What ingenious little life hacks would you like to share?

[Rainbunny]

Apparently I have vastly improved the quality of a friend's life by sharing my method of storing (for disposal) used tampons. It's probably not original but simple and easy. I throw them into scented biodegradable doggy poop bags (I buy the them in bulk anyway so they're really cheap). Then they can be thrown into the kitchen trash without any unpleasant sights or smells. Very useful when we're staying as guests at other's homes. My friend is preparing to temporarily move in with her inlaws and has actually been a little worried about this since her inlaws are maniacally houseproud and any reminder of human presence is frowned upon . Just wondered what other little things people do to make life easier?

[honeylulu]

Oooo another one. Always brush my teeth in shower in the morning. Husband thinks this is bonkers but I think it's logical. Saves a bit of time and any toothpaste foam that drips down my chin/hand gets rinsed off and doesn't get on clothes/towels.

[ItGoesWithoutSaying]

You joke, destinysdaughter but it is said the riders in the early days of the Tour de France would put a steak down their shorts to protect their arses and have a nicely tenderised bit of meat to be cooked at the end.

DH (cycle fanatic) assures me this is true.

[CallousAndStrange]

Make homemade baby porridge by getting the cheapest oats (lidl does them for 35p) and sticking them in a blender until it looks like flour. Keep in old takeaway box. Much cheaper than bought baby porridge and no added crap. Can then be mixed with milk/formula/breast milk and a bit of fruit puree if you like. As baby gets older, you can leave the oats chunkier and add chopped dried fruit to make baby muesli.

[PrimalLass]

After losing my house keys last month, I have now attached my name and address to my keys in case I lose them again.

Are you joking? I hope so.

[MTWTFSS]

Take a photo of where you parked in a car park so you can easily find your car afterwards.

[FredaMayor]

a steak down their shorts to protect their arses and have a nicely tenderised bit of meat to be cooked at the end.

What a great non-traditional seasoning idea, shame I can't now try it on exMIL.

[IJustLostTheGame]

Put a slice of lemon on the end of the tap and wrap a washcloth around it.
Twenty minutes later all th limescale will just wipe off

[ppeatfruit]

I'll try that one IJustLost Thanks.

Don't peel your veg. just wash them and place in a steamer, if you 're making stew or soup you can peel them much easier after 20 mins or so steaming. Then use the steamer water as a stock.

[itsonlysubterfuge]

I don't use bleach or a loo brush, I use my hand and a cloth with soap to clean my toilet. When I was growing up it was always my job to clean the toilet, it doesn't bother me. Loo brushes are full of bacteria and the first thing children do is go for it, like it's some sort of magic wand to wave around.

My tip is, when you need to clean a microwave thoroughly soak a few paper towels in water and then microwave on high for a minute of so, depending on the grossness of the microwave. You can even add some lemon juice for a fresh scent if you want. Use the hot paper towels to wipe down the microwave easily. Word of caution, the paper towels will be very hot so wait a minute to cool down or use a glove.

[ppeatfruit]

And don't chop your veg before steaming, the vitamins in the veg. keep better too.

[StepAwayFromTheEcclesCakes]

I freeze any leftover wine in ice cubes trays and then once frozen pop them into a freezer bag as I can then add it to cooking. what is this leftover wine you speak of? seriously, I often cook with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food
top tip, take photos of all the 'cute' artwork kids bring home and make a photo book of it when you have enough, then you can chuck out all the scrappy bits of paper cluttering the fridge / kitchen wall a bit sooner safe in the knowledge that it is preserved forever. seriously wish I had done this when mine were young.

[Littleoakhorn]

Use a muffin tray to freeze portions of food for your baby or toddler. Bolognase is perfect for this and with some quick cook pasta makes a healthy toddler meal in minutes.

[chilipepper20]

Vodka shifts fresh whiteboard pen marks.

I was questioning the wisdom of having a bottle of vodka at school if you are a teacher, but you have a white board at home.

[Destinysdaughter]

When you leave your house for work in the morning, sprint the first 200 yards and then revert back to your normal walking pace. This will save you having to do the run of shame for the bus nearer the stop and stop you looking like a fool when you miss it.

[Patapouf]

EELISA I just bought 800 biodegradable dog poo bags for £7.99 in tkmaxx, they are also scented (undecided whether this is a good thing or not)

[TheBreastmilksOnMe]

I use DS spare loom band 'hook' to defunk the blocked plugholes. It's narrow enough and long to fit down the holes and the little hook is handy for catching the hair.

[Birnamwood]

WD40 removes all sticky stuff even the left over super sticky pads from my cupboard doors after I took the safety catch things off (you know the ones to stop your toddler raiding the cupboards)

Sugar soap is my new cleaning aid. You can get it ready made up in a spray bottle from b&q and it does ALL the greasy jobs. Cooker hood, cupboard doors, hob, oven - I gave my oven its 6 monthly yearly clean with it and I couldn't believe how bloody sparkling sugar soap got it. It worked even better after I accidentally turned the oven on and it warmed up a bit. Plus it won't knacker your worktops or seals if you drip a little bit on

[Titsalinabumsquash]

I work as a cleaner and I have to empty a lot of bins, I leave 2-3 folded bin liners in the bottom of each bin then put a loner is as normal, when I come the next day I can take the bin liner out and there's one there waiting for me to pull out and use. This saves me walking around with arms full of different coloured bin liners in my arms which I always drop and trip over

[FlysInDreams]

A single duvet cover fits nicely as a fitted sheet for a sofa bed.

[Titsalinabumsquash]

Oh! And I always buy a calendar with a pocket for each month. That way when I inevitably write down a time and date of an appointment wrong o can check the letter in the pocket so I don't look like a fool turning up to the Drs a week early

[celeste83]

Doesn't food stuff get dropped into the different layers of bin liners if you use two or three layers though and get messy when it comes to emptying it?

As for the toilet debate i think either a loo brush or bleach is essential. Not sure how you can clean without one or the other. Just not sure which is the lesser of the evil when it comes to MN

[celeste83]

Oh and my only rubbish life hack suggestion in addition to all the other wonderful ones on here is to put cloth pegs on opened packets in the freezer. Nothing worse than contents spilling all around the freezer!

[ppeatfruit]

And old duvet covers work well as mattress protectors, under the fitted sheet.

[Destinysdaughter]

An empty aluminium cigar tube filled with angry wasps makes an inexpensive vibrator.

[Annecyinyourpantsy]

candykane wow I love that! I hate how ds always seems to lose tops or bottoms.
I keep the kids to all our water bottles in a basket so the bottles don't get that awful smell and it's also stopped us losing them?!
I keep a glass micro fibre cloth in the car to quickly wipe up the smears on inside windows etc