Yet more things we've done to make life easier

[listsandbudgets]

Welcome back everyone. Thank you for the hundreds of ideas... now lets keep making life easier

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The poster I was replying to said the other poster was a man hater, and hoped she didn't have sons.
I don't think "nasty" was in any way an overreaction to that kind of personal comment.

Wheresthescissors

well of course she said that, if you say men can’t do anything and you have sons it’s not great, is it? She’s not saying ‘I put a curse onto the and this can never have sons!!!!’

🙄

@stayathomer I suggest you go back and read the actual post I referred to. She didn't say men can't do anything.
But I'm not posting about it again as it's supposed to be a helpful tips thread.

I have something called Grid It which I keep all the cables I need for a holiday in. I bought extras of all the propriety cables like for my aftershokz headphones, and it means I don't have to try and remember what I might need.

If I'm going somewhere that had a different plug set up (like EU two prongs) I bring one travel adapter and an extension lead so I can use all my normal plugs.

@Merrow reminded me.

When I put away my suitcase from a trip I always leave a travel adaptor in and the lock with a key. That way I remember to bring them.

On that note also, if you have a suitcase that works with a numerical lock I use each family member’s date of birth.

3 number lock. Dob 27/02/2024
I’d use 274
27 day
4 last digit in the year

You can make whatever combination works for you.

Grid Its are awesome. I have several.

I love that I look at it and instantly spot if something is missing. It cut down on a lot of missing usb cables for me.

I’m thinking of getting another one but can’t figure out what size.

magnetic-backed notepads on the fridge, and pens in magnetic holders - one pad for shopping and another for meals in the fridge and freezer - saves using scrappy bits of paper that get lost!

it’s been said but - a decent sellotape dispenser saves a lot of irritation.

thanks for the great tip of masking tape and Sharpie to label Tupperware boxes, brilliant!

I’ve just bought something similar to the grid it for my power bank and cables…fed up of scrabbling through a tangled mess of cable in an old repurposed make up bag to find the right one when I’m travelling!

I bought a pack of plain black / grey / cream zippy cotton canvas bags - sort of make up bag size (20cm x 10cm).
I labelled them all with iron on vinyl (but you could prob use a sharpie on the cream ones), and now i have 4 or 5 in my handbag.....
Feel Fresh = tissues, hand sanitiser, wipes, sanpro etc
Feel Better = painkillers, allergy tabs, plasters, small savlon etc
Charge Me = Various charging cables, 1 plug, charging bank
Make a note = pens, notepad, plectrums (don't ask - they're for DP!)

Means I'm not scrabbling through a bag of random bits every time I need something, plus if i want to change over to a different bag it's super easy!

Write the amount of pieces for each puzzle on the back too so you know how many you are looking for.

Oh. My. Goodness. Mind blown! 🤯 That’s brilliant!!

Place marking for later

A few things I have done that have improved my everyday life:

In general, buying more than one of something. Casual clothes, underwear, utensils...if it works, you will probably be using it a lot.

Learning to use the oven timer. Previously I used to often forget to turn the oven on in time, then supper would inevitably be delayed. Now I decide what time I want to have supper then set the oven timer in advance. Remember to allow for the warming-up time.

Using a digital cooking thermometer - no more angst about whether things are properly cooked.

I batch cook and freeze dahl and make sure I always have some microwave rice in the cupboard. Then if I'm in M&S and they have yellow stickered curries I can pick up a couple defrost a tub of dahl and ping some rice and we have a zero effort meal for about £10 for four of us.

@londonmummy1966 , sorry this probably isn't the right place to ask, but would you mind sharing your dahl recipe please? I love dahl but I've never been able to make a decent version.

For shower cleaning
Method shower spray
Dishmatic sponge thing filled with washing up liquid
I keep them both in the shower, once over with the sponge and rinse maybe twice a week, spray the shower spray daily

This shower sealant. I'm completely not DIY friendly but I am capable of using this! Good for small touch ups, had it since Dec 2022 and it's fine still. I put some cling film over the cap to make it extra air tight

https://amzn.eu/d/10bWKP8

These glasses cleaning cloths. I'm really really picky about having clean glasses and these are the best I've ever used

https://amzn.eu/d/9iF5JUn

Not necessarily for making things easier but these period pain patches have taken me from maxed out on painkillers and in a&e with endo pain to managing without painkillers at all. Don't know how they work, don't care

amzn.eu/d/d99TTRv

@CarrieMoonbeams I don't really use a recipe just make it up as I go along and chuck in whatever veg is looking a bit limp and sad in the fridge.

@CarrieMoonbeams this is my go-to starting point for dhal. Not too complicated or time consuming.

Thank you @Mollifi , that's very kind of you. I'm going to have a go at making that tomorrow 🤞. It's bizarre, I've been veggie for over 30 years and I love cooking, but while this should be a simple dish I just can't get it right!

maybe you just have very high standards 😁

LeRedoute do them, search stain resistant.

I think the dot method for labelling clothes if you have two or more children is genius. Use a sharpie to put one dot on the label of eldest child's clothes, two dots for middle child etc. If a clothing item is passed down from one child you just add another dot to the label.

After spending way too long with DC unable to find their clothes and one incident where DS took his younger brothers swimming trunks to swimming this has saved so much time!

My kids all have a different colour. It’s not their favourite colour just the one that has stuck somehow - eldest blue, next red, next green youngest pink. Cups, bottles, name
labels and towels all in those colours.

Also they all have different coloured school sock a - eldest navy, next plain black, next ribbed black, youngest white.

@dsan and @lilsupersparks we have 4 DC and do both the dot thing and also the different coloured thing. So first DC has one dot on clothes, 2nd 2 dots etc. then colours for water bottles and towels. Then school socks are different for each DC eg one has frills, one has ribbed, one has coloured heels and one has plain black.

On the subject of clothes we have separate dedicated school/work uniform washing baskets and wardrobes. We have enough uniform for the whole week (25 shirts 😱) and wash, tumble dry and get them away at the weekend.

I also have a dedicated pants and socks basket and do a couple of washes a week of just pants and socks then they are tumble dried and all put away in one go!