To ask: please share your life hacks?

[IDoDaChaCha]

Are there things you do that make your life easier? I'm a single mum hoping to have another baby (both with donor sperm) and I want to learn how best to manage time, which isn't finite!

Share your life hacks with me?

I like stuff like: running bleach around the rim of the bath and taps and same with the sink, going off to do something else and rinsing it all later.

I need to pick your collective brains!

Store bedding that's the same size together, eg in a storage box under the appropriate bed, so you can find it really easily when needed.

Buy bedding that goes with all the rest so you can put it all together really easily.

Buy towels and bath mats in the same colour, again so you can change them as necessary without stressing about anything matching. Keep all in or near the bathroom, with spare toilet rolls, soap etc. (The soap will also keep the cupboard smelling nice.)

I also have a "launchpad" system set up to help us keep organized and get out of the door on time. I have two coat hooks (one for DD and one for me) and a storage unit close to the front door. It has 4 'cubes' - two for DD9, two for me. I also have our calendar and a weekly whiteboard hung on the wall over the unit, so I can see all future appointments/events but also see at a glance what we have planned that week specifically.

During term time one of DD's cubes is for her school bag and shoes only - they live in that cube, so unless she's actively doing her (minimal) homework her school bag should be in the storage unit and as soon as she walks into the house, her school shoes go into the unit and her coat gets hung up on her hook and not lying on the floor for me to fall over and I can see straight away if they aren't there. The other cube is for anything she needs for any given day/activity. So on Mondays she has swimming, so Sunday night her swimming bag should be in the cube; on Thursday she has dance class so her dance bag should be there by Wednesday night etc.

DD knows that all of the stuff she needs for the following day should be in her launchpad before she goes to bed so that the following morning we can grab and go. There's always the odd misplaced/forgotten item but since we introduced this system those instances are very few and far between as it's just routine to make sure everything is in the unit.

My first cube is my dumping ground for bits and bobs - reciepts, spare change, keys, bag etc - all get dumped in a basket on this shelf so that I know where it is without searching and every so often I give it a clear out and put everything away properly. The second cube is like DDs and is for anything I need to take with me on a given day - so if I'm going to the library, I will leave my tote with the library books in the cube; if I'm going grocery shopping I leave the reuseable bags in there; if I'm going to the gym after work, I'll leave my gym bag there etc.

On the top of the unit I have a small "letter organizer" with two slots - on for incoming and one for outgoing mail. So if there's a birthday card I need to drop off, a bill I need to pay, a letter I need to drop in the mail, or a permission slip DD needs to take back to school it will be in the outgoing slot ... if DD has brought home a letter/invite or the post has finally arrived at 3pm, as I'm about to leave the house to pick up DD from school, and I don't have time to deal with it right away, it goes into the incoming slot and I know exactly where it is when I finally get a minute to sit down and open/action it.

That sounds amazing melj.

Can I ask about your letters in slot? Doesn't it get over run with bills and crap? Do you put away frequently (and if so can we have your tips for that system )?

lol it doesn't get too overwhelming but I use it as a short term "holding system" so that I'm not running around looking for where I put that permission letter from DD, or where I left the pile of mail I picked up but didn't have time to open and sort before work etc rather than a long term organising solution. Any mail/letters that comes into the house that I can't deal with straight away go in there till I have time but tbh it's mostly DDs letters from school because I do most things like bill paying/banking online

I try to deal with mail on a daily basis and I have two accordian file folders - one has 12 slots (one per month) and once I've dealt with mail I put everything that I need to keep into that folder in the corresponding month that I received it. It means I have most things on hand and there's usually only a few things I have to save for any given month. A couple of times a year (usually when I have my scheduled "spring clean days") I will go through the folder and either bin/shred anything I no longer need or file other things into my other accordian folder which is sorted into categories - eg Phone & broadband; Gas & Electric; Work stuff, current year; Work stuff, archived; Tax Credits & Child Benefit paperwork etc - and holds anything I need to keep long term.

Oh and any circulars/junk mail goes straight into the recycling bin!

I keep a small recycling bin by the front door for all the leaflets and menus.

By happy accident it is an IKEA bin and it fits exactly into the recess in the IKEA shoe box thing.

I have a basket for swimwear and goggles etc that lives on the bedding and towels shelf. So for a family swim trip I can delegate child to grab and pack everything without having to go through everyone's bedrooms and drawers.

This one might sound silly but I keep bathroom cleaning stuff in the bathroom not under the kitchen sink. Makes it quicker and more likely to get done more often.

I have cheap denture tablets to clean the toilet with minimal scrubbing. Cheap white vinegar for lime scale.

The golden rule: " a place for everything and everything in its place". For two reasons - really easy to keep tidy, and really easy to plan stock-ups and replacements. As an example, I have a box of tissues at one end of the coffee table - it never moves. When it's empty, the cardboard immediately into the recycling bin in the corner of the sitting room (which also never moves unless being emptied). Two or three boxes of tissues kept behind the TV, so a new one straight onto the coffee table.
Another example - everything has its own place in the fridge, e.g. cheese on second shelf on the left, yoghurt top shelf on the right, same shelf always used for leftovers, etc. So it is immediately easy to see if getting low on something. Same goes for all food cupboards.
Whenever you bring ANYTHING into the house, decide where it will 'live' and put it there. This also applies to kids toys - help them to always put things back in the exact same place every time, especially large toys, so that they understand what 'tidy your room' actually means.

