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?

@Shodan

I have a plastic boxes in the fridge. All ingredients needed for tea, mon/fri go in the boxes on the day the shopping arrives

This is absolute genius.

@Shodan this is fantastic, what boxes do you use?

@joystir59

Don't have more than one child. Teach that one child to make its own breakfast and good tea/coffee asap.

Mum..... is that you?

I went for reflexology once and the lady told me whatever she massaged on my feet I would be breathing out in about 30 minutes. So if it was garlic oil I'd have garlic breath.
It was more than 20 years ago so I might not be 100% in what she said though.

Thank you chocolate - that makes sense. I had reflexology once and was very impressed with what the girl picked up about my general health problems.

[quote TwoLeftSocksWithHoles]@Janaih

That's a great idea, I have a similar issue with forgetting where I have put things down. So now I take a picture of the item on my phone (my phone is on a lanyard to minimise the possibility of me mislaying it), you need to be far enough away so that you can see the context of its location.

It's great it's like having a Google Street Map of the inside of your own home, you can Zoom in etc. and everything. Now when I think "where did I put the iron" I only have to flick through 3 or 400 thumbnail pictures to find it. It's a real time saver for me.[/quote]
This made me lol

In lieu of marrying a tradesman, or somebody who has the slightest ability with DIY, or even someone who has the foresight to predict that stirring something on the stove then dawdling across to put the stirring spoon in the sink will leave a trail of drops...
I married a psychiatrist so when he's driven me bloody mad he'll at last be of use!

My other tip is, if you move into a house (eg the one said psychiatrist lived in alone* for some years) just clean the frosted shower doors with soap, water and a squeegee.
If you get carried away one day and use something that removes lime scale you'll find they're not frosted shower doors...

Actually, I solved that (gradually) by keeping a mixture of washing up liquid and vinegar in a squeezy bottle and applying it over the inside of the door before showering.
Once I'm in the shower, I rinse it off while my conditioner's soaking in and squeegee afterwards.

*No; I have nooo idea why either

I love him really.

[quote Mummyyyyyyyyyy]@Shosha1

Everyone has a basket in main room ( we have whicker ones) anything left lying around at night is slung in. Emptied after breakfast each day.

I tried this but no one ever emptied it, just got bigger & bigger basket. [/quote]
We tried this too after reading a similar tip in TV Chat but found they were really too small for us, so we now have a number of wheelie bins in the sitting room, these things are freely available, in fact we found ours in the street. An added bonus is, they have numbers on so each bin is allocated to a member of the family.

The downside is, in our family of eight, we now can't really get into the room very easily and so have to sit squashed up in the hall but with the sitting room door open so we can see the telly.

Right now, oats in a sock in a bath to soothe chicken pox itching.

To stop the bed sheets coming off buy deep ones 32cm ( Dunlem do them )
It took me to age 30 to realise that fitted bed sheets come in different depths and the standard size ones don’t generally stay on the bed properly

I’m forever loosing my phone ( have it on silent)
I bought a Tile to put on my keys and download the app to my iPad
Now if I lose my phone I can press the tile and my phone will ring
If I don’t have my keys I can use the iPad to make it work

@BJHair
I have been meaning to search for deep fitted sheets as fed up of struggling to get mine back on when they flip up at night.

Thank you!

Slice tomatoes with a bread knife.

I haven't RTFT so hopefully this hasn't been mentioned but I'd be interested to know if you can turn whites back to white? My now ex put a load of darks in with some brand new white T shirts and sports bras and they are now dirty grey looking :-(

Dylon make some stain removers alongside their dye range but they also do a pre dye lightening product if the stain is really bad.

As well as training your child to make tea/coffee also instruct them in using a corkscrew.

If you happen to have a left handed child then teach them to hold the corkscrew steady and turn the bottle.

One from my, now departed, alcoholic mum. When you pack groceries at the supermarket put the white wine (or gin) in with the frozen foods so it is chilled by the time you get home.

In winter when u can't put washing outside, Keep your airing cupboard empty , put a load of coat hangers in it and hang your washing in there to dry. Not only is it better than having stuff all over your radiators, clothes dry without needing to be ironed, It saves using a tumble dryer so better for the environment and you can leave it in there as long as you need as is hidden - this has made my life easier for sure. I even do in summer if weather is looking iffy

I don't have an airing cupboard.

