22 Random Things That Will Change Your Life.

Adulting and housekeeping tips every savvy person should know about.

First, an apology.

Just as I started this publication, my world went a bit topsy-turvy.

I promised a daily article, and to publish my stats so you could watch a newsletter grow in real life, away from all the Substack superstars promises of glory. I wanted you to see what REALLY happens for a nobody unheard of person like me.

I have been much less giving than I thought I would be.

Just as my newsletter grows in real life, real life happens in other ways that has led to me neglecting my promise. So I apologise.

I have, however, been coping with my Dad’s illness, which is now coming to a close, and so my head has not been in the right place for doing much at all.

Sometimes we take on too much, and something has to give.

But I have a plan.

I now have a much more manageable schedule thanks to

Deni Sahaya

and

Maya Sayvanova

who have each been teaching me some really valuable stuff, and I thoroughly recommend giving them both a lookup.

Two times my

Freya V. Locke - Dog Behaviourist | Author | Blogger

a week and one

Mum's Midlife Crisis

. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, and on Fridays respectively. I'll cross post the best bits to Medium and to my website freyavlocke.co.uk (which coincidently is also where I now have a little shop on the go, for dog bits and bobs.)

Ignorance is not always bliss

I was chatting recently with someone about the simple skill of washing up (exciting I know) and how there is a way to do it properly.

I was really surprised and it led to a chat about all kinds of things that I thought were common knowledge but apparently are not.

This chat led me to realise that I have a few game changing bits of household information … so I will share some of them in this article.

MMC Lifehacks:

• When you wash up in a sink, wash up in this order: glass, cutlery, cups and plates, cleanish pans and trays, grubbiest pads and trays. In this way, your glass and cutlery will have less streaks and come out cleaner. Your cups and plates won't have grease or mashed potato or other grim stuff coating them either.

• Wipe the kitchen sides every time you finish washing up.

• Instead of using expensive, and bad for the environment, disposable wipes, use coloured cloths and put them in the washing machine after use, ready for the next wash. Dishcloths for dishes. Dusters for dusting. Pink cloths for sink. Blue for loo. Yellow or white for floors.

• Bleach gets rid of black mold on ceilings and bathroom tiles. A good dehumidifier or fresh air helps prevent it.

• Don't clean pet stains with household cleaner. It will contain ammonia and smell to the pet like you have marked over their wee, leading to more weeing over “your” mark. Use dedicated pet stain removers.

• When you finish cooking, put vinegar in a warm pan, and a wooden spoon to stir/scrape it. This will help to loosen burned on bits without killing your non-stick. Anything that doesn't come off, you can leave the pan soaking in a soapy sink overnight and repeat the next day.

• Open dog poo bags before you go on walks. Saves fiddling about at the side of the road with a bag that won't open and an impatient dog.

• Tie rubbish bags shut before you lift them out of the bin. This stops trash blowing all over the place as you trudge down the garden with them.

• Stack your fridge properly. Fruit and veg in the drawers. Raw meat and fish at the bottom. Cooked meat at the top.

• Float eggs to see if they are any good. Fill a sink or container with water and gently lay the eggs in. If they float, they are no good. If they bob about near the bottom, they are turning. If they sink, they are fine to eat. Not that I eat them as I'm a vegan. But some people do amd it's a shame to waste food.

• Use vinegar and a clean cloth to wipe your windows and mirrors down, leaving them streak free.

• Don't stop at carpets with your hoover. You can also hoover the kitchen floor, and cobwebs from the ceiling.

• Dust 10 minutes before hoovering. Any dust you knock down off the shelves and furniture will settle on the ground ready to be hoovered up.

• Use a separate knife for butter, and for jam, or sandwich spread or anything else so you don't get one food mixed up in the other by dipping the knife into both.

• Putting enough butter on the knife to cover your toast in the first place, means you don’t have to put your knife back in the butter, to finish the job. Therefore, no more toast crumbs in the butter.

• Put the ice cream tub on the kitchen side for 5 minutes before serving to make it easier to scoop.

• Defrosted raw food can be cooked and refrozen. Never refreeze it still raw.

• Washing up liquid is a great stain remover, especially for biological stains like food, grease, blood and grass.

• For rolling dog owners - ketchup removes and deodorises fox poo.

• You can use bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar to wash your clothes really cheaply and well, without using a pile of nasty stuff. Use about quarter to half a cup of bicarb per load, depending on how dirty they are, with a quarter cup of white vinegar. Your clothes will not smell of vinegar. Infact they will smell of nothing so add some essential oil if you wish. As a bonus, the vinegar helps to descale and keep clean the washing machine.

• Keep a supermarket loyalty card on the go. Some even save you money at the till while you collect points. I save points all year without spending them, and that completely covers our entire Christmas Dinner plus festive food every year.

• Do electric heavy things like washing clothes late at night if you have a two tier electricity tariff. You'll save a fortune.

What tips have you learned in life? What do you wish you had known about sooner?

Tell me your hacks in the comments!

Today's Sub Stats:

I have cut right back on my writing schedule lately, having decided with

Maya Sayvanova

that it would be a good idea to aim for one of these MMC newsletters a week and do it regularly.

So, I am surprised to see I've still gained a couple of subscribers! I'm well on track for my goal of 50 by Christmas, so I'm happy.

So, that's it for this week folks. I'm off to dog sit Mac again tonight. Last week he stole and ate my bananas. A whole bunch. Including the skins. I wonder what mischief awaits us this evening!

Warm ‘N’ Fuzzies,

Freya xx