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Saving time and money becomes all the more important after you have children.
Infleuncer Casey Major-Bunce has a wealth of hacks that can help those time-poor and cash strapped parents
The mum-of-four, who has 726k followers on Instagram, has just pulled 150 of her best hacks together in her new book, The Big Book of Major Mum Hacks.
Major-Bunce stresses there’s no such thing as a perfect parent, and mums and dads shouldn’t feel like they’re failing if they cut corners.
She says: “I’m sharing ways that have helped me navigate motherhood; hacks that have saved me effort and money, saved my sanity and, most importantly, my time.”
“Cutting corners, using hacks or being clever with our time simply means we don’t lose out on any of the joy. We’re all trying our best and we all want ways to make our lives easier.
“I hope parents – and people in general – find my hacks truly useful. They’re not just quick fixes; they’re clever, cost-effective solutions to everyday challenges – the little tricks you never knew you needed but that can make a huge difference.”
Here are 10 of Major-Bunce’s favourite hacks…
1. Term-time clock hack
As a clever way of helping children be aware of what should happen when, Major-Bunce suggests buying a cheap clock and colouring sections of it in different colours to indicate when it’s time for parts of their daily routine like homework, play, dinner, bath, story time and bedtime.
Then write a key to each colour on a piece of paper, stick this next to the clock, and explain to your kids what all the colours mean.
“Now your kids only need to look at the clock to find out what they’re doing when,” explains Major-Bunce. “No more ‘What time’s dinner?’ on repeat.”
2. Window toy hack
This is one for long car and rail journeys, and simply involves parents buying cheap window activity toys such as window stickers, spinners, or suction toys and popping them in a small bag before the journey.
Try and get a window seat with a table if you’re travelling by train, and bring out different window toys every few minutes or, if one is particularly popular, keep the others for the return journey.
“Tiny hands stay busy, tiny voices stay happy – window toys are a travel game-changer,” says Major-Bunce.
3. Organised packing hack
Trying to pack for small children as well as yourself before a holiday can be a nightmare, but Major-Bunce says a wardrobe cube or an over-the-door shoe rack can become your new packing pal.
Simply use each compartment for an outfit – she says wardrobe cubes usually have five spaces, so for short breaks you can put all the children’s outfits in a separate cube for each day, and for a longer holiday use each compartment to separate T-shirts, nightwear, swimwear, etc.
Similarly, use each compartment in over-the-door hangers for separate outfits, and then roll the whole thing into a suitcase.
Major-Bunce says: “Packing stress? Not in this house! A cube for every outfit, and more time for cocktails on the beach.”
4. Fruity ice lollies hack
For a summer breakfast alternative, or a cooling after-school snack, Major-Bunce recommends cutting up and blitzing watermelon in a food processor. Then put the mix in ice lolly moulds until each mould is just under half full.
Add a handful of blueberries and return to the freezer for 10 minutes while you blitz a few kiwi fruits too. Then add a couple of spoonfuls of yogurt and the blitzed kiwi on top of each mould before adding lolly sticks to each one and returning them to the freezer for a few hours.
“A lolly that’s a treat and a healthy snack? That’s what I call a parenting win,” declares Major-Bunce.
5. Cutting cake hack
Some birthday party venues don’t allow sharp knives for cake cutting due to health and safety policies, says Major-Bunce, who happily reveals that dental floss can do the job instead.
She suggests taking a roll of unflavoured, unscented dental floss to the party, and when the birthday cake needs cutting, just secure a length of dental floss around the fingers on both hands, hold it firmly and bring it down over the cake, cutting to the bottom just like a knife would.
“Dental floss to the rescue!” says Major-Bunce with a laugh.
6. Bed sock floor mop hack
If the kids have traipsed mud all through the kitchen, Major-Bunce insists bed socks can mop up the mess as well as a mop pad can.
She says all you need to do is place a bed sock over the floor mount at the end of a mop handle and clean the floor as usual. And instead of buying an expensive new packet of mop pads, simply wash the sock and reuse.
“Who needs fancy mop pads when you’ve got a cosy bed sock and a washing machine? Floors sorted,” says Major-Bunce.
7. Art caddy for fast food hack
Major-Bunce points out that there are never enough hands to hold everything when the family gets a takeaway in the car. And this is when a humble art caddy can come in handy.
Use the caddy compartments to slot in burgers, chips and drinks, and Major-Bunce says: “Because no-one wants to play ‘juggle the chips’ while driving, an art caddy turns chaos into calm.”
8. Character stickers for healthy food hack
To make healthy fruit and veg more appealing to young children, secretly pop one of their bright character stickers on the food when you’re out shopping with them, suggests Major-Bunce.
Just take a packet of their favourite stickers to the shops and when they’re not looking, pop one or two on food they wouldn’t normally think is exciting. Then ask the kids to find the fruit or vegetables you’ve stickered, and tell them they’ll be eating magic unicorn bananas, Bluey’s special green veg, etc.
“It tricks them into thinking the healthy stuff that’s good for them is fun too,” she says.
9. Phone case essentials hack
Use your mobile phone case as a handy storage container for those extra essentials when you don’t want to carry a bag.
Major-Bunce says she always carries cash – for those places that don’t take cards – and a few colourful plasters for accident-prone youngsters in her phone case.
“Mum’s phone: part wallet, part first-aid kit, part life-saver – always prepared,” she says.
10. Sun cream application hacks
It’s never easy to get wriggly children to submit to sun cream application, but Major-Bunce says three hacks have worked with her kids.
Firstly, use a fake tan mitt to apply sun cream onto their bodies, as it’s softer, and helps spread the cream evenly. Then use a make-up sponge for their faces – she describes this as a “game-changer” which allows much easier sun cream application – and finally, sprinkle SPF powder along the edge of your child’s hairline to avoid stickiness in their hair.
“No more wrestling matches with the kids – fake tan mitts and make-up sponges for the win,” she says.
The Big Book of Major Mum Hacks by Casey Major-Bunce is published by Sphere, priced £18.99. Available March 13
