Life Hacks for a Stress Free Home

[@griseldaguerrero7199]

What works for me is to put the things that I used away after use. I keep my car very minimalistic and don't eat or snack in my car, I only allow my son to eat very rarely in my car, I have always kept a small trashcan bin in my cup holder and keep each compartment organized with my essential documents and emergency multi purpose tool to break a window, cut seat belt, napkins, etc in the front compartment. The middle console I have other essetials neatly organized, In the back trunk I have a large organizer with my safety tools, extra trash bags, portable air inflator, portable car jump starter, extra water for my car, jump start cables all that stuff, I have an emergency kit, extra snacks, water, toiletries, my spare tire, jack, emergency signal lights, ect. I also have a car seat organizer that goes behind both car seats, one to entertain my son while we are on the road that holds his tablet, organize my sons toys, drinks, books, umbrella or whatever. I like to be extra prepared for anything because I've had so many road issues in the past. I've been teaching my child he is now 3 yrs old to pick up after himself. I really hated how I grew up in a sexist household and I want my son to learn life skills and help around the house, so I give him age appropriate responsibilities. He already picks up his toys and places them to the appropriated designated area, he will throw away his diaper away to the diaper bin, if he makes a mess with his food he will mop, grab a mini dust pan and clean it up and throw it away , I finish his job after. Kids need to do chores, have age appropriate responsibilities, learn to cook and learn life skills because if we don't the will struggle in life not being useful in society. Schools are not doing a good job anymore and have lower the graduations standards and quality of education. In addition, our significant other also need to help around the house because we both work, we all have to work as a team. When I do my laundry, I don't let it pile up that much. When I do my sons laundry, I hang his shirts and any clothes that I hang in his closet, that way they air dry in the hanger and when dry, I hand it right in the closet no need to fold. To prevent his socks from getting lost, I put all his little sock in a large mesh laundry bag with zipper, then I hand them. I only use the dryer when it's very cold. For my meals, I do meal prep for two weeks and only purchase what's on my shopping list. Most of my meals I cook enough for two days. I don't mind eating left over the next day. When I cook larger amounts of food, I'll freeze it so that I can eat it another day that I don't feel like cooking. I also prep my veggies and chop them up ahead of time. I have learned very good cleaning tips from professional cleaners on KZbin too. For instance, when your stove or kitchen is very greasy, use a scraper to remove the surface stuck food, then apply the degreaser, cover it up with the cling wrap so that the product doesn't dry up and its working doing its job, then remove the wrap and clean it up. So many other tips too. I had very bad digital clutter with my photos, digital pdf recipes and emails. Your digital declutter course is very useful and I recommend it. I'm still working on it because Im addicted to collecting recipes, and have shiny object syndrome. lol.

[@lisacrews3060]

Laundry hack from a 25 year homeschooling retired veteran: Neurotypical children can do their OWN laundry by age 8. No more sorting laundry.That's a standard the old school homeschool community tended to follow. Buy a step-stool if necessary. (We're small people.) Schedule laundry chore time for each kid. Put instructions on the lid. Take the time to teach your child how to do it a few times and they're set with that skill for the rest of their lives. Teach them to set a timer near them to deal with it at the end of the wash/dry cycles. Also, you get what you inspect and enforce, so know beforehand what consequences you will institute (that are compatible with your parenting philosophy) if chores aren't done properly according to the schedule. ETA: Use those short washing cycles (usually 30 min.) on your dishwasher and clothes washer whenever possible. No point in dragging it out longer than it needs to be. Most things get done just fine on the shorter cycles. Also, I hang almost everything because it's so much easier to pull 1 item off a hanger without disturbing any other items next to it. Folded laundry usually gets jumbled up when you want something at the bottom. Socks, undies, and bras go into their own bins unfolded. Cook once, eat at least twice. Meal plan so that you cook 2 (or more) meals worth of each recipe the day you cook. Serve one meal's worth and keep the other meal's worth in the fridge for later in the week or in the freezer for later. That means a weekly meal plan has 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 dinners, and whatever you want to do on day 7: leftovers, bonus meals, experimental recipes, eat out, easy snacky meals, frozen meals, tween/teen's day to cook a recipe of their choosing, etc. Save and label your meal plans and their matching grocery lists to reuse on a rotation. Build up how ever many weeks of meal plans that suit you for this chapter of life you're in. Most people would probably do well with 3-4, but you can do however many you like.

