What small household fixes have made everyday life noticeably easier?

[HardyPinkPanda]

I’m between jobs at the moment and have decided to use some of the time to basically snag my own house.

I’m going through every room and making a note of all the little things that have mildly irritated me for YEARS, but which I’ve somehow just accepted as part of life. You know the sort of thing - not actual problems, just things you regularly curse under your breath and then continue living with for another five years.

So far I have:

1. Ruthlessly slimmed down the kitchen cupboards so I could lose one cupboard and fit a tumble dryer. Every winter I normally spend approximately 46% of my waking hours hanging damp clothes around the house and rotating them like prize livestock, so I’m disproportionately excited about this.

2. Reorganised the Tupperware so every container now lives WITH ITS OWN LID. No more rummaging through 17 lids while slowly losing the will to live.

3. Thrown out about 12 random, ancient, slightly raggedy towels that had been granted permanent residency in the airing cupboard. It now has SPACE. Things are FOLDED.

4. Replaced the sieve that hasn’t had a handle since approximately 2020. Why did I just... live like that?

5. Put bigger shoe storage by the door, so we no longer have the traditional hallway shoe landslide.

6. Rewired a switch so it finally works the way you instinctively expect it to work rather than requiring a tiny moment of irritation every single time.

Honestly, none of this is exactly world peace, but the cumulative improvement to my quality of life is ridiculous. I keep thinking, WHY DID I PUT UP WITH THIS FOR SO LONG?

So humour me: what tiny, boring, seemingly insignificant thing have you changed/fixed/bought/reorganised in your house that has made you disproportionately happy?

I want the really mundane ones. The things nobody is putting on Grand Designs but which have genuinely made your day-to-day life better.

Basically, tell me what else I should be wandering around my house looking for 😂

Well they are the best so I’m not surprised 🤣

We replaced our Pyrex jug the other day after the last one broke about 5 years ago. Don’t know why we waited so long! I use it most weeks for cooking 😅 felt great when the new one arrived!

I had a very wide bedroom with a huge deep wardrobe at one end. We've built a false wall, with space behind it for a row of hanging (just wide enough for clothes) a narrow walking space and floor to ceiling adjustable shelves on the other size. We used IKEA Elvari which comes in two depths. It has literally doubled the available space and there is still plently of space for the width of the bed in the room.
We had an identical bedroom downstairs and we've used the space there for a shower, basin and cupboard with a door for a stacked washer and dryer.
I appreciate that this is not a cheap lifesaving hack like some others, but it means that we can actually live here.

I have a pyrex jug with no markings at all, so no use for measuring - why do I still have this?!

I have a pyrex jug with no markings at all, so no use for measuring - why do I still have this?!

You can make stirred cocktails in it and pour them out easily! :)

Thanks very much. Sorry, can I also check. Are the plastic inserts included or did you buy them separately as I can’t see them on this link, it looks like just the empty box

Rearranged the kitchen cupboards so the Kenwood could fit in a cupboard by itself. I now use it regularly, whereas when it was at the back of a cupboard with a million things in front of it I could never be bothered to get it out.

Lol, I also have this! Seems wasteful to throw away. I'm currently using it to water indoor plants.

• I have an address book that is just used for websites/passwords so I don't need to remember them all.
• I have a "F*ck it I'm dead, now what?" book (from Amazon) which is a bible for whoever has to sort everything out once I'm no longer here - passwords, bank details, who I want invited to my funeral, everything they could possibly need to know :)
• I bought an orange car so I can easily locate it in a car park amongst the sea of grey / black cars.

I have an address book that is just used for websites/passwords so I don't need to remember them all.

I have a password protected spreadsheet with passwords as there are so many now. Every time I add another password I can resort it into alphabetical order.

Small garden trowel, spade and secateurs in bag on hook inside shed door. Don't know how many trowels and pairs of secateurs I've lost over the years.

Garden pots and troughs and water butts emptied and cleaned at end of season so I don't get cross having to do it in May.

Wipeable board and calendar in kitchen for shopping lists, events and jobs that need doing.

A couple of broom hangers in the utility room next to the kitchen door so I just have to reach round, grab a broom or spray mop and clean the floor as soon as the spill happens.

Spare scissors.

Built shelves over one corner of kitchen bench for appliances that are annoying to get in and out of cupboards but are used reasonably regularly (at least once a week).

List of herbs/spices on inside of kitchen cupboard so I don't end up with 3 jars of cumin.

Hooks over bedroom door for worn clothes that don't need washing yet.

Bottle of mould spray kept in shower caddy so I can spray as soon as I'm out of the shower (only when it's needed, about once a month) as I have the memory of a goldfish and instantly forget as soon as I'm out of the shower.

Hook near windows and doors for keys (not so they can be seen or reached by burglars.........

Scissors - six pairs, not one.
Sellotape - six rolls, not one.

Taking notes! Thank you OP for starting the thread and everyone for the ideas

I'd measure mls, (from another marked jug), 50, 100, 500, etc. and mark the jug with an indelible pen/sharpie.

In fact I do that anyway on measuring jugs where I can't see the measurements too well, I just sharpie it, now I can see at a glance.

no thanks...my non combi boiler in the airing cupboard dries all my washing overnight through out the winter or when its wet outside..havent used my tumble drier for years

After 30 years in the same house, it's an effort to think back to successful choices made years ago. But there are things I miss when on holiday in a rental property. So ...

No carpets, even on the stairs. DH has asthma.

Front door mat set into the wooden floating floor, resting directly on the concrete beneath.

Hooks everywhere, all sizes and purposes. Hooks for mugs, keys, hats, coats, bags, umbrellas, walking sticks, brooms and brushes, Henry hoover hose, kitchen utensils, tea towels, musical instruments, woodworking tools, dog leads.

Glass shelf for toothbrushes/toothpaste, easy to keep clean. The previous one was painted wood, which isn't.

Alcove bookshelves graded by height of books, to maximise space. An old trick inspired by my university library.

Cupboards in the side of the bath, for bleach and bog paper.

A boiler cupboard that can be dismantled for easier access.

No mantelpieces = no ornaments to dust.

Bog common style of crockery that I can replace from eBay or charity shops.

For heating baked beans in the microwave of course

Do you keep that on your phone? If not, what happens when you are out and need to know a password?

Could whoever posted about magic cleaning cloths re-post please? My searches have been unsuccessful so far.

https://amzn.eu/d/06F5PBrR

@Therainbowqueen

This was the box at the time I ordered it. It came with the shelves (which sit on the lip above the wrapping paper).

That was in 2023

I don’t know if they have changed the spec since though.

@Therainbowqueen

Scientists Warn of Harmful Release from ‘Magic’ Sponges - Newsweek

So far this thread has cost me over £100….🤪
My only contribution would be to suggest all bedding kept in the room for that bed. Double up waterproof mattress protector and sheet on child’s bed, so no palavering remaking beds in the middle of the night.
And everyone who gets cold feet really needs to buy some of gorgeous alpaca bedsocks from Pairs socks - like putting your feet into warm clouds, got a pair as a gift and they were so fabulous I bought more, I adore them!

We have a breadmaker which I use at least three times a week, so made sure I have all the ingredients (flour, salt, sugar, oil) nearby and easy to get at. The yeast is in the fridge door)
Use a password manager for your passwords: https://uk.pcmag.com/password-managers/4296/the-best-password-managers