January life hack thread!

[Ohdoleavemealone]

I love these threads. Looking to share tips on how to make your life easier.
I started the "organised mum method" for cleaning in the summer whivh has slipped but I will get back on it when the kids get back to school and we all get back into routine.

Also reducing the cooking as much as I can this year. Tonights tea was meatloaf. Tomorrow I will crumble it into some tinned toms with herbs and pour over pasta. Easy and quick.
Similar ideas are shredding chicken and using for enchilada, pie, faita, curry etc. Quick adds to sauce to make life easier.

What do you do that saves you time and headpsace?

Sorry for all the typos! Qucik typing!

Did it again! I wish there was a bloody edit function.

Any roast on a Sunday becomes a curry, risotto, soup, stock for various meals. Also some meat will be packed lunch fillings.

Keep cleaning products in the bathroom and clean after a shower - takes 5 minutes to keep on top of a different area of the bathroom daily.

Always go to bed with a clear kitchen - having pets has meant we had to do this and its made a huge difference.

Never leave a room empty handed, there is always something belonging elsewhere.

Also, I've spent some time organising my cupboards so things are easier to access and I don't have to make a mess trying to get at something.

Make more dinner than you need so it becomes lunch the next day, if suitable.

Batch cook things like onions so you can just grab a pack out the freezer when you need it.

I've stopped ironing anything except DHs work shirts. The world hasn't stopped like I thought it may .

Shamelessly placemarking, I love these threads OP

@laughoutquiet

Make more dinner than you need so it becomes lunch the next day, if suitable.

Batch cook things like onions so you can just grab a pack out the freezer when you need it.

I've stopped ironing anything except DHs work shirts. The world hasn't stopped like I thought it may .

I only iron the kids uniform.

Did it today - schools probably wont go back now!!

@tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz

Shamelessly placemarking, I love these threads OP

Me too!

Make one freeze one.
Rukmini Iyar roasting tin meals.
Make a weekly menu and write shopping lists at the same time
Lower housework standards drastically

I love TOMM but adhd means I struggle to stick to things.

A tip I got from here last year was to buy all my cards at the start of the year from Whistlefish. Will definitely do that again!

Don’t go to bed on an argument or an untidy kitchen.

If it’s hard to keep tidy, it’s got too much stuff. Have a proper clear out and then “a place for everything and everything in its place”. Be ruthless. If you find yourself saying “well it might come in handy one day” and it’s something you’ve not touched or thought about for six months or it’s one of six tin openers, get rid of it.

We have a chalkboard (actually just a sticker) by the kitchen door, which we generally use. If anything special is needed for school on a certain day, I gets written on the board. Then they check on the way out.

Hasn't stopped my youngest forgetting her lunch twice, but weve remembered everything else.

My top tip is to use washing baskets when tidying up. This works best when your house is a total tip!
If, like mine, your children like to distribute their belongings far and wide, give each one an empty washing basket and ask them to walk around each room and collect anything that belongs in their bedroom, then take them and put them away in their rooms.
If they are not there, or too young to help and you’re doing the tidying up, put a washing basket in the middle of the room you’re tidying for anything that doesn’t belong in that room. Then walk around the house putting it all back in the right room afterwards. It saves wandering around the house putting stuff away and getting distracted.

@1lbperweek

I love TOMM but adhd means I struggle to stick to things.

A tip I got from here last year was to buy all my cards at the start of the year from Whistlefish. Will definitely do that again!

I do this every January! They've a sale on for any 10 for £8 which is a bargain for such lovely cards. I think the code WELCOME10 gets you 10% off which offsets the delivery a bit.

@tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz trying to remember which of the Father’s Day cards I got my dad last year to avoid a repeat

Earlier in the year I emptied a cupboard under the stairs that was full of junk and made it into a mini pantry. I have a little stock of 1 or 2 of everything imperishable we use, toothpaste, tinned food, cereal, shampoo, washing powder, Calpol etc. I would highly recommend, it's cut down on the amount of times I "nip" to the shop for a couple of items and end up spending £50. It's also been invaluable when we had to self-isolate, and over Christmas when it was snowing and I couldn't be bothered to leave the house! Whenever I use anything from the pantry I just make a note and buy it next time I'm shopping.

Another one - I’m not a billionaire so I don’t have a spare room I can dedicate to just wrapping presents but I do have a box under the sofa with paper, tags, cards, tape, a pair of scissors, a naice pen, and a box of fripperies like ribbons. It also has gift bags, Jiffy bags, bubble wrap and I’ve started hoarding all the Amazon gift bags we’ve accumulated. No more hunting through cupboards for wrapping paper or wandering round the house searching for scissors whilst miming scissors

@divafever99

Earlier in the year I emptied a cupboard under the stairs that was full of junk and made it into a mini pantry. I have a little stock of 1 or 2 of everything imperishable we use, toothpaste, tinned food, cereal, shampoo, washing powder, Calpol etc. I would highly recommend, it's cut down on the amount of times I "nip" to the shop for a couple of items and end up spending £50. It's also been invaluable when we had to self-isolate, and over Christmas when it was snowing and I couldn't be bothered to leave the house! Whenever I use anything from the pantry I just make a note and buy it next time I'm shopping.

I would love a pantry but our cupbard houses the boiler!

[quote 1lbperweek]@tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz trying to remember which of the Father’s Day cards I got my dad last year to avoid a repeat [/quote]
Ha! I do this alllll the time

Or, I buy funny rude cards then remember the friend I had in mind have kids able to read so can't give them out after all!

I read a tip on Insta that when you have a spare 5 minutes you just walk about with a bin bag emptying bins and chucking stuff out

Always make lunches the night before. Saves time in the morning or saves money that would be spent in sandwich shop.

I've stopped ironing anything except DHs work shirts. The world hasn't stopped like I thought it may

In this bit of the world men can iron their own bloody shirts and the world won’t end.

I am going to get a folding basket to help put away washing and also the bits lying round the house that need to go back upstairs!

@Newstart20 I clean the bathroom before I shower - in the nude 😂
No worry about getting clothes wet, and if I feel a bit grubby from doing it Im about to get clean anyway. I'll clean the shower cubicle last and rinse it off as I'm having a shower