I don’t know about you but I seem to spend A LOT of time in the kitchen, and while I do love to cook, anything that can help me shave off some time during my domestic office hours is always massively welcome. So I asked fellow parenting bloggers to share some of their top kitchen hacks for busy mums…because you know…a quick fix is always a welcome one!
Smelly hands
To get rid of the smell of onion /garlic/ fish on your hands, rub a stainless steel spoon over them when running under the tap..it really works! – Ready Freddie Go
Clean up that microwave!
Lemon juice in a bowl of water, put it in the microwave, turn it on and minutes later your microwave will literally just wipe clean!! Amazing! – Five Little Doves
Label it
Keep a Whiteboard marker in the drawer to write on all your tupperware with. That way you know when something was made and needs to be used up. Plus it then just washes off! – Mummy In a Tutu. Personalised labels can also add to your kitchen aesthetic.
Scissors at the ready
Use scissors to chop up your meat. I have never looked back! – Mummy and Moose
Don’t let it boil over
Place a wooden spoon on top of a pan to stop it from boiling over – Mrs Mulled Wine
Savvy storage
Save space by using kilner jars for rice/pasta/flour etc. You can get personalised labels for them which also look decorative and are easily identifiable. – Twinderelmo
Buy fruit green
I always buy fruit green so it lasts longer, if you need to ripen it up fast stick it in a brown paper bag. – The Parenting Jungle
Skip the spiralizer
Don’t buy a spiraliser (I’ve bought a few) as you’ll never use it, but a slow cooker is a lifeline! – Mama Mei
Emergency lemons
Slice lemons and limes, pop in a freezer bag and transfer to the freezer. Not only will you have an emergency slice for your gin ready you can encourage the kids to drink more water by adding this fruity twist too. – Adventures in Websterland
Oust those odours
Bicarbonate of soda is great for getting rid of smells. Place a small dish of it in the fridge to absorb any odours, or add a tablespoon to a pint of warm water to freshen up vases or flasks that have gone a bit stagnant. – The Parent Game
Ripe avocados every time!
To ripen avocados quickly, place in a brown paper bag with a banana. – Pink Pear Bear
Get juicy
Put oranges and lemons in the microwave for 30 seconds before squeezing to get twice as much juice. – My Boys Club
Fast track the tomato slicing
If you’ve got loads of little tomatoes to slice/cut in half for sandwiches or pizza, wedge them between two plates (with one plate upside down) and run your knife between the two plates. It slices them all in one go and saves loads of time. – Porridge and Parenting
Make breakfast the night before
Mornings can be a nightmare, but if you make breakfast the night before it can really take the pressure of. I like to make pancake mixes the night before and overnight oats is also a winner – if you don’t like it cold just warm it up in the morning. – Motherhood: The Real Deal
Use cereal store jars
Keep cereal in jars on a shelf somewhere close to the floor – they are quick and easy to grab and the kids can see what is on offer instead of nagging you! – Life Love and Dirty Dishes
Kiddy power
Get the kids to help! They can help with easy tasks like empting the dishwasher, setting the table, peeling carrots etc…no point mum doing it all! – Cuddle Fairy
Make it green
Invest in two bins – one for the recycling and the other for general kitchen waste. Get the kids started young on segregating waste to make reducing landfill part of your every day lives. – Mum Muddling Through
Toast it
Don’t waste time grilling waffles or pancakes – put them in the toaster! – The Mummy Adventure
Batch cook it
Spend a couple of hours on a Saturday or Sunday batch cooking. It might be a ragu or a stew etc. Fill up the freezer and then have your meals sorted for the week. You can add spices to the ragu to make a chilli, or sweet potato topping to make shepherd’s pie etc. It saves so much time during the week and it means the family have healthy meals that are quick to cook. – Island Living 365
Freeze the cheese
Grate left over cheese and freeze – perfect for using on pizzas, toasties, quesadillas etc at a later date. – A Mum Reviews
And the sandwiches!
Make up the week’s sandwiches and freeze them. Take one out in the morning and it will be fresh and defrosted by lunch time. – Adventures of a Mum
Ice ice baby
Make your own ice cube bags rather than buying bags of ice cubes. Every morning empty the ice tray into a big zip lock bag. Saves money and the environment too! – The Cheshire Wife
For fresh smelling laundry
Soak a sponge in fabric conditioner and whack it in the dryer with your clothes to make them smell fantastic. – Babies and Beauty
Catch the crumbs
Place a vinyl sheet under the table to catch throwaway bits of food. Saves you from having to get the hoover out all the time – a perfect hack for messy kids! – Motherhood Diaries
End the clingfilm struggle
End all annoying clingfilm nightmares by storing the roll in the fridge. Amazingly chilling it makes it much easier to use and side step all the usual clingfilm struggles. – Motherhood: The Real Deal
So which of these hacks is new to you and which would you try? Do leave a comment and share. And if you’re looking for more kitchen tips why not check out my round up of recipes for a healthy family dinner or breakfasts in a hurry.
