The mixture of joy and disgust that comes upon you when you realise you have spent far too many hours doing things that could have been a whole lot easier. Anything that makes life easier, in general, makes life easier with children, so bring it on we say!

Here are our latest life hacks which will save you time, make everything easier and increase smugness levels by at least 90 percent.

1. You know that musky smell that sometimes descends upon the room when you open up the summer suitcase or the winter clothes you’ve packed away for almost a year? It’s not a bad smell but it’s not entirely gorgeous either. Well, you can pick up scented tumble dryer sheets for as little as €1.50 in your local Mr Price. Place a couple of these in your suitcase or bag before putting it into the attic or into storage and it will keep things smelling rather lovely. You can also use these in the dryer to freshen up clothes in general.

2. Take a photograph of business cards the minute you take them off someone, particularly if they are of interest. You just know you’re going to lose it and your gallery will always have your back when you need a locksmith or a cleaner some day.

3. Put old newspapers at the bottom of the bin to absorb food juices. Be gone random trail of disgusting bin juice as we escort you to the wheely bin.

4. Do you have a hard to reach candle but no long stem lighter? A piece of spaghetti pasta will do the same job. Light the end of it with a flame and it will work a treat for those hard to reach wicks.

5. Making fajitas or is it burger night at your house? Use a simple muffin tin to serve the pickles, ketchup, cheese, salad and anything else people will want to chuck on. It’s just one dish to wash and the spaces are perfect for this kind of thing.

6. Do you like some ice and lemon and lime in your drink? Freeze them in wedges and that way you have ready to use ice cubes that act as both. Notions, but I’m a fan of a midweek limey diet-Coke. It’s the little things.

7. Use a paper clip to mark the edge of your roll of tape so you’ll never lose it again. Simple and brilliant.

8. Are you always losing your remote controls or do your children enjoy hiding them? Pick up some inexpensive magnet stickers and when you’re not using them you can easily attach them to the side of the coffee table out of toddler’s plain sight. I kind of need to do this one immediately.

9. Place a wooden spoon over your simmering pot and it will not boil over. This one really works.

10. Charge your phone while it is in aeroplane mode. It will charge so much quicker and the constant notifications will stop for that period of time which means you won’t be tempted to unplug it after a couple of minutes. You’ll also feel super popular when you turn aeroplane mode off and the notifications come pouring!