Tag: tips

15 Simple Life Hacks That Can Change Your Life

It has been some time since I last wrote about handy ways of making life easier. I’m all about sharing good ideas and love reading other people’s ideas for becoming more efficient at work and home. This article is all about simple life hacks that I use all the time and can fully recommend.

1) Fix food stains with washing up liquid

I spilled some salad juice (technical term) over my work shirt the other week and was told to quickly rub it with washing up liquid. It was fairly oily but I did as I was told. Later when I popped it into the washing machine, it came out sparkling clean.

I am not saying this will always work, but it did happen again after a visit to my favourite Italian restaurant. Once again the stain vanished.

2) Fill the washing machine immediately

This one sounds obvious but why leave washing in different places or pile it up or pack it into a basket? You can just save time and energy and pop your dirty clothes straight into the washing machine. As soon as it gets full, switch it on. Job done.

3) Utilise banking app rewards

My banking apps are always offering tempting rewards. One deals with mainstream shops and offers cash back if you use your bank card to buy from them. The only thing you have to remember is to activate the rewards. That way, the next time you use that shop, it will count. A few weeks later you will receive cash back into your account.

Just make sure you take up the offers and use them within the allotted time frame.

4) Never ignore a coupon

I often get little letters from Co-Op or Tesco superstores telling me about my points balances. Often I open these hurriedly and then recycle the paper but recently I have been scooping up the coupons and realised they are actually made to suit my shopping habits (Who knew!?)

How silly was I to ignore these tailored coupons. Since then I have started using the apps and finding electronic versions of coupons. These clever supermarkets know I buy cartons of orange juice, for example. As a reward, they offer me vouchers for 20p off etc. Until recently I’d been missing a trick for soooo long!

5) Watch whole TV series FREE

Recently a show that I wanted to see became available on Paramount Plus but I didn’t have a subscription. I decided to do a seven day trial and watch all six episodes episodes of ‘The Flatshare’ and then cancel the membership before it started to charge.

6) Spread the alarms

When you set those annoying alarms to go off in the morning, spread them out. I tend to have my phone one side of the bed. This goes off first. Then a few minutes later the iPad will chime. Because it is further away I have to get out of actual bed to turn it off.

Whatever type of alarm you have, be it clock or a device, make sure you put them beyond arm’s reach.

7) Read chapters at work

If you are bookish like me, you’ll want to squeeze in as much reading as possible. One of the ways I do this is by using the kindle app on my phone.

At work, once I have eaten my lunch. I read a few pages of a novel. If I get any other time to fill, I open up a chapter and go for it.

8) Make To-Do lists work

I used to mock friends who kept endless to-do lists but lately I have been converted. My to-do lists tend to be on post-it notes stuck to my laptop. Or lists made on the ‘notes’ app on my iPhone. They have changed my life and I rarely forget to do stuff. Now I have fewer conversations involving, “I’m really sorry but I forgot all about it.”

9) Never waste a trip upstairs

At home, when you go upstairs for whatever reason, make it worthwhile. If you are making that trip to the loo, take some ironed clothes with you and put them away. On the way down, collect any rubbish and bring it with you. Tidy up as you go along and no journey will be wasted.

10) Have some battery lamps ready

My mum bought me two little battery powered lamps in summer. They were very cute and had holders so they looked more like lanterns.

She said they were in case I ever had a power cut. I reassured her that we never have them where I live. Not in twenty years at least. Weirdly, a few months later, the electricity went off and they came in really useful.

Pop a band round it.

11) Limit soap dispensers

I had this problem where too much soap would come out of a handwash dispenser. It ended up spilling too much down the bottle and onto the surface.

I discovered that if you wrap a rubber band around the neck it lets less soap out. Instead of squeezing a cupful out each time, it only allows a few drops. Perfect!

12) Always have the bare essentials with you.

Have a routine where you make sure you check your pockets for keys and whatever else you always need.

For me, I always want my keys and wallet, phone and hand santiser with me. I keep the keys in my right pocket and my phone in the left. My coat then houses my sanitiser (since Covid I can never be without it) and my back pocket holds my wallet.

13) Keep things in the same places

I grew up with a step-dad who was forever losing his keys. In fact, he never put anything in the same place more than once, so we were forever on wallet hunts or searching for letters or random items.

When I got home from school and wanted my fave TV show on, I could never find the remote. This drove me crazy! Especially in those days when TV shows were not available on streaming. You had to watch them live or spend ages setting up a VCR to record them.

I soon developed a strategy of my own and it’s simple. All I do is put things in the same place every time. As a result, I can rely on the remote being on the coffee table and my keys hanging in a certain place in the hallway. Phew!

14) Use a spoon to keep bubbly fresh

Put a teaspoon upside down into an open bottle of sparkling wine before placing in the fridge. I thought this was nonsense at first but so far it has worked rather well. I do like a glass of bubbly but never a whole bottle. Allowing it to stay fresh is a MUST!

15) This last one is for lazy gardeners (like me).

One thing I have learned since having my garden redone is that weeds will always claw back any empty soil. My good intentions are not enough to keep these horrible weeds at bay.

