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?

Before doing a long journey, I Google parks and supermarkets at strategic points on the way. We’ve discovered a couple of great country parks with cafes in the midlands and N Wales, and have quite often eaten at out of town Morrisons’ for half the price of service stations, only a few minutes off the motorway.

I’ve thought of another one - if you have a very long motorway drive Eg highlands to London, Google good places to eat five minutes off the M1 (or whatever) for much nicer and cheaper food than the service stations. Same with cheaper fuel.

Forgive me for asking do you put the hotdogs in hot water in a flask ?

@Sprogonthetyne

In a similar vain to the hotdogs but icecream in a food flask stays frozen for hours. Pack it down as tight as you can, then leave the full flask open in the freezer overnight. Take out and screw on lid just before you leave, then put into a mini cool bag.

Genius ! Why have I never thought of this ? I will definitely be using , thank you 🍦

I keep a very light and foldable reusable bag in my bags (my 'standard' bag, my DS's bag, gym bag, beach bag,...). It gets used incredibly often as I never know if I am popping to a shop or I need to carry muddy boots or wet swimming costumes or rubbish from the car or freshly picked veg from the allotment or I have to seat on the grass or someone gives me an item to carry etc.
Also, if I am going out with DS I always bring a metal bento box with some food. If we are planning to be out I bring freshly made food, but otherwise I keep snacks like crackers, oat bars, raisins as you never know if the quick trip to the park might become a 2 hours event or if I need to use snacks as bribery to get back to the car!

The last tip I can think of is that I keep a towel rolled up in one of the doors of my car. To be used specifically in case of car sickness or to be put on the seats if I need to do a sudden nappy change.

For jar lids that won't come off -

Place jar upside on kitchen worktop. Get a flathead screwdriver (I keep one in the cutlery drawer for this very thing!) Put screwdriver inside the rim of the jar. Turn screwdriver. The turn of the screwdriver 'stretches' the lid away from the jar and breaks the air lock. Hey presto!

@DobbleDobble

Forgive me for asking do you put the hotdogs in hot water in a flask ?

Yes

Oh and something - already mentioned- that always surprises my friends is that I bring a large thermos full of coffee. I make it 'americano' and add a small amount of sugar. If there is space I also bring a small insulated bottle with milk. And I bought off ebay a set of tiny portable metal cups in a fabric holder.
When we meet with friends outdoors (think parks, beach, children's type of events) and everyone fancy a coffee but no coffee shops in sight or no time to queue etc they all delighted I produce the solution on the spot!

@coodawoodashooda

Always have frozen milk and bread in the freezer.

I do this! And I read another tip that you should freeze some milk in an ice tray so you can quickly defrost enough for your tea when you come back from holiday and the fridge is empty. which I plan to try if I ever get the opportunity to go on holiday again

Ability to work as a team

@DobbleDobble

Forgive me for asking do you put the hotdogs in hot water in a flask ?

No I didn't but I didn't boil them I grilled them.

I put a tiny travel sewing kit in my handbag when I went to a wedding once. It was a tip that I had read somewhere. Never in a million years did I think I would need it. When on the coach to the reception my friend's button came off her blouse. She couldn't believe it when I produced the sewing kit.

@AnyFucker

To stop a sneeze press hard on the groove between your nose and mouth

It's called a philtrum

For jar lids that won’t come off… run them under a hot tap. The heat cause the metal to expand much more than the glass.

To add to the top Tips, get a pencil case.

I went to a work conference years ago and saw someone pull a pencil case out of their bag. Lightbulb moment and a Total game changer for me as I was always scrabbling around looking for pens, pencil sharpeners and stuff.

My specialist skill from years of manual data entry is knowing postcodes and where they cover.

My mum always had her "bit of cloth" which was a big piece of fabric she'd hemmed. Probably about 1.5m square. It got used as a picnic blanket, pillow, blanket to sleep under, sun shade, towel, emergency dress/sarong thing, baby wrap, bag to carry things in etc. It was quite genius.

I’ve got a huge bottle of cheap cologne (European supermarket special). I fold up tissues, put them in a zip loc bag and soak in cologne. On hot days everyone (yes you scoffing bil) wants one.
My dd does this thing using socks as rollers to get big bouncy curls. Looks brilliant. And she has socks.

Apart from the pelvic floor aspect, I'm not getting why one would wish to stop a sneeze.

It's my second most pleasurable bodily function.

Always pack the white wine in with the frozen food at the supermarket. That way by the time you get home and you can't possibly wait for it to go into the fridge it will be chilled.

I have a little purse in my handbag with paracetamol, aspirin (just in case someone has a heart attack), platers, tweezers, a safety pin, an antiseptic wipe, blister plasters and a spare pair of contact lenses.

It's come in handy so many times.

The hot dog thing is genius by the way. I resent paying a fortune for vile hot dogs when the kids are out and hungry.

Oh another vote for taking 'home made' wet wipes out.
In the last few years I have been trying to be more green and started using a kit from Cheeky Wipes when my son was born. Now I have split the kit in two: I use the clean/mucky boxes for removing my make up and I keep the travel kit (two waterproof bags, one for clean wipes, one for the used ones) in DS' bag to be used as standard wipes for nappy changes, cleaning hands etc. I always add some drops of their essential oils - like the poster using cologne.
They are absolutely brilliant, not sticky as some wipes, no nasty chemicals involved and they have much more texture to clean properly rather than moving the dirt around. And they can be washed and reused.

@echt

Apart from the pelvic floor aspect, I'm not getting why one would wish to stop a sneeze.

It's my second most pleasurable bodily function.

You know the mattress protectors / info sheets you had for the kids when they were toddlers ? Never take thrm off the beds ( or put them back if you have !)

Teens are surprisingly leaky beings ….. that’s all ….

If we are holidaying in the UK in cottage/air bnb etc. I arrange for a supermarket shop to be delivered in the evening of our first day. Saves finding and trawling round a supermarket when tired.

My DH always took a couple of small plastic trays when we were going on a long drive and had taken a packed lunch. We used them like huge plates and saved the inside of the car from getting crumby and scattered with crisps!