To ask for your ultimate life hacks/time saving ideas/easiest recipes/money saving tips all in one go.

[shakeituntilyoumakeit]

I’ve been unwell and off work for a money and the combination of getting back on my feet and January and kids and school and washing and ALL OF THE THINGS to be a bit much at the moment and need some ideas on how to make life easier.

I’ve just started making overnight oats for everyone which is very cheap, very quick, vegan, a nice kids activity for them to learn to chop fruit and pick what they want and thought of the time I could have saved over the years. This combined with the fact it’s really healthy and it’s a nice activity to do with the kids made me want to reach out for hive mind collective wisdom.

What am I missing! I’m looking for your smuggest tips!

my DS just wears mismatching socks. He's not at all fussed about pairing them

We all do this in my family, it's a thing. If anyone turns up in matching socks we know they're new.

Tupperware with lids attached

Might have already been said. I've got a chest freezer and it drives me mad as everything seems so unorganised. I ended up putting different things (eg bread, veg, meat, fish) into separate labelled bags for life then when I wanted something I can just pick up the bag and pull out the stuff. Amazing

@YummyChipCurryDip haha that gave me a giggle. Eldest DD does this. Always mismatching socks and now moved onto odd converse too. She reminds me of Mr Motivator c.1995.

Online shopping.

Use mysupermarket.com

You chose your supermarket and shop as you would on their site, but mysupermarket will show you the cost of your shop at other places, so if you are shopping at Tesco it tells you the cost at ASDA, Sainsburys, Lidl, Aldi and Waitrose.

It then tells you 'swaps' you can make toi save money so if you are buying 10 fish fingers it will show packets of 20 at half price, and different brands.

Then you send your basket tot he supermarket and check out as usual.

Buy a log/multi fuel burner. I've saved over £500 already on my gas/electric bill and only paid out £150 in logs. The whole thing cost me £2500 to buy and fit. I've only had it 6 months so it'll pay for itself in no time.

Another one, I've stopped buying clothes. I've got a wardrobe and draws full of stuff. So I've made a pact (there's also a thread in mn about it), to not buy anything new in 2020 - with the exception of underwear, tights etc. I'm amazed at the stuff I have and how liberating it is. If I get the urge I've started looking at eBay and will only pay a fiver per item

pumpkinpie01 , my odd socks must also be in sock heaven. Seriously does anyone know what happens to them, do washing machines eat them?

@Phatphrog12 yep washing machines definitely eat them ! I've thrown them all over the bed this morning and intend to pair them up later, there is hardly any washing to be done so anything not matching is going in the bin ! I say that but then my DS rarely wears matching socks so seems a shame to throw perfectly good socks way just because its partner has gone awol.

An electric pressure cooker has helped my frazzled self- you no longer need to watch pots, just turn on and leave. rice curry, whole chickens, soups, stews. Honestly it has saved a lot of time and tastes good.

i have apps for list making and document uploading which i can access on my phone, work and home PCs, so i can always access and progress important things.

Since reading this thread last night, so far today I have set up the lists app on my phone and created a number of colour-coded lists, cleared a whole shelf of books that we haven't looked at for years for the charity shop and sorted the contents of my bag into 2 spare make-up bags. One contains things like tampons, tissues, lip balm, hand cream and hair bands so I can move them into whichever bag I am taking with me, the other had all the bits I need at work (keys, security pass, USB stick, pen, highlighter etc) so I can grab it all without having to rummage for the first 5 minutes of every morning. Thank you for these great suggestions!

Things to save time/money I have learned on mumsnet in the last decade...

1. Ditch expensive face products and swap for the amazing and fabulous 'The Ordinary' which are a fraction of the cost and work 100% better. Changed my life that one

1. You can put frozen waffles/mini croissants in the toaster. No need for oven/grill

1. Just spend 30 mins a week on a problem room and set timer. Amazing what you get done, as others have said, it really works

so seems a shame to throw perfectly good socks

Please don't throw away socks, they are perfect for dusting, polishing shoes, polishing silver etc.

If using any kind of solvents, old socks are great as they can get thrown away straight after.

I have mesh laundry bags inside our big laundry chest, one each for each category (delicates/whites/etc). Dirty laundry goes into the correct bag and then when full, gets chucked in the machine with the zip open. I keep a colour catcher sheet in the Brights bag to help with colour run.

Saves time on laundry sorting all in one go, makes putting a wash on a 10 second job, prevents accidents ruining clothes, easy to do whilst kids in bath at end of day. I also find it's more likely that clothes which can be re-worn end up being reworn rather than washed needlessly.

@TinklyLittleLaugh

Microwave baked potato are vile, that’s why

So I just sharpened a knife after watching that video - it works! Did my carrier bags too. It was both soothing and space saving

Honestly, I don't belong here. I'm probably a man.

Pmsl @Ofthread!

I dont think that just because women are giving these tips it means that they are doing it all.

DH and I created a master shopping list years ago. Everything we might possibly want from the supermarket. We print it off and stick it on the fridge. We then highlight things we need as we realise it. Then DH does the click and collect shopping based on the list and fetches it on his way home from work.

DH also does the hoovering. We have a game where the DC have to pick up all their toys from their floors and the lounge floor before DH arrives with the hoover. I have to do the dusting before he arrives.

Its fun and makes us all pitch in.

Microwave baked potato are vile, that’s why grin

See I think they’re okay. Not as nice as done in the oven but okay. I normally blast them for a few minutes in the microwave, then finish them off in the oven with whatever is in there.

Surely they are going in the microwave to be thawed they will lose their crispy skins anyway. And possibly be overcooked.

However, I will give the cooking and freezing thing a go and see what I think.

When you have the oven on for a couple of hours or so, put a large amount of mince in some stock and put that in the oven to cook at the same time.
Drain and then when cooled, divide it into portions to freeze for later meals.
Do the same with stew meat.
Saving energy and time.

@claireyjs Love the idea of spot-ironing shirt collars with a hair straightener! I’m totally going to start doing that.

Save time and a headache by safety pinning socks into pairs prior to putting into the washing machine.

To save money buying stuff you don’t need - don’t rely on will power. You need to reframe your thoughts surrounding consumerism.
Read a book called them art of frugal hedonism’ and you’ll stop wanting to buy stuff.
Don’t watch adverts if at all possible and you’ll buy less. This way, you won’t feel as if you’re depriving yourself because you will have stopped wanting to buy anything!

Women’s work? I’m quite happy to do even less with hacks. My dh walks the dogs, makes most meals, does all the finances, books holidays etc. I think I get a really good deal changing the bed clothes or looking in the freezer for stuff occasionally!