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

897 replies

Dandelion78 · 12/04/2021 18:23

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?

OP posts:
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9
BooksMusicSnacks · 28/04/2021 11:16

If you have unwanted colourful marks on your bath from kids bath toys, wipe with a soft cloth and a blob of toothpaste - they come right off every time for me. I've done this when the bath is dry and with white toothpaste (as opposed to stripy, might still work, dunno!)

immaculata · 29/04/2021 14:40

To stop a fitted sheet coming loose off the corners of the mattress, buy the sheet at least one size up. The deep sided ones help too. My double bed has a king-size fitted sheet on it.

To avoid faffing around figuring out what goes with what and what size things are in the airing cupboard, have all the fitted sheets/duvet covers/pillow slips for each bed in one colour. All the bed linen for my bed is navy blue, and all the kids' beds are the same size so they all have white everything, for example.

I think the store the set of bed linen in the pillow case tip is best appreciated by people who might find their neat stacks of folded bed linen thrown about by kids or teenagers rooting around.

If you'd like teenagers to be tidier, put a row or two of coat hooks on their bedroom walls. Reachable but well above eye level to prevent accidents. They are more likely to hang their crap on the hooks than fold and store it neatly in a wardrobe or chest of drawers, and it helps keep the floor (relatively) clear.

I hate dusting so I make it quicker by decluttering and then putting in containers the stuff I can't declutter. Take a dressing table. Putting the makeup and skincare products and hair stuff on a pretty plate or in a bowl means they can be picked up with one hand while the other does the dusting. Otherwise, everything has to be picked up and put down individually which is fiddly and takes ages.

A mixture of dishwashing liquid and vinegar in a spray-top bottle is magic for cleaning any surface that can be rinsed down, especially in a hard water area. Mix it up, spray it on, leave it as long as you can, ideally overnight but even half an hour helps, scrub it down and rinse it thoroughly. Works really well on every water-contact rinseable surface from the interior of lavatory bowls, to shower walls and trays, to baths and sinks. It removes mould. mildew, limescale, general filth. Use it frequently enough and no scrubbing is necessary. Warn people if you're spraying it on shower trays though as it is slippery.

Kisforkaylied · 29/04/2021 14:44

My ADHD brain hack is to do something quick while you're waiting for something else. Eg empty the dishwasher while you're waiting for the tea to brew, polish the table in the ad break, that kind of thing.

Thatwentbadly · 29/04/2021 14:59

@DustyHoneydew

These are brilliant!

My hack is for labelling my 2 DC's clothes and other belongings I got a stamp (from Stamptastic). Much easier than faffing with cutting labels and ironing them on, and easy to do inside shoes and other items. The ink lasts for ages but if it fades just stamp it again. It's a more expensive initial outlay than labels but I've had the same ink pad for 2 years and it's still not dried out.

I agree. Our ink pad has been going strong for 4 years now.
Thatwentbadly · 29/04/2021 15:38

@BlueTiles

With regard to frozen sandwiches, yes I agree. Sloppy sludge. However, if I need to take a sandwich on a long trip in a hot climate, I have been known to freeze (cheese & pickle) sandwiches THE NIGHT BEFORE ONLY. Then hours later they are still cool and fresh. (You can't take ice packs through airport security). Otherwise they can become warm, sloppy sandwiches where bacteria would love to breed.

You can't take sandwiches through security, can you?

Of course you can they are not liquid.
TellMeItsNotTrue · 29/04/2021 17:18

Photograph any letters from the school (including party invites) as soon as you get home, then do whatever needs to be done with them while the kids get changed out of uniforms, and then put it in their bag ready for the next day

I have a second calendar by the door too for anything school/club related, parties etc and when I'm finished filling in reply slips it goes on the calendar, ready for me to check before we walk out of the door

I go through the photos once a week and delete any that the dates have passed, but it's handy having the whole letter to hand wherever I am when I want to check something, and saves a mountain of papers everywhere

AbsolutelyPatsy · 30/04/2021 07:22

the Tupperware of doom, store the boxes with lids on

maggiethecat · 30/04/2021 11:22

@AbsolutelyPatsy
Aah but that wastes so much space if you cannot stack containers inside each other.

