What’s your skill/tip that you always feel smug about when it pays off?

[PepperPepperMan]

Reading the comments on a FB page, included things like, taking boiled eggs with you on days out, taking a wet flannel out with you instead of baby wipes and hot dogs in a tea flask with rolls and sachets of ketchup.

I was always really disorganised on days out with DC what did your mum/nanna do as a little survival tip that you carried forward?

If you ever buy a bottle of white wine that turns out to be unexpectedly undrinkable, mix it with a little orange juce (NOT orange squash).

It makes even the most undrinkably awful white wine drinkable.

It's an old backpacker trick picked up in Australia (where there's a lot of cheap and nasty wine flowing), and it's rare that anyone ever believes me, but it genuinely does work.

@Chunkymenrock Ooooo!! This is genious!!

Also love the sausages and ice cream in flask hacks (not together tho! ) and so many more. I might even drag my teenagers out for the day to try some of them!

When my husband was a boy, he would boil 2 eggs for his lunch and take them to school, one in each pocket, as hand warmers

When we go camping I cook and freeze two or three meals in advance. They act as extra ice blocks in the cool box and means we don’t have to eat out every night. Also, always do the two water bottles for the beach, one frozen and the other not. Frozen one keeps the other cool and is thawed by the afternoon so two lovely cold bottles of water.

Also as a reverse of the getting up early to travel down, we pack up the tent / van in the morning, spend the afternoon/ early evening on the beach. Eat a meal on the beach - eat f I say Sri Lankan curry, anyone who’s been there will know exactly which beach I’m talking about. Then get back in the car with full bellies, sandy feet and tired kids. Normally get home about one in the morning but it means we have an extra, full day, avoid traffic and the last day is just as lovely as the rest.

If your children are prone to car sickness, take a large cylindrical lock n lock (WITH LID) in car. They vomit into it, locked lid goes on it, roll windows down, completely smell free until you arrive at the service station and go into the toilets to flush it down and rinse it out.

Microwave a turnip before trying to cut. I do mine in 2, 4 min blasts whilst I prep of the meal. It's so easy to cut and saves your wrist.

Following my mothers lead, I always carry a small packet of tissues, a pen and 'JIC' (just in case) money. All my handbags, have some notes/coins in them for 'just in case'

I got a small pencil case from Flying Tiger which holds:
hand sanitizer
Lip balm
Paracetamol
Pen
Granola bar
Small set of picnic cutlery
Pack of tissues

This lives in my bag, and means I’m not scrabbling around to find things. I can easily transfer it between bags, and it comes in useful more often than you’d think (particularly the cutlery!)

I work in a school and was told to take a magic newspaper on school trips in case a child felt sick. The child sits on the newspaper and its something to do with the smell of the paper and them concentrating on sitting on it but it works. Never go without one now.

To preserve the life of bagged salads, spinach etc, get a double piece of kitchen roll and put it in the bag, wrapping it around as much of the leaves as possible.

I LOVE these threads! I never remember all the new tips, but always read.
Trying not to repeat any but:

• If you have more than one child, buy each socks in just one colour/pattern (eg Kid 1 has black, #2 has polka dotted, #3 has white) to save time sorting.
• Wearing your best or favourite pair of heels for a long or busy event: cover the bottom of it with that dry masking tape stuff, it will protect it and stop it going tatty so fast. Just peel off when home. I read stylists do this to protect loaned shoes on photo shoots but if they’re red-bottomed Loubs this doesn’t apply 😂
• Buy a cheap lunchbox (I found a clasp-sided Marvel one in Quality Save) and superglue a flat Lego base inside it on one/both sides. Then your child can use it to carry a small selection of Lego, and it opens up as a base to play on so the pieces don’t slide off etc.

My best one which has never failed is for opening jars.

Get the biggest, heaviest knife you have and, using the blunt edge, whack it on the edge of the lid all the way around the edge. It’ll pop off with the slightest twist.

Opening vacuum stuck jars - use a waiter's friend corkscrew to lever up a wee bit of the edge and you'll be able to turn it effortlessly.

"Putting a layer of frozen peas over the cooked mince before you put the mash on, in a cottage pie, is my best tip!. Stops the mash sinking in! Also works in fish pie."

Tried it - brilliant, thank you!

@VanillaSpiceCandle

My best one which has never failed is for opening jars.

Get the biggest, heaviest knife you have and, using the blunt edge, whack it on the edge of the lid all the way around the edge. It’ll pop off with the slightest twist.

Or, thump the lid of the jar, side on, on the floor.

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo

My parents had holiday travel down to an art, we had lots of U.K. caravan holidays which required a 3-4 hour drive to get to the destination.

We would be loaded into the car at 5am, in PJs and there was "no room in the boot for the duvet" so it would have to be draped over our knees as the only place for it. Us 3 kids would be asleep within 10 minutes.