[@julietannOsfan1972]

I hang most of my clothes too, including jumpers & cardigans. Great idea about teaching children to do their own washing. I started doing all mine when I was about 15. I would’ve done it when I was younger but we didn’t have a washing machine until then, so did our washing in the launderette. Just curious, what do you do if you have children who will put their washing in the washing machine & then can’t be bothered to put it in the tumble dryer? I have a friend who’s children do this. In the end she gives in & does it for them, which I feel is totally wrong.

[@lisacrews3060]

@@julietannOsfan1972 Giving in and doing it for them (they're 27,25, and 18 now) wasn't compatible with my parenting philosophy. Also, I was a farm kid with chores and responsibilities, so giving in and doing it for them isn't part of my world.If you want your kids to respect you, you must enforce things CONSISTENTLY. If you're not willing to that, your life will suck more and more as time goes by and their future roommates and spouses will resent you for failing to raise a responsible adult. I have no problem being seen as the "bad guy". That's just part of parenting. Chores were posted, scheduled, and rotated monthly. Chore time was scheduled for immediately after school was done on days we had no other activities. For stalled laundry I would remind them and insist they do it themselves immediately no matter what they were doing at the time. Also, if it happened more than once that I had to remind them or if they gave me negative attitude (neutral is perfectly fine) then all privileges would be lost for a couple of days. Privileges (screens, activities, free time, hanging out with friends, etc.) were earned here, not granted. This is the real world, not a magical fantasy land. As they got older and their schedules for activities, part time work, and such became less regular. If their stalled laundry interfered with someone else's laundering, I had no problem with their clothes just being put in a laundry basket as is (including when wet) and left in the laundry room (if adequate space was available) or in their bedroom. If clothes were wet and left in the washer, oh well, the owner didn't care enough to move them along, so how can they expect others to care more? If they were left in the dryer, again, oh well, that's life. If they didn't like wrinkles they'll just have to iron or redo them in the dryer and pull them out immediately. Since most people have a smart phone with them during waking hours, it's not an issue anymore. Set a timer/reminder/alarm and deal with it promptly.

[@julietannOsfan1972]

@@lisacrews3060 I love your ideas. I’ll have to pass these tips on to my friend.

[@SusieQZee]

Start a channel! 😀

[@sandrafisher2280]

I only recently learned about the frozen vegetables already chopped in the frozen food section at the grocery store. So convenient!

[@EmptyNestCoach]

Love the "don't fold your laundry" and yes, the small trash bin in my car is one of the best things I have in my car!

[@eleanorakselrad7980]

The out of season clothing idea is really good... unless you live in Sweden like me. Where summer temperatures are around 81F and winter temperatures are around -1F. There is no layering over summer clothes that will help with that much cold. Other than that, I think I will try all of your other bits of advice!

[@farmerwife8412]

Not folding laundry would cause me too much stress! It doesn't take that long to fold. But, if you don't like to fold, go for it. I hang washing on an outside line and always hang socks in pairs and fold directly when I get them off the line. And yes, different styles, brands or colours of socks for each family member. ❤

[@freedominabudget]

Love these tips! I'm going to create an inbox and outbox this weekend!

[@lisawallace9843]

Love this video! Thank you 💕

[@bobbiefarrar3036]

I keep all seasons of clothing in my closet too, Laura! Thanks for the video of hacks - I already use some, but will start using some others!! God bless you and yours!

[@georgeedward1226]

I have never folded fitted sheets. I use that time to check them for renegade socks. Yes, I know I should get a mesh bag for those.

[@mimi_3311]

I check out hard copy books from my local library and use both Hoopla and Libby as well if my library doesn't have the actual book. I save SO much money and space in my home.

[@adrenaline328]

I definitely do the no-folding sheets hack!

[@michellebrown3563]

I love the inbox and outbox ideas. I would have never thought of that. Going to start that right away. I love doing grocery pick ups! It’s actually curbs my impulse buying. I never keep paid bills. I shred as soon as they are paid. You can usually log into your account and print papers if you need them. I keep a running grocery list on my phone. The kids and hubby knows just to tell me if they are out or low on something and I’ll add it to my list. I used to write out a list. Then forget it at home. Then while at the store try to play “what was on my list?” And usually forget at least something.

