Your mum/life hacks?

[Emlou07]

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

Please share

We've started to teach our 3 year old rudimentary time telling. "DS, when the big hand gets to the top it's bedtime/we're going out" etc. Works til the sod tells you it's not bedtime yet because it's gone past the top and is going towards the bottom

Wouldnt work for bigger kids but ithis was a great space saver for a spare set of clothes in the changing bag

CautionTape we have a shit drawer. It's regularly crammed with random shit and I get moaned at that it's a mess.

Make older children responsible for their own laundry. From secondary age they are able to put a wash on and put away their clothes, from about 13 they take full responsibility - no clean knickers = not my responsibility.

worraliberty I take our confidential waste into work and put them in the work shredding bin!

A few of our hacks:

• concertina file for important docs (passports, certificates, banking, mortgage etc). 1 file per family member.
• We blackboard painted a wall in kitchen behind the door (so not that obvious) and use for shopping list, meal plans, to write down songs we hear on radio to search for later etc etc
• A bullet journal or 'BuJo' (or your own version thereof). A good place to store all of the many lists in life (to do lists, places I'd like to visit on holiday list, books I want to read, new restaurants to try)
• keep ground coffee in the freezer
• lay out clothes/pack bags the night before
• make porridge overnight
• get your milk delivered
• if you have a deep drawer in kitchen (those ones that are normally for big pots/pans, buy caddies that fit for your compost waste and other recycling. keeps it out of the way
• agree who does what chores and stick to it (eg I always do bathrooms, DH always does hoovering and mopping floors)
• put washings on overnight on timer
• slow cook meals overnight
• bread in bread machine on timer overnight
• bulk buy cleaning products and keep in shed

And I like the kids better than cleanliness

Think I'll opt for the cleanliness

Reduce thinking time when shopping for basics. Decide what brand at what price is right for you and stock up when it's on offer, e.g. when "our" Pantene goes under €2.50 for a 250ml bottle I buy loads. Save being creative for when you have the energy!

Keys on a lanyard looped around your handbag handle are easy to fish out.

I put a dab of clear nail varnish in the centre of every button on new shirts. I’ve never had to sew on a button since I started doing that.

Amazon prime and amazon now in emergencies for baby milk, cat food, toilet roll etc.

Frozen cut up veg - huge selection in the shops these days. Frozen mash. Frozen everything!

Robot hoover, robot mop, dishwasher, tumble drier and slow cooker do the heavy lifting with regards housework. If you like to bake a stand mixer and bread maker take the effort out. Basically gadgets.

Do a massive basic shop in Aldi and do the odd shop in m and s etc (funds permitting). This means you can have lots of variety but you’re not spending on stuff that can be had much cheaper. This is also the most time effective way of shopping if you want/need to do it in person because the shops are smaller. Otherwise Ocado.

Go out a lot. Tidy up before you go out and before you go to bed.

Card factory ten for a pound cards for kids parties, funky pigeon for everyone else as they’ll post it for you. Gift bags over wrapping paper. Buy random toys on offer for kids parties (home bargains is good for this) so you have something in. If you can get someone a voucher or money or tickets or take them out for their birthday go for that.

Accept you have your own style and stick to it! Buy clothes you all like from the shops you know will generally fit you and don’t worry about how in it is. Saves hours of research, shopping, trying stuff on and angsting. ASOS is great for delivery and returns.

Everything online so you don’t have to deal with real paperwork. One person responsible for particular things so the work is spread and it’s more efficient.

Everyone pulls their weight - a family home can’t be done purely off the back of one person.

All these tips are great!

If you buy the packs of fresh chilli peppers from the supermarket, store them in the freezer in a small lidded plastic tub, and then just use one or two when needed.

There's no need to defrost them either; run them under the tap to wash and job done.

My daughter would look at me like I was crazy trying to put her into pyjamas after swimming (even when she was 5 and it was 18:30)
She'd have put me straight that it wasn't bedtime!

Loving the frozen pesto

Not sure what my Mums is to do with things.

My mother told me

1. Don't expect to enjoy sex, it will always be awful.

2, Don't bother sending any daughter to University, it's a waster of time to educate women. ( after she successfully managed to get me to decline a place at University to study medicine)

1. Never question a man, men know better.
2. What you don't know about can't hurt you.

Onesie after swimming

We keep on top of washing clothes all week, and getting them dry. But as a FT working household, we only fold them once a week (on a Saturday evening watching a movie - it's become a family job doing it together).

In the meantime, apart from having plenty of sets of things, everyone knows that if what they want isn't in their room or the hot press, it may be in the clean laundry basket in the kitchen, so checks there as well. So if DD has a hockey match on Monday but needs her long socks again for a soccer match on Friday in school, they can get washed and back in circulation but just haven't made it up to her room yet. And she knows exactly where to look.

