To ask for your easy life hacks?

[Polkapjs]

I need easy ways to make life easier and help me get my life in order in all areas

Tonight have have used a garlic press with an UNPEELED love of garlic as recommended by Jamie Oliver. Genius.
Give me yours that don’t involve needing stuff I don’t have but help make stuff a bit easier or cheaper?

Trying to have a systems base approach to household tasks!

Tumble dryer can take 2 loads then i put first washing load on overnight. Then when I wake up, second load goes on and an hour later 2 loads are in the tumble, and the chain continues.

Make a freezer inventory. That way DP or anyone can know where to find stuff.

Notice which toys (usually with multiple parts) make the most mess/bits that go under sofa and hide these when having play dates!

Never buy just one birthday card for the next birthday coming up. Keep a stack of them in a drawer and they’re ready for upcoming birthdays, and you’re covered for the ones you remember at the last minute too.

Some of these I do similar but tweak. E.g. clothes are sorted from dryer into small baskets, one per person. They are organised, for the children, by outfit. That way both my husband and my children choose what the children wear by outfit - still choice, but also still aesthetically pleasing. All needs met.

The key thing is an effective system, where you have trouble shooted all the inefficiencies. Always needs tweaking and reviewing once in a while. Marie Kondo was quite good for thinking this through as I followed the process.

YY to all uniform kept together, although in piles for the different items.

Children's clothing drawers are divided by home made cardboard dividers.

Never leave the kitchen without topping your glass up with gin. Makes life so much more enjoyable

Tip-top advice.

I really hate pairing up socks and get very stressed by odd socks, so after reading a similar thread last year this is my hack.

Each laundry basket has a washing net (the type you use for washing delicates £2 in Wilko) on it and all dirty socks go it. It then goes straight into the washing machine and from there into the tumble dryer- the socks don't ever get separated and are a breeze to put away!

This has made my life so much better!

Also if you have an amazon prime subscription, use the 'subscribe and save ' option.

You have a monthly delivery and get 15% off if you have 5 or more items- I get cat food, laundry detergent, body wash etc.

No more running out of cat food and 15% off it's a win win!

Hacks I have learnt on here:

Buy wrapping paper in a plain colour eg silver that you can use for all occasions eg christening, 80th birthday, kids parties.

Have a stack of generic cards and a few stamps

Also a stash of pound coins for school events which require a donation

15 minute tidy. Set a timer , get everyone involved and go go go. It's amazing how much you can get done in 15 minutes.

Give your kids chores. There are studies that say doing chores from a young age is the major thing that determines success later in life. (I choose to completely believe in this study!)
My kids are responsible for putting clean dishes away, setting the table, folding the washing and each have to walk the dog twice a week. They also help clean the living areas once a week and keep their own rooms tidy.

On the night when everyone is grumpy and tired, make sure you have something for dinner that everyone likes and that is easy to make, or you can just grab from the freezer

Buy wrapping paper in a plain colour eg silver that you can use for all occasions eg christening, 80th birthday, kids parties

Combine this with buying reduced Christmas wrapping paper - there is always some that is plain/striped etc. We always have some red or silver paper around!

These are genius!
My only 'tips' are never iron (or, almost never) - if something is wrinkly I throw it in the dryer with a damp flannel for 5 mins, and that works for most things, and I never chop garlic - I buy the lazy stuff and no one has ever noticed.
And always wear jewelry to work. It makes you look like you've got your shit together and no one notices if you haven't washed your hair for a week. Or maybe they are too polite to say. Like I said, I don't have any tips really.

I love this! So many I can actually see me doing too. Some are a maybe for my phase 2 but I can implement some now like the gin! And the tension rod. Love it. I already try the washing into people piles but my husband dumps it all off airer onto dining table. At least he does laundry though
Simple stuff like the plain wrapping paper and cards is just amazingly simple too.

Interesting SquashedToes mind sharing your meal plan?

