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

Well, I hate to shock you but some people actually take After Eights out of a box and leave the little black envelopes IN THE BOX, so at first glance, it looks like loads are left but then it’s just a pile of paper!!
And it’s civilised people doing this imagine!!

So I would well believe it about the pens.

Reminds me of one job where I had to cover the reception for an hour every day while the receptionist went to lunch. She must have taken the one working pen with her, because the phone would ring, I'd grab a pen to take a message — and not a single one of the dozens of pens in the pen pot beside the phone worked. And none of the pencils had a usable point to them, either. I chucked the dead pens away and she was furious. She said that keeping a pot of dead pens there had solved the problem of people nicking them. And she was annoyed when I sharpened the pencils because she said people would nick them. And she was right!

I keep each bed’s spare set in the wardrobe too but since there’s only one bed and one spare set per room (with the other set on the bed), I don’t need to stuff it all in a pillowcase, just put it in the wardrobe in a stack – there’s no mistaking anything as it’s the only bedding there. The stuffing it in a pillowcase thing only seems to be a help if you DO keep all bed linen together in one spot in the house and need to differentiate between otherwise identical white sets.

(If you’re keeping duvet covers in one place and pillow cases in another, you’re probably beyond help and this thread is above your pay grade!)

Not knocking the tip! But I think the tip is actually “keep bedding in the room with the bed”; stuffing it in a pillowcase actually adds additional seconds to the task, imo.

Mine didn't seem to pick up so well on the kitchen floor so wouldn't be great if you have hard floors throughout unfortunately.

I've heard of many of the tips on this thread but don't feel the need to belittle the poster as I know it will be new to someone.

If you find someone disagreeing and saying something is obvious 'belittling', you are over sensitive I'm afraid.

For cleaning hardwood floors:

For little areas with crumbs. Just use a dustpan and brush on the local area.

For big areas with crumbs and debris, either full size brush or swiffer or squeegee. All are faster and easier than vacuuming. Squeegees also great for getting human or pet hair off rugs and carpet. MUCH easier than vacuuming.

Side note, squeegee as a word starts looking really weird when you write it a few times.

We're running out of space... here's a link to a new thread

Yet more things we've done to make life easier

I bought several ruggable rugs. They have a thick base but the top comes off easily and goes in the washing machine.

I also bought a boot cleaner - brilliant for getting mud off wellies etc.

For cleaning up crumbs - my DM has a little rechargeable handheld vacuum cleaner that cost her about £30 in B&M, and she loves it. As her main one is a Henry and this one is a German make, she calls it Little Heinrich.

And @girlswillbegirls I also have a robovac and love him dearly (IME about 80% of them are named and about 80% of those are boys). He has to be discouraged from shagging the base of the standard lamp, and yes, wires have to be tucked away, but he really is great. As he's a Eufy, he's called Prosser after the character Oofy Prosser in PG Wodehouse. And he has googly eyes.

I love this. 😂

The googley eyes of mine came off. I don't want to reveal the name of mine because several friends and family know about it.
I sometimes give him hugs. My kids think I'm bonkers.
The feeling of emptying that drawer full of dust when he is finished and says "Going home". I can't describe it!

Before getting the robovac I started a minimalist craze at home.
I watched that minimalist show in netflix and started the next day. The comvo of both is amazing. I have sent to charity maybe half of my belongings. A little of unwanted stuff went to recycling. I stopped buying which means you have money to do stuff you like (more lunches out, more weekend breaks for example).
I only have to lift a chair a coffee table Afor the robovac. The thing goes under my sofa.
I can talk for hours about this which is frankly ridiculous.
But it did change my life in a big way.
Highly recommend both.

Got rid of WhatsApp, I know I must live in the dark ages but I’d get pictures from idiots I’d blocked that have new numbers. The relief I had once it was gone

Mine has googly eyes too. He has a male name but I got stuck changing his voice to male. 🤷‍♀️
I talk to him when he gets stuck and DH thinks I’m bonkers.
he’s an eufy.
can’t remember ever being so excited about a domestic appliance 😂😂😂

I talk to mine too when gets stuck somewhere. I feel I need to be kind with him- he is an Eufy too. I never thought it could be possible to feel afection for an appliance. I feel its more like a pet.
I feel such a relief I'm not alone 😂

🤦🏼‍♀️ forget I mentioned the bloody pillow case thing.

