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!

All school uniforms are done on Sunday. Babies clothes looked out for the week on Sunday too. School bag and school shoes sit at the door ready to be picked up in the morning.

Breakfast bowl, cutlery and cup left out night before.

Sports bags packed for clubs day before needed.

Meal planning and majority of pack lunch made up in advance so just need to grab and shove it in the lunchbox. Sandwiches are made fresh, if I have time I'll make a batch of filling, if not cold meat on sandwich.

Meal planning, shop in yellow ticket aisle and freeze stuff.

Beeswax wrap - roll of it for £9.99 on Amazon, reuse for lunches and to cover leftover meals.

I have an air purifier dust extractor. I have a small leaf blower. I blast computers, TVs lamps to remove dust then leave the extractor on to remove it from the air.

Someone I know had 4 boys (and 1 husband). When they got to teenage years she banned all socks that weren’t black. She then made one communal sock drawer and never paired anything again.

Don't iron & buy clothes that don't need ironing

Get packed lunch & bags ready at door in the evening, ready for the next morning

Pay all bills on payday, save some money

Spend less time doing housework !
Spend more time enjoying the outdoors & hobbies

At beginning of the year, write dates of important things in diary or calendar like birthdays, bills that need renewing like look for cheaper insurance, MOT, etc
So you don't forget anything

We don’t have a tumble dryer, so when hanging out the bedding in winter, we hang the sheets and duvet cover off the end of the doors upstairs, house smells amazing and the bedding dries in no time.

deux that rubber glove hack is life!!!(complete loser here!)

Never cook one meal, cook minimum double portion and freeze one.

Buy in bulk when something is reduced and keep a storage.

And as pps, meal planning and batch cooking is both time and money saving.

A heared clothes drier (ours is from Lakeland) is a game changer especially if you are in a flat with no means to put in a tumble dryer. Bonus is in the winter it warms up our hallway and lowers our heating costs (but us super cheap to run).

I always freeze bananas after taking their skins off if we have extra and I think they will go off. Use for smoothies or banana bread/muffins. I also freeze chillis, garlic and ginger. You can freeze lemon and grate it too. I also keep bay leaves and oregano in the freezer. Oh and bread ends / stale bread to store up to make breadcrumbs with as needed ( can you tell I like my freezer?)

Instapot pressure cooker is an all round game changer. Hands down best thing to make in it is risotto. Perfect every time and no endless stirring.

MUST try the pillowcase trick. Oh and the names on passport one.

Gaaa *heated

Decant nearly empty glass bottle of foundation into small plastic pots by removing the lid, turning upside down and leaving for a few hours. You'll be amazed how much foundation is still in them. The little pots are great for carrying lightweight amounts of the foundation round in your handbag too!

Love this thread. I've been copying and pasting the ideas that I want to try into a word document on my phone as I've been reading pp, so I have an easy reference. Not sure if that's a hack. I have another saved doc from earlier thread on Mumsnet, about a year ago, for easy recipe ideas where I copied and pasted the recipes I wanted to try. It's been handy, I've cooked some and they worked out great. I also bookmark recipes online that I have cooked and are good for later reference. I've hardly touched my recipe books because using the phone is quicker and takes up less bench space then a cookbook. Also, the comments section for online recipes offer tips and variations from other people who have cooked it.

To dry my washing I hang my tops, singlets, dresses, pyjama tops and bras on hangers to dry on the airer. I can fit more washing on it and when dry I just transfer into the wardrobe.

When I hang bedding on the line I take peg off one end then fold, fold, fold along to other peg, remove peg then as I pull bedding off (that has now been folded lengthwise) I fold in half then half again then put in basket. The weight of the bedding is supported by the line and is easier on my back. Then when I get inside it's folded and ready to put in the cupboard straight away. I wish I had a dryer though, that would be even more easier.

Love pp that suggests putting bedding sets in the matching pillow case. Am absolutely going to do that now.

I have a wrapping cupboard, full of paper, ribbons, spare cards etc. That's probably about it! I seem to do everything else long-hand.

Buy all birthday cards for the whole year- numbered ones for kids

A good way to save the recipes you find online is the Copymethat app. You can also use Pinterest for that too.

If I have loads of boring housework to do, I find listening to an entertaining podcast makes it more bearable!

-Do beauty routine when bathing children. Double cleanse, serum etc, eyebrow plucking, nails

-Errands app on iPhone

-If you’ve left clutter build up over time (like me), commit to putting x2 items for charity away every day, then take a small bag over once a week until you’re on top of things. Easier than doing a massive clear out in one go, and problem takes care of itself

-don’t put it down, put it away

-freezer full of COOK meals, Deliveroo

Due to lack of space in my freezer and for the times when only half a pizza will do.
When you get your shopping home a frozen pizza is always a bit soft/defrosted. Cut pizza in half before storing in the freezer.
To cook make sure the cut edge is up against the side of the baking tray to save toppings falling off.

I also like using Simply Cook. They send you the spice mixes/ pastes for 4 different meals each month. You just have to buy some meat/veg. They are very quick to make and very tasty.

Get a dog the same colour as you carpet.

Is there a thread with weekly meal plans ? I try but end up with 4 or 4 dinners on repeat

Choose floor coverings, kitchen cupboards and sofa so that they are practical and don't show every stain. The first house we lived in had white kitchen cupboards and white tiled floor. They showed every speck of dirt.

Save money on contact lenses by cutting out small circles from a polythene bag and using those instead.