[@tamerat3794]

Thank you, you gave a lot of great hacks!! "Your morning starts the night before" is very helpful! I also love the idea of buying the same type of storage basket for different areas! I'd actually already started doing that without even realizing it was a great idea!

[@jackieo8693]

I agree with the out of season clothes. I don't have a lot of clothes so I don't need to make room for different ones. So many great ideas in this one! Definitely trying the frozen chopped onions!

[@julietannOsfan1972]

Great tips. If possible, please make some more videos like this, I find them so helpful. I can’t not fold my washing/laundry. It would really stress me out if I didn’t fold or hang them. I like everything put away as soon as the tumble dryer goes off. I hate shredded meat, as I’m always scared of choking. I’m the same with uncut spaghetti. Great tip about frozen veg. I always used to buy frozen veg. It’s especially handy for those that live alone, or eat at other times to others. (Not everyone is hungry at the same time as other family members, so may eat at another time) I used to put the veg into bags. I made it a portion for 1 person. It always makes me chuckle when people in the US call containers bins, as a bin in the Uk is something we put rubbish into.

[@laurapearce5873]

Your ideas are great!💕🌻🦋

[@ArleneAdkinsZell]

Thank you for sharing!!

[@sarahsmom1002]

So many great ideas, Laura. Thanks for sharing them! I'm a big fan of the Container Store's multi-purpose bins, & your video about them gave me many more ideas of uses for them 🙂

[@SusieQZee]

Grocery pick up has saved me countless hours and impulse spending. I only wish it existed when my children were babies!

[@MissMelissaD]

I don't see the link for the photo box video. Am I just missing something?

[@ellej8697]

I tried the “shredding” chicken hack- I found it made paste not shreds and I didn’t like that at all

[@lauranglover521]

So many great tips, thank you! Small garbage can has been a game changer in my car- I just need to put it in the back of the van for the kids. The chicken shredding is no joke and works like a charm!

[@angelawhitehead1785]

Love these ideas Thankyou 😊

[@emmkaa2099]

Awesome tips! New subbie here for sure! Greetings from the southern California desert, MK 🤗❤️🌵❤️🤗

[@SecretPlacePsalm91]

THHHHHAAAANNNKKK YOU!!!

[@DaSexeB_a_PartOme]

Good tips, but I would find it much easier to watch u if the whole time the camera was pointed straight at you. The back and forth when you weren't looking at the camera was driving me nutty.

[@susanfindell6154]

You have great tips, some of them I already do!

[@Kakkydidit]

I shred chicken with forks, not by hand. I use Hoopla or Libby every day, but still manage to acquire books. 😮

[@heidibee476]

GEMS!

[@WorkIt-SarahAziz33]

The changing of angles is so annoying! I much prefer focusing on the front angle. Great content! You now have a new suscriber!

[@Angie-hk9bt]

I live in Florida so don't need that many "seasonal" clothes. They all fit in one drawer in my dresser. I have a preprinted grocery list of the items we use the most on the fridge and when we find we need something, we just circle it or write it in.

[@HeatherWalker-i7p]

I have my kid match and fold the socks while I do the rest. He's old enough now to fold and put away his laundry. Most of the time, he doesn't mind doing it. I did get him started on the socks at age 3, but it wasn't all the time.

[@lisawaddington9880]

Link for how to use photo boxes?

[@torisgram25]

My laundry has to be folded. Dh's job requires him to wear clothes that I wouldn't want him to wear wrinkled. So I prefer to fold. Fitted sheet folding is easy peasy for me. My mom showed me how and I have always folded them. I am neurodivergent so there are certain things I need to do certain ways and having those things done helps me.

[@ivipipiheni2805]

hi Laura! I registered for the new HQ event but did not get an email back. A couple of days ago I registered with 2 different email adresses and still nothing :/ perhaps this has happened to others too? thanks!

[@GetOrganizedHQ]

Hi there! I'm so sorry about that! Please email [e-mail] so we can look into that issue for you. I can't wait to see you at the Virtual event!!

[@SimpleCleanAndGreen]

Everyone knows that I bring deviled eggs to parties.

[@PrakashRai-12]

Hey my lovely wife 💋 ❤❤❤❤❤❤