Lifehacks at Home - Katie Deal
Here are some simple tips to try around your home to make life a little bit easier!
1 - The Peacemaker
Our two and a half year old Maddi has just discovered a new love of opening and closing doors (or playing peekaboo with her 9 month old brother Sully using the door). Sully’s giggles are normally pretty cute, however when you are on a phone call and Daddy is working from home too, there are only so many ‘bangs’ one can handle before needing a life hack quick! Praise Jesus I found the simple solution of using one of Maddi’s hairbands to tie around the knob causing not only a ‘soft close’ but also an automatic way she can’t lock herself in or out of the room (another new little antic she has developed in lockdown!
If you don’t have a hairband, you could also use a rubber band or hair tie.
2 - Room Refresher
Being indoors all the time can get quite stuffy after a while and sometimes all you want is a good freshen up! I don’t have a fancy oil diffuser and don’t like burning candles with a curious toddler on the loose. So one of the ways I’ve combated this is to tape a tissue with some perfume or oils on it to the air vents when they are on. You can also dab a bit on your metal lamp shades so when it warms up, it creates a great perfume to the room.
3 - Save your thumbs
Now we are all starting to communicate more via our phones, it's only a matter of time before our thumbs start seizing up with the extra scrolling. I’ve turned to Apple for help and found out I can create personalised shortcuts when texting! AMAZING.
So here is my life hack to set up text replacement in your Iphone (sorry other users, just look up what works for your device).
-To manage text replacement for an Iphone, tap Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement.
-To add a text replacement, tap the plus sign, then enter your phrase and shortcut. When you're done, tap Save.
-To remove a text replacement, tap Edit, tap the minus sign, then tap Delete. To save your changes, tap Done.
For example, you could use the shortcut "GM" to have the phrase "Good morning" or ‘TK’ can automatically become ‘Thank you’ or even use the simple ‘@’ to automatically input your email address without typing!
4 - Photograph Artwork
We all have amazing clean up ideas for lockdown and I’m getting more and more ruthless with throwing things out. However, the one thing I find hard to part with are those cute little drawings Maddi has been doing. I know that by the end of lockdown however, I will have piles and piles of paper with unknown scribble on it. So instead of storing away in the drawer to accumulate, I’ve been taking photos for the memory and keeping it forever in a ‘safe place’ on my phone. I’m just praying that she doesn’t ask where the originals are one day.
5 - Movie Buffer
For all those who know me...you would know I can’t handle animals dying. I can’t even kill an ant or a mozzie (mosquito for all my global friends reading this). I’m also not a great fan of movies and much rather spend the two hours talking to you, however when I may actually sit and watch a movie, I like to know what I’m in for-even if it means a spoiler alert!! And especially when it means an animal may be involved or die!
Which is why my number #5 hack is ‘Doesthedogdie’ website!! For all those mamas with a soft hearted child in their home wanting to watch ‘101 Dalmatians’ or ‘Marley and Me’, well now you’ve found the website you can check before being caught off guard when they come running to you all snotty nosed and heaving their little bodies into your shoulder because their new doggy best friend just died.
Also quick shout out to ‘Plugged In’ and ‘IMBd’ websites too helping us filter what our kids watch in lockdown and ensure they stay spritually and emotionally healthy in this season. Check them out if you haven’t heard of them already.
6 - Soap rationer
Lockdown means we are limiting everything...especially soap. And if you have a toddler in your home like me, you will soon realise just how much the novelty of washing your hands doesn’t wear off...in fact it seems to intensify by the day! This meant I had to try to lessen the use of our hand soap and found that by tying a rubber band or hair tie around the nozzle only gives half a pump instead of a full one and she can use the pump twice as much for the same amount of soap used.
7 - Jar Opener
Lockdown lunches in our house have often been good old nachos with salsa (and ALOT of cheese - my husband’s favourite life hack). Without this life hack however, I would be cringing at the thought purely because of the struggle it takes me to open that jar of salsa!! So to beat that thing, make it easily come off by tapping the side of it on the bench top. It helps release the seal and bingo….off it pops with only a simple turn!! It works a gem with pasta sauces too (if you’re able to find any pasta to go with your sauce)!
8 - The 20-20-20 Rule
You’ve probably heard about this before, but in the days when we are looking at our screens a lot more, it's one of the few things I’ve remembered to keep my eye health good and not straining them.
