Housekeeping life hacks that changed your life

[Newmumburnout]

A bit dramatic of a title 😂. Wanted to start a new thread for great ideas we can share where something easy and small has made your life so much easier ! having a 1 year old and 3 pets and it's a chore to keep on top of everything. Even if it's not housekeeping please share !
Mine are:
Getting as much as possible delivered on a schedule. One being hand wash. I use the brand raindrop they supply a lovely bottle and send tablets to refill so you don't have to keep buying plastic hand wash bottles and they are always full.
Making chicken and rice bowls in one pot. When I cook dinner I will make a few lunch pots, you add rice, chicken, stick , veg etc with whatever spices and cook for 30 mins in one glass tupperware pot. That's it, eat from the.same container after warming up !

Anyone else ??

Own brand biodegradable cleaning wipes are widely available. Aldi's are about £1 for 72.

Karcher window vac on early morning window condensation. By removing the water and pouring away, rather than letting it re-evaporate back into the room, you're using your window surfaces almost as a dehumidifier. It might sound silly but I really see the difference after a couple of mornings of this.

I had a holiday job cleaning in a hotel….this was the perfect way to lift the dust from the corners of the stairs!

@NC001 it’s a Meaco I have and find it makes a huge difference to drying times, it runs really quietly too

in the north Sunday dinner is at dinner time I.e. about 1pm!

I can’t say this without sounding awful and lazy but last minute visitors coming or just no time- clean mirror in bathroom, spray and clean toilet and sink, quick sweep, wipe floor around the edge of the bathroom with wet wipe/ wet cloth, domestos in toilet and candle lit- like new! Also as always said on mn, the one touch thing- put things straight to where they’re meant to go!

We've had one of their dehumidifiers for a year now and I wouldn't be without it. I've got two clothes rails from IKEA and hang everything on coat hangers when back from the school run and it's usually dry before bed if not then definitely by the next morning which means I can do a load every day even when the weather is rubbish.

Thought of another one,,,I do a lot of batch cooking and freeze in Tupperware. After losing freezer bingo, I now keep a roll of masking tape and a marker pen in the cupboard beside the Tupperware for labelling the lids

After tonight the thick towels are getting put away, currently sat with heating blasting with windows open to get our's dry, it's pouring down here but I'm melting 🫠..thankyou!!

I'm not sure I understand this one, what's awful about it?

Oh I like this… feels like something I can do. I’m starting tomorrow. Thanks for sharing!

DreamW3aver
sorry probably should have said it- wiping around the edge makes it look cleaner as if you washed the whole floor!!!!

I do this sometimes.

Old, single socks on my hands for dusting. Pop straight in the wash.

In-built shoe storage in our porch has been life changing.

Dish tabs/laundry tabs/ multiuse & bathroom spray tablets (just add water) come automatically through the door (Smol).

The pointy bit on a tin opener opens very tight jars- just discovered this one!

Ikea metal trolley (3 layers) on wheels in kitchen for all veg & fruit (super easy access for everyone).

Lidl giant, bread pretzels freeze brilliantly- pop 5 in freezer every weekend & youngest DC has one in front of school bag for snack every day (substantial, not junk & school lunchbox Nazis friendly).

I'm a flip flop girl, put it on your hands and it's magic. Also use it to clean out the back of the car.

Some great ideas here. I'm definitely going to get pre chopped frozen veg and a spray mop! And check out the ideas from Nancy Birtwhistle

A squeege to get hair out the carpet. 2 vacuum cleaners one for upstairs and one for downstairs

-white vinegar and bicarbonate soda soak to clean hard to clean surfaces (oil- caked such as ovens)

Chemically vinegar and bicarb neutralise each other, despite it being touted as social media's magic cleaner. You are effectively just soaking in water. Which brings me to me remover for caked on stuff - just pop a wet cloth over it and walk for a while.

A 'Jar Key' to open difficult jars, instead of trying to twist it open you use it to break the vacuum in the jar and then it's easy to open and closes again perfectly. I tried so many options before I found this perfect left field solution.

Fed up with the Tupperware cupboard and never being able to match lids to containers? Get them all out, pair them up and use a sharpie to write on container and lid. You can go through the alphabet, draw something, whatever you like. Container A goes with lid A, smiley face goes with smiley face, etc.

Agree with @lochmaree - Boxes / organisers, that way if you need a lightbulb or a paracetamol, just pull out the right box from the cupboard.

Also - if heading upstairs, always take something with you to put away (if applicable!). We save a lot of clutter this way.

Use a squeegee after every shower- it takes seconds to wipe down the glass, but makes a huge difference. This can also be used on fogged-up mirrors.

A dampened rubber glove is also great for cleaning out of carpets and rugs (I have long hair which gets everywhere)

I am in no way a good housekeeper but here are my tips

5 lots of uniform (4 children here so 20 shirts a week 😱). All uniform kept in dedicated uniform wardrobes (one girls one boys) and 2 dedicated uniform laundry baskets (one white one dark). All school uniform washed dried and put away over the weekend and I don't need to think about it during the week

I wash pants/socks/wipes etc in their own wash a few times a week and tumble dry them life's too short for pegging out socks

Prep fruit for the week and keep in the fridge means it's more likely to get eaten! Kitchen towel in bottom of box keeps it fresh for longer

I don't iron! DH does his own work shirts.

For bathroom cleaning I do one bit each night before I get in the shower and then it never needs a big clean eg one night wipe and bleach toilet, next night might be sink, next night mop floor etc

Hoover every night keeps on top of it and becomes routine.

Declutter! We have recently had a big declutter and it's so much easier to keep things tidy when there's less stuff!

Online shopping...we use ocado. Really easy and reliable and it comes in bags which is so much easier.

We are trying hello fresh this week to try to reduce the mental load.

Loving these

When the dc were little
drinks and food were not allowed out of the kitchen..much less mess to clean
arts and crafts stuff was only allowed at the kitchen table..much less mess to clean up
each dc had a color for towel, lunch box, coat, pencil case, school bag and whatever else I could find in it. Made tracking down things easier (and knowing who had left the wet towel on the floor)
only put clothes you are happy for dc to wear that week in their drawers and wardrobe, the out of season stuff was in plastic boxes in the garage/attic and the special stuff was in a cleaners bag
each dc had a basket by the back door..where we came in 99% of the time. They could throw shoes bags etc in it. Then they had a hook on the wall above it for coat etc. meant that they actually kept their stuff in one place..also no shoes past the door..then you cant loose them in the house and less mess
joint calendar with DH for all family and school stuff

now dc are older, between them they have to clean up after breakfast and dinner and ‘sparkle’ the kitchen. I dont get involved in who does what and when..they have to sort it out, and if its not done to the agreed standard, they are all in trouble equally. It means they work as a team and plan around their schedules together.

Don't let dishes pile up in the sink.
Do laundry from start to finish - wash, dry, sort, fold, put away. Having a dryer helps a lot.
Laundry basket in every bedroom and in the bathroom.
Socks go into a mesh laundry bag for washing, and if drying in the dryer, they stay in the bag. This cuts down on sock disappearance.
Keep a specific place for footwear and make sure it never goes anywhere else.
Half an hour per room per week keeps the house ticking over.
Get your children to do chores with you.
Men and boys who miss the loo have to clean up after themselves.