House/Budget/Life "Hacks"

[Shanna-like-Banana]

Do you have a House/Budget/Life "Hack" that you'd like to share? Something that makes a process easier or smoother?

I have two that I have been using for awhile that were aahhhh moments.

1. I prebuy birthday & special occasion greetings cards from the dollar store or dollar section at the grocery. I stuff the birthday cards with $20 cash and have them setting in a drawer in the office. Now when we need a quick gift, kids get invited to a birthday, etc, we have them ready to go. No more stopping at the store to pick out a card, find a gift, decided between gift or cash and no more over spending.

2. After our kids outgrew their elementary aged beds and we moved them up to full size beds, I started buying all the same sheet sets for all the beds in the entire house. Now when we change the sheets, each bed get the same set each rotation. No more having the problem of this set "belongs" to this kid, this set belongs on this bed, etc. Also no more having that one odd colored sheet or pillow case that has to be washed with a different color set.
This is been the best time saving hack, since they are all the same pattern, they can all get washed at the same time and now I can just call out to the kids which set to get out of the cupboard for changing the sheets. Target always has their winter flannel sheets on great sale before Thanksgiving and I buy all bed sets the same set. Same thing with their summer sheets, so much easier.

Other smaller hacks we've been using; the master bath gets all white towels/handtowels and the teen boys bathroom gets colored towels. No more teens ruining the "good" towels for the grown ups, the kids get Target rapid dry towels, so they stay in good shape for a long time.

 

[AndreaDM]

Other smaller hacks we've been using; the master bath gets all white towels/handtowels and the teen boys bathroom gets colored towels. No more teens ruining the "good" towels for the grown ups, the kids get Target rapid dry towels, so they stay in good shape for a long time.

I buy the 10 pack dark colored wash cloths for my daughter, stocked up on several sets of dark green ones at Target's after Xmas clearance. She trashes them with make-up, hair color, etc., but at about $2 for 10 I don't really care.

Good idea on the cards, I do get most of my cards at the $ store but never have cash, I'll have start doing that. I used to keep several $15 Starbucks cards on hand for quick gifts as well, can't go wrong there with most teens.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

To stay in budget on eating out, we buy gift cards for our favorite restaurants and save money in the process. Giftcardwiki.com is where I look.
Some of my favorite restaurants are 30% off as an added bonus or buy them at Sam's club

 

[ChiGirlMom]

Do you have a House/Budget/Life "Hack" that you'd like to share? Something that makes a process easier or smoother?

I have two that I have been using for awhile that were aahhhh moments.

1. I prebuy birthday & special occasion greetings cards from the dollar store or dollar section at the grocery. I stuff the birthday cards with $20 cash and have them setting in a drawer in the office. Now when we need a quick gift, kids get invited to a birthday, etc, we have them ready to go. No more stopping at the store to pick out a card, find a gift, decided between gift or cash and no more over spending.

2. After our kids outgrew their elementary aged beds and we moved them up to full size beds, I started buying all the same sheet sets for all the beds in the entire house. Now when we change the sheets, each bed get the same set each rotation. No more having the problem of this set "belongs" to this kid, this set belongs on this bed, etc. Also no more having that one odd colored sheet or pillow case that has to be washed with a different color set.
This is been the best time saving hack, since they are all the same pattern, they can all get washed at the same time and now I can just call out to the kids which set to get out of the cupboard for changing the sheets. Target always has their winter flannel sheets on great sale before Thanksgiving and I buy all bed sets the same set. Same thing with their summer sheets, so much easier.

Other smaller hacks we've been using; the master bath gets all white towels/handtowels and the teen boys bathroom gets colored towels. No more teens ruining the "good" towels for the grown ups, the kids get Target rapid dry towels, so they stay in good shape for a long time.

We do the sheets and towels the same! Kids sheets and adult sheets. Side note: never buy Martha Stewart Whim sheets. Bought the girls flamingo sheets and they are so wrinkled out of the dryer that I ironed them. What a time suck.

Macy’s has the best sales for bedding and towels. $80 towels for $20? Yes please!

 

[Meglen]

Hacks.. hrmm.. I fold laundry into storage buckets. Much faster to transfer upstairs than smaller laundry buckets. Automatic litter box and food bowls for my cats

None of my sheets or towels match I just buy what I like when there is a sale and it gets all mixed up. But I save decent chunks of money.

