3 top things that make life a bit easier!

[VAM24]

Full time working mum to a toddler and just interested in little things that have made your lives a bit more convenient in getting every day jobs done that I can start doing too! (in the absence of being able to afford a full time cook/cleaner/gardener!). Could be something you've bought/ something you do etc.

For example (and this is mega basic) but getting my DDs nursery outfits for the whole week sorted on a Sunday makes my mornings much less frantic and I am considering getting a hive connected to our boiler so I can more easily control our hot water and heating around our lives.

Looking for inspiration! X

Online food shopping every week.
Enough clothes that I only have to iron every other Sunday.
Pre cut veg that I microwave
Every evening doing one room clean so it's never a big deal at a weekend

Glass airtight Tupperware so I sort kids fruit/veg sticks/meals in freezer or fridge.
handheld vacuum for tidying after kids
clothes out but you do that already.
a lights and a dark laundry basket!

Online food shopping
Quooker boiling water tap
Hello Fresh (as I don't like to cook and it provides variety and portion control).
Cleaner (can't afford one right now but it really helps).

Oh I also have some ear buds meaning I can do life admin calls or catch up with family/friends whilst doing odd jobs like ironing/deadheading flowers so I’m getting two things done at the same time!

Batch cooking made a difference
Having emergency dinners on standby for when too brain dead to cook (beans on toast usually)

Robot vac (we have the eufy, almost 3 years old and all good)

Tumble dryer

Not having piles of papers around the house. No idea why but I struggled with this for YEARS. Just chuck out the junk mail, ‘process’ the kids art (display/file/recycle), deal with paperwork as it comes in.

Also :) not really a thing but I love having empty cupboards/drawers. It feels like you’ve got your shit together if you have a non-stuffed drawer somewhere in your house. I also have a collection under the bed of empty kallax boxes that used to be full. Feels good not to have loads of shit everywhere.

An iron holder inside my cupboard door, that can be used with a HOT iron so as soon as I've ironed something I can put it away and don't have to wait for it to cool down.

A tight routine makes everything more time efficient

Bulk buy anything you know you will use and can store e.g. toilet rolls and tissues from Who Gives A Crap and you can set to automatic renewal e.g. every 6 months if you like

Plan ahead for everything e.g look our breakfast things at dinner and dinner things at breakfast

All sounds good! 😊
I like the bit about kids stuff lol as since mine went in to Day care, then school, it's either letters or artwork and then learning sheets and booklets 🤦‍♀️
Yes definantly getting some more folders/files for it, and sticking a few more bits up for display.

Tumble dryer. I went back and forth about getting one for ages obviously with the cost to run but honestly I don't know how I've done without one for years. With baby number 3 arriving last year I just couldn't face another winter of washing on every radiator and the house getting damper by the minute.
It's honestly made a massive difference to me, also a bonus that I got it cheap on gumtree.

Omg thank you all so much. I'm going to read all of these with a cup of tea while DD naps!

Also I agree with having all the clothes ironed/organised on a Sunday.
Having a meal plan /shopping list and sticking to it, less stress if you only have to think about dinners one day a week rather than scrabbling around wondering what you're going to have.

Getting your clothes out the night before, pants, socks the lot, leave it folded in a pile so you & dc have everything to hand, makes morning a little more straightforward

I always fill the kettle up before bed. One less thing to do in a morning.

As PP said spend 30mins each evening blitzing a room, so you're not left feeling overwhelmed at the weekend

Put washing machine on timer, so it comes on early & you're one load down by time you switch the kettle on in the morning

Yesss online shopping is a great idea that would save me a good hour of precious weekend time! I'm going to do that now.

The kettle thing is actually genius. Little things like that genuinely make a difference to my mood as well!

DD is a similar age to your daughter and we recently moved from a tiny house to a much larger family home. Great for play space but now there’s more to clean, of course. Maybe these are obvious but this really works for me:

-Batch cook bolognaise/chilli/stew for toddler whenever you can and put in old mustard jars in the freezer. Portion-wise I’ve found they’re perfect for pairing with veg/ pasta/ couscous (which takes literally 90 seconds). I’ve been known to get this done whilst on a work conference call.

-Nursery bag with spare clothes is always full to bursting so there’s no question of whether she has spare clothes and no need to repack the bag each day.

-I rarely wear clothes you iron and DH irons his own shirts because the alternative is they don’t be done. This wasn’t always the way. Pre-motherhood I’d do it for him as he has a stressful public sector job and I have never needed to take work home, but I’ve drawn the line now. No time so it’s on him.

-And finally I have stopped wearing my glasses round the house, so I can’t see the dust… 😂

Cook double portions and freeze half - a total lifesaver when it’s a busy night/you’re exhausted. Keep on top of cleaning, little and often is far less daunting than a big clean. Throw away unnecessary paperwork as and when you deal with stuff.

I am working and have 2 kids and few years ago I was actualy searching for things that would make my life easier.
1st thing would be that I dont iron any clothes. I was so surprised how much time I have saved and so many things you wont even noticed if its ironed or not.
2nd I cook big pots of bolognese and few stews every few weeks, I put in bags for freezer and all I have to do for lunch is cook pasta or rice and lunch is ready in 10min.
3rd I leave my kitchen tidy every evening even if I am very tired I make sure I dont go to bed before kitchen is tidy as next morning its so much easier and better for me.
Hope this helps.

I have 3 kids, by mistake I wrote 2 kids 😂😂😂😂

You must be superwoman! I only have one and already struggle to keep my life in order 😂

Echo- have enough clothes (in my case socks and pants) to be able to wash every couple of weeks
Then pre-sort washing, so that stuff that gets hanged up gets washed together, etc. easier to sort and put away when dry, rather than sorting out odd socks from larger items when washing is wet
The thought of meal planning/prepping used to make me 💤 but it does help to keep me organised
Get rid of outgrown kids stuff as soon as it’s outgrown. Have a charity shop bag on the go