Margaret Arnold • January 11, 2025
Everyday Life Hacks from Mom

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 ...


Safety pin on blanket

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. 



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Past Blogs

Saying Goodbye to Boxes, Keeping the Memories

By Margaret Arnold • July 26, 2025
Thirteen years, seven rental properties, and countless storage boxes later, my oldest daughter finally has a home of her own. Through college, medical school, and residency, we continued to store belongings that didn't fit or belong in the cramped spaces of her temporary living situations. Passing along her belongings felt like closing one chapter and opening another—most of all, it represented the end of her grueling training years and the beginning of truly settling down in a lovely home and neighborhood. Her move got me reflecting on my own relationship with storage and my journey toward "Silverish Simplicity." In our former family home, we had one large storage area and two guest bedroom closets filled with plastic totes and banker boxes (see picture below). I even stored empty totes—a sure indication I was planning to accumulate more rather than less. With our move nearly four years ago and the natural process of downsizing while launching our children into their first homes, the number of boxes and totes has dramatically decreased. More importantly, I have no reason to purchase new totes, and I celebrate each time I empty a box or bin and it moves on to family members who need them. ... THE NUMBER OF BOXES AND TOTES HAS DRAMATICALLY DECREASED ...
Flower container pot with a bag of tools

Next Needed Thing: Grandpa's Summer Visits

By Margaret Arnold • June 28, 2025
My spring and summer to-do lists fondly remind me of my father. When my husband and I started caring for our long-time family home and 30 acres, spring's excitement came with overwhelming feelings. Early there with four young children ages six months to five years, I found myself in tears facing all that needed to be done, including a large pasture that needed mowing. My dad — a master gardener and hobby farmer — saw my tears and what was needed and stepped in. This began a 15-year summer routine to help with pasture mowing. Our family fondly remembers those early summer mornings when Grandpa arrived in his little tan truck, sometimes before 7 a.m. We'd chat over coffee at my kitchen table (youngest daughter remembering him sitting in "my chair"), then off he'd go to mow his adopted pasture. He loved to mow and, like everything our energetic father did, approached it as if he were running out of time. Oldest son recalls: "I'd bring him lemonade, and he'd drink most of it quickly. Then, without stopping, he'd throw the almost empty cup back at me and keep mowing." Oldest daughter added: "He was so focused that when we delivered lemonade, I was scared he might run me over." ... SPRING'S EXCITEMENT CAME WITH AN OVERWHELMING FEELING ...
A tote bag is sitting on a counter next to bottles of cleaning supplies.

A Happy Cleaner: Four Decades of Family Moves & Experiences

By Margaret Arnold • May 17, 2025
When my four children were in elementary and middle school, an annual Christmas card and letter that arrived each year gave me a glimpse of the life stage that awaited our family. I recall the usual family news but what struck me about this particular holiday update was the amount of moves her four children made in those college and post-college years and the loving assistance she provided. Little did she know she was modeling how I wanted to be, and have been, for my children these past 13 years and 18+ moves (counting three for my husband and me). From college dorm room to first apartments and now to first homes, I have had the joy of helping my kids settle into their spaces. What an exciting time it is for them! A key role I’ve played during these move-ins and occasional move-outs has been that of a cleaner. I like to clean – I mean I really like it. Not only do I enjoy the physical work I especially like the mental and organizational challenge and doing this domestic task better, deeper and, in the last three years, more sustainable. A KEY ROLE I'VE PLAYED DURING THESE MOVE-INS ... HAS BEEN THAT OF CLEANER.