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THE best 'non cr*p' tips from Mumsnet

Parents share household secrets on Mumsnet to save you time and money

Store wipes upside down, clean the shower while you're in it and bulk buy £1 coins, these are some of the top household tips from other parents

HOME life is generally split into two camps; the naturally neat, who keep on top of the hoovering, and the slightly slummy, who happily admit to never dusting their skirting boards. Ever.

Luckily, no matter which camp you're in, a mumsnet user called ‘Elsbeth Tascioni’ has a thread that may be of use, helpfully titled ‘Household tips that aren’t sh*t’.

 Cleaning does not gender discriminate, it can be stressful for both sexes
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Cleaning does not gender discriminate, it can be stressful for both sexesCredit: Alamy

She went on to explain, “I've been looking on websites and in magazines for tips and advice and most of it is unmitigated tripe that makes life harder rather than easier.”

And shared three to start the thread off…  “Clean the shower while you’re in it. Gamechanger. Saves masses of time.

“Storing duvet sets inside their pillow case. I was sceptical about this one but with four beds in the house it has a)made my linen cupboard tidier and b)means no more rummaging.

 Clean the shower both out of it and in it... genius!
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Clean the shower both out of it and in it... genius!Credit: Alamy

“Using the big IKEA bags as laundry bags. They are just the right size for a load of washing in a standard machine and you can fold them up and put them away tidily instead of having plastic baskets hanging around.’‘

And other users have jumped on the bandwagon, and shared their ‘non-cr*p’ tips for ‘keeping on top of sh*t’.

User, ‘Monsterbrunch’ claimed, “Mr Muscle Shower Shine. Bloody brilliant. Microfibre cloths. Never go up the stairs without taking something up with you (that needs putting away). Dyson cordless.’

While ‘retainertrainer’ replied with, ‘Bulk buy birthday cards, get 6 months-worth in one go. Write them and put them in order. It’ll take an hour but then you’re done and organised-no forgetting,no last minute rush to buy one or multiple trips to the shops.

Before helpfully adding, “buy a bag of 20 £1 coins from the post office, keep them in a pot ready for school lunches/beavers subs/car parking.”

 Keep £1 coins handy for lunch money or youth club activities
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Keep £1 coins handy for lunch money or youth club activitiesCredit: Alamy

User1484394242 said, “keep packs of wipes (face, baby, cleaning etc) upside down. It keeps the lid closed. And when you turn the pack the right way to take a wipe out the liquid is in the top one.”

In addition this user said, “use clear nail polish on buttons - right over the thread. I’ve done this at the beginning of each school year and in 12 years, I’ve never had to sew on a button.”

While another user shared their top tip and, anyone with toddlers take note – “Hairspray gets Biro marks off leather sofas.”

While user, Cornettoninja helpfully suggested, “don’t have kids or pets.”

According to research Brits are spending 32 minutes less on cleaning the home each week compared to two years ago… so, maybe these kind of time-saving tips work. Mumsnet users have been known in the past to share some great tips.

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