Things That Changed My Life

These things changed my everday life for the better!

I’ve gone through quite a few "lifechanging products" and "must have parent items" and felt disappointed! It seems like many of the lists were written by someone who has either never had kids or are just plugging products. (I’m calling you out on this particular article Buzzfeed!). So here's my own list of lifechanging things that legitimately have changed my day to day life for the better.

Let’s jump in:

1. LifeVac: A Lifesaver in the Truest Sense

I have to start with LifeVac because although it’s not exactly exciting it could literally save your life. As a first time parent I was a little (ok maybe a lot) paranoid about my son choking because he had chewing problems. Then one day I watched this video (trigger warning: distressing scenes) about a stranger that saved a baby's life with a lifevac he just happened to have in his car. The situation had been dire—but a LifeVac cleared the baby’s airway in seconds.

I bought one immediately and although we've never used it thank God—its given me some peace of mind just having it there.

2. Cordless Handheld Vacuum: AKA Crumb Control

All kids leave a trail of crumbs. even if you’re pretty strict about only eating at the table like me, the crumbs are all on the floor under and around the table. No need to lug out the big vacuum every time just grab your cordless handheld vac and zap the mess then move on with my life. It’s fast, easy, and genuinely makes me feel like I’ve got my act together.

3. An Extra Freezer

Our small chest freezer was very inexpensive and lives quietly out of the way in the laundry. There’s so much value in being able to stock up on frozen food and meals. Freezing meals is great for nutrient value. Now that we have the extra space, I can make larger quantities of food, freeze the leftovers and have them ready to go for emergency lunches or dinners. It saves my energy and it’s nice to know you can pull out a homecooked meal when you’ve had a day.

4. Beach Trolley / Cart / Wagon

My kids are too big now (5 & 7) but when they were little, having one of these beach trolleys gave me freedom. My two didn’t like being in a pram but LOVED trolley rides. It carried two toddlers and a big bag of snacks, sunscreen, and all the other stuff. We’d head to the park or beach and I wouldn’t feel like a sherpa. It's sturdy, foldable, and actually fun to pull. I still get nostalgic when I see them at the shops.

A very aesthetic looking beach trolley from Temple and Webster but you can also get pretty nice ones from kmart.

5. Foaming Hand Soap Dispenser

Listen, it’s a small thing. But it saves soap, makes washing hands more fun, and gets the kids actually using soap. Win, win, win.

6. Velvet Hangers (Trust Me)

These are SO underrated…the quiet heroes of your wardrobe! No more annoying shoulder bumps, no more shirts sliding off into the abyss of your closet floor, no more having to do the top button of every shirt up. It’s transformed my clothes hanging experience into a fuss free one.

7. Plot Twist: Getting Rid of Stuff

Okay, not a product—but easily one of the bigger game-changers for my mental health. Adopting a minimalist approach to toys changed a lot. Yes – you can do it! Less stuff = less cleaning. It’s also less decision fatigue and less fighting. Admit it, most of your toys don’t see the light of day, or are only good for getting spread out and then left there.

If you can deal with a few tears and let go of those toys you will bask in the clutter free ambiance. My rule is if it haven’t seen touched it in like 6 months, it’s gone. Donate wherever you can too. Even blankets and pillows you can donate by calling your local vet or animal shelters to see if they need stuff.

8. Using coffee grounds in the garden

We tried 5 or 6 times to grow basil and coriander with no luck. They’d always die after a month. The indoor plants followed a similar pattern of staying alive for maybe 4-5 months then slowly carking it. Enter coffee grounds.

Just a sprinkle once a week and they COME BACK TO LIFE. Even some parsley we had that was completely ratty, came back to life and is thriving now. I went from black thumb to green thumb overnight and now we enjoy fresh herbs in our cooking every day!

NOTE: Alot of people make skincare from coffee grounds and it's a cool idea but be aware it often clogs your drains. All those oils harden or stick to other things like hair down there and you end up with big plumbing problems.

Sam doing the weekly sprinkle of coffee grounds. The herbs LOVE it!

9. Citric Acid (for cleaning)

I bought a few kilograms of food grade citric acid from Amazon as a last resort to ridding my toilet of those horrid brown stains (a typical problem if you live in a place with hard water like Brisbane). What to do:

1) empty the toilet water

2) throw a generous amount of citric acid on the stain

3) spray it with vinegar

4) leave for a few hours

5) use a scrubbing brush or magic eraser to remove the stains which should now break-off easily

I tell you I tried EVERYTHING before that - nothing else worked and I was ready to buy a new toilet. My happy tears flowed that day.

10. Milk Warmer (ditch the old kettle)

One day I was feeling frustrated with the vinegar smell after cleaning my kettle and also wanted something quiter so I searched Chat GPT and google for kettles that fit my needs and there was nothing.

I have an induction top so I searched for Milk Warmers instead and found this one on amazon:

Stainless steel milk warmers are the best alternative to kettles!!

Here's what makes it awesome:

• Way easier to keep clean

• Quiet (for sensory sensitivity)

• Heats up faster than a regular kettle

• Can heat up other things too: chocolate, butter etc

• Can be packed away to free up bench space

I love it and get happy whenever I use it.

These next ones are items I haven’t bought yet but are on my list to get ASAP...

11. Pot and Lid Organizer

Opening my cookware cupboard is sometimes an act of bravery. I have my eye on one from Temu that lets you adjust the width of the sections so that you can use it for stacking random bowls and things that don’t quite stack well vertically. A tiny bit of kitchen peace that sparks big joy.

Do yourself a favour and get a pot & lid organiser.

12. Roborock Q Revo: The Mop-and-Vac Dream Machine

If I had money to splurge on one household helper? It’d be this. It vacuums AND it mops. It doesn’t ask questions or judge your floor. One day...

A word of warning for those with dogs: we have a mate who's dog sh*t on their floor while they were out and the robovacuum ran over it, spreading the poo e v e r y w h e r e. Even after they cleaned the floors twice, the smell hasn't yet come out. Take from that what you will.

Final word

Time saving items are always a good investment. Even if you find some are pricey, time is our most valuable possession (especially during parenthood when the days are long and the years are short and time is a scarer resource than white truffles in the Simpson Desert) so protect it by getting yourself some of these items.