Dad would drive for 3 hours and stop at the last Little Chef on the route. At that point we'd all be woken up, off to the toilets to get changed, brush teeth and freshen up then go into little chef for a full English breakfast. Final trip to the loos then we'd drive to the the caravan park and leave the car there till check in time and take a walk to the beach. Mum would have a cool box and a bag with beach stuff right on top of everything in the boot. The cool box had ice packs, boiled eggs still in shells, chicken legs, crisps, satsumas, kitkats or penguins, cheese sandwiches, cherry tomatoes and cucumber rounds. And a big bottle of squash which had been frozen the night before so it acted as an ice pack and melted in time for lunch.

I have absolutely no idea why but this made me cry. Actual tears. Will defo be stealing it for when we go away later in the summer though.

If you leave the mince/pie filling to cool before putting mash on it won't sink either.

@BikeRunSki

I read the hotdog one on here years ago, and ha e always had a jar of hotdogs on since. We’ve just packed up to go to the beach tomorrow. We’ll be taking a flask of hotdogs, a flask of hot chocolate and some bread buns.

Not quite the same but …
Storing sets of bed linen in a pillowcase
Double layers of waterproof sheet/top sheet/waterproof sheet/top sheet on toddler beds and cots

Just don't confuse the too flasks like DH did on bonfire night. A mouthful of brine when you are expecting chocolate

Ours:
Spare glasses live in the car. I'm the only driver and cannot drive without glasses. Would he totally stranded if something happened to them

Car first aid kit has a couple of sachets of calpol

Swiss Army knife in the changing bag, comes in useful most weeks for something or other

Cheap plastic poncho in changing bag. Weighs nothing but a lifesaver for sudden downpours

We keep a few cans of drink in the boot. Saves a fortune if the kids get extra thirsty on a day out

IKEA plastic plates in the boot for unexpected picnic also make an emergency frisbee for park entertainment

I keep a clean nappy and packet of disposable wipes in the boot as well as sleepsuit for reflux baby

Last one is slightly more niche. Always have a wrap in the boot, mostly in case I need to carry the baby, but has also been used before now as picnic blanket, car blanket for cold kids, and on one memorable occasion fashioned into a top for me after DD threw up all over me

Keep a measuring tape in your handbag (a small fabric one from a sewing kit) and you can measure clothes instead of trying them on...the cheap places like Zara can be really changeable in things like lengths of tops, etc. Also useful if buying for someone who's not with you at the time.

I have ZERO life hacks so place marking as this is a life changer for me

Always amazes me how many households have cupboards for putting away contents of dishwasher dotted randomly round the kitchen. If you assign the cupboards & drawers nearest the washer to keep plates, cups, glasses, cutlery and other dishwashable items, you can unload the whole lot in a few moments.

Also love the idea of having two dishwashers instead of cupboards and just use from one and load into other, then reverse. Not sure if it would work though! You’d run out of cups before using all the plates and end up rewashing clean things I think.

@Happy36

Keep a measuring tape in your handbag (a small fabric one from a sewing kit) and you can measure clothes instead of trying them on...the cheap places like Zara can be really changeable in things like lengths of tops, etc. Also useful if buying for someone who's not with you at the time.

I do this, it's been invaluable during changing room closures due to covid. The majority of clothes have fitted by checking measurements before purchase. Sizes can fluctuate wildly.

@AtlasPine

Always amazes me how many households have cupboards for putting away contents of dishwasher dotted randomly round the kitchen. If you assign the cupboards & drawers nearest the washer to keep plates, cups, glasses, cutlery and other dishwashable items, you can unload the whole lot in a few moments.

Also love the idea of having two dishwashers instead of cupboards and just use from one and load into other, then reverse. Not sure if it would work though! You’d run out of cups before using all the plates and end up rewashing clean things I think.

This is very easy in our kitchen as it's so small. I can stand next to the dishwasher unloading it into cupboards and not even have to move

If you are handed a carrier bag with soiled clothes in it just put the entire thing in the washing machine, the clothes will come out of the bag and wash perfectly well.

Keep cling film in the fridge, it unwraps beautifully.

If you drink wine from a 'box' when it gets to the end take the plastic out and blow it up, you get more wine out that way.

I was a supply teacher for a number of years, students often borrowed puns and I would not get them back. Pens are cheap but add up.

I bought some bright sparkly pens with, "Stolen from Ms sashh" printed on them and put them in a pencil case, I never again lost a pen again because I could just add up the number.

You can cook eggs in a sandwich toaster, just spray some oil in, break the eggs in and cook for 2-3 mins. You end up with triangular eggs that fit neatly on your toast.

My parents used to do similar to @Eminybob with the sleeping in the car.

Quickest hot meal in the world - potato waffle in one side of the toaster, fishfingers in the other (use a toaster bag), snap pot of beans in the microwave.