One solution I have found is to buy alpine plants such as dianthus and creeping thyme. They seem to get established easily and thrive throughout all of the seasons. Best of all they keep the weeds out of the way and don’t need replacing after flowering.

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Final Thoughts

These may seem like basic things but they are life hacks that I use regularly and am grateful for. Perhaps you have some top tips of your own that you could drop in the comments and share. Also, if you are interested, take a look at How to be more productive on my blog.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog. Please follow me if you want more similar articles in future. See you next time…

5 Ways To Get Motivated Again!

After a long year of lockdowns and stress related to an international pandemic, lots of people are feeling deflated and finding themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place. The confusion and anxiety caused by a Covid-fearing world has left many people scratching their heads and completely out of sync with their families and lifestyles. This article is all about how to get motivated and back to something similar to ‘normal’.

Many are deflated after having experienced the effects of the pandemic firsthand, either by suffering from Covid, knowing others who were suffering from it or simply having their work worlds shaken by the effects of closures, furlough and financial instability.

Relationships have been strained and friendships have fizzled out as people have got used to living within bubbles and forgotten how to socialise in extended circles. Mental health has been affected and people are asking lots of questions about the world we now find ourselves inhabiting.

Here are my 5 ways to get yourself going again and reintroduce yourself to the wider world, by building your confidence and setting yourself realistic goals.

1) Reach out.

Too many friendships have been destroyed in the past year. Destroyed due to separation because friends have not been able to see one another. Friendships have also been strained as society pressures have been on and some have become upset with each other due to different attitudes to lockdown, mask wearing and general levels of cooperation with government measures.

We’ve all been there – One of our best mates has been putting pictures on social media of themselves meeting up with groups of people or socialising during lockdown while we have followed the rules and missed out on similar opportunities. These types of things have made friends less communicative and, coupled with distance, have impacted upon how much time people have been spending catching up with those people that matter to them the most.

Let’s not let these gripes grow. Instead we need to bite the bullet and make that vital move to reconnect with these important people. These incredible friends who would no doubt love to hear from us and rebuild the connections we used to enjoy so much. Reaching out is like re-wiring and can strengthen bonds as well as having positive affects on friends at a time when the world is unpredictable and knowing someone is standing in your corner can make such a difference to self esteem.

2) Get out!

It goes without saying that a change of scene has a massive effect on the way that you feel about yourself. It enables self-reflection and enables you to shake off the cobwebs that can otherwise swamp you if you allow yourself to fester in your own juices by staying at home all of the time. Of course, many have had no choice but to isolate and stay at home, but now that we have reduced restrictions, why not take time to go for a wildlife walk, a cycle into the hills or simply just a trundle to the local pond to feed the ducks?

3) Stay tuned in.

Music plays an important role in the lives of so many of us. We all have songs that resonate deeply and take us back to much happier times. Whether it’s ditties from childhood, pop music from our clubbing years or an instrumental that reminds us of a fond memory such as a holiday or special birthday party, music is often a cure to the doldrums and a stimulus which leads to a more positive mindset.

Having said that, the type of music which can motivate you will vary greatly from one individual to another. Obviously. So pull out that CD from the past which you could always rely on when you needed uplifting. Or explore new bands, listen to the Opera and maybe even get a meditation app which plays calming tunes to help get you in the zone and forget your stresses for a while. Switching off is the new remedy for overly dwelling on things. When you are stuck in a spiral of frustrations, meaningful tunes can settle you, calm you and even give you more enthusiasm for your everyday life.

4) Activate!

As lockdown has stifled our chances to go to the theatre, watch our favourite sports and attend festivals in person, some of us have got used to doing less out and about. Now is a perfect time to initiate a forward-thinking strategy and start finding ways to involve yourself in a new hobby. Those acting classes you always dreamt about could now become a reality. You always dreamed about riding horses? Book a session in and make learning to ride a personal commitment. From joining a book club to learning how to ski, make those ambitions start to become real and blow away those cobwebs by engaging with new people and making more friends as well as taking away that fulfilment that comes naturally with becoming a part of a new group of learning to make the most of your creativity.

5) Do something positive!

Making a difference is one of the best things anyone can do to improve not only their own lives, but also generate knock-on effects which could benefit others. For me, the Climate Crisis is important and problematic. I have already made simple changes to the way that I travel, to make sure that I am trying hard to reduce the impact my moving around has on the planet. I have decided no longer to fly anywhere and so actively find other ways to get around, concentrating on trains and buses while minimising the amount of trips I use my car for. It’s a small change to my routine and takes a little effort and sometimes more expenditure, but I feel positive about it.

Perhaps you can do something positive within your local community. Whether supporting a library or getting involved in a litter pick, looking after a protected woodland or offering to teach kids how to cycle safely (as a cycling proficiency trainer). Just making that effort to do something productive will inspire you, energise you and give you a sense of achievement.

I hope that you enjoyed this blog and perhaps might consider following my blog for more content. For another of my articles check out this.

Enjoy nature. Get out and about while showing consideration.