Tips that really make your life easier

mammyof7

poet123 wrote: »

There are six of us too, because all through winter I wear black socks with my boots for work.

Works well....until DH decided when away on business and running short of socks (you would think that at his age he would have grasped the concept of washing socks in hotel sink) to buy some with striped toes and heels!!!! Cue looks of horror from me when they hit the wash basket. Guess what? They go unpaired.....

Lol. Prior to the "all black socks" revelation I would regularly find myself sat on the kitchen floor pairing 70+ pairs of a weekend. Can't believe that I didn't think of it much much sooner .

sunflower_2

fab thread - loving the tips.

here are my time savers:

- a clothing rail screwed into the bottom of utility cupboards to hang clothes straight onto hangers for airing (rarely need ironing)

- shark steam mop - no more waiting for the floor to dry and no need to buy floor cleaners

- lazy garlic & lazy chilli

- frozen onions

(& i am a peeler)

Lucyadams184

I descale my kettle with vinegar, it's amazing so much better than expensive descalers and you don't need much, add a bit of water and boil. Never leave the kitchen though as sometimes it bubbles up and spills out.

mrcow

Random list:

A calendar - acts as a central communication point and hangs on the kitchen wall. Everything goes on there - then we never forget stuff.

Online banking - could not cope without it.

I have a waffle maker which means that I can make quick and easy desserts/breakfasts/dinners in minutes that the kids find a real treat - and we've used it for parties. It makes 4 at a time and they are lush.

Virgin V+ TV - now I can watch what I want when I want it.

My iPhone - has changed my life. I am so much more organised now. I dont know why I was so reluctant to get one.

Getting rid of bathroom mould in sealant - cover with bleach and then toilet paper and leave over-night - works a treat.

When taking toast out of the toaster - lean two slices against each other for 1 minute to avoid that nasty soggy-toast problem.

Use garlic paste (puree) - mash with butter for delicious garlic butter in seconds that can be spread on any bread product and toasted for garlic bread - takes about 3-4 minutes tops.

I use cif mousse to clean my bathroom - spray and leave and come back later - it always works well.

I wash my couch covers in the washing machine and cool tumble dry - even though they weren't advertised as machine washable - they come up lovely - 11 years and counting.

Meadows

RadoJo wrote: »

I picked up some olives and it wasn't until I got them home that I realised they had not been pitted. I was almost resigned to a long evening of stoning them by hand, but was inspired to do a quick check online to see if there was an easy way to do it. Lo and behold, I found a recipe which had a handy hint right at the end advising that if you squash them with a wooden spoon, the stone is really easy to remove.

OR getting a garlic crusher with an olive/cherry stoner in the handle!

Rose_Wood

When making mash I microwave whole potatoes in their skins. When they are done I peel thickly and save the peel for fried or roasted potato skins for the next day's meal. It's much faster and less wasteful.

I'm another that doesn't peel or wash mushrooms, just wipe if they need it otherwise cut up and use straight away. The only time I might peel them is when they are getting a bit old - and I just peel with my fingers.

Sugardonut

I ditto making extra portions of dinner that can be frozen. I always make double when making stews, spag bol, chilli, ragu etc. It's great for during the week and you can't be !!!*d.

Also, rolling boiled eggs before deshelling them, makes it so much quicker and less fiddly.

Kepping the skin on garlic when using a garlic press - saves time and it's much easier to clean the presser afterwards.

I also feeze slices of lime to use in my rum and coke at the weekends, not really a timesaver but i still feel chuffed with myself everytime i take a slice of lime out the freezer - i'm so sad :rotfl:

Spendless

I married the boyfriend who told me he really enjoyed ironing. That's saved me hours over the years.

abailey54

Some great tips here - I like the leaving the skin on the garlic one, now I have no idea why I thought I had to peel it first (this would also stop you having hands wiffing of garlic)

If I over-buy on the cheese, I grate it up and pop portion-size sandwich bags in the freezer - you can pop it straight onto spag bol and the heat of the meal defrosts the cheese

My mother used to bulk make sandwiches and chuck them in the freezer so that all you had to do is grab one out in the morning and by lunchtime it was ready for eating

On the mushroom peeling front, it depends on the mushroom. Big breakfast mushrooms are easy to peel so they get peeled, but button mushrooms are definitely not peeled (and sometimes not even washed :eek:)

cheekyweegit

Prior to my 3 sons moving onto the basket of help yourself black socks as they were all the same size, I used to sew a coloured marker into the top of each sock to help pairing them. Particularly handy with school sox.

They now operate on first up best dressed, at the ages of 19, 20 & 22. Nightmare at times.

I'm also use the jars of lazy chilli and garlic. I rarely peel carrots, and potatoes.

As for the mushrooms - life's to short to even try and peel, I'm a chop and bung person for these. Bung as in bung in the pot / wok / frying pan to cook / kill off the bugs.