What do you do to make your life easier?

southcoastrgi

shegirl wrote: »

Ooh,and a separating laundry ' bin' to save sorting and save accidentally dying ds school shirts pink again:o:o:o

i bet he just loves you

Honeythief

shegirl wrote: »

I've also put a check list on the inside of my larder cupboard so I can note things that are running out (like the giant supply of chopped tomatoes:o) so I don't find I'm missing essential ingredients when I'm about to cook then rush to the shop:rotfl:

We do something very similar - I got a spray can of blackboard paint and painted the front of the kitchen cupboard door beside the fridge, and we keep a bit of chalk beside it. Whenever I open the last of something I write it up on the blackboard - I don't wait for it to run out, but write it up as soon as we don't have a spare in stock.

So long as we do a grocery run at least once every two weeks that seems to be good enough for everything but bread and milk, which we can get in the shop at the bottom of the street in an emergency

snowleopard61

Not exactly an organisational tip, but it certainly makes life easier: I learnt very early on in my working life that it pays to avoid office gossip, think very carefully before you speak, be cheerful and friendly all round but don't get too close to anyone at work. I've stayed out of trouble so many times this way, when things could have gone very badly wrong, e.g. I spent several months working in an office whether the other three had seriously fallen out (for reasons outside work) and two weren't speaking to the third and vice versa. Thankfully I managed to stay on OK terms with all of them, enough not to be drawn into the situation.

ETA: Avoiding the gossip does mean you tend to be out of the loop a bit, but you can't have everything!:D

Possession

I've made my life even easier and stopped sending christmas cards completely.

snowleopard61

A card index box for addressses and phone numbers rather than an address book, because we moved around the country a lot and I got tired of changing all the local contacts every time (and making my address book look a mess!).

Writing in the December part of my new calendar anything I want to remember for Christmas, e.g. that I still have crackers or cards left over or that part of the preparations would work better if done earlier next time.

This wouldn't suit everyone, but I have an extremely basic and cheap mobile phone which does little more than make calls and texts. I reckon there's less potential for things to go wrong with it, but if it does, or if it's lost (it isn't desirable enough for anyone to want to steal!:o) it's cheap to replace. One facility it does have, however, is a reminder signal, which I use constantly and find really useful.

Again this wouldn't suit anyone, but I've never learnt to drive. It's saved me a fortune! I live within walking distance of my work and anywhere I'm likely to be able to find work if I lost my present job. It's about 25-30 minutes each way, so it does me for exercise too. On the occasions (about 2 a month) when I need to go anywhere by bus, I try to do everything that needs to be done by bus and buy a one-day ticket. There are a few places I need to take taxis to (e.g. the vet's surgery, as I can't carry the cat basket far enough on foot or to the nearest suitable bus stop) but that's a drop in the ocean compared to running a car. Shopping has at times been tricky (although nowadays it's mostly just one or two I'm feeding), but I've usually shopped online, or better still done it in dribs and drabs - it concentrates the mind when you know you have to carry whatever you buy!

penguingirl

We have a value notebook (about 30p) which is the 'list'- we write things on there as they are running out, and then when we meal plan the rest of the shopping list gets added to it, and then we just take the book to Tesco with us (and cross things off as we go around). We usually keep money off vouchers at the back.

I use the chilli/garlic/ginger tubes instead of buying those ingredients fresh. I think they're much nicer than dried ingredients, but very easy.

I always do my washing at the weekends and only iron OHs shirts (which is done on a Sunday night).

I also do the usual things like cook for the freezer etc.

sparrer

It sounds harsh written in cold black and white but my life became much easier and my head much clearer when I stopped seeing people I don't really get on with. It was always such an effort to be falsly pleasant, particularly if we have nothing in common. Now the time I spent 'socialising' with them is either spent on me or on my family and real friends. It was awkward at first, not quite knowing how to refuse invitations but as a friend said, you just have to say 'sorry, I can't that day' or similar. No need for lengthy explanations. It's surprising how easily a quick apology/refusal is accepted - perhaps they feel the relief too!

snowleopard61

sparrer wrote: »

It sounds harsh written in cold black and white but my life became much easier and my head much clearer when I stopped seeing people I don't really get on with.

I know what you mean. And on the subject of Christmas cards, I decided some years ago not to send cards to people I knew I'd never be likely to make the effort to see again (given that many of them lived far away anyway). It was very liberating to find that the world didn't actually fall in!:p

It has to be said that when I was married, my ex was someone who had a very large circle of friends and was very good at keeping in touch with them. This meant I had to entertain people far more often than I wanted to. Now, years later, I'm in a relationship with someone who is extremely close to his family, but doesn't see an awful lot of other people, which is much more my style (fortunately his family are lovely and I'm glad to spend time with them). It's a great relief.

foxgloves

This is only a little thing, but it works for me. Don't put off any little job which would only take you around 30 seconds or less to do. I find this means I keep on top of clutter and as lots & lots of small jobs usually mount up into one very big one, it's an easy time saver.

System

Lists. I love making lists.

I try to stick to them too.:D