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!

And yes to label maker but also a selection of basic stationery, like decent pens, rubbers that work, variety of envelopes. Rarely need these nowadays but when you do, you really need them!

Electric lighter is also handy as is insect bite zapper if you're a target for mozzies.

Not sure if you have a car but a power bank for the car. Means you can jump start yourself and to me is just something else not to need to worry about. I've diarised to recharge every 6 months.

For me it's ...

Bosch dishwasher
Milky Plant
Bibo mains plugged water filter (needed as we have a water softener)
RoboVac
Robomop
Robot lawn mower
Mlily mattress
Piglet in bed linens

Oh and a set of Global knives. About £350 if I recall correctly but last forever

A cleaner

A holiday fund and a weekends away fun

A dishwasher

A crockery rack on the kitchen wall. Hooks for mugs under a shelf. Kitchen Cupboards where the doors pull the shelves out. A larder if you can swing it

A second freezer

Supermarket delivery and a meal plan on the wall

Good storage and a one in one out rule so it’s never full (and Anglo collections to regularly collect clutter)

A ceiling clothes rack and / or pole in the airing cupboard to hang things on

A slow cooker if you cook

A multilayer electric rice cooker which you can also use to steam veg

An air cooker

A tray bake cook book or two and 2 big steal baking trays from ikea (foil to line the baking trays)

A handheld clothes steamer (nearly as good as ironing and much less bother)

Separate laundry bins for lights and darks (or however you divide it)

A chart on the wall with job areas divided up. An attitude that accepts other people will not to the jobs as you would and that’s fine.

Shared electronic calendar

Good bed and mattress (I think the Emma is like sleeping in the devils armpit but fortunately they have excellent customer services and took it back)

Black out blinds in bedroom

A which membership when you need to buy this stuff

American fridge freezer. Decent induction hob. Loads of kitchen storage especially pan drawers. 10 kg washing machine. Good brand appliances, eg Neff. Obviously dishwasher

DS has ASD, one of his few foods is tuna mayo sandwiches. Getting a tuna tin strainer and a couple of small storage pots for mixing and keeping the second half of the tuna in the fridge saved so much messing around with bowls and sieves.

So target your purchases to particular frequent issues or things that make your life better. (Airpods, kindle etc).

...what's private listening on tvs?

Love this thread. Xxx

i would add
Fiskars scissors
Brita style kettle (if in hard water area and not doing water softener)

Coconut scourers (ecococonut brand) fab for washing dishes and cleaning bathrooms. I always have at least 2 in my house

Knives - love my sabatier ones, don't need loads, small, large, serrated and a bread knife will sort you. Store them on a magnetic rack and sharpen reasonably regularly and they'll last a lifetime

Cordless hoover, recommend Shark. Makes hoovering so much quicker not having to plug/unplug

Good espresso machine. Absolutely love my Sage machine. I did grab it when it was heavily reduced but it's the best thing I've bought in ages along with a bean subscription from Horsham Coffee Roasters

Bacofoil elastifit bin liners - life-changing!

I’m reading through the posts here and getting vertigo. It depends where you’re at in your life op, but for me - two working parents, three young children - the answer is almost never “more stuff”, it’s less stuff and therefore less storage needs, less things lost when you need them, more headspace, more physical space, more money.

@Echio I've had this dehumidifier since last autumn and it’s been great, a bit lower on price than the Meaco ones at £144. The laundry function is brilliant and clothes are usually dry within a day, even in winter. I think I worked out it costs about 20p/hour to run.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/blyss-wdh-316db-16ltr-dehumidifier/368gy

I agree with @TheWayTheLightFalls A dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer are necessities in my book but on the whole the things that make your life easier aren’t things. They’re more time, space and money. I would use the money you’re getting to create that as much as possible. Reduce working hours if you can, get a cleaner, declutter.

Always having a spare pack of butter at the back of the fridge and 2 pints of milk in the freezer. Saves spending on corner shop prices.

As a menapusal woman, the best ever thing I have splashed out on was my fitted air conditioning. It heats, cools, de-humidifies and dries my washing. It's been brilliant and uses much less electricity than I expected.

The next best expensive gadget was my Quooker tap. No more boiling kettles and leaves my worktop clear for other things.

Always having stamps in your purse. Always having a packet of wipes in the car.

Thank you very much! That's really helpful! I can end up spending absolutely hours online dithering on these things - online reviews are just fraught with issues nowadays -a straightforward 'this worked for us' is really helpful!

IKEA Kallax
long handle spider catcher.
bread machine
yoghurt maker
heavy marble rolling pin ( doubles as a weapon if burgled)

@AMessageToYouRuby

Which application so you get shared family calender on please

Op my recommendation are ikea drawee dividers so pants in one socks in another with infant see drawer

Also we have the boxes by utility are a so each person stuff goes in and they can find it.

Lots of motion sensor recharge lights in cupboards etc.

90% goose down duvets.
This was a revelation to me after lugging old and lumpy duvets around.
I can hold your 9 tog in almost one hand!! It's sooo light and warm and beautiful to sleep under.

We've had then several years and still appreciate them.

I recommend soak and sleep.

Ditto a few silk pillow cases.

Lots of hairbrushes

Sharing socks with dh. Hes 11.5 I'm size 5. I buy foe time they fit me and I won't waste to me sorting more socks.

Kitchenaid
Pull out larder unit in a kitchen cupboard
Induction hob
Air fryer
Electric Velux windows

A heated clothes airer. I use it all the time in the winter and don't have a tumble drier.

I also really like my panda mattress topper.

Yes to the power bank to keep in the car. I have used it to jump start my car.

You can also use it as emergency charge for a mobile.

You didn’t ask me but if helpful - we use google calendar. You need a gmail account but I pretty much created and have then ignored mine. The calendar is essential to my marital happiness with DH.

Always have a hidden roll of sellotape