Favorite Life Hack

[hillview]

I keep a paper bag or box in my closet for give aways once it is full I give it to my cleaning person (or drop it in a salvation army drop off location)

[WatchingThemGrow]

The travel ones remind me that we each have our own bags and they are stocked and at least 95% ready for a trip. Actually, the kids and mine are 100% ready to throw in but dh hasn’t totally gotten on board so I’m always left waiting until the last minute for his bag. I can’t believe how many years I wasted when I could have simply bought some extra stuff to keep in the bags vs waiting to pack until we got ready in the AM. Our general medicine is always stocked in a travel bag so that’s ready to go too

I used to be all in on packing cubes. Dh would probably still like them. For us, I put the kids outfit of the day in a ziplock bag. I started doing that for camp but I find it works on other trips too. At a minimum I pack our bags like this: least likely to be worn at the bottom (that "just in case" sweatshirt, jeans, dress), then by day I have a full outfit always with pants on the bottom, undies on top so it's clear where the stack ends then stacked day by day like that. Pjs for the first night on top. Socks and then bathing suits... tucked around. Being able to pull out a whole outfit each day just makes my life easier. I can't bring myself to buy that many packing cubes though. When I used them it was by item type (a cube for shirts, one for socks). I like my outfit way batter now.

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We use the cubes but with outfits (and unders/socks stuffed in too.) I sometimes do a daily whole family kit...well, 3 DC and mine. DH deals with his own.

What extra stuff do you keep in the bags? More than toiletries?


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[SnuggleBuggles]

We use the cubes but with outfits (and unders/socks stuffed in too.) I sometimes do a daily whole family kit...well, 3 DC and mine. DH deals with his own.

What extra stuff do you keep in the bags? More than toiletries?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

toothbrush, toothpaste, q-tips, chapstick, hair ties, a brush, ear plugs, deodorant, ibuprofen, moisturizer, anti-itch cream (never know when mosquitos will strike), first aid basics (a few bandaids and neosporin), nail clippers and probably more. We do such an assortment of trips like staying with family, Airbnb, family camp at the YMCA, beach house, hotels...I try to think of all the stuff that you really would be frustrated not to have. Ds1's bag used to be less robust since I was the keeper of the excess but his bag is now well stocked after he went to Europe last summer. Just being able to grab one bag right before a trip and know that it's totally ready is so nice.
I keep my makeup bag ready to go too.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Ok, yes, I've got almost all of that, plus the magical monistat chafing cream and cuticle snips in that bag. I always tried to keep AB Otic ear numbing drops in there, but apparently they stopped making those (How dare them!) Glad we're on the same page with regard to travel toiletries. Makes me feel good.

[Melaine]

Remembered I recorded this a long time ago about kid’s outfits. It works really well and great for travel. (Basically just rolling outfit together)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTMA0KFRko4

[rollycolly2007]

Using the Paprika app. I look at it on Friday evening or Saturday morning, let the kids help scroll through to pick what they want to eat during the week, do a week of meal planning, then use the app (combined with the ongoing grocery list on Alexa) to go grocery shopping.

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I use the Paprika app too.


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[Percycat]

Also, a parenting hack. If things are unraveling at home AND I've got a million projects and I just feel overwhelmed (often these days) I take a few minutes first of all to spend directly with each kid. Reading to them, listening to them chatter on about a TV show they love or something they made in minecraft, I make sure they're fed and have gone to the bathroom and I just make a conscious effort to slow way down. Then when they are "filled" again, I try to start them on a new project, get a bin of toys they haven't seen for awhile, etc. and then I'm in a much better position to be able to tackle whatever stressful thing is weighing me down. I've used this a million times since the spring!

You are a wonderful mom. I love reading your posts. I wonder if we would be friends if we lived near each other.

[twowhat?]

Well...my favorite current life hack is mask related, LOL! I figured out a way to incorporate ear loops AND a tie so that masks can be removed and hang around your neck when not in use, and then easy to slip it on back over your ears when needed. Ear loops adjust through the yellow plastic pony beads so they are easily tightened or loosened as needed, and the remaining tie goes loosely behind the neck. Works great with a shoelace as well. But in this picture I used t-shirt yarn which is super soft on the ears (cut 1-inch strips of old t-shirts, pull to curl edges in - lots of videos on youtube on how to do this). My kids wear this if they are outside walking with a friend on the sidewalk, and then once they are where they can distance, they can take off the mask and just let it hang. Maybe this will help someone out whose kids are going back to school in person with masks required. It does mean your mask has to have side channels in which to thread your tie of choice.

Attachment 5096

In our minivan we keep plastic bags, a roll of paper towels, kleenex, wipes, and a towel. These have come in handy so many times...vomit, bloody nose, etc.

Grocery shopping: I put my phone in a snack-sized ziploc bag. You can still use it normally, but then when I'm done I wipe down the plastic bag with phone still in it with a Chlorox wipe and then take my phone out. It keeps me from having to use a harsh disinfectant on my phone!

I only buy pants and leggings with at least 2 usable pockets now...and I haven't carried a purse since

And per my toilet post, the Lysol toilet bowl cleaner works GREAT on sinks as well! I just label a separate bottle specifically for bathroom sinks.

[rollycolly2007]

Well...my favorite current life hack is mask related, LOL! I figured out a way to incorporate ear loops AND a tie so that masks can be removed and hang around your neck when not in use, and then easy to slip it on back over your ears when needed. Ear loops adjust through the yellow plastic pony beads so they are easily tightened or loosened as needed, and the remaining tie goes loosely behind the neck. Works great with a shoelace as well. But in this picture I used t-shirt yarn which is super soft on the ears (cut 1-inch strips of old t-shirts, pull to curl edges in - lots of videos on youtube on how to do this). My kids wear this if they are outside walking with a friend on the sidewalk, and then once they are where they can distance, they can take off the mask and just let it hang. Maybe this will help someone out whose kids are going back to school in person with masks required. It does mean your mask has to have side channels in which to thread your tie of choice.

Attachment 5096

In our minivan we keep plastic bags, a roll of paper towels, kleenex, wipes, and a towel. These have come in handy so many times...vomit, bloody nose, etc.

Grocery shopping: I put my phone in a snack-sized ziploc bag. You can still use it normally, but then when I'm done I wipe down the plastic bag with phone still in it with a Chlorox wipe and then take my phone out. It keeps me from having to use a harsh disinfectant on my phone!

I only buy pants and leggings with at least 2 usable pockets now...and I haven't carried a purse since

And per my toilet post, the Lysol toilet bowl cleaner works GREAT on sinks as well! I just label a separate bottle specifically for bathroom sinks.

Great life hacks!


Which brands of pants and leggings do you recommend?


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[lizzywednesday]

...
In our minivan we keep plastic bags, a roll of paper towels, kleenex, wipes, and a towel. These have come in handy so many times...vomit, bloody nose, etc.

...

We usually stash fast food napkins, and I almost always have kleenex on hand in cold/flu & allergy seasons, but a towel is something I usually lack.

I do, however, keep laundered airline blankets in zip-top baggies in the rear seat pockets in case DD gets cold. We've also taken to traveling with a beach bucket lined in an ALDI bag in the event of carsickness.