Your mum/life hacks?

[Emlou07]

Aibu to want alllllll the 'hacks' for an easy life

Please share

The pesto one. Stealing.

I think that pjs after swimming thing is a bit odd. over the age of about 6, I'd have been mortified.

I use timers for everything in the morning.

Alarm goes - time to get up
Alarm goes - breakfast should be finished by now
Alarm goes - time to dress the kids
Alarm goes - time to get out of the house or we'll be late.

I know that if we miss our time marker, then we'll have a bit of a rush, or if we're ahead of our time marker, we going to be fine. It takes some of the stress off me, and for some reason the kids will hop too given an alarm when if I make an announcement they'll just ignore.....

Visitors think we're a bit mad, but I find it works really well.

Only buy socks the same colour . Then you don't have to fanny around matching them up.

Oh another one. When wrapping Christmas presents, take the wrapping stuff (paper, scissors tape etc) to the "hiding place" and wrap there. I take my ironing board to our bedroom (where presents are hidden) and do it all there. Sooooo much less faff than shlepping all the presents downstairs, wrapping them and having to shlep all the way back again.

Don't iron unless ABSOLUTELY necessary (I think the only thing we do is work shirts for Hubby and 80% of the time he does his own)

Learn to live with a little dirt - you only end up cleaning on shorter and shorter timescales.

If you are out you can't make a mess.

I wish I had space for each person having their own basket etc but I don't so I sort and each person puts own away although to be fair I struggle to get them to do this so end up with a big clean pile in each room

We have a cycle of menus we go through but each type of roast has two meals to be made from left overs so we can change things up a bit.

Wash load on first or last thing so can dry during day when no one around/people working. I don't have a dryer so in winter this is a discipline I try and keep to so washing is regular - only occasionally get caught out with things not needed.

Regularly cull clothes, soft toys, toys and general stuff.

Clean the shower whilst you are in it, wash the sink whilst using it/brushing teeth etc. Get the feather duster on cobwebs when on the phone walking around.

Keep shopping list on phone and try and stick to once a week and one top up if nec for basics like milk or bread. I have a milkman and whilst you pay a little more a) they nearly always deliver whatever the weather b) you can run a tab) and c) often can supply other basics if you are really stuck (am out in the country and we only have one car).

If friends are having work done and are really pleased with it get trade no/s they are always useful to have and if there is an emergency you already have the details

@RB68 the baskets stack and the Base is only more or less the size of a folded up pair of DH trousers.

If you are out you can't make a mess.

Haha! So true!

Wash on every night
Tidy kitchen every night
Family ten min tidy
Open windows for ten min as house feels fresher then
Very easy meal s and batch cooking

Plants and sometimes flowers in house plus fairy lights
It makes the house look pretty and cared for even if it needs a clean
Plus if guests pop by they are more interested in the fairy lights and wine than anything else .

Keep a roll of binliners in the bottom of each bin in the house. Then you dont have to keep going backwards and forwards.

Keep bedding sets in pillowcases.

Small children: I layer the beds so they are sheet, waterproof comforter. sheet, waterproof comforter. If they wee or throw up in the middle of the night you just peel the top layer off.

Wash children's socks in a delicates bag. I have a delicates bag hanging in DS' room by his laundry basket.

Get a slow cooker and prep some 'dump dinners' (freeze partially prepped food that just needs to be defrosted then slow cooked).

I second slow cookers, and I've also 'discovered' another quick and easy way to cook dinner after s long day at work.

Chicken breast, potatoes and veg all in the one oven tray. Cut chicken into strips to make sure it cooks through, chop potatoes really small (or into thin wedges) and chop whatever veg you want and lay it in 3 fat rows on your tray. Sprinkle garlic powder, salt, pepper, whatever and some olive oil and stick it in a pre heated oven for half an hour. It's s favourite in this house so I do this at least twice a week.

That chicken meal sounds good. what temperature for the oven?

I do double sheets/mattress protectors for both DC.

Buy cards a year in advance in one go.

Start a Christmas present list early September with my ideas for presents then tick them off gradually as I buy them.

Never leave a room empty handed .

Don't put down put away.

Everything has its place and is put back in its place

Everything goes in our family planning as soon as I get the info (eg emails from school)

Frozen chopped veg - peppers, onions, mushrooms etc - cooking from scratch is quick, easy and you are more likely to do it as its so simple!

Take a pic of school/nursery letter on your phone then you can bin the letter. Easier to find when you need it too.

I race DS to see who can get dressed/tidy up/put shoes on first. Also works if we are out and he gets lazy - who can reach the corner first? Gets us home a lot faster!

Flat out bribes/rewards. If you do X you can have a sweet.

AI also do the sheet in pillow cases trick. And if you use a flat sheet between your fitted sheet and quilt cover you won't need to wash your cover anywhere near as often so saves time in taking that off and redoing later.

It's a bit of an expensive tip, but we have a washer/dryer and no outside space to dry clothes. When I do the sheets and towels each week I wash at home then take all of them down to the laundrette to dry through the big machines. Costs £4-5 to dry the lot in 40 mins rather than literally all day through my machine at two towels at a time.

Have a drawer of play/nursery clothes, tops and bottoms in together so you can grab any old combo and get ready quickly in the mornings.

If you have space move your washing machine and tumble drier upstairs to your bathroom (ideally in a cupboard- next week o the dirty washing basket) I reckon this has saved me years of my life schlepping clothes up and down the stairs.

Following

Don't have kids. Then if you've tidied somewhere, it stays tidy.
It's a but late for most of us. And I like the kids better than cleanliness. But it would be effective.

Monthly shop for basics
Loo roll
Tea
Coffee
Wash powder etc so don't run out

I wash my daughters hair, then put conditioner straight on the bottom of her hair with shampoo still on and rinse all on one go, saves the amount of tears and any drama

When putting on a duvet cover, tie hair elastics around the corners as you stuff the cover. Then when you shake it out, it doesn’t move around. Much easier!

If you're worried about identity fraud (people going through your recycling bins, like they do around here) and you don't have a shredder, soak letters/statements in a bowl of water with a squirt of bleach.

Peel the surrounding sticker off a sheet of stickers. Tiny fingers can then choose their own stickers without involving you every 5 seconds.

Get a Shit Bin.

Any random item that doesn't have an obvious home gets tossed in it.