Must have items to make life easier

[BreakdownInevitable]

Sorry - I know these threads pop up all the time.

I need some suggestions for making my life easier - we are about to get a bit of money form the sale of our flat and I want to invest in items that will make life better. Our life is very chaotic &disorganised at the moment - our son has profound autism and ADHD, and we are awaiting the funds to also renovate the very dated bunglaow we live in - and I am just desperate to make our life simpler/ easier. I would love recommendations for specific brands as well.

These are the items I plan to buy as soon as possible:

A good knife set (any recommendations welcome - we are using a bread knife at the moment)

A tumble drier

An air fryer

A scrubbing tool for the bathroom

Please do hit me with recommendations for anything that had improved your life!

A dishwasher, affectionate/attentive cat, def des tresses me.
well planned laid out kitchen, heated airer

A dishwasher- it should be illegal not to own one! Don’t understand how people live without it hahaha!

Dehumidifier for when you dry washing/when it is damp in winter.
Couple of really good rechargeable torches for whenever there is a power cut.

My parents swear by two vacuum cleaners - each stays on their own floor. One day they may meet on the stairs...

To be honest, waaaay above things like an air fryer, the thing I'd absolutely love is to be able to pay for a cleaner!

Love my Emma mattress.

Things that make the house 'smart' are also good- lighting / heating etc on your phone/by voice. The light switches in my place are in really annoying places so being able to voice command is great!

@calmcoco any dehumidifiers you recommend? Am going to purchase in next month (mainly for clothes drying, no real damp issues generally)

Thank you!

Smart lighting, we've got Philips Hue
Ninja multicooker
Otty mattress and pillows
Good quality bedding
Extra sockets in the kitchen and the biggest washing machine you can afford

A far infrared heated mat for your bed - reduces aches and pains and promotes deep sleep.

We have Meaco, happy with it, but of course have only ever bought one! - take a look at the two different types of dehumidifier (desiccant or compressor) to see which type is best for your circs.

Cleaner if you have the cash for it

Agree @ManAboutTown
definitely a cleaner!

She changes my bed, washes the bed linen, does the ironing.

I might marry her if OLD continues as it has😂

I'm pretty tidy generally as well so I'm probably paying a bit over the odds for the time it takes.

I would definitely second the le creuset 3ply stainless steel saucepans, theyre fantastic quality and you can just shove them in the dishwasher. We have le creuset non stick frying pans but although they claim to be dishwasher safe you do need to handwash them unless you want to go through the warranty process every time the coating peels off!
With decent kitchen knives I would get a set of 3 global knives, a small paring knife, a medium one and a great big one! They're not supposed to go in the dishwasher but I've never had any problems doing it (unlike my henckels knives where the handles fall off!) and just sharpen them regularly.
I find that the best thing for being organised is a good collection of the 'really useful' storage boxes, theyre fantastically strong and you can use them for clothing, filing, Christmas decorations etc etc.
If I had a bit of money coming my way I would 100% get a cleaner to come and do a mega clean, inside all of the cupboards, behind all of the furniture. Combine that with an organise and declutter and hopefully it would be easier to stay on top of if the cleaner wasn't going to be a regular thing.

A thing in your sink that blends up food waste, obviously I've forgotten the name! We have zero food waste, our bin never smells and scraping plates is so easy just fling everything in.

Dyson wall mounted cordless vacuum, best investment ever. Second vacuum for upstairs

A set of cleaning things in every bathroom.

A lot of hooks, everywhere

Garbage disposal.

They're shit for the sewers though.

A good quality paper diary. I couldn’t live without mine. Having the whole week set out in front of me makes everything easier.

Night owl or similar coverless duvets!! In fact I got a night owl, but ordered a cheaper microfiber one for the spare and we love it, the nigtowl is now for guests

A label maker. Then no one has an excuse for not putting things away where they belong.

This is more of a do than specific products but back ups
So a box with batteries, light bulbs, sellotape, spare charger cables, scissors, a torch, anything like that all together in one place. Then if you wake up because a smoke alarm is beeping at 3am, you can sort it personal experience

And back ups of food/products you use. I never buy at full price, only on offer so I keep an eye on things in the supermarket, on Amazon etc.
like my deodorant is usually £5 in boots. It went down on Amazon (bulk buy) to £2.30 so I stocked up. I never ever run out of anything because I've always bought it cheap and stashed it. Means you are never oh shit we are out of toothpaste/deo/baked beans

My dad finds this funny as he shops daily. Then covid hit and I could supply myself, him and work with soap and hand wash for weeks until we could buy it again

I like Zwilling Knives and get decent scissors while you're at it too

Dishwasher
Cordless Hoover, have a robot one but cordless is most useful
Sockets with UB/USBC options
Touch or Motions Lamps by bed and front door
Charger that will do all of one persons devices in one places. I have this
In fact just stock up Charging cables of different lengths, lightbulbs and a variety of batteries and keep them in one place
Large Airer and Sock Hanger
ROKU so TVs always have all the apps
Private listening on all TVs
Extendable scrubbing device
Silicone Spatulas in various sizes
Silicone Food covers in various sizes
Citrus Press
Digital kitchen scales
Wrapping paper organiser/store from Ikea that I have stocked with essentials including selection of cards
Heavy tape dispenser for sellotape and roller for parcel tape

I'll be honest, don't really rate my Ninja air fryer thingy or Instant Pot but might just be my family and our needs. A proper mixer and decent food processor has been good for us though (both Kenwood).

Things that have personally improved my life are :
Fridge plumbed in with Ice & Water, AirPods, Sunrise Alarm and Bean to Cup Coffee machine

The best thing I've done is spent time setting up basic weekly online foodshop, Amazon subscribe for boring things like cat litter or immodium and having a shared family calendar that we've input everything in with reminders and tasks, it even shows when my period is, reminds MOT being due or that the clocks are changing.

Along the same lines, I'd recommend a small, wipeable white board that attaches to the fridge where you can note down anything you run out of and can add to the next food shop.

One of those family planner calanders on the wall that you can enter everyone's important dates for the month and check the night before.

Simba mattress rather than Emma - same concept, just personal preference and Simba often have great deals on
Best washing machine and tumble dryer you can afford, splashed out on AEG and have never regretted it - utterly reliable and washing machine is v quiet. They are also stackable if that’s an option for your space
Dishwasher - think carefully about cutlery arrangement. I bought one with a top cutlery tray rather than a basket, love it, but it does affect the height of other items that will fit, particularly in the top tray, so would probably go basket for future purchases
Instant Pot - love it! They now do one that doubles as an air fryer, have heard good reports
Rice cooker - am shit at cooking rice and it comes out perfect every time
Glass storage containers - i transfer berries etc to them on purchase and they keep for much longer, Expensive to start with, but save money in the long run as reduce waste and make the fridge easier to organise
A really good iron - i bought one that adjusts temperature to the fabric automatically, no more sticking shiny fabrics to the sole plate
A heated airer and a cover for it for drying things that dont go in the dryer in winter
A decent bin for taking rubbish and recycling - makes managing it all much easier
Lots of fluffy towels, including super large ones
Decent saucepans and an induction hob
Baby Shark handheld vacuum

This may be the most “outing” post I have ever written 😂

Boiling water tap. Love it.

Yes, cordless hoover.
’Magic’ broom.
spoon rest for cooking so surfaces stay cleaner.
Ironing service for shirts.
Quooker tap.

⬆️👍🏻

Lakeland heated dryer