If you could share one household tip/life hack, what would it be?

[Dandelion78]

Mine would definitely be that drying clothes in sunlight gets rid of tomato/sauce stains. Am weaning my second child and it's a bloody lifesaver. No more soaking things for hours that still come out with orange marks on them.

What other gems are there that I need to know?

@Babieseverywhere

To quickly dry clothes inside Place a dehumidifier in the same room or underneath your wet clothes.

Dehumidifiers cost pennies to run even 24 hours a day. Plus they keep the house feeling warmer (aka less damp) too. We run our 24 hours a day in winter and a few hours a day in summer and saw no noticable increase in electricity bills.

I dry all our laundry on hangers or IKEA small octopus hangers (for underwear) on a ceiling rack hung over our landing/stairs. I keep it permanently up high and use a clothes hook from my perching chair to put laundry up and take down.

A metal ceiling rack can take three large loads of standard clothes laundry. Or one load of towels. Or two loads of bedding.

ours set on fire in the middle of the night - i dont dry anything in the house or use a dehumidifier now.

@Bungalowlady

Don't spend a fortune on cleaning products for a textured wet room floor. Nothing bloody works

Even the bloody stuff that you buy from the manufacturer doesn’t work. Please someone, invent an alternative flooring !

@iminaglasscaseofemotion

Can we have a piccie of your paving slabs please? I'm intrigued.

@Harmonypuss

5 best cleaning items I've found...

Steam Cleaner
Microfibre Cloths
White Vinegar
"Pink Stuff"
"Elbow Grease" (both the yellow spray stuff and your naturally occurring elbow power)

Yes, technically 6 but I find you can do virtually anything with a combination of these

I’d add decent washing up liquid to that list too. Put a drop of fairy on a greasy food stain before putting it on your usual wash cycle. So much better than dedicated and expensive products.

If your children's schools INSIST on proper name labels and you have more than one child, put one child's name before the surname and one after, so that you can just fold/unfold the label to show the correct name. For instance Jane Smith Simon, can be Jane Smith or Smith Simon.

If your kids have packed lunch make 3 days worth of sarnies on Sunday evening and 2 days on weds. So much easier than every morning

You can even freeze for a whole week if the fillers are freezable.

When o. A picnic freeze water in 500 mil bottles. Act as ice blocks and you can drink it too.

If you are having a bad day and can't face the washing up put it in the dishwasher and run it 3 times.

I’ve read this three times, but still don’t understand it.

Buy 12 pairs of the same socks for your children. Don't be tempted by all the patterns! You will save weeks of your life here...😆

Don't have duplicates of anything in your kitchen. But have a spare tin opener squirrelled away somewhere.
Also, don't have too much stuff.

Don't let housework rule your life In the words of my Granny "the hoose will be there when you're no "

To clean textured floors - protect adjacent floors and flood the floor with diluted cleaning product. Agitate the "puddle", I.e. scrub and swoosh around. Leave to dwell. Then agitate again, then remove the dirty water with wet and dry vacuum, you can use a mop if you don't have one, but rinse in clean water between every wipe. Repeat as necessary, then rinse with plenty of water. This is how the professionals clean; they also use powered scrubbers. Once the floor is clean, don't let the dirt build up too much before cleaning again. The advantage of textured floors is that they aren't so slippery when wet, but they are a swine to keep clean.

I’m in NZ - flies can be a problem in summer.

Rather than filling up your freezer with rubbish, make sure your outside bin has a lid, and then use one of those clips for opened food packets. Clip the bigger bag you decant the kitchen rubbish into shut.

No fly can get through two barriers. No maggots, and no freezer full of crap.

Washing up liquid is the only effective stain remover on clothes.

Koyto

Will be trying this, could be a game changer in our boy heavy house 🤢

"Rather than filling up your freezer with rubbish, make sure your outside bin has a lid, and then use one of those clips for opened food packets. Clip the bigger bag you decant the kitchen rubbish into shut."

When I didn't have an outside space I kept my food waste in the fridge.

Help! I've got an infuriating garage sticker on the inside of my rear window. I've tried some goo off stuff with a plastic scraper but the fucker won't budge. It's right in my eyeline and it's black. I don't want to go apeshit with a scrubber as it's on the heating elements. Any cures? I know what is supposed to help but my car is nowhere where I could plug a hairdryer in 😡

If you are having a bad day and can't face the washing up put it in the dishwasher and run it 3 times.

I don't understand this either

If you never put things down, but always put them away, you'll never have to tidy up again. Works as long as the whole household does this!

Any tips for cleaning solid beech worktop? I’m terrified that any products will damage it. It’s treated, but I’ve never owned a house before now and I always wanted wood worktop, now that I have one with my new kitchen I’m scared to use it 😅

@lolacola77

Help! I've got an infuriating garage sticker on the inside of my rear window. I've tried some goo off stuff with a plastic scraper but the fucker won't budge. It's right in my eyeline and it's black. I don't want to go apeshit with a scrubber as it's on the heating elements. Any cures? I know what is supposed to help but my car is nowhere where I could plug a hairdryer in 😡

There is a spray product that's aptly named Sticky Stuff Remover - excellent at removing, well, sticky stuff .

If you are having a bad day and can't face the washing up put it in the dishwasher and run it 3 times.

Is this a magic thing? Like, turn clockwise three times, throw orange peel over your shoulder and you will see your true love (or a bin).

@Mummabear89 - can you please clarify putting stuff through the dishwasher three times for us confused souls?!

[quote Iminaglasscaseofemotion]@EatTheRich, here you go. The stencil was from dizzyduckdesigns.[/quote]
Bloomin' lovely!

@HectorPlasm

Lockdown has taught me that if I collapse need urgent medical help at the foot of the stairs, I'm as good as dead - everything placed there is ignored

LOL!!!

@stillcrazyafterall

When getting name tapes for clothing have them like this:

S. Smith. J.

Then for Sam's clothes fold under the J and for Jimmy's fold under the S.

My mum did that for us 30 years ago - genius!

Ok so I think I’m adulting wrong as I’ve tried some of these and..

• White vinegar - house smelled like a chip shop
• Talcum powder at the beach - thick white paste a la Ross from Friends
• Plug unblocker thing - lots of poking about but drain still blocked