AbsolutelyPatsy · 30/04/2021 11:23

but it saves time and time is a premium

nopuppiesallowed · 30/04/2021 12:26

Always carry Waspeze with you......😳

nopuppiesallowed · 30/04/2021 12:29

And I hate to sound like the prophet of doom.... but keep an aspirin in your bag. A friend saved a man's life because she had an aspirin handy when he collapsed with a heart attack. Flaming Norah. I do sound like the prophet of doom!

JumpLeadsForTwo · 30/04/2021 13:36

@wantanotherdog

And I hate to sound like the prophet of doom.... but keep an aspirin in your bag. A friend saved a man's life because she had an aspirin handy when he collapsed with a heart attack. Flaming Norah. I do sound like the prophet of doom!
Very good advice - definitely keep some at home. And crunch/ chew, don't swallow if needed
JumpLeadsForTwo · 30/04/2021 13:37

300mg aspirin

louloulemons · 30/04/2021 18:21

My Nan’s all time favourite saying that she used to drill into me when I was a kid with a very messy bedroom - ‘don’t put it down, put it away’

That always pops into my head when I’m about to leave something lying around, and it does help me keep the house tidy!!! Thanks nan!!!

StepAwayFromTheEcclesCakes · 06/05/2021 10:18

the Tupperware of doom, store the boxes with lids on

Actually i have said this before on here but i spent a joyful half hour matching lids and numbering the box and lid so i just look for its corresponding number now instead of the frustration of not being able to find the lid that fits.

nopuppiesallowed · 06/05/2021 10:49

@StepAwayFromTheEcclesCakes

the Tupperware of doom, store the boxes with lids on

Actually i have said this before on here but i spent a joyful half hour matching lids and numbering the box and lid so i just look for its corresponding number now instead of the frustration of not being able to find the lid that fits.

I tried that with sharpie and it wore off quickly. What did you use?
StepAwayFromTheEcclesCakes · 07/05/2021 12:24

A bog standard permanent marker, i renew it when it fades but am going to take my own advice from up thread and scratch it on with a needle.

Ameanstreakamilewide · 07/05/2021 13:06

@yellowsubmarines

I have tried every tip I've seen to clean bathroom floor tile grout but nothing has worked. Any suggestions (hopefully there will be something I haven't tried yet). Getting so fed up of dirty grout on the floor. Angry
Some of the grouting in my bathroom looked terrible. I dye my hair red, so my bathroom looks like 'massacre of the innocents', when I'm finished.

However, the I took a punt with the HG grout cleaner and it was excellent.

Pinkycheeks · 09/05/2021 20:18

Just used magic sponges for the first time... yes delicate but cleaned the shower cubicle easily, taps, hand-basins, bits and bobs and white trainers. Nothing left of sponge 1 now but worth it.

Coffeemakesmehappy · 11/05/2021 10:53

Don’t take full rolls of kitchen roll around with you when cleaning, especially in the bathroom.

Save a few of the tubes, and wrap about 10 (ish) sheets around each. Fits in the cleaning caddy better and if when you drop it down the loo/into your mop bucket, you haven’t lost the whole roll.

ForwardRanger · 11/05/2021 11:48

Remember. It's only life. If your day feels overwhelming, let go of a few things on the to-do list. There's always tomorrow.

On dark days I imagine I am lying on the grass looking up. I see trees lit up by sunshine, and the fretting in my head is drowned out by the sounds of nature. And suddenly everything is OK again.

Imagiraffe · 28/06/2021 21:18

Use all white bedding and towels. Much easier to chuck them all in on a hot wash. Accessorise with what ever throws, children's character fleece blankets etc. But keeping all the main bedding and towels white has saved me loads, never fades, can use a bit of bleach if the kids spill stuff on them. Lasts for ever. My number 1 life hack 😊

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