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!

I also really believe that the less stuff you have, the less headache you have.

I very rarely buy anything brand-new.The other day I was wondering around B&Q and ended up with several things in the trolley from the household section

Posted too soon..

I ended up putting everything back after analysing how useful they would really be or where they would be in a year or 5

I haven't got a shredder, so I soak all the unwanted papers for an hour or two, scrunched a bit, in a large bowl of water, put them in a tough carrier bag, outside! stand on it to squeeze the water out. Leave to dry, recycle. (I hope they can be recycled in a lump)
And, freeze tonic for ice cubes. No more watery vodka and tonics!
Traditional style nut crackers open most bottle tops.

Don't buy shit you don't need and if someone gives you something you don't need then day thank you and give it away the next day. Don't let it cross the threshold into your house.

@Luredbyapomegranate

For work (I'm a solicitor), I have a single page document with everything I need to do on my active files which I update and re- order before I finish work each day. It saves a lot of " what do I need to do next?" mental energy and the incentive to clear off the list everything that I have highlighted for that day, makes me work more efficiently. The system works for other jobs too!

@Fozzleyplum

Is your single page doc an electronic page - and you update and then print? I’m trying to be more organised at work, but find a lot of systems too complex

@Luredbyapomegrsnate It's just a boring old Word document. I don't even print it off- it's just there on my laptop and I update it as I go. In fact, I have 2. One, which I review every couple of weeks or so, has a list of bills and the dates for sending reminders, plus a list of files that need to be closed.

The other is a list of all my "live" matters with a note on the current state of play. I highlight in yellow, those that I need to keep an eye on, eg if I am waiting for someone to get back to me. The tasks that I need to do are highlighted in pink, and numbered each evening in order of priority. I also put my domestic " to dos" at the top of that one and highlight in the same way.

For some reason, I'm much more productive when my day involves changing the pink highlights to yellow!

[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]
Mailmerge - also you can print directly onto the envelopes rather than labels.

Every single file on my computer starts with the date in reverse eg 20220131 is 31sy Jan 2022.

It makes it easy to search for things.

Meal planning on a Sunday then go shopping.
De clutter- we have de cluttered the organised every room and we now know where everything is, it took a while but it’s done now and cleaning is so much quicker!

When you see something that would make a suitable Birthday or Christmas gift for someone buy it and store I have a gift cupboard it saves me a fortune in time and indeed money as many purchases were in the sales

@VioletOcean

Take off duvet cover and button the end, that way no washing gets inside it

!!!!

Duvet clips - put the top corners of duvet into cover corners and secure with these. You can then stuff the rest in, give a shake and voila!
www.dunelm.com/product/quilt-clips-1000017856
Oooh -life-changing -just ordered -thanks!!!!!

@cardoon

Put your folded bed set into one of the pillow cases

Fantastic I'm stunned by this.

We use IKEA sortera boxes for washing. One box for lights and one for darks. Washing is sorted as you go and when the box is full it's time to put the wash on.

Kids trained to sort lights and darks too so everyone is on board.

For me
A decent ice scraper for the car it saves so much time.
I have a 3 year old and keep a toy in the boot which is only allowed to be played with if we are out so if we see friends or go to a restaurant I always have something and he's excited to play with it.
I always keep a pack of wipes, a nappy and £10 in cash in the car
I turn my hangers round in my wardrobe once I have worn an item. Every 6 months it's easy to see what I did and didn't wear and clear out.
If I buy new shoes/clothes I have to clear out the equivalent. Stops me buying stuff for the sake of it.
I use face cloths instead of wipes and leave them in a cupboard so my ds even at 3 knows where to get one to wipe spills/his face etc.
I have a weekly milk delivery from the milk company saves me having to go to the shop and pick up extra food etc I don't really need.
I have a list of items I buy every month, razor blades, toilet rolls, washing powder etc so I add those on an amazon list ready.
My washing machine has a time delay, I set it for the following day so it finishes as I get in from work.
I know use jars of minced garlic as the fresh ones never got used regularly. I freeze into ice cubes if the jar going to go out of date.
I freeze left over buttercream to top cupcakes etc.
I chop veg once a week so it's easier to use for lunches/dinners/making omelette etc.
I save Christmas ideas for people on a list and buy at least 1 Christmas present a month so there's less to buy in January.
Writing to someone on their birthday etc do it a bit in advance and set the time for the email to send saves me remembering.
I use brown paper to wrap presents and my 3 year old decorates it with drawings/stamps/craftbits.
If you make a lot of cakes buy the precut greaseproof circles and roll of paper for the sides so much quicker to line the tins.

