{prompt # 6 ~ Easy Living}

Easy Living ~ Like the sound of that eh? Me too! If you are anything like me you are always on the look out for ideas and gadgets that make our lives easier, simpler, quicker without compromising the quality of the job done...I was thinking about what makes my 'Easy Living' happen on a regular basis, not necessarily daily but enough to prevent me breaking out into a sweat more than I need to!
I have decided to blog this prompt and add it to my personal journal, but here is basically what I came up with:

* My car ~ knowing that I can jump in it at the tip of the hat makes the difference when its raining and I have my 3 year old in tow. He loves to sit in the back, in his big boy seat and do his drawing on his specially made over lap table!
* Laptop ~ with so much that I have going on that's off and online, I can stop and start as I go through my fairy chores getting more jobs done from room to room as and when I think of it...neat eh?!!
*Remote control ~ I can imagine a few heads nodding to this one! :) When I sit down and watch some tv..which is about twice a week if i'm lucky these days..I love to have the remote in my hand, even though I know what i'm going to watch! :)
* Storage baskets ~ I have strategically placed small wicker baskets all over the house because I would frequently find that one or all of my kids would have something laying around that I know would soon turn into a scavenger hunt if I didn't know where they had put it, so I figured little baskets would be ideal to throw things in and it would soon become the perfect place for them to look (cos we know that 11 and 19 year olds just dont comprehend putting things away right?!!)
* Cash ~ now i'm all for using the debit card, dont do credit cards and don't much like carrying cash BUT i'm forever getting caught out for a £1 here and a £5 there so I read a tip somewhere to keep a set amount of change in the home for such times. Now I have a pretty little tin (covered by yours truly!) that I keep approx £15 in at any one time which gets refilled every month. So on the days my daughter decides on the bus instead of the car or bike like planned I'm not having to run round to the cash point and sweat my nads off for just £2!!
* Small compact hoover ~ for upstairs! I HATE heaving hoovers around so I invested in a small cheapy one to keep upstairs, reaches half way down the stairs and the one downstairs reaches half way up. Perfect!
* Toaster ~ cannot do without a real toaster!! :)
* Toastie maker ~ one of those breville machines are idea for kids lunches (or mine actually!), any filling can go in there, any combination and they are a hit for 3 year olds and a great gizmo to get them to eat! I sly in some vegetables with his cheese now and again and he dont notice either! :)
* File folder ~ I have hand made folders for a range of things to keep me doing what I should be doing, when I should be doing it. I have a work one for appointments, dates, deadlines, meetings, classes etc, one for general stuff like dentists, opticians and home stuff and another for my personal plans such as stuff I want to make, with the kids and alone. Then there's the dreaded to-do list which was so good that it's become a little folder of its own!! :)
* Craft knife ~ now I cant say i've sat and crafted for more than the odd hour here and there for a couple of weeks now but this lil gadget has been there in the moment of need when i've been out and about and had a sudden inspiration hit with some paper I was fiddling with...(trust me, you really dont wanna know why I had the craft knife to start with!!)
* Activity box ~ in the boot of my car I have learnt to keep a box of stuff for the kids for almost any occasion. Since moving into this house we have a tendancy to jump in the car at 5 minutes notice and just drive. Some days this has landed us in Weston, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and Cardiff. The box of stuff includes the regular colouring pages, crayons, hand held games, puzzles, cars, magazines and a cd player. Lately i've learnt to add some outdoor toys too, but thats another box of explanation!!
* Magic duster ~ I have a thing about spiders, I dont like to harm them but I dont see why they should hide out in my space either! So instead of battling with a glass and a piece of card I find that a magic duster on a stick is idea for getting them quicker and easier...just be sure the door is open first off so you can run for it!! :)

These are just some quick ideas I come up with, what makes for your Easy Living?

Edited to say: The timer on this post did not, for some reason i'm not sure of yet, publish the post when it should have, so apologies to those of you that kept checking in today!