Tell me at one or two small thing you've done to make your life easier

[listsandbudgets]

I've done 2 this year

1. I've unsubscribed / marked as spam from nearly all my mailing lists. Now my inbox is an oasis of calm and I don't spend what feels like hours every week wading through emails I don't want My spam file is brimming over!
2. I found a sharpie and (once I was sure they were the right way round!) labelled my double fitted sheets with side and top - wish I'd done this years ago not having to shuffle them about trying to work out which way up they go

Can’t think offhand of many but F. Keep a pen/pencil pot with different ones in it. Already do cheap cards by whistlefish etc. have a gift drawer with unused gifts. Batch cook but more for WW. Batch cooked a big pot of courgette soup the other day, kept in lean too which is freezing. The duvet idea is a good one!

As @chillycat does I bulk buy washing powder, toilet rolls etc and even beauty products like shampoo. Buying a 4 pack of eg toothpaste is a good idea. I’m not anal about finding cheapest prices but I like Savers as they’re local and they deliver (converted my DM to them. It’s a shame Ecover aren’t as good as I’d like to use them more. There’s also a refill shop which I try to use more but forget.

I do online grocery shops once or twice a week too and switch shops so sainsburys one day Tescos the other day. Saves a lot of shopping and only need to get extras if I run out.

My stepdad has recently got an allotment about a year ago and if he has a glut of anything (we live fairly near each other) like courgettes he gives them to me. I’m going to try growing salad stuff and tomatoes this year.

My DM was amazing when we were young, worked full time or job share and made my summer school dresses, made bread every week (no bread maker), cleaned the house herself (with help from us for our bedrooms and maybe kitchen etc when we were old enough) and refused my nana’s offer of a dishwasher gift! I think you just have to have a routine. She did finish work every day at 3/3.30pm every day plus 20 minute drive home and no extra work so sure that helped. When freezing was a trend she was the first to get a huge chest freezer and freezer cookery book and batch cooked loads of meals! Chest freezer long gone now. My auntie who’s 90 and lives alone still batch cooks and freezes meals, chicken curries, spag bolognese all in freezers in garage!

@Poachedeggavocado I would love to hear your laundry routine

Bit of a problem with the old stamps. I had to go to the sorting office and pay £2.50 because my sister sent me a letter with an old stamp instead of the bar coded ones.

I create a calendar entry on my phone for every person I buy gifts for - Dec 25th for Christmas (one entry per person) and on birthdays for the DC / DH who I buy more than one thing for. As I think of gifts / people give me ideas through the year I add them to the calendar note meaning I always have gift ideas when the time comes.

I have one myself but don’t know if it has been mentioned.

I keep bonne maman jars and big nutella ones when I buy them in Costco.

Once the contents are gone I use them to store dry goods in them and I label the glass jar not with tape or decals as the leave residue behind and once you label them you are stuck with them but with a glass marker directly on the glass. When I am done with what I stored in it I wash the jar and reuse them with other things in it. Just water erases them, a game changer for me.

If like me you have a zillion keys on a draw and can never remember what they are for, some nail polish on the chubby top bit then you can often write what is for , e.g Patio

I printed off a couple of pages of tiny labels with our own surname and address on. I stick one on the back of every birthday and Christmas card, and it's made a significant difference to the number we get in return. Which is good for my mental health.

Every so often I bin all the dying black socks and replace them with a couple of dozen pairs of identical ones. Much easier on wash day. I do wear them out first though!

Stopped ironing and folding clothes. The kids wear jersey and denim, which doesn't need it, and we all have ADHD, so most tops/leggings/undies just have allocated boxes in the wardrobe (no school uniform here)

I only buy cookware etc that can go in the dishwasher. I had water bottles sat on the side for over a year before I gave up.

Going to sharpie my sheets today!

Last year I bought almost all the cards I needed for the year in one go, and I plan to do the same this year. It's a small thing but it made me feels loads better!

Morrisons paper carrier bags for bin bags in bedrooms and bathroom. They can be disposed of so much more easily. And the shape means they fit into the corner so DH doesn't miss when throwing things in and leave them festering in perpetuity.

Charity shop box on the landing and another in the hall. When it's full it goes that day. Clothes that are too small, Gu pots from the kitchen, unwanted presents.

I give the bathroom a quick wipe over with a damp flannel when the kids are in the bath. The room is already steamy, the flannel is already soggy, and it takes two minutes when I'm already in there and bored. Very^^ occasionally I can persuade a child to help!

Make a weekly menu for everything and then make a list which I use to shop. Saves money, time and effort (and urgent thought at 4.30) and also causes weight loss.

I put all birthdays etc in my calendar and added a reminder for two weeks earlier to get a card or present. Lifesaver.

Oh and I measured all the random empty frames I own and put them into a spreadsheet, then every month I order one print to fit one of the frames.

I now buy cases of wine and 1kg buckets of chocolate in bulk.

Saves trips to the shops.

Slow cooker porridge, I get up to my breakfast already cooked on these cold mornings.

I bought myself new pens and they "live" in a particular drawer so I don't have to go hunting for them.

I have labelled my sheets with single, double, etc. It's much easier to grab the right sized one as it's now easy to keep each type together, too.

