Your mum/life hacks?

[Emlou07]

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

Please share

You can get frozen herbs and ginger in some supermarkets- store in freezer and just use some for cooking straight from frozen. Saves buying too much and only using a little bit!

Throw a towel over the top of doors when the children like to slam them.
Works a treat.

The pesto tip is interesting but a bit of a faff.

Just flatten the pesto down into the jar with the back of a teaspoon and cover with a thin layer of oil. No defrosting needed!

This is probably common knowledge but I always thought once silicone seals around shower / bath / sink had gone mouldy that was it stained forever.

Roll up some toilet roll, soak in bleach and put on the silicone seal overnight. 12hrs later, wipe away and looks good as new!

Worra your tip for confidential waste is fab! I've got a big bag of it that I don't know what to with, will be trying that today.

I don't know why people dislike the pjs after swimming lessons tip. The children at the pool where is swim all seem to do this, even the older ones seem to go home in onesies. So easy and cosy. I have contemplated doing the same

...and I always have DS in something flouro / brightly coloured so I can pick him out in a crowd. Especially a yellow flouro hat in winter.

Lay out clothes the night before, or just decide what to wear.

Jersey fabric school uniform, no ironing needed.

Whenever you go upstairs/downstairs try and take something that needs to be moved with you.

Storage tubs in kitchen cupboards, so you can easily pull out and see what you have. Storage tubs for each fresh veg x

Wash net curtains on 30 degrees hand wash cycle. Then rehang straight from the machine

Ok I'm still stuck at the fact someone still uses a chequebook let alone keeps one in the car - haven't had one for years!

Buy floor wipes to use on the work tops, cooker, etc, when you're doing a big clean. I've started buying Tesco floor wipes, because I got fed up, having to use so many tiny surface wipes. The floor ones are made from the same stuff, but wetter and bigger. I start on the work tops and go around the kitchen in order of what surface has to be the most hygienic, finishing with wiping up any floor spills. It saves me a lot of time.

That’s your Pinterest article written OP!

caution a shit bin is genius

Clean bathroom whilst kids are in bath.

Fold clothes whilst kids/baby play. You have to supervise anyway so might as well do two things.

Fold stuff straight from tumble dryer - no need to iron.

Boring but if you buy all blacks socks they're easier to pair.

If you run out of Tupperware to store stuff to freeze in, put it in zip lock bags instead. If it's soup /pasta sauce etc, once defrosted just snip the corner off and squeeze into a pan, rather than fiddling opening the top of the bag. Less mess.

TheWhyte I can't take credit.

A character in a book by Denise Mina has one and I thought 'I so need one in my life'.

If you wait long enough to cook dinner, everyone will be so hungry they’ll go and get cereal instead, eliminating the need to cook...

Golly I have 4 shit drawers 😳

MrsPink

Love this. Not sure about your name though...

Give the kids a drawer each to put in all drawings and their 'important' papers and those little bits that have no home. (Looking at those bastard kinder egg toys)
Gets them to keep their bits together and once it's full, they can decided what goes and stays

I don't know why people dislike the pjs after swimming lessons tip

There was a long thread a couple of weeks ago about not letting clothes that had been worn outside the house anywhere near a bed as this was filthy. Clearly putting pyjamas on after swimming is a hygiene disaster.

Mine would be to keep a pair of scissors in a drawer in every room in the house so you don't have to hunt round for them. Ikea sells three pairs of really good scissors for less than a pound.

Something else I read on here a couple of weeks ago that I implemented and liked is to put all my shop and coffee loyalty cards on a key ring in alphabetical order - saves a huge bulky purse or hunting round for them floating round my handbag. They all live together in one pocket and are easy to find.

Marking place, we already do some of these - Pjs or onesie after swimming, advert olympics, bed covers in pillowcase.

I try to always make the beds, open curtains as soon as we get up (ds does his own) so that if I haven’t had time to do anything else at least it’s not a total mess (apartment so bedrooms are visible to any visitors)

Buy little boxes for your drawers (mine are from Ikea) handy for drawers that have bits and bobs or underwear/socks as it means everything has a home within the drawer and then I have a sort out/fold up every few weeks —months—

One from my mother in law. She calls in camping ironing.
Things like tshirts, leggings, kids clothes, fold them neatly and sit on 4-5 things at a time for a bit. Do this for an evening in front of the TV changing items every so often.
It is surprising effective.
*disclaimer - this does not work well on work /school shirts etc.

Also if I have a lot to do I turn my phone off, I’m terrible for picking it up to check something and then spending half hour on it, if there’s anything I need to check I write it down on a notepad that I keep in the kitchen and check it once I’ve finished everything that needs doing

Pesto is considered a food group in this house and doesn't have time to grow a fur coat
I have a "Busy B" diary that has a double "week to view" so I use one for work and one for "life". It helps me make sure things don't interfere. They do family calendars which I'll probably start using once the children are in school.
Whenever I cook something like spag Bol or chilli I freeze toddler size portions. Slow cookers are a godsend.
A load of laundry a day keeps the chaos at bay.
Clean something in the bathroom while toddler has a bath.