What do you do/pay for to make your life easier

[Lorie94]

Hi all,
What do you all do to make your life easier ?
I've went full time and also now studying so would like some tips and tricks.

I have a gardener and mainly do online shopping to save time.
We have started getting Gousto to try eat fresher food and we are actually spending less on groceries

I have been considering getting a cleaner to help more with the deep cleans as my house isn't as clean as I'd like.

Is tumble dryer worth it ? Or a chest freezer to batch cook. I only have space for 1 of these and unsure which one to go for.

Is there anything I'm missing which can make my life easier during this busy time 😅

I don't know how you manage without a tumble dryer. How do you get all the bedding and towels dry in the winter??

Someone to cut hedges as they are too high for me to manage alone.

Tesco deliveries.

Lazy garlic and frozen onion - I'm more likely to make a from scratch meal after a long day.

Tumble dryer (no space to hang clothes indoors).

HelloFresh for 3 meals a week - the children make them on my late finish days.

We don't do much, but we have four animals and all their food, medication and litter is on a subscription service so we don't need to worry about running out or forgetting to order stuff.

I have a heat pump tumbler that is way cheaper than the old one to run. It is on for longer but is cooler and doesn’t nuke my clothes like the old one either. Could not be faffed with an airer

I have an occasional gardener who does the heavy work. She's over a decade younger than me and can do in a couple hours what would take me a day (as I'd take loads of breaks - actually who am I kidding other than mowing I wouldn't do anything)!
I'd love a cleaner, used to have one can't afford one now.
Supermarket deliveries. I won't give those up!

Solo ADHD mum, wfh full time doing long days.

Cleaner. Dog walker. Gousto. Toilet paper subscription. Coffee pod subscription. Subscribe and save on Amazon for some basic toiletries. Dog walker on my longest work day.

Probably other things I've forgotten about. Before I found all these things my life was an absolute fucking shambles and I will continue to outsource as much as possible for my own sanity.

Oh yes. The calendar on my phone/computer is my overlord.

Tesco delivery saver
Smol delivery
Who gives a crap toilet paper

Various subscriptions to things like antihistamine/pet food etc on Amazon

A completely free one. NHS app. Can order my repeat prescriptions wherever, whenever.

Individual towel sets for each member of the family. Everyone knows who left who's towel on the floor then. Pick up your own crap.
Online food delivery. Frozen veg is essential.
I love to cook as does dh so that's never a chore in the evenings but I do swear by a slow cooker in the winter.
Each child knowing I don't pick up dirty clothes and if you haven't put away the last batch of clean, then your load doesn't get washed.
Dh irons 5 shirts for himself on a Sunday evening.
If the place was clean then it never worried me if it was messy.
Everyone fed and clean and alive was the goal.

Realised I answered wrong.
What do I pay for not what do I do.
I don't outsource much in the home.
Groceries. Christmas shopping. Clothes shopping. All done online.
Cleaning etc we always do ourselves.
We both always worked 6 days a week with 3 kids but we managed. It's busy and manic but being completely organised is the key. I do most of my work at home and I don't sit around on my breaks. I was always dropping someone or cooking something or doing a floor wash.
Bit mad really but sure it passes.

Amazon subscriptions for pet food, coffee pods, dishwasher tablets, toiletries etc
Splosh and Naked subscription for cleaning products and loo roll
Google calendar alarms everywhere and for everything
Big whiteboard in the kitchen with everyone's movements each day
Freezer for batch cooking
Always make enough for left overs / lunch the next day
Enough school uniform and PE kit stuff to last the week without washing
Fortnightly click and collect for groceries
Set days for things each week eg hoover stairs on Sat, clean chicken coop on Sun, water house plants Sun pm

Fortnightly online shopping. Saves headspace and money.

I can’t think of anything other than usual stuff. We’ve got a washer dryer and dry everything that way, I don’t even have a washing line.

We also use gousto, which makes mealtimes and shopping easier. Plus there’s often leftovers that I take to work the next day.

We have-

Weekly cleaners

Gardener

Ironing services when needed

Window cleaner every 6 weeks

I make double portions of meals that freeze so I always have something in the freezer and some weeks barely any cooking is needed- I call it being kind to my future self.

Bloom and wild set up with reminders for birthdays

Ocado smart pass for deliveries whenever needed

Dishwasher,tumble dryer,robot cleaner

Direct debits for all bills

Cleaner, pyrolitic oven.

I consider frost free freezers, tumble dryers and dishwashers standard.

I have a clothes rail and put everything over the radiators which I know isn't good 😅

Also last few winters I was lugging the to the laundrette but i was part time and had a free weekday, now I have gone full time I don't want to do it on a busy weekend. Needs must if I have to but thought a tumble dryer will eliminate the problem

I'd go for a tumble dryer over a chest freezer if you only have space for one. Unless you have time/ inclination to batch cook a chest freezer is not as great as it seems.

Also, if you have ADHD, having a chest freezer full of stuff will create more mental admin around keeping track of what is in there/ needs to be used up, as you end up forgetting the stuff at the bottom. We still don't have a great system for this. I recently saw a stand up cabinet freezer on YouTube and thought that would be much better to be able to see what's in there.

If you have enough height in the space to put the freezer or tumble dryer, get an under counter freezer, get a carpenter in to build a rough support and then put the dryer on top. Its no different to having the dryer stacker on top of a washing machine

Cleaner once a week. When I got divorced and had to reassess finances it came up as something I could do without. Hell no. Kept the cleaner

I have a full on job and basically outsource my life. I have a housekeeper who works Tuesdays to Fridays and does all the cleaning etc and looks after the dogs. Gardener. Losing weight so personal trainer currently. Loads of stuff.

I sometimes feel like I don't live my life and other people do which makes me sad.

Food deliveries (I eat the same things mon / tues each week but boring but ones a prep the night before slow cooker one and the other is a freezer batch cooker)
school dinners (or kids make their own pack up)
will get a cleaner (sadly for only once a term as it’s as far as finances will stretch)

Oh really? I found that once we got a dryer everything seems waaaay more wrinkled than when it hangs on the airer to dry. Do you have any tips?

I love Stocked - simple frozen stews / curries delivered to your home. Cheaper than things like hello fresh but save soooop much time. I also think it saves money because I only really buy veg to go along side.

Big chest freezer in garage for batch cooked meals.
Ironing collected weekly (I hate ironing)
Eat out twice a week