What shortcuts do you take daily to make your life easier?

[TwinklyGoldReader]

Just that really, what hacks/short cuts do you use daily to make your life easier? We have a newborn and toddler at home, so even the smallest tricks are welcome!

Decluttering ruthlessly and regularly

Run the washing machine once a day so that I never have loads of laundry piling up.

Prep food as much as possible so when the food shop gets done I'll wash and chop any fruit and veg that needs sorting, portion up meat etc so it's quicker in the week to just grab what we need.

Similarly if I cook I'll try to cook double. I made ratatouille yesterday which we had with cheese on jacket potatoes but I doubled up the portion so we'll have the rest another night with pasta. Or I'll make a double batch of chilli and have it one night with rice and another night make nachos or tacos or with potato wedges etc just to mix it up a bit.

DDs both have school dinners so no faffing with packed lunches.

In general......have less stuff. We try to declutter pretty ruthlessly. More belongings just means more to organise and take care of.

Forgot to mention subscribe and save on Amazon for loads of things especially for all the odd things that you don’t need everyday like batteries, sunscreen, hair dye, plasters , thrush treatment, lip balm just anything that could mean you’d have to make a special trip to the shops just to get.

I…

do a load of washing every day

load/run dishwasher after dinner and empty it before going to bed

tidy/ put away as I go (don’t leave things lying about unnecessarily)

keep hallways and stairs totally clear

keep kitchen surfaces as clear as possible of everything

Karcher window vac in main bathroom (game changer now everyone uses it)

DS/DH socks all identical so don’t waste time pairing

family calendars

don’t iron anything

simple grabngo breakfasts and lunches

Cleaner and ironing lady; supermarket delivery; Deliveroo Waitrose or Sainsbury’s for midweek topups; One pot for fast pressure cooked casseroles; frozen ingredients: onions, garlic, ginger, soffritto, frozen herbs - eg coriander, dill etc; smaller Lavazza coffee machine that doesn’t need so much cleaning.

Doesn't the salad wilt or weep @MaryBennetThe2nd ?

Mine is - no ironing/folding/drawers - the kids had Kallax in their rooms, clothes were tumbled in there. They looked absolutely fine and so do I (lots of wide jersey trousers/t-shirts/sweatshirts!)

I peel and chop and caramelise in the oven up to 15 onions at a time and freeze in ice cube trays - literally any sauce or curry is 10 mins faster every night.

I have a mug of cafetiere coffee each morning, and I confess I don't empty it every day. I just add the ground coffee on top of yesterday's, and might do this for a week or so until its too full to get enough water in for a mug of coffee. It is admittedly more laziness than a shortcut, but it does save the Time of cleaning it out everyday. I've done this for 10+ years and haven't died yet....

At night - lunches made, breakfast prepped and bags packed. Also, everyone showers at night rather than in morning, This saves time and there is no steam billowing in the morning when you're trying to get ready for work.
None of my kids have uniforms so I buy packets of socks - each kid has a different colour and shape so buy in 6 packs - much easier when pairing them after a wash.
Click and collect - I book in a timeslot for weekend early in week for groceries (have to get in early otherwise all good slots get taken) then i can add to it during week if I need other stuff. SO much easier than battling supermarket at weekend!
I have a big dishwasher rather than 2 drawers. i put it on after tea, so it has finished by bedtime. Before I go to bed, I pull them bottom drawer out, let stuff drip and leave drawer open over night - by morning everything is bone dry and can go straight away.
Wash every day - often just stuff like socks and towels that can just go on an ordinary cycle, cuts down weekend washing, when you have time to faff around clothes going in the delicate cycle.
I also wait til I get to work to do makeup.

Have a bag for each activity (swimming, library, dog walking, picnics, bags for life in the car etc) so you can just grab it and your phone. You can also put stuff you’ll need back there.
Use Amazon and Netflix watchlists, even if you’re only slightly interested. It’ll save doomscrolling for something to watch.
Work out your favourite brand of whatever you buy and the price it needs to be for you to stock up. I did this in my 40s and it’s saved so much indecision. We always have our trusted coffee, toothpaste, washing powder, toilet paper on hand at the best price.
Shampoo is a different matter- I fall for the new hype every time!

Writing things on a hang on the wall paper calendar - you can easily see what is happening for the whole month without having to turn anything on!

So many great ideas here- thank you everyone!

As far as possible we try to find one brand of toiletries that works for the whole family. So, for example we all use the same brand of refill shampoo, conditioner and shower gel in a scent that works for everyone (grapefruit, peppermint etc.) It means that we only have three bottles in the shower rather than multiple products cluttering up the place so it's easier to keep clean and tidy.

It also means I can set an alert and stock up when items are a good price.

We do the same with cleaning products. A multipurpose spray cleaner, some washing up liquid, bottle of bleach and bottle of Zoflora are all the cleaning products we own as I can clean everything with one of those.

Use the time taken to boil the kettle to do something useful, rather than mindlessly scrolling. There's always something that needs doing in a kitchen like emptying or filling dishwasher, shopping lists, checking dates of fresh food etc and if you can't find anything, do some squats, stretches, star jumps, press ups etc

And what ?
let the dirty stuff pile unwashed?

No. I make enough for about 3 days. I sometimes scrape the seeds out of the cucumber before chopping to remove some moisture and I don’t add any dressing until I am ready to eat it.
It’s been really useful when coming home really hungry and it’s ready and waiting.

in the dishwasher out of sight...

M&S frozen roasted veg - another game-changer that i use with my precooked frozen onion cubes...

I'm vegan and I do the same thing with cashew cream which I use instead of dairy for 'cheese' sauces, bechamels etc.

Also M&S pizza bases which I freeze along with mozzarella and roasted peppers etc.
Always make 2 lasagnas as it's such a bloody faff

Amazon coffee pods on 'subscribe and save'

I'm lucky that I have quite a lot of storage space and usually enough cash to buy two or three of the things that are a pain to get hold of in some way, either because they're only available from one shop or they're much cheaper in one shop.

I use Mac/iphone Notes for all the info I need on a regular basis - just cut and paste it into the email or whatever. Especially good for children's NHS numbers, energy/insurance account numbers etc.

Also Gmail - I have made email templates for the five or six regular queries that I get, it saves me huge amounts of time. Especially, weirdly, for when I have to say No to something - I found that crafting an email which says you are the cheekiest of CFs and here's why, without being rude, used to take me aaaages and I would agonize over it.

Also in Google Drive - you can set a folder as a favourite and it will come up in Finder if you're on a Mac, especially good for things like my rates that I often have to attach to emails.

I also have spent a ridiculous amount of time making my iphone homescreen work for me - I use the large widgets for things like Reminders so when I pick up my phone the things I need to do are right there. I tried various 'productivity' apps but actually iOs/Mac Reminders ended up being the simplest/cheapest/best and I always add a date so I get an alert. I've got an elaborate workflow to get Alexa to add something to Mac Reminders so I can shout at her in the kitchen and it will appear on my phone. Even though it was a PITA to set all this up it really works for me and keeps me calm <ADHD face>.

Frozen chopped onions and frozen chopped garlic. A lifesaver! Other frozen veg too but those are the real timesavers.

I also batch cook so we have meals ready in the freezer for another time.

Doing things early when I have a spare minute, rather than waiting for when it is needed.

Online shopping.

Amazon subscriptions for things I buy regularly (also cheaper usually)