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!

@cardoon

Put your folded bed set into one of the pillow cases

I've seen this tip on MN a lot and I don't see how it saves time ... surely you spend more time putting the bed set in the pillow case when you put it away, and then even more time taking it out again ... as opposed to just putting folded duvet cover, sheet, pillow case in a pile in the airing cupboard, which is what I do, so you just grab adjacent items when you want bedding.

Colour coded towels for the DCs. Genuine life changer.
I’ll let you know how this second one goes, but I’ve just tidied the freezer and have written in whiteboard marker on the outside what’s in each drawer. I have high hopes!
Other than this my life is lived in a mire of last minute chaos so I’ve nothing else to add!

specially for @BiscuitLover3678:
squeeze lemons and limes and freeze in icecube trays

@ginswinger genius. I'll have to do that.

When you have to clear out a drawer or cupboard that you keep putting off doing, throw just one item away a day. By the end of a month you will have thrown away 30 items and the drawer / cupboard will have cleared itself but you have spent about 5 seconds per day instead of a couple of hours.

I also dry on hangers but even still somethings may have the odd crease so I have recently tried the lenor crease spray. You just spray in it on, flatten and it’s like witchcraft but the creases go! Can’t believe I didn’t try it sooner!

Have a large sellotape dispenser that just lives on the breakfast bar. So useful.

Same as a PP, have lots of (preferably, coloured,) phone chargers around the house, living room, kitchen, bedroom etc. So there is always one available.

Online shopping was a game changer for me. I think people who drag the whole family round the supermarket on a Sunday are mad now.

Organised mum method for cleaning. I'm not following it 100%, but I have 7 rooms/areas in my house and clean one or two in 30 minutes each day.

I learned a new one the other day - when cracking eggs, put the bowl in the sink. Chuck the shells in the sink - no more eggy mess on the work surface. I can't believe I've got to my rather advanced age without thinking of that one before.

I love threads like these!

Buy doubles ie 2 each of cleaning sprays, bleach, etc. Cheap so no budget stress and takes you twice as long to run out.

Freeze and chop your own onions - mere pence and you can start cooking the moment you get in. They take ages to soften up and you can get coat off, kettle on and cuppa inside you while ahead of the game.

When my 4 children were all at primary at the same time and subsequently high school, they all had the same colour shirts but different sizes - I put a coloured stitch at the bottom of their shirts on both sides so they could easily see which one was theirs when they were getting them out of the wardrobe (each child had their own colour)

I agree with "just do it". I was seized with energy last week and sorted all my clothes and made DH do his.

If you see stuff needing done just get on with it.

our shopping list is on Alexa so we can just add to it as we go along when we notice somethings running low.

We then can get a text message version of the list at the end of the week.

Loving these ! I have my freezer drawers labelled ' meat ' ' potatoes' ' veggie' ' vegetables ' and ' other ' . So handy when it comes to cooking and restocking freezer too.

I think these have all been said. 1 Lots of colour coded phone charging cables (and plugs) so no one can fight over them 2 A present drawer full of wrapping paper boxes of cards sellotape and any unwanted presents go straight in ready for regifting. 3. Freezer drawers are labelled - meat. Chips. Ice cream. Veg etc. Much easier to know what you have lots of and what you are running out of. Alexa In every room. Wherever I am I ask her to add x to my shopping list/to do/whatever list whenever it pops into my head Then when I sit down to do an online shop or when I’m at the corner shop the list is right there. My personal revelation is to have less stuff I’ve never been a hoarder but in the past year I have donated about half my clothes. And I have twice as much to wear as I can see everything.

This one is a bit... less useful. When you buy a bottle of wine take a pic of the label and WhatsApp it to yourself with a comment. I can never remember what I thought about a wine. Possibly because of all the wine drinking.

Cutlery type insert for one (non-cutlery) kitchen drawer and one bedroom drawer. Kitchen one holds bag clips, meter key, candles and matches, couple of pens and small pad, small torch, rubber bands, roll of sticky labels, spare specs. Bedroom one holds comb, essential oils, another small torch, nail clippers and tweezers, pouch of batteries. Has made things much simpler!

Also, do a menu for the week ahead (basis for shopping list) and each evening check what needs getting out the freezer for the next day. Batch cook a mix of peppers, mushrooms, chick peas, courgettes tomatoes etc and freeze in portions as the basis of many different meals.

Stuffing the duvet cover, bottom sheet and pillowcase(s) into the other pillowcase, (for doubles), so no scrabbling around in a far-too-full airing cupboard to find the whole set.

Wish I’d known about this years ago.

I follow the organised mum method, it's laminated on the fridge which has really helped to prompt DP to do it. I try to be my "future friend" by organising things in advance and not putting stuff off too long (easier said than done).

I set a timer for things that I don't want to do, it's in TOMM, but think it's called the pomodoro method or something. It makes me get stuff done anyway.

Put clothes straight into washing machine, we don't have a washing basket. Everything then goes onto hangers and straight into wardrobe when dry. Otherwise everything would end up folded in the washing basket for weeks.

Batch make a veggie recipe or soup for work lunches every Sunday.

Leave my bag by the fridge so I don't forget my lunch for work.

In the winter I have a fruit bowl in my car, for when I forget my lunch for work.

My online shopping app allows me to save shopping lists. Ive been making shopping lists for meals we eat quite often - baked salmon, chilli, soup, brunch. I can just add the whole lot to the basket with one click.

Wash baby socks in a delicates bag.

2 single duvets on Super king size bed.
Less wrestling with covers

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!

Oh and audiobooks when doing housework.

Don't put it down, put it away
Never leave a room empty-handed
My Eufy
Gousto deliveries - stops me being lazy and eating not very nutritious food
Online shopping deliveries
Charging station - keeps the phone, tablets, headphones and speakers all charging neatly in one place without loads of random wires everywhere
Dishwasher loaded as I go along
Kitchen tided/food cleared away as I cook
Living room tidied last thing at night