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

Made a list on a piece of a4 of what is in every drawer of the freezer and diligently cross off and add as relevant. Replace it every month when it gets a bit cluttered. It's stuck to the fridge above the freezer with magnets and helps us meal plan better.

TRACKING MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS AND OUTCOMES

I have an unbelievable amount of Hospital, doctor and clinic appointments and it's got so busy that I missed 2 appointments.

Now I have two clips on the back of my front door that I check every single day; one has a physical calendar on it where I write the appointment on as soon as the appointment is made (in case a physical appointment letter doesn't arrive).

The other clip has all my hospital appointment letters and additional information like this :-

1. nearest date first, in order, so the closest is the top letter

1. Put a sticky note on each letter and write down questions I want to ask at the appointment - pull off the sticky note to take with me to the appointment.

1. when I've completed the appointment I put that letter to the back so I've always got to record of all the appointments I have attended.

1. On the rear of those letters I write down the outcome of the appointment, such as new prescription of tablets, xrays, scans, diagnosis, treatment plan, what to do in emergency between appointments etc.

1. It makes it so much easier writing this down because then if I need to speak to my GP about it prior to her getting the letter I've already got pertinent information written down on the back of my appointment letter.

This whole system is simple to set up, and everytime I go out (or am feeling forgetful) I check on my front door.

I hope this is useful for, and it somebody it certainly helps me with the amount of appointments I have.

(this may all seem OTT to some of you, but I see seven different specialty consultants, plus physio and IT, weekly sensory support assistance (like learning how to navigate new routes, how to adapt to sight loss *finished initial course ages ago, now doing advanced stuff etc), regular blood tests, scans and xrays. It's so hectic)

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

Saves trips to the shops.*

winner

I sorted out my junk drawer full of cables a few weeks ago. I tied them individually into neat bows/ knots and sorted them into different types, ie USB C / mini USB / headphone jacks, bagged them into clear zip lock bags and labelled them. This drawer was chaotic now it's neat and organised.

My label printer is also used to label up wires, really useful when I'm behind my PC trying to figure out which plug is which.

I keep my duvet/sheet sets inside one of the pillow cases. They then stack up in the airing cupboard and I only have to grab the case and all the bedding is inside.

I have a greetings card book like this that I fill up atbthe beginning of the year.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Busy-Birthday-Card-Book-Greetings/dp/B0BQN469ZW/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3SCA7WZQDDRKW&keywords=greetings%2Bcard%2Borganiser%2Bstorage%2Bbook&qid=1707482641&sprefix=greetings%2Bcard%2Borganiser%2Bstorage%2Bbook%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-2&th=1

Figured out how to get repeat prescriptions through the NHS app, takes ten seconds as everything is on there including my chemist of choice, and saves firing up the laptop and going through several stages re typing everything in. Result.

This thread is mind blowing! Why have I never thought to mark duvets?!

last year I started making sure that I never walk up or downstairs empty handed, it made cleaning up much easier as things get taken to the right bedrooms/cups get taken downstairs throughout the day.

Recently switched the compartments of our dishwasher.
we now have enough space for our plates! So much better!

Got the Thortful app so I can order/ write birthday cards on my phone and get them posted directly to participant.

Got a Starling Account so I can monitor my daily spending on my phone - made me realise just how much money I fritter away on lunches, snacks whilst out and about.

Stopped looking at work emails when not at work.

Game changer for me in terms of lowering anxiety.

I want to be you 🙏 this is AMAZING ❤️

If, like me, you have far too many keys on your key ring which is beginning to bugger up your ignition AND you are much too absent minded to have two, (imagine, two sets to lose 😱), you might like to know that I have used one of those elasticated ID things to separate two key rings.
This means that the main bulk of them rest in a cubbyhole on the dashboard which takes the weight off, but are still joined together, so only get lost the normal amount of time.

And me!!

I use plastic takeaway tubs for leftovers and write on the top with a sharpie. It's easily wiped off when reused.

I have a Christmas list on my phones notes function.
I write ideas for presents as I see or think of them or they are mentioned.
I also write what we had for the previous Christmas meal and what worked. For example, someone mentioned on a prepping roast potatoes early thread that they par boil and then cool their spuds, then coat them in oil and put them on the tray in the fridge overnight. Such a simple thing but boy did it save time, and hob space on Christmas Day.
I also write what joints we bought from where, with size and how much. Same for how many jars of sauce, mincemeat etc

We have a drawer unit in our wardrobe which contains all our bedding for our bed. My yd has hers in the airing cupboard and my ed has hers in her room which is downstairs. Saves trying to root through the airing cupboard for the right sheet etc which is what we used to do.

I painted a chalk board on our kitchen wall and write the weeks menu on it. I sometimes write ideas for other meals to one side when I think of them.

We have a small lined note pad hanging on the fridge where I write things as we run out, and sometimes the others do too. Helps for doing the online shop.

