The beginning of a new year seems like an apropos time to reveal some of our current life hacks. None of the links are affiliate. I have no motivation for sharing other than, well, wanting to.
- Our local YMCA membership. While most may be joining in January to support fitness and weight loss goals, we use our local Y for showers and free babysitting. With 8 people all needing showers after tae kwon do and only one shower at home, it seemed well worth it to pay $80 a month for the ability to all take hot showers at one time. Plus they provide 2 hours of free babysitting a day and soap for our showers! The pool and fitness equipment are a bonus.
- Audiobooks. Want to know a secret? I hate reading out loud to my kids. I want them to be read to, but I hate doing it. Besides, I fall asleep. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. While reading. No matter what time it is. Enter audiobooks. We listen to them in the car. It’s a win-win. The kids are so captivated that they are quiet, and we’ve taken in dozens of great books. We pretty much only listen to ones that our library stocks, so this hack doesn’t even cost money.
Want to know a secret? I hate reading out loud to my kids. Check out this #lifehack. Click To Tweet - My TO DO email address. Ever get an email to your phone while you’re out and about and want to remember to respond when you have more time and a real keyboard? Ever need to send yourself an important reminder? I have a separate email account that no one has that I ONLY check at HOME at MY DESK. I forward important emails, websites, and Facebook posts I want to remember for later and notes to myself. I have a daily Todoist task that reminds me to check that special email at the end of the day to make sure I follow up.
- Disposable email addresses. Do you hate when you have to enter an email just to read a blog article? Or ever want to join a free site but don’t want to reveal your real email address for fear of spam monsters? Check out mailinator.com. It’s a public, disposable email. The inboxes are not password protected so don’t have sensitive information sent to one. We use them to sign up for some homeschool things like Xtramath and ReadTheory.
What are your favorite life hacks?