 

[LeslieLou]

I’m not sure what all is encompassed in house hacks, so just ignore anything that doesn’t fit intent
I buy meat, bread, etc on clearance and freeze it. I can often find reduced price products at Aldi or Costco

We will freeze leftovers if there’s a large quantity so they last longer and we have a quick meal when needed. Also will cook 2 lb of ground meat and freeze half to make a future dinner go faster when needed

we eat things like egg McMuffins with no meat, homemade Mac and a veggie or soup 1-2x per week which reduce our food costs. Soup is a great way to use up veggies and such before they go bad

love the kitty auto feeder. We also have a roomba For our first floor which has been amazing (Christmas gift).
For a long time when we were trying to save money we made our own washing machine detergent but now I resort to the Costco pods. They’re easy and the kids do their own laundry so they cannot mess up.

We replaced some of our electrical outlets with outlets that have built in USB ports. Very convenient vs using blocks.
we also have some outlets that have built in nightlights - very helpful!

If we are saving for a house project or vacay we have money auto transferred into a separate account (ally) which allows us to separate money in to buckets. This helps us keep our priorities straight.

for gifts, I do buy cards for $1 at aldi also and keep them in a drawer. I will buy gift cards when kroger does 4x and keep them handy both for gifts and for ourselves.I keep cash in a drawer that we get or the kids pay us for stuff they want and recycle this for allowances or gifts.
I also buy gifts throughout the year and stash, looking for deals.

 

[pix13dust]

I don’t know if this is a life hack but it’s a fun memory keeper.
Every year buy your kid a new back pack for school. ( we usually have to anyways, right?). Buy a backpack that they really like. For Young kids, unicorns, JoJo, dinosaurs, Minecraft etc.As they age the backpacks will change.
Throughout the year in a tote save artwork, papers, report cards, notes from teachers, etc.
At the end of the year, put all important papers in the backpack. Zip it up, put it away and now you have a little time capsule of that year.

 

[MrsPete]

I prebuy birthday & special occasion greetings card

I've been thinking about doing something similar. We are not big on birthdays in my family. I get a check for my farm's produce once a year in December (sometimes big, sometimes not so big), and that'd be an ideal time to do it. I was thinking that it'd be smart to get a card for EVERY family member -- every adult family member -- and stuff it with a gift card, and then set them aside in order /know that birthdays are "done" for the year.

I think you've pushed me to put this idea into action.

Target always has their winter flannel sheets

Flannel sheets don't last as long as percale sheets, but Target brand is good. We use flannels year-round, and I just yesterday noted that mine need replacing -- I'm sure they're at least a decade old. Maybe more. That's a good lifespan considering they're the only sheets I use.

Macy’s has the best sales for bedding and towels. $80 towels for $20? Yes please!

Uh, $80 towels do not exist. Just $20 towels that are marked $80.

We will freeze leftovers ... Soup is a great way to use up veggies and such before they go bad

When I make a meatloaf, spaghetti sauce, or a couple other things I often make extra on purpose and freeze 2-3 extra meals. It just makes sense to me: work once, mess up the kitchen once, but eat again with minimal effort. I think of it as "batch cooking".

I'll throw out one of my favorite recipes to freeze -- it's just a sauce. My husband LOVES this sauce, but it's quite a few ingredients, and it includes things we don't always have in the house (ginger and apple juice). So he helps me, and we make up about 10 ziplock baggies at a time /freeze them. When we're ready to use it, we brown chicken (or pork or shrimp) in a frying pan, add the ziplock, add about 1/2 a cup of water (which also rinses out the bits that stuck in the corners of the ziplock), and it's a super-quick meal -- but if we didn't make the sauce ahead of time, it wouldn't be all that fast.

Bourbon Chicken Sauce
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp fresh ginger
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup apple juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce

As for soup, I keep a ziplock bag in the freezer, and when I have just a bit of meat or vegetable left over, I throw it into that bag. When the bag's full, I add chicken broth /sometimes a can of petite diced tomatoes, and -- voila! -- soup. Free soup.

Every year buy your kid a new back pack for school.

That's a cool idea. When my kids were in school, I bought them LL Bean backpacks -- never any other brand -- and they last for years. Yours is an organization hack, and mine is a money hack.

 

[FQLover]

@mrs. Pete I think that I know the answer but the ingredient list you provided is to make ONE bag of your ten that you freeze, right? This does not seem like enough to make that amount and then divide into 10 bags.