To hard-boil eggs, put in cold kettle with cold water to cover well. Let it come to a boil and wait about 7 minutes (for a yolk that's still softish) before taking out egg. Haven't tried this with a great batch of eggs, though, so can't vouch for this method in that case. And I found by chance that I can almost always peel hard-boiled eggs quickly & perfectly if I'm not looking at my hands/egg. (This might be because my mind immediately wanders from the task or because I'm quite dextrous, though, so perhaps it wouldn't make a difference to everyone.)

A boiling kettle is, like shower cubicle if your shower will be a hot one, handy for steaming out wrinkles even in something large as a shirt. Raise the lid to bypass automatic shut-off.

How do you all manage without ironing? Seriously? Mind you, I do love a good ironing session and love smooth clothes but I'm obviously in a minority !!

@QueenDoris I'm with you on that one!

I've got a 4 week meal plan - I used to hate meal planning every week when doing the online shop and always ended up with the same things anyway because I couldn't be bothered to think about it or was in too much of a rush. So I spent 30 minutes or so planning 4 weeks worth of meals, and matched them to what we're doing each day (e.g. something in the slow cooker for days the DC have an activity and we'll all be eating at different times).

Means we waste less, don't get bored as it's 4 weeks until the same week comes round again, and I don't have to meal plan every week. Leaving more time and money for the gin

I don't understand the tension rod. How does it save space? Surely they take up as much space but just hanging instead of resting on the shelf.

My top tips:
Use garlic puree - for 90% of all dishes that need garlic you can;t tell the difference, and there's no scrubbing fingernails, chopping boards and garlic presses to get rid of the smell.

Clean your bath with bubble bath or shower gel. It smells good, is gentle on skin and you just need a drop of it on an old massage mitt rrubbed around the bath straight after you've had a bath. No rinsing for ages to make sure you've got rid of harsh chemicals. Leaves the bath shiny.

A couple of drops of essential oil on a cotton wool ball in the vacuum cleaner stops it developing that musty smell.

I love threads like this!

Erm.......might have to return later with my own contribution

Another one who never irons
Robotic vacuum cleaner (Roomba)
Mumsnet haircut, one-off purchase of hairdressing scissors
3 large fridges and 2 large freezers to allow bulk purchasing

ElfrideSwancourt Thanks for your sock tip.
I photograph all school letters, appointments, party invites, random flyers, posters when seen out the house and file electronic in my iphone photos.
I can then email the school easily with a photo of the medical app.
I also can recycle paper straight away.

One thing I always do. When you're bored or just finished put away the shopping cut up all your peppers and throw them in a sandwich bag into the freezer.

Aswell as your carrots and onions. So easier to make 'real' dinners with prepped veg even if you're tired cause you just throw them on the pan!

This was recommended by another MNetter but has made life so much easier!

When opening a jar of pesto, use what you need then portion up the rest and freeze it. Otherwise it just goes mouldy in the fridge and catches you out when you're trying to make a quick meal.

I also freeze things like chopped spring onions - don't use them often but can't buy them as singles (online, anyway).

I also constantly have portions of roasted tomato, courgette and garlic sauce in the freezer. So useful for quick meals.

Tips for new mums, a friend sent me this, I'll copy/paste...

Mum tips

Travel mug, get a really nice one, you'll be using it a lot.

Likewise a lovely water bottle with a sports cap so you can drink while lying down

Lavender essential oil - one drop on your tshirt before a nap, five drops in a bath, one drop in your shower gel in the morning

[Buy the first three as a bundle for a new mum.]

Get a waterproof protector for your mattress - get two and always ALWAYS have one on the bed

Camomile tea and fancy bedtime teas to help nod off

If you have wounds stitches or feeling generally tender, use Femfresh instead of shower gel, it's gentle as it washes over your sore parts.

Keep maternity pads in the fridge next to a bowl of milk and 5-6 drops lavender essential oil. Soak the pad and squeeze out before use. You'll smell pleasantly of lavender, not of milk I promise!

Label the kitchen cupboard so guests know where to get mugs coffee etc

Next level tip; How many nappies of each size? You can work out for the Red Book weights chart roughly when your Bebe will reach certain weights, and nappy packets tell you what weight the are suitable for. Roughly 6.5 nappies a day, you can then order in bulk online and save visits to the shop.

