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?

😧

The local history society will take it. The libraries always have their details. Likewise Museums, they'll find a display for them somewhere.

We had little piles of clothes in the bedroom for years until I bought these https://www.ikea.com/ie/en/p/fjantig-hook-black-60347102/

Also I have a little label maker and label stuff before putting it in the freezer, after years of guessing "what is this in the blue plastic bag"

Don't the bags have a white patch for you to write on?
I write on the bags, dates and what the unidentifiable or lumpy substance is.

I had 2 almost identical veg peelers. One was awesome, the other has caused scars. You couldn't tell the difference from the drawer. After months and months I was finally bold enough to bin the offensive tool to prevent further injuries. It cost £1.20 and hurt me. Why did it take so long????
Also, I always store baked beans upside down. They slide straight out of the can that way, no spoon required

They do but I can never seem to get any pen/ marker to go onto them properly or stay on. These days I mostly freeze in old butter/ ice-cream/ yoghurt/ Chinese tubs. And very handy I have Pyrex dishes with lids that can go in the freezer and oven

I do some of the things already mentioned (duvet sets in pillow cases, different style socks for each person etc), but a couple things I haven't seen mentioned are:

*Magnetic motion sensor lights on the radiators in my bedroom and en-suite. I don't wake my dh up when I inevitably have to have a nighttime wee.
*Shared Google calendar for the family, so we can see if anything conflicts with each other's schedules.
*Shared online shopping list. Everyone can add what they need and I check it before I shop.

Also, I keep a roll of bin bags in each small bin around the house (except the main kitchen bin).

@Chocolatelabradorsarethebest
I’m so glad I’m not (quite) the only one having the ‘emptying dishwasher lightbulb moment’ 🤣

I keep remembering things after I post, sorry!
I keep a bottle of shower cleaning spray and a squeegee in the shower. Takes less than 30 seconds after I've showered.

A Sharpie works, if empty sometimes a ball point, the old style ones that were called Biros. I have a Sharpie with click top, it's finer than the chunky ones. Not tried the fine ones that come in packs of colours yet.
I use bags because they can squish into gaps, and I open packaged stuff and split it into smaller portions. Complete home cooked meals go in boxes, but can get more in freezer with bags.

Which reminds me, sometimes I put stuff in a bag and then into a box to freeze, when solid, remove from the box and you have a bag of rectangluar frozen stuff which you can stack on other similar bags, the squishy irregular ones go into the gaps and then freeze to fit.

I love this thread!

like many on here, I will:
-empty bottom dishwasher rack first.
-stash sheet and duvet cover into matching pillow case
-do a weekly list
-menu/meal plan and batch cook.

Other useful things I do:
-I use the California roll method to put my duvet cover onto king size quilt. Takes me five minutes and doesn’t knacker my arms.
-have a one in, one/two out rule for buying stuff/decluttering. All the storage systems in the world won’t make more room in my small house.
-5/10 minute evening tidy up (2DC and I do this each night - keeps the place looking tidy.
-as soon as a washing load is done, we all muck in to make sure it’s dried, folded and put away. Ditto dishwasher.
-robovac is on daily.
-cat flap with microchip reader (I set it to lock/unlock at set times)
-automatic cat litter box
-automatic feeder for the cats.
-cat fountain.

Label your fitted sheets in the corners with indelible pen, using S, D or SK to denote their size, especially when they’re all the same colour.

Black socks for the three men in the house. If they're not black, they're mine.

Having different colour sheets for each size of bed, so you never have to work out which is which. And a storage box like these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333274664672?hash=item4d98b7cee0:g:DNYAAOSwEy5kbMSb in a cupboard in each bedroom with the spare bedding for that bed, so you never have to dig through a big pile to find the right stuff. For our spare sofa bed we only own one fitted sheet and it goes straight back on as soon as it’s washed and dried, so only the duvet and pillows need to be added and the bed’s ready for the next guest. It makes me feel so organised.

Because you just slide the curtain off the pole, wash, dry (maybe quick iron) until damp and thread pole through again.

With hooks, you have to attach each one ... but as pp said, you can just unhook, wash with hooks in and hang up again. But the pleats are dust traps and so it is a bit more faffy than eyelets if you have to unpleat and repleat,

Moving house- take a tip from the fantastic guys who moved us to Denmark (and back) - get a decent large sized plastic box with lid - into it go all your bits needed to put your beds back together again (if they are that type) all screws and bolts relating to any legs they've taken off furniture - put into individual bags and marked. A couple of Stanley knives, electric screwdrivers, drill, loo roll, some paper/plastic cups, a few sets of cutlery, remote controls, some paper/plastic plates, kettle, and a bag full of cleaning cloths, wipes , spray etc

Take this in the car with you for instant access

I use the plastic zip up bags that pillows and new duvets comes in to store bedding. So duvet cover, one matching pillowcase, 2 x plain pillowcases and fitted sheet go in the second matching pillowcase, whcih then goes into one of the see-through bags. You can get about three sets in a two pillow zippy bag. One for each bed in your house - done.

Always have canestan in the house. Just in case.

Is that in case your giant millipede gets athlete's foot?

Most cases of crazy vaginal itching are bacterial vaginosis, so instead of canestan I keep BV pessaries.

you can just unhook, wash with hooks in and hang up again

I tried that, lost half the hooks in the washing machine. Eyelet curtains or blinds now.

Also, I always store baked beans upside down. They slide straight out of the can that way, no spoon required

😯

Instead of wasting money on annoying washing line hooks, just clip a peg to the line and hook the hanger between the (upright) prongs.

If you like all white sheets, just use a permanent marker and write on the label what size it is. D = Double, K = King etc

Result: clothes on the lawn as soon as the wind picked up.