What cheap items have you bought for the home that have helped get rid of mild daily annoyances?

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I’m slowly making a list of things that annoy me in the house, and thinking about what to do/buy to fix the issue. I’m talking cheap things, like a pack of new drawer knobs as some of ours are broken.

What thing solved an issue that had been annoying you for ages?

We bought a stainless steel coffee press thing after breaking the 3rd glass one. I didn’t even know they existed before looking for alternatives!

I’m in the middle of a ‘not-quite-spring’-cleaning so finding lots of little things that need fixing!

A set of clear plastic fridge boxes. I can separate stuff, so I don't have to pull everything out to find it, and I can lift a box out to wash it instead of having to scrub the whole shelf.www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwicpMPap-f5AhWlnVwKHaTADncQFnoECAgQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bmstores.co.uk%2Fproducts%2Fdeep-fridge-storage-tray-368017&usg=AOvVaw0ahQVuaR5DbC77P1QMRaNy

Silicone jar openers. No more stabbing jam jar lids in a fury.

Extra multi plugs.

Indoor washing line in utility.
Handheld vaccuum for sucking up crumbs because I'm too lazy to get the big one out.
Socktopus

Stock check lists.

One for cleaning products
One for pet stuff
One for toiletries
And an ad hock list to which I add random bits to throughout the month (batteries, lightbulbs, sticky hooks, all the things I think, 'this would be better if...').

I keep them in my phone.

Weekend after pay day I do a stock check and spend the day/morning ordering online or popping into town/b&m to get everything.

It means I don't have to spend every weekend trailing to the shops.

Sorry for the long link, but this! We always make our own bread and I would go spare as the two men I live with couldn't cut a straight slice to save their life. Drove me mental! Never a cross word anymore - game changer!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vencier-Foldable-Bamboo-Homemade-Cutting/dp/B09WVBJNT3/ref=ascdff_B09WVBJNT3/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=570299365906&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2003296353807015994&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045656&hvtargid=pla-1657386104761&psc=1

Thank you I'll keep searching!

It's going to take me years to do the whole house, but I'm very gradually buying storage solutions for every cupboard and drawer. So now my big food cupboards have a lazy Susan in, as does my fridge for all the condiments. No more forgotten about food etc.

My baking trays have a holder in the drawer, so rather than them all piled on top of each other I can see them all and slide them out.

I've been letting myself by one organisation item every month for about 18 months now. It makes things so much easier to get to, it makes me more likely to cook from scratch as I can find everything so easily. It also reduces how much I waste.

This month I bought a shampoo/conditioner/shower gel dispenser for my en-suite bathroom. No more cleaning round bottles where the water collects.

I'm gradually becoming clutter free!

I also have

• 3 of the giant white IKEA stackable recycling bins in the bathroom in a nook - whites, lights, darks. Having a basket in each room results in overwhelm for me. Teens know if their clothes ain’t in those bins, they ain’t getting washed.
• A collapsible basket to carry the laundry downstairs, my T Rex arms can’t carry the stackable bins.
• One giant wicker basket for clean socks - me and the teens are all the same shoe size, I don’t have time to fanny around trying to remember who chose what socks. They also have a bunch of plain black ones for school in their drawers, but the central sock basket has made a huge difference.
• Also a fan of clear plastic tubs for the fridge - ours is much smaller than our last one, it keeps things much neater and means I’m not having to shop three times a week due to lack of space.
• A box for wrapping paper, cards, all that crap.
• Dishmatic brush thing for washing pots - teens no longer complain when it’s their turn to do it. See also the drying mats as we have oak worktops - we have 3 as the dishes have to go both sides of the sink to dry.

If I think of more I’ll come back! I’ve had to minimise the steps needed to complete a task as well as make it an attractive thing to do, and as we had uproot our lives I streamlined everything we owned prior to the move, and our previous house was mostly furnished (this one has all the white goods but no furniture), so I’ve started from scratch.

A fly catcher - yellow bottle that traps them. Game changer in the summer.

overitall1; I've done the same, but settled for a plastic one.

Also not the point of the thread but why can tea bags not just go in the bin/compost? My parents do this as well - leaving tea bags lying all over the counter and I don't understand it at all.

The bin lives way over the other side of the kitchen under the stairs behind a stairgate so the dog can’t rummage in it. It’s a total faff walking over there balancing a red hot teabag on a spoon. When I have my kitchen done I am going to reconfigure the whole Dog/Bin situation

Tea bag bin from Lakeland years ago.
Stops your kitchen bin from leakage

@TwoBlondes

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B098QKF4FY?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I use them every bath time. Never had a leak or problem. Even 9 year old uses them easier than a plug.

A small deep tray sort of 8 x 12 inches which stays on our big table where we sit and do things. I keep Tippex, Sellotape, ruler, pens, stapler, scissors, calculator etc. so everything is at hand for daily admin. instead of searching everywhere

I think those that are not providing links ABVU!

I second a collapsible laundry basket.Ours just slots at the side of the washing machine.

www.argos.co.uk/product/8462200?clickSR=slp:term:collapsible%20laundry%20baskets:3:61:1

I might get another one for upstairs actually.

One of those things that has loads of pegs attached that you hang socks and pants from.

A silicon saucepan lid that fits all sizes. Mine was a present. Best thing anyone has given me!

Me too 🤣 I used those sticker hook things from home bargains it's been a complete game changer

Replaced lights with LED ones.

they never go. Previously there was always at least one light gone somewhere. It was like whack a mole

A folding laundry airer. We have a rotary line in the garden, but it's up steps and on the grass so I have to put shoes on and carry the washing up there. Was always such a PITA then everything needs pegging in and out, takes ages. So I used the tumble drier far too much.

Bought the folding airer for around £20 in Lidl. It can hold a whole load and I just stand it on the patio (we have a wide patio door from the living room) and can bring the whole thing in when it starts raining, or use in indoors all year round. No pegging needed! Saves so much time and the teens use it as well. Have only used the tumble dryer a handful of times since we bought this so it's saved me the cost already.

Two rechargeable lights that come in when they detect movement. Both are used along the walkway to the bathroom so at night we don't bump into anything or trip up on the step between the bedroom and the bathroom.

@drunktrifle Do I you have a link please?

Thank you! Added to my amazon wishlist. I love soap/shampoo bars, but not the mess. Genius.

Silicon jar lids

Lakeland garlic press - possibly life changing

And not cheap but transformative for storage - saucepans without handles. I have one clip on handle for whenever I need to pick one up but the saucepans now all stack in a pan drawer in half the space.