Sorry, I am not the brightest cook in the kitchen!

 

[MrsPete]

@mrs. Pete I think that I know the answer but the ingredient list you provided is to make ONE bag of your ten that you freeze, right? This does not seem like enough to make that amount and then divide into 10 bags.

Sorry, I am not the brightest cook in the kitchen!

Absolutely right -- that's for ONE BAG. And one bag would be enough sauce for 2 sliced-up chicken breasts (or a similar quantity of pork chops or shrimp).

When we do this, we set out 10 drinking glasses and put a small ziplock into each one (with the edges turned back over the rims). We fill the bags individually. We do not mix up a huge bowl and divide it.

 

[mjkacmom]

I don’t know if this is a life hack but it’s a fun memory keeper.
Every year buy your kid a new back pack for school. ( we usually have to anyways, right?). Buy a backpack that they really like. For Young kids, unicorns, JoJo, dinosaurs, Minecraft etc.As they age the backpacks will change.
Throughout the year in a tote save artwork, papers, report cards, notes from teachers, etc.
At the end of the year, put all important papers in the backpack. Zip it up, put it away and now you have a little time capsule of that year.

Cute idea but I have never come close to buying my kids new backpacks every year, each probably had 4 total.

 

[pix13dust]

Cute idea but I have never come close to buying my kids new backpacks every year, each probably had 4 total.

I think I bought cheap ones from Target. Some didn’t even last the year before they started ripping

 

[LeslieLou]

I’ve bought my kids each one LL Bean book bag when they went in to Kindergarten. They are in 7 and 9 grades- I don’t intend to buy another before they graduate. They are awesome quality!

 

[Meglen]

I’ve bought my kids each one LL Bean book bag when they went in to Kindergarten. They are in 7 and 9 grades- I don’t intend to buy another before they graduate. They are awesome quality!

Only time I had to replace my son's ll bean was because he left a wet swim suit in it for far to long and the smell wouldn't come out hah. Great backpacks tho.

 

[Missingmypooh]

We do capsule wardrobes for the kids, and I have the next two sizes stored away.

it’s easy since we’re in Florida and the seasons don’t change much. So they have cold clothes/ warm clothes/ water clothes (yes they have 4 pairs each of swimwear). I keep the clothes in good condition from the last kid, plus make a list of what else to buy for the next kiddo so I can grab it on sale or maybe find a few used quality pieces to add to their next capsule.

we also do this with crocs (buy on sale and just pull out when we need them. So far they’ve lasted through two kids)

the jumping beans brand as kohl’s for shirts (plain with no designs) has held up the best without ripping/no stains. Literally using shirts from 2016 that are in great condition and it’s like magic.

we haven’t managed socks or underwear yet (send help!) but socks/underwear/rain boots/ Christmas outfits are unique to each kid and not capsule.

we’re trying to start a capsule for my husband and I the last few years, but shirts wear out SO fast. Still looking for a brand that will hold up for longer than 8 months.

 

[zemmer]

We manage socks and underwear by each guy having their own brand and same for the girls. (Hanes for my husband and Fruit of the loom for my son.) It’s easy to quickly sort that way.

Not exactly a life hack, but since we’re talking about memories. Every trip we take, we buy 3 postcards. Each kid (we have 2) writes their favorite part of the trip on their own card, and my husband and I share one. We Mail them home and add them to our books. We have a record of their writing from when they were learning to write their names, through sounding out words, to writing paragraphs, plus it’s fun to look back at what they enjoyed each trip and how that’s changed.

 

[barkley]

let's see.........

when my kids were young-

-a large plastic laundry basket was kept by the door we exited to get to the car. all backpacks, jackets, shoes went in there the evening before so just lunch boxes were to be grabbed (which were on the counter next to the fridge), when they got in the car after school the backpacks went into that same laundry basket so that when we got home i could go through them for paperwork sent home/lunch boxes and their contents to clean,

-last day of school year i had multiple smallish lidded plastic bins on the kitchen counter. i went through both kid's backpacks and pulled all the stuff they had cleaned out of their desks-partial packs of markers, crayons, pencils, glue sticks, erasers...always amazed me how some were never used. when we got the new list the following year i could pull fully unopened packs of pencils, new erasers and such from that supply (and it gave us a duplicate supply for homework assignments).


