Gransnet forums

Chat

Useful tips I’ve learned over the years.

(64 Posts)
Urmstongran Wed 11-Jan-23 20:04:27

Leave a party when people would still like you to stay a while.
Put moisturiser on my cheeks well before bedtime to give it chance to sink in and not just rub off on the pillow.
Cut tubes of any cream to scoop out what won’t squeeze - this is sometimes quite a lot.
Use a lip brush to access that last half inch of lipstick inside the tube. You’ll be amazed how many weeks worth are in there!
Never discuss important issues after 9pm. Save that conversation for tomorrow. It’ll keep.
Use an exfoliating face product when in the shower - it’s much easier than trying to rinse it off over the sink with handfuls of water.
Whenever you need to ring about a service, note the date, time & the name of the person you are speaking to.
Learn your mobile phone number! It’s only 11 digits and so handy to be able to reel it off without faffing about looking it up.
Really listen to new friends. Remember the names of people they chat to you about. Or write them down when you get home for recall next time. It highlights you were interested and bodes well at your next meet up.
If you are a grandparent, respect the wishes and boundaries of the parents. You had your turn. Now it’s theirs.
Do kind things without keeping a tally. It’s its own reward.
Speak more slowly to the elderly. Give them chance to compute what you’re saying.
Value yourself. If you don’t, how can you expect others to? You are just as important as anybody else. Not more so. Just the same.
Put your phone away when enjoying company. Or at least, stop looking at it for a while.
Compliments are nice to give and only take up a minute of your time.
If you ask people ‘how are you?’ be prepared to listen while they tell you. If you haven’t the time or the energy then just say ‘oh how nice to see you again!’.

Have you any tips to share?
We can learn from one another!
😊

aggie Mon 16-Jan-23 08:07:59

Eye drops won’t come out of the pump if you haven’t taken off the cover ….. sigh

Urmstongran Mon 16-Jan-23 08:07:25

I take my phone to bed but put ‘message alerts’ on silent. They can wait till morning as a message isn’t urgent. A phone call in the middle of the night would be so I don’t put calls on silent. Just in case.

Urmstongran Mon 16-Jan-23 08:05:04

Some really good ideas here. At our age we’ve often learned some good tips. If we share them, we can all benefit! Thank you for joining in.
😊

Lucca Mon 16-Jan-23 07:46:41

3 Dont keep a phone in the bedroom

Sorry not this. I’d need it if I fell (balance bad now plus muscle loss in legs. I literally take phone everywhere.) how else would I get help.

Not to mention family in Australia who might need to contact me.

teabagwoman Mon 16-Jan-23 07:39:23

And tip 3) do your food prep first thing. Makes it much easier when you’re tired in the evening.

teabagwoman Mon 16-Jan-23 06:42:15

Thanks for this thread Urmstongran, some new tips and some reminders of things I really should do,like tidying as I go!

I am quite deaf so yes, please speak more slowly and, even more important, make sure you have my attention before you start speaking.

My additions to the list are 1) treat yourself as kindly as you would treat your friends and 2) if you need help ask for it.

Tommo Mon 16-Jan-23 03:29:50

Don’t ask: “Is there anything I can do?”
If it hits the floor, that’s where it stays.
Have someone else drive so you can enjoy the view.
Pretend you’re listening.
Don’t wear jocks in the house.
Shave once a week. Or less.
Delete your search history at the end of the day.
Feign interest.
Don’t take up line dancing.
Sleep in.
Stop looking in the mirror.

biglouis Mon 16-Jan-23 02:48:23

#1 Do one task at a time, block it off, and move on to the next.

#2 Dont look at emails/texts late at night. If there is bad news its best handled next morning so why lose sleep over it.

#3 Dont keep a phone in the bedroom for the same reason as #2

#4 Take a regular rest from social media - say 1 day a week

#5 Get a ring doorbell - helps get rid of the timeswasters/salespeople/charity chuggers.

#6 its often expected that older people are a bit deaf/shortsighted etc. You can use this selectively to your advantage.

