Little things for the house that make life easier - I’m doing a shop

[Dollywilde]

Right. I’m getting my act together. As I once again realised we’d run out of little clippy things for reasealing food packaging, it also occurs to me I keep meaning to buy an extra long iPhone cable so I can use my phone when it’s charging in the living room (I can rest it on the table but can’t look at it while sat on the sofa which is pissing irritating and means I’m constantly on 3% battery). I do try and avoid amazon so as not to help Jeff Bezos and his sickening wealth but sod it, I’m going to sit down this afternoon and do an Amazon shop for all those little things that make life easier but I never get around to buying. Basically all the stuff my mum used to go to Woolies for when I was little (RIP Woolies, gone but not forgotten)

So far my list is:
Kitchen clips
Extra long iPhone cable
Lighters - if I can buy them online? (I don’t smoke but I’m a candle obsessive and I am always running out of long matches)
An oven liner, threw mine away a couple of months ago as it was rank and now I need to clean the oven base instead which is much harder than running the liner through the dishwasher - sigh

Please could you suggest other things I need but can’t think of right this second? Much appreciated

Absolutely love our phone powerbank (it’s actually DSs but we all use it)

If my phone needs charging I’m not tied to sitting at the edge of the sofa. Many times Ds needs it for school, especially if he’s forgotten to charge his phone over night. Hospital treatment (have to go every 8 wks) take it with me so my phone is always topped up. Journeys where I’m using the phone as a sat nav (no fancy car, no charging points, no built in sat nav) now I don’t worry I’m draining my battery.

Best £10 (ish) we’ve spent and there are two charging ports, a bonus when we’re on our train journey travels

@Nat6999 I agree, storage boxed are a lifesaver. Not only for the fridge, but for organising all sorts of things.

IKEA blue bag instead of a washing basket. Rolls up and stuffs under the sink when I don’t need it rather than needing to find a home for an empty basket

@bemusedmoose With me, it's pens, pencils marker pens & rulers- I can never find them!

Leifheit products!
The Leifheit Supra rubber broom has been a godsend (if you have hard floors and a lot of pet hair, it is amazing). It comes with a telescopic handle which you can add other heads to. It's a click-in place system.
You can then swap the broom head over to the Leifheit clean away mop head which I attach magnetic clean & dust away cloths to for the bathroom floor (picks up all the gross bits and bobs). Then I put a wet floor wipe onto the head to clean/disinfect the floor. So easy.

OXO good grips compact crumb sweeping dustpan and brush set. If you live in a household of crumbs and messy chefs (DH and DS18, I am looking at you), then one of these crumb sweepers is indispensable. I use it all the time.

Oh goodness I've found my people!
Some fab ideas here!

I have ordered a curved one. I will try and find it and link it here so you can see what the connection is, I don’t know where to look for that.

Exfoliating gloves for potatoes is actually genius.

Wrapping paper tidy
www.amazon.co.uk/LPOQW-Accessoires-Storage-Wrapping-Organiser/dp/B08GCQ3HVF/ref=sr_1_48?dchild=1&keywords=wrapping+paper+tidy&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1609235706&sr=8-48

Plastic pan scrapers. How did I not hear about these earlier on in my life? Makes cleaning baked on stuff and blackened saucepans so much easier and quicker than using cleaning sponges and doesn’t scratch like wire wool too. Do yourself a favour and get some!

www.amazon.co.uk/Lodge-Scrapers-Polycarbonate-Multi-Colour-Pack/dp/B0039UU9UO?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Non-branded ones are probably a bit cheaper.

Can anyone recommend a brand of 3m iPhone cable? They are fab but I've bought a few & they always break quickly ☹️

I'd like to recommend this type of welly boot rack. We converted our garage to a playroom & so much better to have boots outside.

And y'all need an instantpot! And a label maker

A whiteboard for the kitchen wall to list things like this.

F

@speakout

I do try and avoid amazon so as not to help Jeff Bezos and his sickening wealth

55% of stuff on Amazon is sold by independant sellers.
Like me- I work full time making and selling on Amazon.
I pay tax, it pays my mortgage, I spend my earnings locally too.
It doesn;t all go to Bezos.

Me too. If you want to help independent sellers just look at the ‘sold by’ bit under the buy now box. It’ll say something like ‘sold by Xxx fulfilled by Amazon’ or just ‘sold by xxx’ - the ones to avoid are the ‘sold by Amazon’

Does anyone have the link for the Joseph Joseph cutlery organiser. I can see different ones on Amazon. 🤔

Reporting back in on rubber broom performance for @SwankySharky

It arrived this morning and the amount of hair it removed from the bedroom carpets is appalling/incredible depending on your point of view! The living room rug is my next target not sure there is room in the bin

Just one question: why, when you order one load of cleaning items and one load of fancy underwear, does the universe make the cleaning stuff arrive so much faster? It's a cruel world

@Rockbird

This is a great thread and I have a huge Amazon shopping basket now. One of the things I want is a set of utensils because what I have now is a mismatch of God knows what collected over the 20 years I've been married. Why does it feel like a betrayal to get rid of them? I feel properly guilty at the prospect

I have this issue too but I now keep them all in a utensil pot out of sight in the cupboard and accept I cannot just throw them away just because they don't match. 🤣🤣

We have USB plugs & they are very useful.

I would recommend a magnetic pen cup, attached to the side of the fridge / freezer. Very handy for sticking various pens etc in. Also, a spare door key resides in the bottom of ours, it's a memorable place but not obvious to anyone else, for emergencies.

OP if you don't want to use Amazon you might be able to get your things from a combination of Argos and Lakeland.

Clip for the wall for your broom (feels like it changed my life not falling over the broom every half hour)
New dustpan
Foil trays with lids for freezing left overs
Tape dispenser

Thought of another one - oxo good grips kitchen utensils. The veg peeler is excellent, and i’ve just got the masher too and it is the best one i’ve owned.

One of mine has been a wrapping paper storage bag. I got one from The Range a few years ago after Christmas and it is fantastic as stores paper, bows, tags, ribbon the lot. They are huge. And if super organised keep a pair of scissors and sellotape in there too!!

You can use a suit cover with a hanger inside and hang in a wardrobe.

Though I love the curtain hooks. I do similar with hair bands and a nail in the garage.

Yes to the camouflage stamper

I’m showing my age here.

No USB lighter in this house (I’m trying to reduce unnecessary electrical items) - I have a box of long tapers that are like very thin candles and I light them on the gas cooker

I’d never be without a can of WD40, a ball of string and a Stanley knife in the house though.

Get a rubber garlic peeler! This is a rubber or silicone cylinder in which you place garlic cloves. You rub the gadget between your hands, and the skin simply flies off the garlic! Also, get a Magican can opener, this removes the whole of the top of the can- ideal, especially if you like sharp edges !