older 'kids' (now adults)-

-rule is unless a t shirt is totally trashed it goes up for 'dibs' in the household. if no one wants it then i decide if i'm going to donate/toss or keep for a future 'dib' (reason being-my adult kids go in and out of what video games/anime they like. what one is into today the other likely will be into 6 months from now). this also helps me locate the t shirts that have mysteriously disappeared from mine/dh's closet (when dd moved out and i helped pack her closet i was floored at how many of dh's old band t shirts she had 'borrowed' over the years-they did'nt move with her),

-fleece/lounging pants-despite different heights/sizes everyone in my household wears roughly the same size based on comfort choices. if someone is tossing a pair, again it goes up for dibs (marvel characters, anime and such always go through multiple owners) unless it is beyond use-if it's fleece the legs get cut off to make dusting rag rings. think of how fleece picks up every bit of dust/pet hair you come in contact with-it does the same as a dust rag.

 

[LovesTimone]

I have a couple I can think of right off the top of my head..

I started this when my family was young, I had a couple of small clothes baskets, and every night before bed, I had everyone grab one and take their stuff to their room... I still use it today, even though its just DH and I now, we have a 2 story house, I have one basket, if I come across something that needs to go upstairs, then I put it in the basket, and once I head up stairs I take the basket and drop of things in the rooms, putting away as I go, then vise versa when heading down stairs... it really helps me keep things in their place.

Family calendar - This was a necessity when DD was in school, and all the extra stuff she did... I hung it in the kitchen so that we all could see what was going on... after school activities, church activities, who was driving, picking up, any appointments, weekend trip or plans, birthdays... I like the visual calendar, so that everyone can stay informed on what everyone else was doing, the calendar on your phone is well on your phone...
I have a friend that has a large family and she had a huge white erase board, that was set up in her mud-room, under it was hooks for Jackets, sweaters, backpacks, on the other wall was a storage bench, for sports bags, and a shelf that her DH built, with baskets for each kid and a shoe shelf/rack... with 8 kids you have to stay organized...

I am a planner and list maker... List on outside of fridge when we run out of something you write it down, or something that I want to make any extra ingredients... I will make a copy of a recipe so that I have the recipe with me while shopping to make sure I have everything that I need...

I plan my shopping trips, and start the list by store - (Aldi, Wa-mart- Publix, Trader Joes, BJ's Warehouse) which starts with going through the pantry, and fridge's and freezer's, then my shelf's with cleaning and household supplies, then finally I go through and see what health and beauty items we need or are running low on...
I look at the calendar and look for birthdays, anniversary, Holidays or if we have guest coming... that all add's into the big picture...
Then I go through the AD's online - and note things like BOGO or sale percent off, coupons..
Up next meal planning - I plan 2 weeks at a time - combining what I already have on hand with what we need, and what is on sale...
As well if I am planning on making some freezer meals... I also will make big meals, and then have leftovers a couple of nights..
Then I go shopping...
Aldi - every 2 weeks
Publix - weekly for BOGO
Wal-mart monthly
BJ's warehouse - Quarterly
Trader Joes - as needed -
I know it sound like alot of work, once you get yourself into a routine, its easier... the meal planning really helps me, not waste food, and keep our grocery cost down... by knowing what I am going to make with everything else...and it saves time..

I made a recipe book for myself, I find alot of good recipes on-line, once I pick a couple out and try them out... only recipes that I have made, and get the thumbs up go into it my binder... I also write on the recipe, what I changed up, or added to it... or if I think I need to add something into it the next time... Like more salt, or added in more or less of whatever,... You can divide your binder up however you want to... Mine is pretty simple, Appetizers, Breakfast, Lunch/lighter options, Dinner, Desserts, and Holidays...

Create a routine - household duties, lawn maintenance, whatever you need to get done, each week... what works for you...

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I had a couple of small clothes baskets, and every night before bed, I had everyone grab one and take their stuff to their room... I still use it today, even though its just DH and I now, we have a 2 story house, I have one basket, if I come across something that needs to go upstairs, then I put it in the basket, and once I head up stairs I take the basket and drop of things in the rooms, putting away as I go, then vise versa when heading down stairs... it really helps me keep things in their place.

Excellent idea.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

These are some great tips!

The only other "hack" I could think of that we use is that one boy teen gets white socks and one boy teen wears black sock. No more figuring out who left their socks on the floor, by the door, in the sofa or outside