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

Other than replacements of course

I don’t manage to do this every day, but I try to search under my smartphone photos under each day’s date. That way I get nice memories from that day, but also delete the crud. I’ve got over 20,000 photos on my phone / in the cloud!

I mean to start printing some off, I can see the cloud crashing in future!

Labelling the sides of your sheets is a genius idea!!!

Since working from home I spend 20 minutes before work and 20 minutes of my lunch break doing housework, my house is tidier than it's ever been and I have so much more time

A few years ago when IPlayer came along, bought a larger PC screen and stopped almost all late night tv. Consistent sleep times are good for me.

Love this thread!
Shared calendar on my phone has been a gamechanger
“do it now” approach to tidying and cleaning
shampoo and conditioner and nappy bin cartridges on a repeat order from Amazon
meal planning

Mine are probably really obvious ones that most people do.

Online grocery shopping
Revolut pockets for bills and budgeting
Blouses etc get 5 mins in the dryer instead of being ironed
Regular decluttering
Have a stash of birthday cards and cash ready for birthdays
2 of every uniform for the kids

Only on page 4 but loving this thread.

I got a boot box on amazon so instead of my walking jacket, walking boots, shopping bags, dog lead etc floating around the boot, they're in one spot and if I need the boot free I just lift it out into the house.

This thread is excellent. Thanks OP!
There is mine: After watching the Minimalists I started to declutter every single room in a big way. It's kind of additive if you get into it. I donated and recycled 95 per cent of it. Only a little bit is unusable or non recyclable.

I just cannot stress the difference that this made in my life.

Tidying up and cleaning takes no time. The house always looks tidy. I am happy.

I stopped buying stuff, my husband doesn't buy much. I buy only what I need and good quality but much less. I have money to do things and more time to enjoy them. Kids seem happy too.
It's so freeing. I love love love it. I wished I discover this earlier. Highly recommend it.

Every 2 or 3 weeks I make a load of oat bars (oats, mashed banana, peanut butter, raisins and honey) and bread pasties ( pasties but made with bread dough instead of pastry abd filled with whatever I have in the fridge).

I wrap them individually and freeze.

I then have lunches ready for work. I just take an oat bar and a pasty out of the freezer in the evening and take to work the next day with some fruit and a box of salad veg.

It has saved me so much hassle after work when I'm tired and just want to sit down!

I also make a massive load of chilli com carne every so often and freeze for easy dinners after work.

I cannot remember how many bags of stuff went to the charity shop when I declutter my own house. Each weekend a different room. I filled the boot of the car so many times...is absolutely liberating isn't it?
You regain space and time, it's amazing.

I love this thread!! Thank you thank you thank you.

Mine’s a small one but I keep a pen in my son’s school book bag so that I can easily sign the diary when I hear him read.

The label for my fitted sheet goes in the top left corner, no need to mark it.
And yes, I unsubscribe after ever Xmas.

Have a drawer with generic cards eg thank you, happy birthday
lay out all my clothes for week in advance
pack bag night before
batch cook in advance & portion up in bags
regift but put a post it note on gift who it’s from so I don’t inadvertently give it back
multipack batteries
wrapping paper and sellotape
online banking on phone to quickly move money
spam email address for subscription etc
all bills on DD

Oo, yes, I use these and separate by rooms people will be staying in on the way there BUT THEN on the way back I pack according to washing loads (all darks that can be tumble dried in one, all lights that can't in another etc). Makes unpacking and waking after hol much easier.

Set up a WhatsApp group with just me and DH. Record a video of things we need to do occasionally (fitting the bike rack, resetting oven/ microwave clock etc) and send to WA group. Both have it

Notes app for me
Coin purse for kids book bags so I didn’t miss cake sales
PE kits washed bagged and back in the car - same for swimming kits

@tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz "Passports - strip of washi tape on the back with our first name sharpied on."
Genius idea - I am just going to write a giant initial on each passport back with a sharpie

• I have colour coded my wardrobe so all blue clothes are together, red clothes together, etc and are then sorted so that all jumpers, tops, fleeces etc are together too. Saves heaps of time in the mornings.
• Ample stock of AA and AAA batteries to hand in the kitchen drawer.
• Passport, diving licence, birth cert and other important documents all in one folder in the back of a desk drawer.
• Reusable shopping bags kept right by the front door by the house keys so that I don't leave the house without them.
• A stock of non specific wrapping paper and birthday cards available so I'm not ad-hoc buying these items throughout the year.

Batch cooking and freeze portions so there's always something for busy days.
A meal planner so we know what we're having in the evening (saves the what's for dinner conversation) and helps with the shopping list for the week.
And I've pretty much stopped ironing too!

Don’t write directly on passport cover, technically that is defacing it. May be problematic
Pop a sticker on the back,write on that

laminated certificates eg birth certificates etc

I'm utilising my "Just me" WhatsApp group and copy and pasting them over

@Beansandneedles it's fab isn't it? Credit to a MNer many years ago who suggested it and I've duly stolen it! Provided your use washi tape it comes off easily should you need to remove it but stays on for many travels otherwise

Blank make-your-own cards. Birthdays, Christmas, thank yous, condolences, congrats etc. Roll out the sharpies or pencils, and Bob's your uncle. And the kids love it too because it's arts and crafts. Don't think I've bought an actual greeting card in about 6 years, you're never "oh shit, I forgot to get a card", and recipients are always grateful that it's something hand-made.