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

The transparent baskets are a lot cheaper in the Range or B and M etc. There's probably delivery or click and collect by now!

Just use normal clothes pegs for food stuffs.

I recently got an overdoor paperwork organiser for the kitchen, so post coming in can be instantly categorised.

@Purplethrow Pyrex! I love our Pyrex roasting tins and baking trays, they are so much more durable than non stick ones whilst also not being sticky

@Purplethrow I've found just plain stainless steel roasting tins a revelation, ie not non-stick. I don't find things tend to stick but, if they do, you can scour them.

I've just bought some Masterclass non stick baking trays but I can't vouch for them yet as not yet tested.

The tray has rubber spots making it non slip. Currys sell them.
The euro scrubby is brilliant as it's non scratch. I use it to clean my ceramic hob and to clean the mugs that can't go in the dishwasher. It's very flexible.
The other thing I love is my Vileda spin mop. Best mop I have ever had. Dunelm sell them for £20

@Vulgarlady

Scalpel handle with 10a non sterile blades. Old school graphic designer here but seriously don’t know how our household would function without it

I see your scalpel and I raise you - one with a rubber grip handle and a proper fitted cover so you don't need a cork anymore. Don't know what they're called unfortunately.

@Bloodybridget

I don't get using clothes pegs to close bags, they don't actually seal them, so if the bag tips over or you want to keep something airtight they're no use, surely? I have wanted a non-slip tray for quite some time - bringing several hot drinks upstairs from our basement kitchen feels tricky these days.

See my post at 22.39 I got these trays in Currys. Cups stay put.

@Daffodilandviolet

Ladies.... your full attention please.....

A diamanté champagne stopper that pops on and off.

Don't be telling my I'm tacky... this is my favourite thing ever for leftover prosecco ! My only want in life is that I don't have a pink feathered robe to wear on Prosecco nights !

There you go...

@Purplethrow Pyrex trays are brilliant - easy to clean and truly dishwasher proof. I have two and they're used all the time for things like cheese on toast going under the grill or roasting vegetables.

For baking, I also have a couple of stainless steel tins, a bit like lasagne dishes, that I use for baking bread rolls, traybakes etc - much nicer than non stick and you can take a brillo pad to them if stuff does stick. They're cheap from Ikea, and I have some trays from Amazon for cookies etc.

The non stick liners are good for baking anything likely to stick. I've cut them to fit most often used tins.

@thinkingaboutLangCleg

Little mesh bags for keeping small things together in the washing machine, padded ones for fragile items, a stiffened one for bras. I know there are other handy items, but my mind's gone blank for the moment.

I'll sit down later with a cup of tea, read this thread and write a shopping list for myself!

I have those net bags but kept forgetting to use them. Never had any problems with anything being damaged.

Then I put my favourite bra in one and at the end of the cycle both the bag and the bra were irreparably shredded

@WantChewbaccaForGood

You definitely need one of those drinking fountains for cats.

If you don't have a cat then you need one of them, too.

Even we had cats we got then I've if those driving fountains. They'd frequently kick it or knock it whilst fighting and spill water all over the floor, knock their bedding into it or use it as a hairball repository. 9 times out of 10 they'd prefer to drink from the tap.

My most recent items are my Dymo labelling gun (love it) and a cable tidy box from Homebase. Much better than those spirally things that you put all your cables through

Living the dream here with these bad boys.... Also has stopped my under stairs cupboard-initiated tourettes🤣

www.wilko.com/command-damage-free-broom-gripper/p/0444594?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIloax_aXv7QIVzO7tCh1eHQeREAQYASABEgIqjfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Is a dymo labelling gun one of those things that prints a tiny 3D sticky label? I was just thinking about them the other day!

One of these expanding pot lid racks from IKEA -absolute game changer for baking tins

Well I read your thread title and came on to suggest bag clips 😂 I will be reading this thread with a notebook tomorrow!

Dymo label maker
Coconut husk pan scraper (great for getting bits off pans)
Skubb boxes for organising drawers
Clothes steamer
Really useful boxes (it’s true, they are!)
Baking tray liners (silicone)
Silicone spatulas for scraping
dutch jam jar scraper for getting last bits out if jars
Wooden toaster tongs
Long iphone cable at sofa and in bedroom. One per place i charge my phone
Keepcup
Washable sanitary pads, periods are now cosy
Ikea variera shelves for stacking double height (plus plastic boxes to organise pantry foods)
Portable minipower pack and mini iphone cable to charge on the go

Clear shoeboxes

Arses, the lot of you!!
£69 later in Wilkinsons and I still don't have the pirex baking trays or a usb lighter...of to Amazon!
My favourite buy this morning was an ever sticky lint roller - it's been rinsed 50 billion times in the last hour but I've actually got the dog hair off the dining table bench. Next to attack is the sofas.
I saw a debobbler and didn't buy it, now feel I need one

AmIAWeed. You need to go back out and buy a rubber broom. Sorry. Only cheap though.

@Fairydustrust I am the smug owner of a rubber broom already...though if there's a small handheld (dustpan and brush sized one) I'd be in my bloody element!!!

F

Extra mixing bowls-various sizes- I have never enough of them, when baking, doing salads or etc.

@AmIAWeed. I got a dustpan size one from sainsburys

Thank you, people: I have picked up some genius ideas here.
My offering: if you do ironing, buy hangers in a different colour for each person in your household and then it’s really easy for them to put their own ironing away/work out which is their school uniform etc in a shared wardrobe. I also have lots of little hooks (from Lakeland) that clip over my washing line, so clothes can dry on hangers and they take up less room than if they’re pegged on the line.