your stupid little life hacks that make even a tiny difference

[Anonymous]

sleep in workout clothes
toothbrush in basement bathroom
coffee maker in finished basement bar
home gym in basement
(none of this is fancy, it's a dated 1990s home)

I finally roll out of bed early and work out regularly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I set our household’s primary credit card to send me a text every time there is a purchase/charge made over $1. I thought this would drive me crazy but I actually love it. It helps me remember what subscriptions we have, helps me be aware of spending by other family members, and if our credit card number is stolen I’ll see it immediately. Plus I no long feel like I need to go through the monthly bill carefully each month (a task I hated).

I wish I had done this years ago.

I do this too and I’ve been alerted to fraud immediately 2x as a result.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last fall I started an arms workout. It takes under ten minutes, I do it three times a week, and the shape of my arms has changed. I use arm muscles now instead of straining my back.

Would you care to recommend it? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we are driving to the beach etc for vacation - we pack in laundry baskets.

We do this but in Ikea blue bags.

+1
Love the handles or shoulder option on these.

Also use IKEA bags for “outings” roundup of gear - lunch bags, blankets, extra jackets, sports gears, boots, etc.

[Anonymous]

They rearranged my supermarket so it doesn't work anymore, but during the height of Covid when I tried to be in and out the supermarket as fast as possible, I took pics of the signs above every aisle. Then I made a blank shopping list in order of the aisle. So I never had to back track - produce, dairy, each aisle in between in order, then frozen. I've always gone by general category, but once I knew the exact aisle it was so much faster.

[Anonymous]

Chapsticks and phone chargers in every room you could ever want a chapstick or phone charger so I never have to hunt one down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They rearranged my supermarket so it doesn't work anymore, but during the height of Covid when I tried to be in and out the supermarket as fast as possible, I took pics of the signs above every aisle. Then I made a blank shopping list in order of the aisle. So I never had to back track - produce, dairy, each aisle in between in order, then frozen. I've always gone by general category, but once I knew the exact aisle it was so much faster.

Damn that's a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not the most organized person, but I keep everyone's Social Security cards, birth certificates, and passports together. I love the feeling of not panicking when I have to provide proof of ID.

Hopefully in a fireproof safe!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we are driving to the beach etc for vacation - we pack in laundry baskets.

We do this but in Ikea blue bags.

+1
Love the handles or shoulder option on these.

Also use IKEA bags for “outings” roundup of gear - lunch bags, blankets, extra jackets, sports gears, boots, etc.

I use an IKEA bag for laundry. Each person has a hamper in their room, so I collect from there, but it’s much easier for going up and down stairs than baskets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I keep a travel toiletries bag stocked at all times
One less thing to worry about packing.

This. Plus a hair dryer, flat iron, etc. Absolute game changer for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chapsticks and phone chargers in every room you could ever want a chapstick or phone charger so I never have to hunt one down.

I do this with scissors and tape.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have several inexpensive plastic laundry baskets, Target sells them for 5$, that I stack and keep in the trunk of my vehicle. They are the cheapest cargo hold containers you can get, very sturdy, have holes so you can use a bungee to attach them to any anchors if you need them secure-mine slide around and it’s fine since the sides are sturdy, quick to grab and place, easy to carry in and out. Running errands? Kid items in this one, Library books in this one, groceries in these 2. Taking a meal to someone? Can load and leave, it’s 5$ who cares! If know I’m only getting a few things I take 2 stacked directly into stores with me, like to joke its to save a plastic tree. If going back into where you bought them let your kids decorate them with a few stickers or write on with a marker.

m
Wow I’m going to implement this over the weekend! I have some collapsible storage squares for my suv cargo area but you can’t see things and the sections don’t hold a lot .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a shoe-free house with wooden floors and I got tired of sending my kids upstairs to put socks on when it was time to go—they’d always get distracted and it would take forever.

I bought a cheap drawer unit and now their socks live near the front door close to their shoes. It’s saved so much time and annoyance.

This sounds good. I might have to implement this. Every morning kids run upstairs because they forgot the socks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dishwasher has a timer. I load it every night and set the timer to run overnight. Unload first thing in the morning. It keeps me on track.

Thank you, Dana K. White!https://www.aslobcomesclean.com/new-here/

Why wouldn't you just run it after you're done in the kitchen? I'm trying to figure out the benefit of the time. We tend to run ours after dinner. And then it's dry in the morning. What are you doing?

NP. I delay the dishwasher not only because of the noise issue (and I'm talking in 3 different houses, I've never had a quiet dishwasher) and also we are running laundry and bathing/showering in the evening so I don't want to draw off hot water to run it when we need it for that.

[Anonymous]

When my kids were home I had a chalkboard where I wrote:
-what's for dinner
-sports practices and times after school
-any dr appts happening that day - like an ortho appt.