Simple things that I should have done years ago to make life easier

[malificent7]

My lovely cat has been waking us up at 5/6am for 6 years.
Last night I had the genius idea of closing the lounge door so she couldn't come to our room.
Hence we slept longer. Why did I not think of this earlier? I love cat snuggles but love a lie in more.

Am I thick or does anyone have similar stories?

I wear the first 2 pairs of socks out the drawer. Don't care if they are different.

I only have double bed size sheets even the kids single beds had double sheets.

All beds have double duvets.

Teen DD underwear everything is black. no sorting is that mine or hers - saves atlease 60secoubds each wash 😂

My cat has worked out how to ring her own little doorbell. We have a microchip cat flap, which clicks when it unlocks. She doesn’t want to come in the cat flap, she wants to use the people door. She sticks her head in the tube bit made by the hole in the wall for the cat flap and it clicks. She then peers through the glass door next to it hopefully, repeating the process until someone lets her in

when I had my first cat we had a letterbox at the bottom of the front door. She would knock on it with her paw until someone let her in. For months I thought it was kids playing knockadoor run and didn’t connect that the cat was there every time until one day I glanced out of the window as she was doing it.

Loving these tips. I am very disorganized but recently bought a cheap velvet covered small ottoman to go under my dressing table so that all the make up, perfume, creams etc that permanently sat untidily on view now goes away and I just slide the box out when I need to get ready in the morning & evening

I would love to have such a simple wardrobe. Every time I go out I need to think about what I am going to wear - this is inspiring!

Oeeehhh😍

When you need make stock from a stock cube, crumble the cube directly into the pan in which are cooking, then add the boiling water afterwards.

Same end result as making up the stock in your measuring jug, and no need to wash up the jug. Just leave it to dry in your drainer.

Why are eyelets the only way? What have I missed not understood?

I keep a small bag inside my handbag with all my essentials in so I can just move it from one bag to another and not forget anything.

I keep a To Do list with my diary each week and work through it crossing things off. Every Sunday it gets re-written in order of priority for the next week. It acts as a brain dump so I can relax better on a Sunday evening knowing my mind is more organised for the week ahead.

I have painted blackboard paint on the inside of a upper kitchen cupboard for my shopping list. The whole family can write things on the list while in the kitchen and I just take a photo of it before I shop.

I write on chargers or leads with a sharpie or put a sticky tape label on them as soon as they come into the house. That way I always know what goes with what.

I also write the date opened on mayonnaise, jam jars, ketchup, etc with a sharpie. As well as knowing when it goes out of date, it also gives me a good idea of how long a jar of something lasts so I know when to get a spare.

To just get up when the alarm goes off. You feel like shite until you have had a wee and brushed your teeth...whether you get up very early or have a lie in. Feeling groggy and grumpy happens for the first 5 minutes of waking regardless of how many "just a few more minutes extra" you have.

So, don't hit the snooze button. Don't think just 5 minutes more. Just get up.

This way you actually get more sleep - as you can set the alarm for when you need to get up/dressed.

When making cheese sauce I don't grate the cheese. Just chop in lumps of cheese and they melt as I stir...

The really good stuff is probably a shoe box full though we kept most of it and one day I'll throw out the Edwardian photos of peopoe we never knew! I do appreciate the lack of space many have now though.

A retractable washing line. Life changing!

You can, they just need an air first. Even the cleanest clothes will have skin oils, small amounts of sweat, some dust etc after being worn for the day and if they go straight in the cupboard or drawer everything ends up smelling musty. The good old chair-in-the-bedroom is ideal for draping clothes over to air for a night before being put away. Or a suit valet if you want to be fancy.

@viques wow!!! I just watched the product video for that tape dispenser and my mind is blown. I’m about to order one and I’m so excited! Thank you!

I just binned two school shirts and 2 vests, a pe t shirt and 2 pairs of very light weight baby tights as they were pale green. A lime green pillow case needed a wash and I stuck it in, along with 2 colour catchers. Never again.

Weird, I’ve used colour catchers for 5+ years (even with new red jumpers) and never had an issue with them 🤷‍♀️

I'm slightly ashamed of this one, but life has become very stressful lately so please forgive me.
My baby's wardrobe broke in the move (the wooden slat that the baskets sat on got accidentally thrown away). As a result when his clothes are dry I just throw the whole lot in his wardrobe in one big lump.
It suddenly occurred to me how time saving this was, so one day after the laundry was dry I just gathered up all my other kids clothes and threw them in their wardrobes, no hangers, no folding, no sorting.
It felt amazing. I think I'll continue to do this if they won't help me put them away.

Well I’m excited too, I didn’t know there was a product video! Maybe it will tell me what the bits are for that I have never been able to fathom out!!!!

😂

I carefully fold the Chrismas tree up complete with decorations and lights (remove batteries from lights first) and pack it in the box.

This is ridiculous, I can’t believe I’ve never thought of this too! Every time I empty the dishwasher I moan about the things on the bottom layer getting wet!

I've done this too 😁

I read somewhere that the drawers are chiller drawers and for meat. On that basis my veg is kept on the shelves and meat/fake meat/tofu etc. goes in the drawer, except peppers which roll about and are in the other drawer.

I write the purchase date on undated stuff before it's put in the fridge. However, if you look at the label on the packaging of veg etc. you can find a code which is actually the date.

Seriously? I have used a ricer for years. I have always peeled them first though.

Wow, turns out it can multitask with different rolls of tape. There’s posh, having more than one roll of sellotape on the go!

There isn't a river near here...
Microwaving them whole saves having to clean the river ricer or peeling the potatoes first, aside from this my hands aren't strong enough to use one.