NotSpaghetti Mon 16-Jan-23 01:59:41

AussieGran59 - wish I could learn this one! grin

AussieGran59 Mon 16-Jan-23 01:07:13

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

welbeck Mon 16-Jan-23 00:00:07

somebody told me the thing about storing bed linen in the pillowcase; it would have appealed to me in my teens and twenties. sense of order.
now i don't care what anything looks like.
don't have patterned things, but even if i did, would not try to have them matching.
i often feel out of step on here. c'est la vie.

Witzend Sun 15-Jan-23 22:38:43

Store the duvet cover, the bottom sheet, and any other pillowcases inside one pillowcase.

Since my airing cupboard is far too small, I’m forever grateful to whoever gave this tip - either here or on MN.

Quite apart from the fact that the boxes are the devil to open, laundry pods gum up the washing machine with gunge - ditto fabric conditioner. Ditch both, stick to good old powder in the drum and soda crystals in the detergent drawer. Results just as good, and as a bonus, a lot less plastic.

JackyB Thu 12-Jan-23 09:44:25

My father taught me at a very early age not to tell people all about myself and then not ask them about themselves. Listen and react to what your interlocutor has said. ( Many interviewers should remember this I stead of just reading off their list of questions)

The idea of remembering and writing down names and significant events of other people is a very good one.

Don't worry about what people will think of something you have said or how you look. They probably won't remember.

Kate1949 Thu 12-Jan-23 09:43:13

Some useful tips. I already did some of them. I buy foundation in a glass bottle with a pump action top. When it stops dispensing, I prize the top off with nail scissors and find there is usually enough left in there for another couple of weeks.

Grammaretto Thu 12-Jan-23 09:33:00

BBC Radio 4 presenters gabble and frequently come out with the wrong words.

Does anyone else remember Jack de Manio? He was always telling us the wrong time so was probably very irritating too.

Auntieflo Thu 12-Jan-23 09:17:43

I think that speaking more slowly should be addressed to some of the younger generation. They speak at a rate of knots, often not clearly as well, then wonder why you haven't processed all that has been said. 🫣

I include our DS2 and DGS 3 under this heading. So I must practice listening, as DGS3 is visiting soon.

PoppyFlower Thu 12-Jan-23 08:06:03

Try and let go of the past (if its not serving you well) and move forward.

loopyloo Thu 12-Jan-23 07:46:14

Keep a note of the email you use and the password for each online account you use. Keep the notebook somewhere safe though.

Grammaretto Thu 12-Jan-23 07:16:13

Annsixty grin I would like like to witness this! Shades of Little Britain.

And Callistemon's note to husbands. grin
Mine could be annoying too but I miss him so much.

Shelflife Wed 11-Jan-23 23:38:25

Don't walk downstairs with reading glasses on !

Redhead56 Wed 11-Jan-23 22:36:37

It costs nothing to be polite and speak to people the way you would like them to speak to you.
First impressions don’t always count don’t judge a book by it’s cover.

annsixty Wed 11-Jan-23 22:35:18

If somebody started speaking more slowly and clearly to me I think I would thump them.
Something I am more than capable of.
😉😄

Callistemon21 Wed 11-Jan-23 22:34:58

Speak more slowly to the elderly. Give them chance to compute what you’re saying

Note to self: speak more slowly to DH. It's not that he is a bit deaf or has selective hearing (thanks GP!) and yes, he can quite quite well compute what you are saying - he just doesn't. And he is getting on a bit too.

Think and concentrate before you move, do not move in haste.

Remember an ambulance may take 11 hours to arrive for a potential heart attack, even not on a strike day.

For husbands: Don't leave the grill door down because your wife could walk into it, bash herself and the resultant language is quite shocking 🤬

Grammaretto Wed 11-Jan-23 22:20:42

Well done Urms. Some useful tips.
I like Calendargirl's mum too. Makes good sense.
As I get older, I am slower so must give myself time to get ready.

Calendargirl Wed 11-Jan-23 21:57:08

My mum used to say “Take your coat with you when it’s fine, do as you like when it’s raining”.