We are also big on getting ready ahead of time. So packing bags the night before and getting breakfasts laid out on the worktop, lunches made etc before we go to bed.

I must re-do them for this year, but last year, we had a different laminated A5 sheet for each day of the week with what was needed for the bags (different activities needed different things - gumshields, long socks, shin guards, hockey stick, hurley, swim gear, boating gear, water bottle, Cubs neckerchief, .......). DD could easily get organized herself, and because it was laminated (for durability), the bonus was that we could use wipable markers (for whiteboards etc) to tick things off as they went into bags each week and then clean it off again for the next time.

The other big thing is a family diary clearly visible in the kitchen (ours is a book-type on the counter, we find that easier than a wall one). To all be able to see what is happening that week. Regular activities, who is abroad or has early/late meetings for work, irregular appointments, social commitments, babysitters booked, birthdays/anniversaries etc.

We also did the "pjs after swimming lessons" thing when DD was coming home in the car (lessons finished at 7pm). Occasionally it was public transport with the au pair, so back into tracksuit. But most DCs were getting into pjs from that lesson and the one before that too (as we were getting into togs).

Always have a storecupboard stocked with useful things to make a meal from - tins of tuna and sweetcorn, jars of pesto and a couple of decent sauces, pasta and rice, bacon lardons last ages in the fridge and are quick for a few different dinners/scrambled eggs/omlettes, eggs are also extremely useful for fast meals, frozen prawns and a couple of different frozen veg....

I'm loving all these! The PJs at swimming is brilliant.

I double the recipe for almost everything I cook, bolognese, pot roast, currys etc and then freeze. It's no extra effort and its so nice to have a hot home-cooked meal on days you're too busy to cook.

I deep clean the bathroom while the DC sit (5 and 2) sit in a hot bath each night. They love splashing, I'm right next to them and I have a sparkly bathroom every morning.

I do a clean of the house last thing before serving dinner. If I'm tired after dinner/ can't be arsed, the house is still 90% clean when I get up.

Bullet journals - had it for 3 months and I love mine.

Cut onions in some water and it'll save your eyes!

When the little darlings go for a poo put a few squares of toilet paper in the front part of the bowl and voila, no skid marks.

Get a pop up bin for the car.

Take their towel from the bathroom swimming. Then you can wash it straight after so not washing a separate towel.

Keep a pen and chequebook in the car, open their planner on the car when u park up on the drive , fill out the form, stick it back in the planner, can also be done when you park up at the school gates and have forgotten.

I buy spreadable butter when it's on offer and then freeze the tubs.

I use the empty butter tubs for freezing homemade soups and casseroles, chilli bolognese, etc as they are just the right size for one adult meal or 2 kids meals.

Freeze plastic cartons of milk.

Freeze chopped up lemons and limes.

Put 2 pieces of frozen lemon in microwave for one minute and then it's really easy to clean the microwave.

Use soda crystals and vinegar on a hot empty wash cycle to get rid of smells. Same for cleaning drains.

I use half the recommended amount of soap powder on most wash cycles.

Baby wipes clean most marks off clothing and soft furnishings and can also be used for wet dusting.

Following this one I need all the help I can get!

Teach your kids to be far more independent at a very early age. The more they do for themselves, the less you have to do for them. And they can always do far more than you think.

Struggle to get your kids out in time for school? Make a Go go go clock!
I bought a very cheap clock and pulled the front off. Added all the tasks we have to get done after breakfast.
The kids now tell me when we have to do stuff... they like to feel in control!

I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again FROZEN CHOPPED ONIONS
I’ve made a commitment to myself to never chop an onion again. It feels good

Hang your clothes in outfits on the same hanger incl. necklace/scarf.

If you can afford it get a good cleaner, even if for just a couple of hours a week. We've recently got one again and I can't believe I've left it this long. She is a God send.

Use a flat sheet for between you and the duvet. Takes seconds to whip it off and change for a clean one, and no more wrestling with duvet covers every week.

Stop ironing and start using your tumble dryer to iron. Once washed just pop 4-5 items in your dryer and make sure you remove, shake out/smooth and hang up/fold as soon as the dryer stops. I rarely iron now, apart from DH's business shirts which are 100% cotton and need to look crisp. And it's not much more expensive than running your iron for several hours a week.

Set up a family WhatsApp group for sharing thoughts, appointments, jokes, messages, important information, whatever. Keeps everyone informed and in the loop and so easy to refer back to.

Hack means tips. :) they're all over youtube actually. Type in life hacks and you'll be able to see a bunch!