Small changes that have made your life easier?

[LeonoraFlorence]

I’m feeling a bit flat today after the Christmas build up. Trying to think of small things I can do to make 2021 start off well. I’m planning a clear out of the girls toys which will help clear my mind.

Wondering what small changes you’ve all made to improve any aspect your life?

Only useful if you have one but my new washer has a timer. Amazing. I set it to come on 6am and then dry and sort the clothes before work. Set another to be done when I get home. It's stopped all the piles everywhere.

Make a list of all the birthdays you have to buy cards for over the next 12 months. Go and buy them all in one go plus stamps. Sit and put them in order. You can also address the envelopes and section them into months. Saves so much hassle through the year.

Buy a Eufy robot vac , I am having a nice long bath while he does the house work.

Put matching / sets quilt covers & sheets together in pillow case. .

Only buy black socks , no more faffing around looking for the other one of the pair.

Batch cook or at least make a bit to much of things like curry , stew , chilli so you can frezze it for a easy tea.

I love threads like this. Mine are tiny things, but have really helped:

Bought 12 pairs of identical knickers, once I knew I liked them. It means I've always got a pair I like. Slowly getting rid of all of the other not quite right ones!

Bought a basket to go on a shelf in the airing cupboard, with hand towels in. I'm a hobbit and usually end up with a pile of towels on my head. Now I can just grab the basket and choose a towel, without being bombarded.

Collected small narrow boxes from various places, and have used them to organise my sock drawer. Much easier now to find the right kind/colour of sock!

@Sunny371

Make a list of all the birthdays you have to buy cards for over the next 12 months. Go and buy them all in one go plus stamps. Sit and put them in order. You can also address the envelopes and section them into months. Saves so much hassle through the year.

I always think I should do this and never do...will try now!

I make sure I always get my big grocery shop online, I book the slots in advance and pop two bottles of whiskey in the trolley to secure it. Then update it the day before.

Also use Alexa (although previously a pad on the fridge) to note down a shopping list as things run out. Even my 3 year old adds to it 😂

An automatic bin is a game changer when cooking, no having to use my foot or keep having to wash my hands as I’ve touched it.

Having a Hoover upstairs and downstairs also helps (although the second Hoover is a cheapie one and not nearly as good!)

I bought a Roomba before Christmas, oh my goodness wish I had done it years ago, I set him off to clean whilst I do other stuff. The floors used to cause me so much angst. No more, I love my robot hoover.

Agree with only buying black socks, batch cooking and putting matching bedding in a pillow case.

I also meal plan every 2 weeks. Sometimes we swap things round if we don't fancy what's planned but on the whole it saves time, headspace (what are going to have for tea, do I need to get something out of the freezer) and money as we have a lot less food waste.

Just a simple thing but surprising how useful.
Keep a roll of sellotape by the fridge or in the kitchen. On a tape dispenser. Makes life so much easier sealing up packets of things, foodstuffs, without having to go to my cupboard and search for plastic containers with a lid that fits....

Tackle a room a day. Doesn’t matter if you don’t get everything done as it’ll come back around next week.

Set a timer on your phone for 30 minutes and just go tidy/clean in that room you picked. It’s AMAZING what you can get done in 30 minutes.

Do a load of laundry per day. Really keeps on top of it and stops Mt. Washmore forming.

100% get a robovac! Well worth the money and a total game changer.
Even if you don't buy all the birthday cards now, print out a list of birthdays and be prepared each month.
Meal plan - although l don't do this religiously, l get the weekly shop delivered and make sure there are enough meals for the week so l don't need to keep popping out. Use your freezer ...loads!

Doing each person's laundry individually. Saves all the sorting.

Rarely iron, only my work uniform.

Take sheets to laundry.

Leave bins at top of drive. Used to tidy them away and forget to put them out on bin day.

Online food order every week.

Walk to work, that's my exercise.

Put aside a portion before serving dinner, that's my lunch for next day.

Have very high expectations that family will all contribute to household maintenance.

Declutter, then a place for everything.

Lower standards of food. It's okay to have something from the freezer and chips occasionally.