You store your bedding in the manner that works for you....

Was actually just trying to help another knackered and overwhelmed mummy who might be out there...

But thanks to the pp who was kind about my post ❤️

I need one of these in my life! I am going to start selling my shite to fund one, win win

@girlswillbegirls

I watched that minimalist show in netflix

What show is this please? sounds helpful!

Have a possible adhd very forgetful DH, and big time saver is writing notes all over the house in a sharpie. Ie) DINNER on fajita wraps, THIS FOR TOWELS AND SOCKS on Halo detergent, FRIDGE on mayo, JAMIES SOCKS IN THIS DRAW etc. On as many things as you can - don't even bother speaking to him about them anymore, just go straight yo the pen draw. Only works if you don't mind scribblings all over your belongings, but does save a lot of time (and money and arguments).

Have a possible adhd very forgetful DH, and big time saver is writing notes all over the house in a sharpie. Ie) DINNER on fajita wraps, THIS FOR TOWELS AND SOCKS on Halo detergent, FRIDGE on mayo, JAMIES SOCKS IN THIS DRAW etc. On as many things as you can - don't even bother speaking to him about them anymore, just go straight yo the pen draw. Only works if you don't mind scribblings all over your belongings, but does save a lot of time (and money and arguments).

Is this serious? You have one life. Why on earth would you spend it with someone you have to deal with like a child? This is the absolute opposite of what this thread is supposed to be about. Sharpie notes to an adult "Fridge" on the Mayo? Don't bother speaking to him about it?

I feel really sorry for you and your whole family if you have to live with a man like this. I'm not sure if you are joking and I hope you are.

Hi!
I am not able to link the trailer (in youtube) but you can type: "The Minimalists: Less is Now"
It really changed my life. I have less stuff, which simplifies tidying and also the way the house looks. I feel calmer with less things around.
I also buy less and have more time (and money to do nice things :))

I hope you enjoy watching it.

Yeah, no. I have an actual ADHD DP but he’s also a grown adult. Managing his ADHD is his responsibility, so he takes responsibility for renewing his medication, setting reminders on his phone to take it, and creating visual cues where needed. And the key to him remembering stuff is he is the one who does it: if I wrote “socks” on a sock drawer he wouldn’t see it, because ADHD, I’d have writing on my furniture, and he’d still lose his socks. If he consistently puts his socks away and takes responsibility for them, he doesn’t lose his socks.

The key to making my life easier is not giving a shit if my partner loses his socks, because he’s a grown adult and can solve that problem all on his own.

I’m an adult with adhd. And I mostly agree.

I do love that my SO helps me look for my keys if I’m in a hurry. Or calls my phone when I’m looking for it.
we also have a division of labour that probably takes my - very well managed! - adhd into account, e.g. him being in charge of departure times whereas I planned and booked the holiday.

But as you said: we are grown adults, we can look after ourselves and we manage our own responsibilities. That’s what we should expect from ourselves tbh.

but some people won’t… and if they’ll find an enabling partner? Well, that will simply give them even less of an incentive! External motivation in the form of natural consequences tends to be incredibly important for most of us with adhd.

What a great idea! 😀

@Punxsatawnyphil
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.
Now this is exactly the sort of activity I love and, indeed ,do .
But what I should be doing is throwing half of them away ,because if they're in one of my many junk drawers it's because I'm not using ,or even still have,the device they go with .

@amberedover1 this is a great idea. I have a box with cables but badly organised. I will put your advice into practice.

I bought small perspex open containers (transparent) and classified pencils, markers, scissors, erasers, pens...it made a huge difference. Each category is in one container and you can see everything easily. So we have the "stationary" drawer very organised and easy to find stuff there. It used to drive me bonkers.