For every 20 minutes you are looking at the screen, you should take a 20 second break and focus on something 20 feet away. I’ve found it gives me a much clearer mind when working and helps me to stay fresh and focused without headaches too!
9 - The extra stretch
Some days I have things soaking in the laundry sink and dishes piled up in the kitchen, so the only option to fill up a bucket for mopping all those spills is my bathroom sink. Problem is, the bucket doesn’t fit under the tap. Life hack: Use a dustpan to extend your reach and fill it up instead.
10 - Winter Warmer
For all my global sisters who are experiencing the cold right now, my greatest life hack for a quick warm up, especially when getting into bed is to use a hair dryer to warm it up first before jumping in. This hack was first found in my teenage years as I shivered my way through many Tasmanian winters without instant heating or electric blankets.
11 - Get Ice Cold drinks in minutes
Nothing is hotter than Perth WA in Summer….and nothing worse than hot thirsty kids who have been running around to come in for an ice cold drink only to find there isn’t any! Easy fix - grab some paper towel, wet it and wrap it around their drink bottle or can and put it in the freezer for a few minutes (Handy tip too if hubby wants a cold Pepsi Max but you forgot to put them in the fridge)!
12 - How to make your child sit still
As I’ve mentioned before, I have a very busy toddler who just loves running around. I have found however that if I sit with her for five minutes to paint her toenails, then I can almost guarantee the whole morning with a sitting still toddler waiting for it to ‘still dry!!’ You’re welcome.
13 - Don’t let the potatoes boil over
Almost anytime I am boiling up fruit or veg for my baby’s puree, I always get distracted or something happens that needs my attention forcing me to leave the pot unattended! I used to get anxious it would boil over - until I realised you can lay a wooden spoon across the top to prevent this from happening.
14 - Never lose track of loaned items again
In lockdown a lot of people are loaning items or books out to friends...but in my experiences I forget who I end up lending things to and then they seem to have been gone forever!!
Well, if you borrow something from me now, I will most likely ask you to take a cheesy photo holding it up which I will store as your profile in my phone until I get it back!
15 - No ironing in lockdown!
I’ve never been a fan of ironing. And one thing in lockdowns favour is now not having to worry about it. Forget about ironing your man’s shirt while he is working from home. Just use the hair straightener to iron out his collar and straighten it up for that next Google Hangout or Zoom meeting he has!
16 - Instant chip bowl
I also don’t like doing the dishes. So anything to get me out of having to wash up another heavy bowl or platter is worth it! That’s why I love this hack - fold the bottom of the chip, pretzel, or popcorn packets up into themselves and voila, you have instant snack bowls for the kids with no bowl to wash up.
17 - Baby wipes 2 for 1 deal
I’ve also been rationing the amount of baby wipes I use by simply tearing each one in half before using and I’ve realised it gets the job done just as well as a full one (unless of course it is ‘one of those nappies’ and I’m justifying using a whole packet just for that one clean up).
18 - Heat plated dinners all at once
Even with a whole day at home and plenty of time to prepare or wait for dinner….we all know things may need a little changing up and sometimes you might find yourself with the thought ‘We have to eat dinner RIGHT NOW or this house is going to turn upside down’!
Which is why I love this hack...as it's exactly what triggered me to find it in the first place.
No need to triage who is the hungriest, loudest, or even the best behaved that gets served first. In order to get that dinner out hot and pronto, simply turn a cup upside down in the mircowave to make room for two plates instead of one!! Add more cups at different heights to fit more plates then hold the fort til you hear that wonderful ‘Ding!!’
19 - Never pick up toys again
Well ok, only the toys that babies throw from the highchair. My gorgeous boy loves to play. However whenever I strap him into his highchair and give him a toy to distract him, he thinks it's a great game to throw them on the floor. Might be common sense for some, but I never thought of this until now to strap toys to the tray and prevent them coming off. Saves you bending over for the 100th time to pick up that toy again too.
20 - Easy pancake alternative
Kids love pancakes and they are a great treat to have especially when you have time to enjoy longer breakfasts together...but what if you can’t get hold of flour, eggs or milk. Don’t worry, you can still enjoy pancakes with this great alternative.
Just blend a handful of oats into a flour consistency, mash a banana, mix them together and then fry in a pan. Yummy and super easy treat for those little mouths.
Written By Katie Deal
Katie is married to Jono and they have two children, Maddison and Sullivan. Katie and Jono are on team at Kingdomcity in Perth.