what makes your life easier?

[4littleones]

we have a roomba and a scooba and they both make our house tidier and cleaner, If anything just to give us the motivation to clear the floors everyday so it doesn't build up into a big job like it used to.

What is your most useful possession? We have just had another baby and my goodness have I noticed it in the housework! I am aware spending time with the kids is more important so I am just trying to see if there is anything else I'm missing that will save me a bit of time.

I know clutter is the enemy and have been decluttering gradually but no time to do any at the moment.

I used to freeze home made mash (now I just buy it fresh and freeze it).

Don't add water to re-heat. I used to freeze it in 1 person portion sized tubs, empty however many I needed in to a pyrex bowl and then de-frost to hot in the microwave. I'd do a couple of minuets at a time and stir until it was all hot.

I will start doing it again when I am no longer pg!

Suzietwo how can you fit ten loaves in your freezer, is it a chest freezer? Thanks

Oh, I don't have a microwave. I wonder if others do it in a conventional oven?

Yes I have a large chest freezer in the garage.

I love the separate laundry bags tip- will definitely do that in the winter when we're back to using the tumble drier.

The problem with many of these tips is that most short cuts are expensive and/or wasteful. I wish we could afford a roomba and a cleaner!

I second the not ironing. I've never ironed so have no idea how anyone has the time to do it!

I never iron, clothes line dry then tumble dry and while still warm flatten out creases. Doesn't work on everything but most. And the things it doesn't work in I don't wear

creamandsugar so true!

IME home made frozen, reheated mash tastes the same as freshly cooked.

I soooo want a roomba!

Oh I'm an ironer. For six of us (excluding DH!). I think it saves time and makes the clothes look better.

It wouldn't be convenient for me to tumble / de-crease / sort immediately when things come out. That sounds like tyranny to me, working around constant laundry loads!

Air dry them and plonk them into the basket for ironing when I feel like it. I zip through them with a steam generator - takes max 1.5 hours a week AND I get to pick what's on TV.

OTOH if people buy me special crockery which shouldn't be dish-washed, it all goes in "to test the theory".

I never pair socks after laundering. The all go in a wicker basket on the landing and the dc have to find their own in the morning. Their feet, their socks, their problem!

I only have socks of one colour, and preferably multi packs so they are exactly the same. Mine are all black, as are DD1's, DD2's are all white (I didn't entirely think that through) - no sorting through finding pairs, just wrap any 2 together and chuck them in a drawer.

Also agree with having less stuff. I had a mega clear out about 6 months ago. I got rid of bags and bags of stuff - it's made such a difference.

Do roombas really work then? I heard they they just bumbled about and you ended up with one really clean bit and the rest not so much?!

Lurks for ideas

I made life easier by lowering my standards.

Great tips- I've just gone on mat leave but I'm bookmarking this for when I return to work...
We have a dehumidifier. We dry the clothes in the same room as it- everything is dry in hours therefore you need less stuff. Everything is hung straight into hangers ready to go into the wardrobe once it's dry.
Up till now I've only cooked properly once or twice a week, and cleared up as I go. BBQing fish in summer is a great timesaver- do the potatoes in the microwave while DH is BBQing, then stick them on the BBQ at the end to crisp the skins, plus salad from a bag with a nice dressing.
I've just bought some of those vacuum pack bags so I can pack away stuff we don't use regularly like snow gear, camping stuff, heavy duvets etc.
Almost all shopping is done online at night, and delivered straight to work so we don 't have to waste time going to the post office to collect.
The cars are usually dirty- they get cleaned at the car wash at the shopping centre on the rare occasion that we actually make it there in person!

Cloudy
once youve put clothes onto hangers where do you hang them

and how much n what yype if dehumidifier do you have

Slowcooker - saves so much time getting dinner ready in the morning and means after school there's no rush - I can just dish up and the jobs done. I'd highly recommend Slow Cooked Wonders on FB, if you're on it - thousands of ideas for recipes, hints and tips. I did the most amazing carrot cake over the weekend in mine - MIL even asked where I'd bought it, it was that nice. Smug points when I told her it was homemade

My dishwasher - I couldn't live without it.

And I find, writing a list of everything I need to do that day really helps me get things done. It's immensely satisfying crossing them off as they're done!

MysteryCat
Where do you get cheap paper table clothes

BBQ- I hang stuff off door handles (luckily there are two doors into that room and with the dehumidifier you can hang 5 shirts together and they'll still dry), off a drying rack, off DD's toy kitchen...
It's a delonghi tasciugo aria dry, costs $250 in Oz.

I'm going to write some of these down. I've just had a baby and having two kids has hit me like a tonne of bricks! I get less done these days than when I worked 60 hours a week! (also the laundry seems to have tripled, so I'm going to do the baskets thing, thanks!)

Someone I know was shocked that one of her relatives sent all washing to a laundry and didn't do any herself. (She had a DH but of course he wasn't expected to do any. I say good for her. I'd love to do this.

Dh replaced all his work shirts with proper non-iron ones. The high street ones still needed ironing.
I like the idea of washing with a colour catcher, must try that one! Pegging up socks and pants to dry takes up most of my time, no dryer and I can't stand seeing socks hanging up crumpled.

Charles Tyrwhitt non iron shirts - I have just one so far! Need to hang up as soon as washed though.

Even in good weather I tumble dry the small stuff (sox, pants, towels etc.)

Those wipey things that you can clean bathroom with and flush away.

I do like ironed tea towels but most other stuff including tee shirts etc. I don't bother with. I have a dishwasher too. Keep bags of roast potatoes, spicy potato wedges, croquette potatoes in freezer to keep cooking time to a minimum. But we do have lots of pasta or noodles, also quick.

opies which slow cooker would you recommend? Thanks

How many are you looking to feed, Birdies? Are you wanting leftovers to freeze?

There's me and four children (9, 6,4 and 2) and I have several. I have a 1.5ltr for doing side dishes, a 3.5ltr for cakes and smaller meals, a 6ltr one for when I want leftovers/big joints or chickens and an 8ltr for batch cooking to freeze.

Strange as it sounds, you don't have to pay a lot for a decent slowcooker. Argos do one, a cookworks 6ltr and it's about £20 - I highly recommend it. They also do a smaller 3.5ltr that I've heard very good things about.