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What a useful post! This is brilliant. I was taking mental notes and learnt loads. Theres one thing I can’t agree with though because I LOVE MY SPIRALLISER!!! I also love my slow cooker too – especially in the winter. Kate http://www.fivelittlestars.com
Some excellent ideas here, love this type of post. Especially love the tips about about freezing slices of lemon and putting vinyl under the dinner table – I’ll be putting it under the high chair- genius!
There are some great ideas here, and a lot of new ones I haven’t heard of before! Thanks for including my kiddie power tip 😉 xx
Fantastic post, full of time saving hacks for us busy Mum’s ! Thanks for including mine x
I make up my own bag of ice too! Essential for the warm weather here in Portugal. I’d also come across the tomato trick. It’s genius!
I am a sucker for good kitchen hacks and I am so ready to try out the lemon in the microwave as mine could do with a proper clean
Amazing post! This is going to revolutionise my life!! Thank you for including mine. Xx
What fabulous ideas! I am also always looking for ways to make my life simpler! Particularly loved the cling-film one (how I hate my cling-film sometimes!), the sandwiches in the freezer, and the stainless steel spoon to remove odours. Wow, really need to try that one!
Yes to the slow cooker and the lemon juice in the microwave one!! I didn’t know the rest though so I will definitely be using them.
Great tips. I had never heard of rubbing a stainless steel spoon over your hands to eliminate odours!
(hubby helping out)
What a useful post! Definitely oicked up some tip tips!! #coolmumclub
Some great tips here I am going to try some of them myself, I do love a hack. The microwave one sounds so simple and effective xx
This is so useful! And lots of tips I didn’t know about- Although I think my husband will think I have gone mad if I start keeping the cling film in the fridge!! #coolmumclub
I have a stainless steel soap and I love it. Works like a charm getting garlic smells off my hands #CoolMumClub
Oh my goodness so many top tips here!! The stainless steel spoon, the wooden spoon in the pan, the frozen slices of lemon! I don’t know where to begin! I’ll be a kitchen goddess in no time!! Thank you!! #coolmumclub xx
It’s safe to say the avocado tip has changed my life! xx #coolmumclub
These are genius, thanks! We’ve just had an unfortunate baked bean explosion at lunch so I think I’ll start with the microwave lemon cleaning hack!
Grilling pancakes???? TOASTER! #Coolmumclub
I will try the stainless steel spoon. #coolmumclub
So many tips that I didnt know that I needed to know! I’m torn between running to put lemon juice in my microwave, ice cubes into a Ziploc bag or my cling film into the freezer! Excellent tips. Thanks for hosting #coolmumclub x
I so need to try the wooden spoon one – I let the pan boil over every single time!
Thanks for including my tip, as well as so many other #coolmumclub faves!
x
I’m all over the cling film in the fridge tip! Mr C might think I’ve lost it though! #coolmumclub
A great round up of tips. I use scissors to chop up meat, ham, cheese, you name it, if scissors can manage, I use them.
Ahh this is MY KIND OF POST! Love all the hacks, anything that can not only make life easier but can make you look SMART in front of your mother in law… “You mean to say you didn’t know about the bicarbonate of soda thing? Oh… ok. (*fake humble look*)” Hehehe, SMUG CHRISTMAS here I come 🙂 #coolmumclub
Some of these are genius…and make me wonder how on earth people figured them out in the first place (cling film in the fridge?!). Definitely trying some.
#coolmumclub
Wow these kitchen hacks are actually very useful for working or bzee moms. I learnt a lot through your tips. Some of these are like saviour for me. Thanks for sharing these.#Blogcrush
SO many good ideas here! I do the stainless spoon trick for smelly hands. #BlogCrush
Great tips, I’ve used the wooden spoon one for years and bicarbonate of soda has soooo many uses! Really need to try the sponge in the dryer trick.
#Coolmumclub
Some great hacks and I can now use cling film without screaming!
Great tips, I already do Laura’s one of the microwave cleaning with lemon and have heard of the cheese in the freezer but never tried it #coolmumclub
What a great set of tips for managing in the kitchen #CoolMumClub
These are all awesome hacks. My one.. you know when there is only two of you eating but you buy 6 bits of meat but only need 4?? take the other two and put into a freezer bag with the best before date so its easy to put into the freezer for next time if you’ve not used it before it goes off! #coolmumclub
Totally agree about using scissors for meat, and I always use lemon juice for the microwave. Definitely need to try the wooden spoon – my pans are always boiling over! #coolmumclub
Oh my goodness, the FIRST ONE! I always have garlicky fingers for days after I’ve chopped fresh. So annoying that I now just buy garlic powder, but if this actually works I might go back to fresh! Some really great ideas here. Thanks for sharing! #BlogCrush