Boring tips and tricks which have made your life easier.

[NoEffingWay]

Inspired by the purchase of a flat mop thing from wilkos with removable washable pads, and some method spray and mop bottle. No longer am I wrestling with a dirty looking mop, a kettle and a mop bucket. It took 5 minutes, the house smells like rhubarb (!) and the floor is shiny as.

Any more time-saving, life changing tips for me? I seriously hate mopping so this has made me a lot happier and life's most boring jobs!

@ememem84

I have one to add.

If you buy wraps and can’t use an entire packet in one go. Freeze them. But roll them into tubes first and pop them in a freezer bag. Makes it easier if you just want one at a time.

This is brillant!

Mine is Oxo cubes - just remove foil and fling them whole into casseroles/stews/soups etc at the start. They disintegrate and disperse during cooking.

@SC215 you put your bag in the fridge? What kind of bag... handbag, satchel, rucksack?

@RB68

I use plastic trays and baskets in my food cupboards so a) storage more effective, b) things don't get knocked off shelves or fall c) easy to clean - pull out wipe down, if I am pushing it take contents out tidy , wipe out basket and return items then slot in cupboard. d) I am short so in spices cupboard I just pull out tray and put on surface to sort through e) no trying to reach or see things at back - pull out like a drawer. f) if you have to empty cupboards for what ever reason takes 3 mins

bins with bin bags, tear a few off and store underneath the current bin bag so once old bin bag full remove and can quickly access right size ones underneath and can just be done when you see its full.

No Ironing here unless special occasion or I am sewing

I am a sink cleaner and shower cleaner when I am actually using them, so I finish my wash then clean sink or shower quickly before finishing. I also use the hand towels to wipe round when have finished cleaning just before they go in the wash, this helps with hard water stains particularly

I keep spices in plastic boxes too. I also write on the tops of the jars what they contain (unless pre-labelled) so I don't have to lift every jar put of the box to see what's in them.

I've said this before. When onions are cheap buy lots top and tail then cut in quarters. Line a sided oven tray with large piece of tin foil, place onions on foil sprinkle with a little brown sugar salt and oil but only a little of each. Close foil to make bag. Cook on high for 20min then turn low for at least 2hours. Open bag and cook for one hour on low. Place in a pan and blend till smooth (add a drop of water if needed) freeze in silicon muffin tray pop out and bag up. Use for soups stews casseroles, house only stinks of onions the once.

@JudgeRindersMinder

Rather than folding towels to put them in a cupboard, roll them. Absolute game changer, so no one can pull one from the bottom of the pile a d mess the whole pile up

Definitely trying this! Thank you!

It's a game changer Bretzen !

Agree with @darbs76 about walking during work calls. I often head outside for a walk if I know that there are no slides, and it's listen only

@ollobololo

oh - and at the beginning of the year buy a big box of birthday cards (assorted) plus stamps. Have to hand for whenever you need them so it's not a faff to go out / buy etc.

May I suggest making an account on the hallmark website and adding all your contacts one evening? No more cards, stamps whatwashisaddressagain.... just a few clicks, happy birthday/my condoleances/thankyoufor/merry christmas and pay on checkout. You can also send the same card to multiple people (like christmas cards).

@Charliesgotachocolatefactory

This thread is amazing. I’m just posting so I can find it again.

I am currently doing the ‘throw one thing a day’ away. It’s making such a difference already. I have so much crap lying around that I’ll be at it til around 2027, but it’s a start!

Throw 2 or 3 things a day

Elastic band around tupperware lids, I no longer have the waterfall effect when moving something in the tupperware cupboard!

I use a laundry hamper for my recycling,pop the whole roll in the bottom and use first bag,new bag is already lifted out ready when you tear off the full bag.

@AnchorWHAT absolute genius,this drives me nuts when they dont fit!.

And I always have a charity bag on the go for clothes then once full, take it to the charity shop.

@ememem84

I have one to add.

If you buy wraps and can’t use an entire packet in one go. Freeze them. But roll them into tubes first and pop them in a freezer bag. Makes it easier if you just want one at a time.

🤯 this is genius!

@ILoveAnOwl

I read on here 'don't put it down- put it away!' So simple, but in about two weeks I've got so many less piles of crap lying around!

I had this issue. A pile of post and vouchers and takeaway menus on the kitchen worktop. And other random shite. The menus are all online , i dont need the paper copies. The paperwork either put away in its folder or to shred or compost. Vouchers from pets at home. Just keep the one or two useful ones in my purse, recycle the rest. Everything else well I bin it but then DP plays merry hell that I lobbed his cheap glasses out again. Still less clutter.

"More than once I’ve found that recipients never opened them. (If you send Jacquie Lawson ones, they tell you when the card is opened.)"

That's up to them, isn't it? Your responsibility ends at sending them, and you have no guarantee they open physical cards, either.

When I make a slow cooker meal I prep double, bag the ingredients and pop in the freezer. Just write what meal it is and how much fluid to add. Leave to defrost the night before and bung in in the morning.

Tupperware lids are stored in a plastic wallet, no tumbling out that way.

Marie Kondo folding in all my drawers and using drawer dividers. Pic of DD14mo drawers. The clothes at the front are coordinated sets folded up into themselves.

DS reads his school book at breakfast time, for some reason he does it happily then but will whinge and wail over doing it after school.

@TeaAndStrumpets how do you print your contacts onto the labels? Each year we have a major palaver as DH tries export his Excel spreadsheet onto the labels!

Is there an easier way?

@Youdoyoutoday

Elastic band around tupperware lids, I no longer have the waterfall effect when moving something in the tupperware cupboard!

This is brilliant.

@cardoon

Put your folded bed set into one of the pillow cases

Brilliant idea

[quote BIWI]@TeaAndStrumpets how do you print your contacts onto the labels? Each year we have a major palaver as DH tries export his Excel spreadsheet onto the labels!

Is there an easier way?[/quote]
Hi BIWI I just checked, it's a microsoft word template free at avery.eu/print, which we use with Openoffice on our elderly pc. It is just a grid that you type (or c&p ) into the spaces, then like magic can be printed onto an A4 sheet of self adhesive labels. They do clear ones but we get the paper ones. We use 21 labels per page but there are loads of size options. We keep it in the computer and update as needed.

Hope that makes sense! The labels are on Amazon.

Does that mean you have to manually type all the addresses out though, @TeaAndStrumpets? As opposed to exporting from Excel?

(sorry for derailing this thread!)

If you are washing pillows, sew them with very large tacking stitches before they go in the machine. The filling will not move around when in the wash. I usually do one row of stitches down the middle of the length and two more rows across the width.

I've got a double bed and ds a single and only white sheets. So I get a sharpie and write double or single in the inside of the sheet so I know which one to use.
Gone are the days when I found I was trying to put a double on a single bed before realising my mistake!

I did this for my king size or doubles, but could never find the D. So I got the sewing machine out and did a brightly coloured stitch along the long sides of the double sheets.

If you are washing pillows, sew them with very large tacking stitches before they go in the machine. The filling will not move around when in the wash. I usually do one row of stitches down the middle of the length and two more rows across the width.

Genius!