Improve Your Daily Life

Why on earth do we so often wait far too long to make a simple but easy decision that makes our lives easier? Why do we willingly struggle for so long with inferior goods or service?

"Each household appliance is like a new science in my town" pronounced Morrissey in 1984 and just 37 years later I can attest to this truth. 

The other week the Smiths (no relation) bought a new hoover. Not a Hoover hoover, not a Dyson hoover, but a Shark hoover. A vacuum cleaner made by Shark. The Shark Anti Hair Wrap Allergy DuoClean Pet Vacuum Cleaner to be precise. 

I don’t know what its full name really means but I’m telling you it’s pretty awesome.

Robots In Disguise

Twice now I’ve used it and both times I felt like I was in one of the Transformer movies. A few snaps, clicks and tweaks and the vacuum cleaner morphs from mild mannered upright cleaning machine into a hand-held, portable, spider-web consuming power wand. Or something.

And the attachment for tackling the stairs is something else. A wonder of engineering. 

It’s a great machine. It’s already got a big tick in my book for making a tedious quadrant 3 chore a bit more fun but most of all it’s great because my carpets are now clean. Much cleaner than before and in just half the amount of time.

For years we’d stuck with our tired old Henry but I can’t really explain why. Once upon a time he was at the top of his game I’m sure but that time hasn’t been for a long while. 

Why didn’t we buy our Shark ages ago? 

Time To Go

At the end of his reign Henry would have been first to admit that his powers of suction were greatly diminished. His trunk came off when you pulled him round corners which wasn’t nice for anyone. 

As for stairs, well, he’s always been a nightmare on the stairs. Recently though, he could barely reach half way up the stairs before his trunk would pull off. I wouldn’t always notice, leaving me hoovering a stair tread without anything actually happening. There's a metaphor there somewhere.

Good bye Henry. Thank you for your ever diminishing service and good riddance.

Sometimes you don’t realise how much you need something until you start using it. And then you realise you’d never be without it. Our new hoover is awesome but why didn't we get it earlier?

A Change Is Gonna Come

Today’s Top Tip is to wander around your home or office and consider all the areas in which you struggle because of inefficiency. 

Maybe it’s an old tool that slows you down, or a piece of kitchen equipment that doesn’t work properly like a freezer that you’re always having to defrost.

Or maybe it’s a system that just doesn’t work - like storing a frequently used item behind a once a month item. It sounds silly but sometimes these things just occur and then you end up stuck with them.

There are areas that just by taking a  few minutes to reflect you’ll quickly become aware of. To sort it out you probably won’t have to chang emuch. Just make a couple of simple adjustments or throw a bit of cash at the problem.

But then there are other areas where you might not even know that there is a new or better solution out there. I’m sharing a few I’ve stumbled over in the last few years. 

These are my Top Five things I had no idea I needed but now couldn’t manage living without.

1 - Password Manager

Most people I know don’t use a password manager.  Can’t recommend it highly enough. Once you get one you’ll never go back. No more forgetting. No more fiddly bits of paper and pet names with the S being changed into a 5 for added security. Dive in. Try out one of the main ones. They all have a freemium level. I use Dashlane.

2 - Dropbox

I still have an external hard drive as a backup but it really is just that now; a backup of a backup. Cloud storage is the way to store most stuff. It’s not exactly new anymore but I’m still surprised by the amount of folk still hesitant to use it. 

There are loads of obvious advantages but one really lovely way I benefit from this is when we’re out with friends and someone mentions a memory that we all enjoy. While we’re chatting I go into my Dropbox folder on my phone and pull up that photo. 

“Oh, my God. You have it on your phone. That’s amazing!” is a common response. Swiftly followed by “You’re such a weirdo. Why have you got that on your phone?!”

3 - Shredder

Sure, you’ve probably already got a shredder, I know. But I’ll bet a few quid that it’s a crappy little thing that is basically a waste paper basket with a brittle mincer on top. That’s not a shredder. Get yourself a proper SHREDDER. Like this!

Bit more of an initial outlay but it can cross shred ten sheets at a time and powers through reams of paper. When it’s in action my office looks like the last days of the Stasi. It crunches credit cards and CDs too. Hugely satisfying and has lasted me fourteen years so far. 

4 - Supermarket Scanner

Why do people still queue up at the end of their supermarket shop, take everything out of the trolley, ride it down the conveyor belt and then have to pack it all away into bags in their trolley?

Using the smart scanner means you just do the packing bit once as you navigate the aisles before sliding past the queues and heading home before everyone else. It’s a great time saver. Plus you know exactly what you’re spending as you shop.

5 - Keybox

Should have got one of these years ago. No more leaving keys under the doormat / flowerpot / with Aunty Pauline. No more hesitant knocking on the door late at night having caught the postal train home (in trouble again!). No more driving back to let the kids in because they’ve lost their copy of the door key. Life changing! 

Hope these are useful suggestions. Let me know if any of them spark an idea for you. And do let me know what changes you've already made and what you can now never be without.