After last week's longer “Year of Wisdom” post, I’m returning to quick and inspirational ideas on living simply by sharing a few ERW Life Hacks. ERW, my tiny and determined mother, lived a remarkable 93 years. Throughout her life, she quietly exemplified resourceful living, teaching our family through her daily example.

With family providing daily caregiving during her at-home 18-month hospice journey in the pandemic years, I observed some of her clever shortcuts and methods that made her daily living and efforts easier. While I’m sure she was using her life hacks through her life, watching more closely (and sometimes gently directed) during that time in her home helped me see and admire her practices and rituals. 

... I observed some of her clever shortcuts and methods that made her daily living and efforts easier ...

I smile whenever I use one of her clever life hacks in my daily life. Though I drew the line at some of her more frugal practices – like washing and reusing her Kirkland Signature gray multipurpose gloves during the pandemic – her gentle wisdom lives on in these everyday moments.

• Grapefruit Spoons as Combined Fork/Spoon/Knife – A grapefruit spoon is the perfect combination of a fork/spoon/knife.  As my mother’s daily living tasks became more difficult, rather than retrieving three utensils she retrieved one – a grapefruit spoon! It was her favorite multipurpose meal tool and she had more than a dozen of them in her drawer.

• Blanket Corner Small Safety Pins –Keep and reuse those small safety pins to mark the corners of comforters, quilts, spreads or blankets to easily orient yourself when making the bed. Nearly invisible, I learned from my mother that marking the corners saves time when figuring out which direction the bedding goes.

• Pots and Pans Paper Towel Separators – Use a few pieces of paper towel as separators between pots and pans to quiet the stacking when putting away and to protect them from scratching against each other. I originally questioned why the paper sections remained in my mother’s cupboard or drawers and soon learned how nice it was to have a soft landing when returning the pots and pans to her cupboards.

• Small Container Leftover Prep – To prepare for the next meal whether to heat up food or prepare a small dessert portion, breakdown leftovers into small, covered containers (microwave safe glass rather than plastic). As we were cleaning up, I observed how my mother’s daily ritual of using small containers to keep the perfect portion for the next few days saved time. I use a hack upgrade by adding a labeling system and freezing some of the containers. 

Silverish Simplicity Links

• 5 Grapefruit Spoon Hacks You Should Know About
• 20 Incredible Uses for Safety Pins
• 25 Life Hacks Older People Should Know