to ask what I can buy to make my life easier

[cadburyegg]

I've come into a bit of money and have been racking my brains trying to work out how to spend it sensibly. I am a single parent and my life is messy and chaotic and really tiring. One obvious thing is to pay down the mortgage I know but I have just fixed for another 5 years. I have a few things that need to be done round the house.

Please give me your ideas 🙏 big or small.

As a single parent my first thoughts after the mortgage/debt clearance would be:

Make sure I had a reliable car in good condition if needed

Think about an expensive home appliance that might need replacing e.g. Washing machine, dryer, dishwasher.

Then honestly... I'd think about a cleaning company a few hours a week to take the load off. 😅

I’d go on MSE, it might be better to do the mortgage anyway.

Otherwise, do you mean your home and yourself is messy and chaotic? Hire an organiser type person for a few days? I’d love to do that for myself.

Cleaner / house keeper

Storage? You could do an Ikea trip.

Very much depends how much money.

Robot hoover

Definitely a cleaner to come in and help you once a week or once a month.

Buy a dishwasher and tumble dryer if you don't already have them.

Airfryer

I would get a cleaner who can do some ironing and other laundry. It will free up lots of your time and you’ll feel much more in control. Perhaps they could strip the beds, put the sheets on to wash, iron last weeks and remake everything for you weekly

Maybe also use some to stock up on items you use regularly and run out of - but only if you have the space to store them

Cleaner definitely. One deep clean then budget for a regular clean at least once a fortnight.

Half or full day of a handyman to blitz those odd jobs.

Upgrade household basics with luxurious versions like good towels, nice new dinner set, comfiest bedding. Needn't be pricey, TK Maxx is great for this sort of thing. Choose whatever you like as no one else to please but yourself.

I'm recently separated and find these are the things that have made the real difference.

I would pay for a handyman type person to come into the house for 2 days and work their way through a list of jobs if you’ve got things to do like things like put up a shelf, build a flat pack wardrobe, fix a leaky tap, etc.

Take all washing to a laundrette for a service wash/dry/iron.

Cleaners in for a one off deep clean.

Gusto or some kind of meal prep for 4 weeks.

Really good mop and hoover. Robot hoover if money allows.

In the kitchen excellent knives and copping boards and a heavy bottomed large frying pan/sauté pan.

A coffee machine and grinder (not pods).

An air fryer.

Really nice bottles to decant shampoo and body wash in and a large pile of large bath sheets so you always have plenty.

A ground source heat pump and solar panels.

Good insulation and central heating.

I’d not hire a regular cleaner unless it’s a lot of money. A one-off and a robot hoover though for sure. And then anything I needed for systems I could maintain, so storage for everything, extra school uniform, Tupperware, cooking knives/boards/a stick blender - depending what you cook, maybe a food processor or air fryer or slow cooker.
insulation is a good idea. Otherwise, stick it in a
savings account for when the boiler/car/washer die.

air fryer and a robot hoover/mop

Robot hoover and grass cutter

Robot hoover - life changing!

The best money we ever spent was having the cupboard under the stairs organised. The panels stayed in keeping with the house but the high bit was turned into a coat cupboard, just behind that shelved space for bags (children's rucksacks, dh's work bag, the top shelf housed my sewing box and wrapping paper). The smaller spaces behind that were fitted with shoe racks and the last bit provided access for the meters. It was bloody brilliant and albeit expensive it was worth every penny. I'll try to remember the name of the company - they were based at World's End.

Surely it all depends on what you struggle with? No point buying a robot hoover if you have hard floors etc.

IME life is a lot less chaotic as a single parent when I don't waste 10 minutes (the someone turns into 60) doom scrolling on MN.

definitely a cleaner.

what are the pressure points in your life where things are stressful / muddled? would more childcare make a big difference?

Robot vacuum cleaner and mop if you have hard floors

I’d also consider looking at storage solutions in the home and what you need.

having a giant American fridge freezer removed a surprising amount of stuff from my life. I have space to keep 4-5 fake aways for when I can’t be bothered with dinner.

Oh if you have a washer and separate tumble dryer consider upgrading your tumble dryer to a good washer dryer.
i love having “two washing machines”
if mean I can always just throw stuff in and I always have a light and dark wash on the go/waiting to be full enough to run

Put 20k in an ISA right now, another 20k in April. By next year you'll be making 2000 a year on it to buy things you need.

Buy a dishwasher.

Hire a declutterer and a cleaner for a week to help you sort your house.

A whiteboard & a space to put it. Much easier than a diary. Helps with overwhelm.

Definitely I would get a cleaner /home help.

I’d look at the bare bones of your home and make it more energy efficient. Then look at moving away from Gas central heating if possible. Double glazing, wall insulation, floor insulation and decent flooring without gaps, etc. After that I’d replace any very old white goods. I’d have curtains and blinds made too.

I’d clear debt and check back to plug any gaps in national insurance contributions.

These are the least sexy suggestions but the ones that are costly and will have a long term benefit for you!