This might sound silly but it’s really helped me. I’m a procrastinator and find that when I don’t have set times to do things they get put off and put off. I’ve lived my life like this for years and always pissed myself off like when it got to 7pm and I still hadn’t decided what to do for dinner, go to the fridge, realise I’ve nothing defrosted. Anyway this year I decided that dinner was going to be at 6 every night. Which meant I knew I had to start dinner at 5/5:15 and I also decided that every night when I start dinner I will set out the meat etc to be defrosted for the following evening. Same with things like going off somewhere. Unless it had a set start time I would just get distracted and then eventually set off too late and forget things etc. Now, as soon as I decide to go somewhere I decide what time I’m leaving the house so I know what time I need to start getting ready/when to pack etc. It’s helped me massively. Maybe everyone else worked this out years ago though

I think there's a similar thread on mumsnet classics that might be useful.

I've recently started grouping the cutlery together in the cutlery holder in the dishwasher (knives all together, forks together etc). Such a simple thing yet it makes me feel all organised and grown up!

A new one for me since we moved in September:
Avoid the “black hole effect” by organising low food cupboards with trays and baskets. That way you can pull out a tray of the things needed together on the table (e.g. breakfast or condiments) and easily access the less common baskets (e.g. baking supplies, tins).

Store my bath and hand towels rolled up rather than folded in the airing cupboard, much easier to find and takes up less space.

Also, keeping clothes that go together, together in the wardrobe (blue top/blue cardi, that layered greyish top/white cardi - I am the cardi queen).

Debra Searle suggests having the same thing for breakfast every day, then you don't need to think about it.

I plan out my whole year during the 'downtime' in the Christmas hols. I know that sounds crazy but I've been doing it for years and it saves loads of time during the year when things get hectic. Of course, you can't plan for everything but it gives you a head start - lots of things happen over and over again every year. Once I realised that, it was just a matter of being ready for them.

Meal plan. It doesn’t have to be exact To the day but something like have the ingredients in for 2 chicken dishes, 1 pasta, 2 veggie and so on.
It makes such a difference to freeing up my time.

Train the dc to start doing chores. It’s made such a difference to me now that dc are a little older and know how to sort out their laundry, tidy and hoover their rooms and have a ‘pitch in’ attitude towards keeping the house fairly clean.

The AnyList app.

Has revolutionised the irritating dynamic between my DH and I on food shopping. Not only can either of us update it with stuff to keep the rolling grocery thread going, you can also update it in real time if someone is at the supermarket so avoids that thing where you remember it last minute & they don’t see the text.

Posted too soon

Moonpig cards to people
Have groceries delivered
Batch cook and stick some in the freezer.
Don't iron.
Use a tumble dryer.

Have a dishwasher.
Buy ready made roll out pastry.
Use frozen veg/Yorkshire puds at least once a week.

Online groceries + meal plan: we always book the same timeslot each week, then write down the timetable for the week ahead, who’s at home for meals and what other things are happening then we plan all our meals for the week ahead (until the next delivery), adding ingredients to the online shop as we go. Very satisfying at the end to have the shopping sorted, and 1 sheet of paper showing everything that’s happening for the next week, including meals. Add a note for each evening if anything needs defrosting for next day. Also the DC have been trained to look at that rather than constantly ask what we’re having for dinner!

Working from home: I get up half an hour earlier and do all the daily jobs (emptying dishwasher, put washing on and then hang out, empty bins if needed, etc) plus 1 other job (eg clean downstairs loo). Then I start work without that nagging feeling of all the jobs I still have to do later (and seeing the mess in the kitchen every time I go to get a drink).

Sorting out laundry: I no longer fold or iron anyone else’s clothes - just put on their bed for them to sort themselves. Or, even better, get the children to sort into piles and distribute.

Can anyone find the classics thread for this? I NEED all the help I can get !
I bought birthday cards for 6 months last year but then of course didn't do H2
Tidying seems beyond us too. Husband thinks I'm lazy but he's naturally messy too so now too are our children and I don't want to saddle them with this lack of tidiness for their futures

Not a housekeeping one but a saving one.

I overpay my council tax and then save. OK this is how it works.

Say your council tax is £60 a month pay £100 a month, as soon as the CT is paid up for the year then start putting the £100 a month into a savings account.

When I was working I kept a stash of hair elastics and earrings in my car.

Put regular purchases on an automated delivery, you will get an email before hand so you can cancel it but otherwise you get the delivery, I never run out of coffee now.

@polkadotpjs
Is it this one? www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/3932480-Life-hacks-day-to-day-time-saving-tips-common-sense-to-you-but-not-to-others