I have a flat sheet underneath my duvet cover. Once a week when I wash the bedding I wash the flat sheet, bottom sheet and pillowcases. I only wash my duvet cover every six weeks or so as it never comes into contact with my body.

Having the extra sheet is great for the menopause as you can move the duvet up-and-down to be cooler or warmer but still keep a sheet on top of you.

@AutumnOrange re frozen onions- you just shake into oil in a pan. You’ll know how much. Just visualise a fresh onion chopped in a pan, doesn’t have to be exact for most meals.

THEDEACON
I have one too, it's full of lovely stuff, my partner is always raiding because he is terribly unorganised and always working.

I have a separate 'household' bank account that I keep track of with an excel spreadsheet which I refresh every April for the year's predicted bills and direct debits. It covers every utility, TV licence, everything for the car, family presents, council tax etc. It totals predicted individual monthly bills and comes up with a yearly amount that is divided by 12 and transferred in automatically every month to keep the account in credit throughout the year. I look at it monthly and correct the actual amounts. It means I never have to worry about having essential bills covered or budget for Christmas. Being on a fixed pension, it's been a lifesaver. Nationwide used to do an account like this and I know there is an app as well but this system works for me.

@notjaneausten

I haven't got a shredder, so I soak all the unwanted papers for an hour or two, scrunched a bit, in a large bowl of water, put them in a tough carrier bag, outside! stand on it to squeeze the water out. Leave to dry, recycle. (I hope they can be recycled in a lump) And, freeze tonic for ice cubes. No more watery vodka and tonics! Traditional style nut crackers open most bottle tops.

I take all our unwanted papers and cut out each individual letter and put them, alphabetically, in an an old printer's type-tray (I got mine from Ebay - it was only £105) This saves the bother of shredding or soaking paperwork to maintain confidentially, and I have a constant supply of pre-sorted, random sized letters for any one of the family to quickly produce a threatening note for a parking infringement or overgrown hedge without the risk of being identified.

@TwoLeftSocksWithHoles - that sounds like a good idea. I keep one of those small plastic tubs (often come with takeaway sauces) and fill it with my own blood.
I get a pen and dip it in to write similar types of communication.
I may use your letters hack, though. Cheers

@TwoLeftSocksWithHoles

Note any items needed on mobile Alexa app for shopping. As I pick them up in store there is a side tick box to delete items one by one. Brilliant

[quote flyingant]@SC215 you put your bag in the fridge? What kind of bag... handbag, satchel, rucksack? [/quote]
I put ny car keys in my lunch bag in the fridge, i am very forgetful!

I always carry £30 in cash with me. Always.

How does this work? You buy something worth 2.20, get home and put 2.20 in your purse to make it up to 30 quid?

@G5000

Messy handbag where you can't find anything? Consider if you even need one. Once children are no longer toddlers and you don't need to carry snacks, drinks, toys and change of clothes, do you actually need to drag a full handbag everywhere, or is just phone and credit card enough for that trip to supermarket?

Yes. I have one key on a lanyard that fits in one pocket and a phone in another for walks/school run etc

@sashh

Mailmerge - also you can print directly onto the envelopes rather than labels

Yes, it's mailmerge we use but it seems to be very complicated. However, despite DH being ex-IT, all things tech always seem to be complicated, so I'm going to have a look at doing it myself, given how long we have before Christmas!