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?

@SharpLily

I only buy one kind of socks for anyone in this house. Ten pairs at a time each for my husband and the same for each daughter. This means I never have to worry about pairing up and there are no odd ones because any two I pick up of the same size will match because they are all the same.

I do the same! Black and white. Long or short

Have two laundry baskets- and make everyone put the white clothes in one and colored in the other as they take them off.

I read years ago to use a little bit of mint sauce when making gravy from granules . It really livens up the meal

* 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.*

Here - my rule is that no evening TV until anything and everything is put in rightful place. No need for a basket to sling things in overnight and no work the next day.
The incentive of evening TV gets my two motivated.

@Puffalicious

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.

www.amazon.co.uk/OUTERDO-Storage-Portable-Organizer-Drawstring/dp/B019IGD9TU/ref=asc_df_B019IGD9TU/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=231993325177&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4630284858562248005&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006886&hvtargid=pla-450769046284&psc=1 For keeping Lego in these are brilliant.

@skeggycaggy Yes!! I totally agree with you on that. I moved recently, and was shocked at the sheer amount of stuff I had accumulated, much of it being my parents' stuff. I didn't realise the extent of it until it was packed in boxes. I've been selling & giving stuff away to charity shope ever since..

@HeronLanyon

If it’s really one hack just one then mine is Sort your shit out before it is too late for you and loved ones. This includes pensions/ powers of attorney, living wills, paperwork, clutter, mending broken relationships where possible, etc. Then get on with enjoying life. Lost both parents recently. One had done this the other hadn’t. Affected them both in their life, and for the family, in death.

This is just spot on - being in a similar situation I could not agree more. It is absolutely worth making time for this.

@HearonLanyon - I am sorry for your loss

If your mattress needs turning and rotating regularly, number the positions on the mattress. That way you know which one is next when you come to changing the mattress position and avoid having to guess.

[quote TheSandman]@expectopelargonium

If you hang them up like that to dry they dry all crinkly and creased - it just makes ironing takes longer (and yes, my DH does know how to operate an iron. He does all of the ironing. Not very well, but I turn a blind eye).

Ah well, that's where you're going wrong. I don't iron anything - neither does my wife.[/quote]
Is your name Brian?

ichundich I have one of these in DC3's room, but they don't match my downstairs (I know I'm sad) so sheet and nice,large box/ basket with a lid downstairs does the job.

Buy a slow cooker.
Make double the amount of dinner you need and freeze half.
You don't need half the stuff you own.

@Popsielady

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

This is a great way to encourage damp in your airing cupboard

@LBOCS2

Store whole bedding sets together in a pillowcase. Fold it all - duvet cover, sheet, pillowcases, pop them inside the other pillow case. Then you don't have to dig them out and get confused about sheet sizes.

If you've got small children, make the bed up twice - do a waterproof sheet, then a regular sheet, then a waterproof sheet, then a sheet on top. If anyone is sick or wees the bed, it makes changing it much easier - whip the top too layers off before anyone wakes up too much.

If you are not good at household paperwork, get a box by the front door. Put everything you need to keep in that box as it comes in. At the end of the year, tie it up in string and put it away. If you need something relating to that year, it will be in there. After six years, shred it all and bring the box back into circulation.

These are amazing tips!!! The amount of time I spend making sure I have the king fitted and not the double for the spare bed...

@TomRipley

Slice tomatoes with a bread knife.

Where were you when I was in minor injuries a couple of months ago having sliced the tip of my thumb off chopping tomatoes? And I've still been slicing them with a normal knife!

Bugger it all to hell!

Open freeze lemon, lime, apple and orange slices, grapefruit peel and other gin and tonic garnishes like raspberries and strawberries - then bag up and keep with the ice cubes. Then you'll always have the right garnish for the right gin! Wish I thought of this years ago.

When you make a will - tell people where it is. Might be many years before you die, and we have no system of recording if people have made a will (and where it is).

@scrappydappydoo

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

Talcum powder isn't to dry your feet, it's to get sand off dry feet!!!

[quote Shosha1]@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.[/quote]
I did this, and chucked them up in the loft..... amazing what we found up there when we sold the house after they'd grown up....

Shaws do these and extra deep mattress protectors!

A lemon cut in half and dipped in salt is absolutely fantastic at removing stains, especially on porcelain... I discovered this gem after nothing else would shift limescale marks down the lav.

A squirt of furniture polish on a sticky mark (like sellotape residue) and left for 15 mins will remove it.

Using kitchen roll to dry glass and windows after cleaning makes them smear free.

Clean and tidy as you go. Little and often saves many hours.

Batch cook. Freeze mash, cake, and butter (butter is expensive these sats do I buy in bulk if it's on offer and freeze it)

Cheap products often do exactly the same as big named expensive brands. This incl foods.

Fresh cut bunches of herbs (like mint, basil, coriander) from the supermarket last longer and stay fresh if stood in a glass of water until needed, rather than keep in fridge.

... butter is expensive these 'days' 'so' I buy in bulk if it's on offer (stupid auto correct function)

www.gov.uk/government/publications/store-a-will-with-the-probate-service/how-to-store-a-will-with-the-probate-service

You can store a will here. Other, private, options are available.

This is a great way to encourage damp in your airing cupboard

Not if you have a dehumidifier running in there. I haven't hung anything outside to dry for years.

@AbsolutelyPatsy

tomato sauce on dogs who have rolled in fox poo, also tomato sauce on burnt saucepans.

or just grab the hose, rinse soap with dog shampoo, and rinse with hose. Why would you add tomato sauce, which the dog can then smear on everything!

@TheSandman

This is a great way to encourage damp in your airing cupboard

Not if you have a dehumidifier running in there. I haven't hung anything outside to dry for years.

You just waste electricity, then?