't faff around, just recycle the lot. No one needs to spend ages looking for a lid that's already been thrown away.

After washing swim kit/dancing kit/PE kit etc, don't put it away in drawers, you will only have to get it out again in a few days (well, once lockdown is over anyway!). Pack it straight back into the relevant sports bag then it's ready to pick up and go. Put items like goggles, wash kit, dance shoes etc straight back in the bag after use.

Try to store items near where you use them, they're more likely to get put away if it's convenient!

@BarbaraofSeville I have the Top Tips book so I could go on for ages

Love these!!