My fridge door is a blackboard....
Was by accident - DP was using it as a whiteboard - writing notes on it in whiteboard pen - then used a permanent marker by accident and tried to scrub it off with a scratchy pad - made a real mess...
Was trying to get round to repainting it when I came across 'blackboard foil' in Tiger - basically it is blackboard sticky back plastic (found you can get it from lots of other places -it is this stuff www.signmakingandsupplies.co.uk/chalkboard--blackboard-self-adhesive-vinyl-2077-p.asp) - so I stuck it on and it is now a blackboard...
I guess I could have painted it with blackboard paint -but it would be messier and not sure how well it would stick - the 'foil' was much easier and only £3-4 for more than enough.
I also have a roll of magnetic tape - www.amazon.co.uk/Self-Adhesive-Magnetic-Tape-12mm/dp/B009IQ9Y9U?tag=mumsnetforum-21 - I had it before the fridge was a blackboard! Eg I had some on the back of the bin collection schedule and kept it on the fridge - now I have put it on the back of a packet of chalk board pens -they sit on the side of the fridge ready for use ..
The blackboard is useful for writing notes to each other - X phoned or don't forget XYZ etc (and insults to each other in the case of the DCs ...) if nothing else it looks much better than it did
(DP and I share a Google family calendar -so we don't need to write appts etc up)

melj1213 brave use of 'launchpad' I hope the hack-haters don't get their pitchforks out

Notevil great tip re denture tablets

unlucky that's brilliant, reminds me of DC Fix which I'm obsessed with. I'm going to recover kitchen worktops in house we're buying www.wilko.com/sticky-back-plastic/d-c-fix-original-deco-self-adhesive-film-pearl-grey-346-0587-45cm-x-2m/invt/0439758?gclid=Cj0KEQjwnPLKBRC-j7nt1b7OlZwBEiQAv8lMLLKGi79iRgZJDN3Eke6Zq87ePENFa0GbNS5To-e9u0QaAhOM8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds can't afford a new kitchen so I'm painting the units, replacing handles and recovering worktops. I've found many uses for DC Fix

calli335 - Anyone ever paid to have their oven cleaned? Thinking about this as it's the worst household job imo

YES!! my dad bought that for me for Christmas once, best present ever lol

Also for garlic and ginger, I buy the jars of ready minced stuff, much quicker and I don't run out like I did with fresh

I paid and got mine professionally cleaned as it wasn't mine and was left with the house and was grim. It was like new afterwards. I was very impressed.

Further to paying to have the oven cleaned, has anyone paid to have their new house cleaned before moving in? If so, was it worth it??

Not before moving in, but the day after. It hasn't been left very clean and we were a bit depressed, knackered, etc, so we got a company in. Best thing ever. Would highly recommend.

Thanks Rain I'll consider it as moving in the next couple of months

One of the things I disagree with Kondo on is 'keep everything of one type you need in one place, if you want it you know where it is so you go and get it'

Now that may apply in a seven tatami mat apartment but it doesn't work for me in a 3 storey house (too lazy)

So I have cleaning product and cloth under every bathroom sink, a nail file and scissors in every room, sellotape in the Christmas cupboard and the office and the living room, duster/polish in living room and bathroom. Shoes are in 3 different cupboards in the house.

Basically if I suddenly fancy dusting the living room then I can just quickly get it out and do it instead of going downstairs to the kitchen.

Yes I have multiple products and cloths

I read a great one on here a few years ago - for kids clothes - put one dot on the label of eldest's clothes - when they pass on to middle child ( or new middle child clothes ) add another dot on the label so now two dots - if they then go to child three add a third dot !
Makes sorting the washing much easier !

Tried a tip I'm sure I read on MN on easy way to clean the bath last night: filled bath with hot water, added washing powder (and dumped DD's high chair tray in it- two birds) and left til this morning when I rinsed. Couldn't be bothered to wipe it down with a cloth (we have a cold so I'm on minimal effort setting atm) but it would've been sparkling had I. Implemented some of the tips from this thread: putting out breakfast things the night before etc and it does make a difference. In transitional period atm: waiting for completion on new house so I'm surrounded by packing boxes and loathe to put more effort into this place. But I will definitely be using the organisational ideas youve come up with: filing systems, shoes coats and bags organising etc at new house. Thank you all

Note pad on the fridge so when something runs out you know to buy it

If you want to shell out - get an Amazon Echo (£50 or £150 depending on type). The shopping feature has genuinely made our lives a lot easier.

You just speak your shopping list as and when you need - so throughout the day I'll just say 'Alexa add milk' or 'Alexa add nappies' etc. It creates your shopping list which is then accessed from the app on your phone.

So many times I'll text dh and say 'can you pop in Lidls for the Alexa stuff' and he can just get it from his app.

Idochacha me the same removing waiting to complete! Boxes ! I do the bath thing with loads of stuff. I also stick loads of stuff in dishwasher that I can't be arsed to scrub e.g. Ornaments ( not many but been here 11 years never been done) Hoover attachments fire grates ! But not the kettle there was someone on mn who's partner put the whole kettle in!

One I don't think has been mentioned - I keep old towels to clean mirrors, windows, shower screens etc. Damp one end of it with water (or non-smear window cleaning stuff if you are cleaning windows) and clean, then turn it round to the dry bit and buff dry. Sparkling, no smears, and it will even remove bad limescale marks from shower screens with repeated use.

Wrap birthday presents and write the card before you put them away, so they are ready to just pick up as you leave the house.