Online shopping has saved so much time, and I am sure has saved money.

I photographed all my shoes, printed them out and stuck them on the side of the boxes.

Not that I have a particularly massive array, but it saves me having to dig all through them to find the pair I'm looking for.

I’m enthusiastically scribbling down all of these tips with gusto knowing full well it will end up under the pile of crap which never seems to leave my kitchen table.
My brain prevents my life from being easier!

Same here, and I put the defrost/reheat instructions on the freezer labels too. My freezer is now a thing of beauty! Sad I know but the time and messing about it saves is wonderful

Following on from your sheet tip - I buy hotel bedding. The white sheets have a coloured stitch down each side of the sheet.
The coloured stitch is coded two by size (red is double, gold is king, etc,). Makes for such an easy life.

I also put a top sheet under the duvet, so that the duvet cover doesn't need changing every wash.

In addition, as we have a number of DC’s that visit for one night at a time. and as they no longer have ‘their’ bedroom, I have wooden pegs, marked with their name, that I clip to the bottom of the duvet.
That way I know if the same DC is returning to the same bed or not and whether I need to change it.
No more ‘one wash, remake bed every single visit!’

I keep a box with birthday cards, wrapping paper,gift tags, gift bags sellotape and scissors in it.

The passport one is genius!!! This thread is great, but that one is next level.

Started putting a supportive crop top style bra in my swimming bag so I don't have to piss around with bra straps and hooks after swimming.

My swimming routine is now:
Go to swimming pool in swim leggings, swim top, with hoodie over the top.
Take hoodie off and I'm ready to shower and get in the pool.
Then after swimming I put on knickers, crop top bra, maxi skirt, top. (a lot of people wouldn't do this but I also wear flip flops to avoid pissing around with socks and proper shoes).

Also saves a lot of time on hair removal due to the swim leggings hiding all 😂

I saw something once where they kept the bedding folded up between the mattress and the slats in each bed. Haven't implemented it here, but appreciated the creativity.

Loads of things already mentioned that help to keep me organised so I'll mention a few things that helps my mind.
1.Stopped caring about giving or receiving likes on FB (a big one)

1. Stopped caring about how I look in photos.
2. Stopped worrying about having to attend every single birthday party invitation.
3. Stopped worrying about whether I've gained a little weight, I just do something about it.
4. Stopped caring about what other people think of me.

6.Celebrating my good points, accepting my bad points. 7.Acknowledged I don't have to have everything perfect in my life to be happy.

Lots more but all I can think about just now.

I love threads like these, very inspiring. The tape on the passports is smart! I'm always worrying about taking the wrong one. Sadly the tip is a few years late now that everyone minds their own haha.

I sort off don't understand coverless duvets because that's the way it used to be, albeit with a sheet underneath. Granted, I understand that the new kind is very easy to wash, so that does make a difference. Duvet covers were invented to make bedmaking easier. Shaking out top sheets and folding them was fiddly. But I'm not starting a war on it, each to their own. I get why you'd use a top sheet and a duvet cover to make the cover last longer before going in the wash maybe, but I do kind of feel you're fooling yourself a little bit. No skin off my nose though.

I give you the Ikea catalogue from 1972, sporting only "duvets" (blankets is a better term) and top sheets. https://ikeacatalogues.ikea.com/77436/1102671/pages/1e8b4f3e-3bed-4ebe-a02f-5c81eca3b06b-at800.jpg

The very next year it's all about the new-fangled duvet covers!
https://ikeacatalogues.ikea.com/77436/1102673/pages/92a084d7-e432-44ea-ae5a-d4dc1126c489-at800.jpg

Text (freely translated):

For a long time duvet covers could only be seen as a continental bedding luxury, a different kind of bedding culture that made us think of delightful holidays.

Comfortable and hygienic, but unthinkable for us Swedes.

Luckily however the duvet covers have arrived. Colourful and pretty they give us as much textile in our home decor as blankets! Easier to make the bed, easier to launder.

You put the blanket inside the "sheet bag" and use a bottom sheet in the normal way. Practical at home, and practical if you're staying overnight and borrowing a blanket. Duvet covers are mostly mangle free. The blanket remains fresh.

The most modern duvet covers, like Ikea's, are stimulating home decor accents. [...] A new way of making the bed! More colour and a more comfortable everyday life!

We have one child, and both beds have got 2 sets of sheets. When I change the sheets, I wash them and dry them in the dryer. Then I store them in the dryer because I only ever use the dryer for sheets. We have a small house so that saved a drawer

We also have a sofa bed which is a double (our bed is king size) and I keep the spare duvet and pillows in a vacuum bag. I also store the linen for the sofa bed in that same bag so it's all in one place, and I never have to wonder if the white sheet I have is king or double. It's very neat pulling out just one bag from the storage cupboard with everything in it