20 Hacks For Life
From your resident Type A/eldest daughter/Virgo *salutes*.
It’s always a fun part of my lore on here that my most viewed post of all time is absolutely nothing to do with style, but a post on life organisation - ‘How To Be Organised in 2025’. But I get it, I get off on this stuff. I wrote a book about it*!
So for the past two months, I’ve had an ongoing list on my phone that I’ve updated whenever I’ve done something in my life that feels worth sharing. Life hacks that aren’t particularly laborious, but just make things a little easier so you can feel like your most organised self.
Have a weekly rotation of meals. We eat the same dinners Monday through Friday, leaving the weekends open to try something new. I’m sure we’ll get bored and switch the meals at some point, but for now, here’s how our weeks shape up. Everything can be prepped in under 30 minutes:
MONDAY - Grilled salmon, sweet potato and whatever green veg we fancy.
TUESDAY - Chicken fajitas with onions, peppers, salsa, sour cream and guacamole.
WEDNESDAY - ‘Make your own pizza’ - we buy premade bases, top them with pizza sauce and mozzarella, and pile on pepperoni, ham, veggies, and whatever we need to use up from the fridge.
THURSDAY - Spaghetti bolognese with a side salad.
FRIDAY - Some kind of freezer meal - a frozen protein, with some kind of potato and peas. SO EASY.
Have good freezer options. In the same vein, always make sure there’s a meal you can make purely from the freezer. Every four weeks, we make enough bolognese sauce to last the rest of the month. And on weekends, we often make a huge chicken curry and freeze it too (we made this when our kid was weaning, but still make it now!). As long as you’re stocked up with spaghetti, pasta, a few bags of rice and have some frozen peas in the freezer, there’s always a dinner to eat. Your future self will be grateful.
Eat the same (or similar) breakfasts and lunches. I know I am starting to sound like the world’s most boring person, but I truly despise doing a food shop and will do absolutely anything to make it easier. Automating what I need for breakfast and lunch by eating the same or similar dishes does exactly that. When I get bored, I find something new to make. Simple.
Do online food deliveries. OCADO FOR LIFE!! Why didn’t I do this sooner? A Monday morning time slot is elite. I sit for about 10 minutes editing my basket each Sunday, and it’s DONE, and I don’t need to think about food for the rest of the week.
My top three laundry tips:
Have an allocated day(s) for doing laundry.
Same for changing your sheets and washing your towels.
Spot-clean your whites every time you wash them. I spritz this on the collars and under the pits of my white T-shirts*.
Give yourself a mop-up hour each week. Allocate time weekly to review your plans for the week ahead, check in on birthdays and events, write any thank-yous, book appointments, and check in with friends. An hour a week can make you feel VERY organised.
Be strategic with answering emails. I know this is very industry-specific and certainly won’t be the case for everyone, but being self-employed, I try to get down to inbox zero twice a week - Tuesdays and Fridays. Everything is still responded to in a timely manner, but it gives me more space to create and less time for email ping-pong.
Become a travel pro. Create a packing list (or just use mine) to refer back to each time you travel, and establish processes that make packing easy. Like keeping all your adapters in one bag (I store mine in my suitcase), owning a toiletry bag you use each time (something like this is great*) and having tubes to decant toiletries into (like these*). Find the rest of my travel essentials here.
Take Ziploc bags on holiday with you. Snacks. Toiletries. Bag organiser. To waterproof your valuables at the beach. Wet swimwear. The list is endless.
…the same goes for totes.
…and Tide pens*. I used mine ON THE PLANE on the journey to Mallorca last week.
Carry an emergency pouch. I’m always bleating on about this Space NK Mini Travel Bag*, but I really don’t leave home without it. Here’s what’s in mine:
A little pill box with paracetamol and mints.
A mini mirror, a tampon, a spoolie and tissues.
A mini hand cream and cuticle balm.
A pen, a hairband and blister plasters.
…and most importantly, an unsexy hand sanitiser that eliminates Norovirus germs.
Buy good-quality bin bags. There are some areas of life where it pays to buy the best. Bin bags are one of them.
Get email reminders for people’s birthdays. Set up your calendar to include everyone’s birthdays, then toggle the settings to get an email reminder three weeks before. I’ve found this to be the perfect amount of time to give you a chance to think of something and buy it so that it arrives in time.
Learn how to be a good gift giver. Just read this post…
Put your friends’ and family’s important dates in your diary. Has your mate got an interview? Important appointment? Big presentation? If you know the date, add it to your diary and send them a little ‘Hope it goes well! Thinking of you!’ message on that day. Honestly, when people remember shit like that, my heart sings. Put some good karma out into the world.
Always have a book with you. There is nothing chicer than someone reading a book on public transport. BE THAT PERSON! I’m a Kindle girlie, so the effect is dulled (Kindles are more practical but less chic, and that’s a fact), but I recently remembered that I have the Kindle app on my phone and have been trying my best to read on that when I’m out and about instead of endlessly scrolling.
Time block if you really need a rocket up your ass. If you’re in a slump and can’t seem to work your way out, sit down with a pen and paper and block out every minute of the day, factoring in any travel times, food, breaks, errands, workouts - be as granular as you can. I find it’s the one tool that keeps me focused but also makes the day feel doable. I like to write it down so that I can tick it off as I go because I’m fun like that.
If you liked this post but want the style version, I’ve written it already and you can find that here. 10 styling concepts - essentially my styling toolkit - that make getting ready SO darn easy.
Thanks for being part of The Wardrobe Edit. If you like what you read, I’d truly appreciate it if you liked, shared, or left a comment - it makes all the difference.
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Anna, I love EVERYTHING about this post. It reminds me that what may seem "obvious" to you is miraculously surprising and helpful to others (aka moi).
This is so impressive and I particularly love the bits you do for your friends’ birthdays and important dates.
For as long as I have known you, the thing that never fails to impress me is how much content and how many letters you manage to send each week. It blows my mind. And all this with a little one! If you’re ever inclined to share a Work version of these hacks and how you split your calendar!
Have a good week Anna! xxx