Buy a whole load of wipes - you'll always need them and they can be stashed in bundles.

Gaffer tape a stack of baby wipes together so the weight holds the top one down as it empties. Once it's diminished the gaffer tape just rips off.

Buy tubes of sudacrem, Bepanthan, Metanium, and most essentially (if you're breastfeeding) Lansinoh nipple lotion. YOU WILL NEED LANSINOH

Muslins are your best friend, you want a selection of big ones for laying the baby on and small ones for throwing over your shoulder/ arm when winding. Coloured or patterned ones are cute!

If you don't like nipple pads in your bra you can use a small muslin tucked into your bra. Also keeps it handy for feeding time!

Always have two layers between the baby and anything that can't be easily washed; bed should have muslin, sheet and mattress protector, sofa should have a muslin and machine washable throw. You can buy a piece of fleece fabric to match your sofa, washes and dries quickly and can be whipped off if visitors arrive, also good for lining a bouncy chair until newborn Bebe is a bit bigger.

Next level tip; Separate the baby clothes into Babygros, Vests, Sleepsuits and Muslins.
Roll all the clothes so you can see them at a glance from above.
Separate a drawer using cardboard and gaffer tape the board in place, make the sections fit the amount of clothes you have. In the middle of the night you won't be rifling through for the sleepsuit with the penguins on.
As the bubs grows you can put the small clothes in storage and rearrange the cardboard dividers for the next size up.

Two baskets or tins in the kitchen, fill one with savoury snacks (crisps, nuts, popcorn) and one with sweet (fun size chocolates, mini rolls, tunnocks tea cakes, haribos, M&Ms). When you're at a low ebb, grab one or a handful of the other. Don't feel guilty, it's for the baby! Have a piece of fruit too ☺️

I buy multi packs of meat and stuff like that and take 10 mins to portion it all out into bags then shove directly into freezer. Things like pork I'll also season before bagging so it can be cooked straight from thawing, nothing else to do.

Also do big batches of stuff that is marinated and bag up in freezer portions too.

I saw a tip by someone who puts all their chicken bones and waste into a large freezer bag and when full, makes stock, but I cba making it so have never tried!

And I never label anything, so sometimes I get a surprise meal

I was thinking about this the other day, while pondering whether it would be worth Hoovering the actual cat, rather than cleaning up all the moulted fur (probably not, on balance).

However, this academic year I have trialled an idea I probably read on Mumsnet (since it is virtually my only reading)...

Keep a box in the kitchen or wherever you do household admin with stamps, cheque book, small amount of cash, notelets, envelopes and a few different types of stick-on name tape. This solves most requests from school for money for trips, cheque for school milk, name tags for cake tins etc.

It means as soon as a school letter comes home or I get an email I can sort the Bloody Note there and then and I therefore won't be found dead one day under a landslide of 5 million school letters - and a lot of cat hair. And it makes me feel highly efficient.

Line oven with foil and silicon sheets that wipe clean. For traveling buy clothes that are made of material that doesn't wrinkle. Have a box of cards or make cards for all occasions. I agree with generic wrapping paper that can be used for birthday or Xmas. Have places for things like pens, medicines, cellotape, glue, scissors so that you know where they are when you need them. Another fan of not ironing. Write in diary at beginning of year important dates like car mot, insurance, birthdays etc

one of my dogs LOVED to be hoovered, the only aggravating thing was that it wasn't the long haired one, he was scared witless of the hoover.

I recommend red pesto....for homemade pizzas, just slather it on the base and it's great as a tinned tomato sub in almost anything else you might care to cook that should have a tin of tomatoes in. It also saves arsing about with herbs and spices since it is already pretty well seasoned

sangria and gluwein/mulled wine are more or less interchangeable, bulk buy in the off season and use up as required. No one will even imagine that steaming glass of Mulled Wine with the cinnamon stick they are clutching in December is the same thing as the ice clinking orange slice filled drink of tempting, cooling Sangria they were quaffing last July. :o