I have a list on the front of each freezer with what's in each one and where it is plus the date it was bought and/or must be used by. I have a pencil and rubber hanging next to it (rubber needs a cover or it dries out over time) and when something is taken out its removed from the list or if something new is added it's added to the list. Much easier than searching for what's what and means stuff doesn't get forgotten.

I'm trying to detox my phone use. Finding other stuff much easier if I haven't spent ages lusting after unattainable (for me) lives of strangers on Instagram

Also trying to meal plan /batch although yet to find a method I stick to.

A present stash in the attic for kids. Covers most of Christmas plus the kids' friends' birthdays and means I can buy in the sales. No more last minute panics.

The kids prefer a stack of blankets and thin quilts to a duvet, so I have them pick the stinkiest to wash each week. Now DD has hit puberty we may switch to picking two.

Lego drawers. Plastic set of drawers, and the top one is for instruction books.

Batch cooking jacket potatoes. I love them but its inefficient to just cook one or two for myself. So I buy a large bag, cook them all at once and freeze. They reheat from frozen in around 4 to 5 minutes and it means I can always pull one out for lunches or to add to a main meal. Same with rice. I cook a large batch then freeze and portion into single servings.

Shelves with boxes in my futility room, labelled so 'candles,t lights, lightbulbs' 'electrical' 'plumbing' 'decorating' no more hunting through cupboards and toolboxes to find the stuff I need to do small DIY jobs.

I also always try to do 2 things to improve a room before I leave it. It can be little stuff like removing an empty toilet roll, putting a towel in the linen basket, removing a cup, etc., which means on an ongoing basis the house stays less cluttered and it literally takes seconds to do.

I also always try to do 2 things to improve a room before I leave it.

There are so many good tips on this thread, but to me is absolute genius, so quick and easy to achieve and over time will remove the need to do 20/30/40 things. Thank you for sharing

Got a wooden organiser that has drawers for keys and space to put letters to be dealt with. I also keep a copy of the bin schedule and the weekly meal plan in there. I also bought a pack of pens and pencils and keep them in there with a notepad. I find it very handy especially to put the bills in as they come before I have a chance to file them away properly.

Sellotape dispenser, scissors, labels and envelopes all in one drawer. Very handy for eBaying and wrapping presents.

Always have stamps in my purse and buy a new book when I run out.

Travel toiletries, spare comb, spare hair clip permanently in my gym bag. Saves a lot of time having to pack what I need each time I go as it's already in there.

Supermarket delivery pass (I hate food shopping!).

Spare generic birthday cards and wrapping paper.

Running list of birthday/Xmas presents I buy plus a list of ideas if anyone happens to mention something they would like.

Live by the saying 'don't put it down, put it away' (combined with trying to make sure everything has a place to live so there's no clutter on the sides).

Basket at the top and bottom of the stairs. Things that need to go up or down are chucked in there. No one goes up or down without taking at least one item to be put away

Paperwork in plastic folders, labelled, in date order. Car stuff, mortgage docs, boiler cover, insurances, school stuff...

Love this thread.

In our house we moved the washing to the bathroom, and everyone has a day allocated to do their washing. In-between, I bung towels/blankets etc in. Hang everything that goes on a hanger on one to dry. Use a dehumidifier for faster drying.

Bedding for each room kept in said room. Everyone has their own laundry basket too, which they take to bathroom, do washing, refill basket with clean stuff to take back to room.

Weekly food delivery. I order roughly the same each week, along with a couple of 'different' additions. For example, 1 week I might order different spices, or a different jarred item, a different cut-off meat. Forces me out of my comfort zone. I save recipes on insta that I like so easy to find.

I rotate each week the bulky/expensive items on shopping list. Week 1, dishwasher tablets, cleaning stuff. Week 2 washing powder. Week 3 toiletries. Week 4 pet stuff.

Each week I make soup from left over veg to clear veg drawer, portion into take away tubs for lunches. I make a roast every Sunday, left over meat is portioned and frozen, or used for lunches. I always pop some potatoes in for jackets at the same time. Whilst I'm cooking a roast I often whip up a couple of other things so I know we have food ready to go.

Frozen chicken breasts are a god send, along with frozen veg and chips. Bung the chicken in a dish with some veg, pour a sauce or spices and a tin of tomatoes on, check in oven. Done in 40 minutes, no faff.

Buy Xmas paper etc in January sales. Grab a couple of cards when I see some I like for birthdays etc.

Operate a 'if not you, then who?' Policy in our house. So, if things are left I ask who they are expecting to clean up after them.

Straighten kitchen and lounge every night before bed, make bed every morning.

Hang clothes I wear at front of wardrobe, then the things to the back I regularly reasses as to whether to keep, or if I can find a way of making it more wearable. My wardrobe is mainly sapsule, so everything can be mix and matched.

Have 1 funeral dress. Morbid, but takes any thought process out of potentially difficult times.

Constant charity bag on the go.

Bought a spray mop

Daily I do 2 YouTube short exercise routines - Standing Abs with weights, and Yoga - as soon as I wake up. So that exercise is out of the way 1st thing and any more I do during the day is a bonus

Always have a pack of birthday cards and wrapping paper in draw.

Have 3 pairs of glasses which I buy from Goggles4U (cheap!). Its saved all that time I used to spend hunting for my glasses.

Use Google Calendar religiously for appointments and reminders

Always cook enough for 2 days.

Relax when I feel the need to, without constantly looking for things to do.