BalloonSlayer Just got to your time saving post. It made me laugh a lot.

See this is the kind of simple yet brilliant tip im looking for!

don't marry a hoarder.....seriously!

@Iminaglasscaseofemotion

The yellow spray called elbow grease is fantastic at removing stains on white clothes. Spray it on, leave it to soak, stick it in the wash. Even works on white trainers!

Method multi surface spray in tangerine (I think) is the beast kitchen surface cleaner ever. Even takes the splattered oil off the tiles behind the cooker.

Steam mop is a must for laminate floors.

Plants can change the old look of a room. Even if you like the minimalist look a wee floor plant just finishes the room off!

A big blanket thrown on the couch is great for hiding stains, especially on the arms, or just for protecting it.

I painted my really boring grey cement slabs in the back garden last year with white paint and a stencil, and it made it look so much better. I know its a but Pinterest naff but we couldn't afford to replace them and I was so bored during lockdown 🤣. It only took me a couple of hours and about 40/50 quid and everyone comments on how good it looks.

Use a fluffy sock to clean venetian blinds.

When you are cleaning the bath, do it after someone has been in for a nice hot one. So much easier to take any grime off.

Can you recommend which one to buy please??

@Iminaglasscaseofemotion

The yellow spray called elbow grease is fantastic at removing stains on white clothes. Spray it on, leave it to soak, stick it in the wash. Even works on white trainers!

Method multi surface spray in tangerine (I think) is the beast kitchen surface cleaner ever. Even takes the splattered oil off the tiles behind the cooker.

Steam mop is a must for laminate floors.

Plants can change the old look of a room. Even if you like the minimalist look a wee floor plant just finishes the room off!

A big blanket thrown on the couch is great for hiding stains, especially on the arms, or just for protecting it.

I painted my really boring grey cement slabs in the back garden last year with white paint and a stencil, and it made it look so much better. I know its a but Pinterest naff but we couldn't afford to replace them and I was so bored during lockdown 🤣. It only took me a couple of hours and about 40/50 quid and everyone comments on how good it looks.

Use a fluffy sock to clean venetian blinds.

When you are cleaning the bath, do it after someone has been in for a nice hot one. So much easier to take any grime off.

Sorry, which steam mop!

@maggiethecat
Google deep fitted sheets
Ideally you want anything between 32Cm & 40cm deep - 40cm deep are the best as they fit right under the mattress
Amazon do them
Can’t believe I spent years waking up and fixing the sheets 😂

@TwoLeftSocksWithHoles trick is if not emptied tip into a black bag and hide. They soon start to ask where things are. Tell them as they didn't put ut away they obviously didn't want it so I had put it in the bin. Didnt take long for them to empty it each day. Did with the children I nannyed for as well.

Use the Hello Fresh website for meal ideas.

Keep a list on your phone of things that you fancy or have enjoyed previously. If you can be arsed, you can subdivide the list into your own categories. Mine are things like like Quick midweek, Comfort food, Cheap, Friday night etc.

Unsubscribe from all of the emails you get sent. Then you know that any unread ones in your inbox are actually ones you need to deal with.

Train your partner to add things to the shopping list (I use Alexa). I refuse to buy things that are not on the list.

My DC isn't old enough to manage his own calendar, but when he's old enough we will have a family calendar and if he hasn't added an event to the calendar, then he's not going to it. This is what our mum did with us.

Perfect rice every time, no pfaff, no watching it. Bought a rice maker- pfaff, gave it away.

Use whatever measure you like- I use a mug and fill with rice to whatever level I need that night.

Put in Pyrex bowl with just under double hot water.

Stir once.

Put in microwave on 100% power for 8-12 minutes depending on amount, covered with one piece of decent kitchen towel (steaming).

Viola perfect rice EVERY time.

Put mountsins of Lego inside an old, flat sheet, elastic band at the top then put in whatever storage box it's kept in. When playing take out bundle, spread sheet on the floor, when finished playing with mountain of Lego gather up sheet easily and put away. No more bloody picking up thousands of pieces. This took me years to work this out.

Before I start preparing a meal, (especially one that has a lot of ingredients), I get all items out of the cupboard and put them near the area I will be working. If your recipe requires ingredients such as onions garlic or peppers make sure you chop/slice them beforehand. Get out any spices you may need instead of hunting through the shelves whilst you are cooking.