Make your life 1% easier

[Wanttobefrugalchic]

I followed tiktok Amy Astrid last January for her 1% easier series and saw her first one of this year today. I found her tips last year so helpful such as buying all the greeting cards you need in one go and also taking photos of outfits so it's easier to chose in a rush. So coming here to ask if anyone has any other tips that are easy to do upfront or gadgets that make life a bit easier during the year?

I didn't realise that anyone wouldn't have had one of those for years.

Even my parents have had one for 40 years and they are normally the last people to get any new-fangled notions.

my travel toiletry van A whole van for your toiletries?

My DC have endless sports kits for all of their different activities and clubs. It occurred to me about a year ago that; rather than keeping them all in a drawer together and the kit worn last week inevitably ending up at the bottom below the kit worn at the weekend and the kit worn yesterday and therefore being invisible to teenagers or one sock seemingly disappearing, I could put individual kits in a zip lock bag and keep each kit together. It has saved so much time and stress! The plan was that the teen would put the relevant kit in the relevant bag but he kept failing to do so. I have decided that it is more efficient for me to do it than it is to waste time looking for something as we’re supposed to be leaving so, begrudgingly, I do it.

@MargaretThursday the heavy tape sellotape dispensers are often mentioned on here. They are fabulous and I wouldn’t be without mine!

What’s a smart reminder??

If you have an iPhone there is an app called reminders.

Search for 'phone smart reminder'.
3 Ways to Create Reminders on an Android - wikiHow Tech

🤣

I empty the dishwasher & put away anything hand-wash only from the draining rack in the morning while the coffee machine does its thing.
That way the sink is empty & the dishwasher can be loaded throughout the day as things are used.
Turn it on after dinner so its finished before we go to sleep, & try to hand-wash any items that need it as we go (and not buy things that can't go in the dishwasher - its mainly just our pot lids & a couple of water bottles!).

If the dishwasher doesn't get emptied, it feels like a far bigger job at the end of the day when the sink is full of stuff!

This may be a bit of a me thing rather than universally useful but my life got a lot easier when I got a small handbag and kept in it all of my essentials for both personal life and work - it has: glasses, work pass, headphones, phone charger, keys, work and personal phone, kindle, plasters, small amount of medication (diarrhea tablets, cold and flu meds), pack of tissues, pen.

Everything stays in there when it's not actively in use. I used to take things in and out - oh I don't need my work pass today so I will put it on the side.. etc and it caused me no end of issues.

It being really small means it doesn't get too out of control, I can only just about fit everything in which also makes it quite obvious when something is missing.

I have little pouches inside for different things - one for work things, one for medicines/plasters/tissues

I too keep the bare essentials in my bag like @Bimmering does. Two small pouches. One is work things (tech & pen etc) and the other personal things (tissue packet, comb, hair tie,nail file, lip balm etc). They're the things that if I didn't have when I needed them it would be a PITA.

We don’t have seperate towels for swimming any more.

Take your half used one from the bathroom, swim, dry, wash - voila one less washing load per week.

Probably my best parenting decision ever was to tie a hairbrush onto the bathroom radiator. It’s probably stopped about 50 percent of our getting-out-of-the-house rows.

Maybe I’ve got too much time on my hands but when I do my shopping list on my phone “notes” I list all the stuff I need to buy in the order they are in the Tesco aisles. 😬

My huge local Tesco recently underwent a big change because of the growing popularity of home delivery. For weeks you never knew where things were because they'd be moved.
My path through the store has changed, but I buy things in the same order.

Isn't it all horrible by the end of the week? I never prepare veg until I need it, nothing lasts once it's chopped up.

It's inedible after 2 days.

If I'm running low on something I just ask Alexa to add XYZ to my shopping list at the time so I don't forget.

When my kids were small I never used anything that could not go in a dishwasher . Non stick pans - glasses everything went in and replaced when necessary.
im much fussier now as its just me and DP but it was so worth it at the time .

Yup, thats exactly what happens

I need to do this so badly!

reusable foil gift bags from Amazon.
reusable gift bags

an absolute game changer for Christmas preeents. The whole family ‘wrapped’ in minutes.

plus everyone opens on Christmas Day and you can gather up and reuse next year.

I got Amazon dots in a few places around the house - I just shout out and add stuff to the shopping list as I see that we need it. Then just check it at the point of online shopping, so handy so I don’t forget stuff.

WhatsApp group with DH purely for life admin. Copies of passports, appointments, letters from school and GP, school term dates, bills. Add clear notes so we can search for things.

WhatsApp group for just me.
I added DH then removed him straight away.
My private notes.
Reminders to myself. Generally not urgent stuff but things I want to remember and refer back to and need it out of head and written somewhere easily accessible.
Links of things of interest to me.

Adding reminders on my phone and on emails for absolutely everything.

Doing these has helped me to create so much headspace and made my life so much easier.

You set reminders that are triggered by actions or locations so, when you get home, or to work, or get into your car, or get to Tesco,

My tip won’t help anyone, I fear, but here goes, anyway. I have a herd of guineas, who get a large bowl of chopped veg morning and evening. I always used to prepare the meals when I needed them, as I’m short of time in the morning so it was the obvious thing to do. Except by the time I’ve got dad to bed (and the woken up!) it was a huge hassle making it at night time, and they’d often just end up with a bag of kale. I’ve realised that, actually, chopping twice as much in the morning doesn’t take twice as long and it makes my evening less stressful.