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?

Buy your clear vinegar on line amazon or similar as you get far more for your money,
here

chuck a load of bicarbonate of soda down a sink/drain or anything else you want clean , add vinegar and leave, just rinse off. children love doing this for you.

bicarbonate of soda is cheaper on line also.

If wanting to lose weight, make cheese sandwiches, using yellow post-it notes instead of cheese.

Puppy training pads are great for sick bugs or bed wetters. We layer up the bed with pads, sheet, pad sheet, pad, sheet and then put pads on the floor by the bed, they also go under a blanket on the sofa and on the floor by the sofa to try and prevent any nasty clean ups.

The puppy pads are much cheaper than the huggies dry night sheets we were buying.

Bicarbonate of soda on a patch of carpet that's had sick on it, sprinkle it on, leave over night and then Hoover up, the smell will disappear!

Does anyone know how to get ink out of white lab coats?

Hairspray works wonders on getting biro off leather furniture (very thankful for Google for pointing this out when 3 year old decided to have an early morning art session on the in-laws cream sofa and foot rest!)

Yes I had read the whole thread and I had previously added my own life hack - my second post was a tongue in cheek comment.

WhycantIetc...your grapes have edges?

When on holiday, and if there is space in the room, keep 3 cases/holdalls open if you don't have 3 bags, take a bundle of bin bags to use instead

If you have a really itchy mossie bite, point your hairdryer on warm/hot at the bite. It will get itchier and itchier, then it will suddenly become too hot. Turn the hairdryer off and the bite wont itch again.

Another hairdryer one - if you are dressed and see that something you are wearing looks a bit creased, point your hairdryer at the creases (again on warm/hot) and they will drop out.

I loathe baking. But am poor so have to do it.

One hack I figured out years ago was, when making scones, leave the butter in the fridge and when you've lobbed the flour into the bowl, just get a cheese grater and grate the damned butter into the flour.

Then just give it a 2 second mix with a wooden spoon. Voila.

jeremyisahunt

Proceed with caution if the lab coat belongs to a chemist... When DH and I were at uni, and he was doing a Chemistry degree, I stuck his filthy lab coat on a hot wash with some bleach and it went purple... then blue... then pink... then every other colour you can imagine. I watched it go round with horror and fascination and luckily it eventually came out white, but god knows what chemical reactions took place in that washing machine!

Take a pic of your passports on phone/device. Great when you are booking flights. Remember where the REAL deals are though!

Cut the Brillo pads into two or four.

buy ASAP the magic sponges. They clean anything.

Make your own soda bread. Recipes all over the net. And use real butter on the freshly baked soda bread. You will hate any other bread after that. But needs must I suppose.

Use a make up brush to dust off your keyboard.

If you have a lovely bunch of flowers and a very wide vase, then criss cross the top of the vase with sellotape and insert flowers. Lovely result, and they dont fall over.

Super glue is an essential item in any household. Perfect in fact for a broken nail that is down to the wire. It sticks together, and grows. Believe me, it's great.

Love the thread.

Anyone know how to get cigarette smoke smells out of furniture??

Carrot stains or tomato stains on your hand blender or plastic storage boxes come away if you rub them with a paper towel that has a few drops of veg oil on it. Then wipe oil off with another paper towel and wash item as normal.

Instead of fighting sourly with the hoover, wring out a microfibre cloth and wipe off pet hair from upholstery. Peels off in lovely chunks.

OhMrBadger You can use ess. oil of peppermint neat on a dry cloth to wipe down the furniture. it's fab. Lavender is also good but peppermint is favourite for anti tobacco work.

Breakfast cereal bags make great sandwich bags.

When making white or cheese sauce, mix the flour in small amount of water then add it to the warming milk with a sauce whisk. I haven't made a roux in years. You can then add butter to the white sauce. but don't need to for a cheese sauce.

Blueeyes

Toothpaste on insect bites stops an itch for longer than bite creams

Careful with that one. Toothpaste can be quite a strong acid or alkaline (depending on brand) and can burn. I once had a patient with a partial thickness (aka second degree) burn from using toothpaste on a zit that was bad enough to need referral to the burns unit.

No more cleaning teeth and gums so. But maybe gums are less sensitive than skin.

I think it's leaving it on that's the problem. My patient had left it on overnight.

OK, but let's get back to life hacks or tips or whatever.

If you have a load of spuds and yes, that is me all the time, I THINK I will use them and then they go green and grow sprouts.

So now I just get with the program, and peel and steam, and mash with butter no milk. cool down, and use my ice cream scoop to portion up. Open freeze, and then bag up.

You will never know how lovely it is to take a few scoops from the freezer and m/w. They taste just the same. LOL.

Buy multi packs of books from the book people for party bags - you can usually then do the party bag for less than £1 per bag (and you don't give out lots of cheap tat no one wants - and the yummy mummy brigade are impressed as well).

Let your toddler loose with anti bac wipes in the bathroom. Your toilet will never be cleaner (could just be my 2 though).

I always have paper and pens in my handbag as I write. It's also really handy to keep the girls amused when out to dinner.

Try and have a home for everything so when tidying everything can go back in its place (we are a cluttered household and very messy so this is a lifesaver).

I also optimise time - tidying whilst girls are in the bath, shopping on the train etc.

More potato talk.
I've just bought a £1 pair of exfoliating gloves specifically for scrubbing potatoes clean. I've written potato on them so they don't end up in the bathroom ;)