Do you make new years resolutions? One of mine for 2019 was to try and make life a bit easier for myself. Not to be lazy but to make things in my life more efficient. In the interest of helping you make your lives more efficient in 2020 I’d like to share with you some of the best subscriptions that I’ve signed up to this year.

Meal Box Subscriptions

We dabbled in meal subscriptions for a fair few years on and off since Leo was born back in 2013 and then in 2016 Tayo arrived and turned our lives upside down once again, in the magical way only new babies can. Three months prior to his arrival we had moved to a new City and in an attempt to keep my head above water navigating said new City, the never ending sleep deprivation haze that I was already 3 years into and generally trying to navigate life with two, I signed us back up to Gousto.

I am very aware there are lots of hashtag ads featuring Gousto but as you know, we are now 100% ad free so this comes from me as a genuine recommendation; a product I have used solidly for the last 7 months. I’d dipped in and out here and there, using it on weeks where I knew things were going to be a bit hectic and then we moved house again – thankfully this time there was no new city to deal with but still, you know, life. And so for the last 7 months Gousto has been a life saver for me.

Not having to think about what to cook. Not having to make sure I remember to get all the right ingredients. Carving out half an hour an evening where I’m actually cooking and focusing on something else other than work or kids. I’ve learnt what sort of flavours work together and how to rustle up some really great little meals. There’s never any waste and I have seen a reduction in the use of plastic over the last few months and the knowledge that reducing plastic use is a top priority for them is good to know. My delivery arrives on a Sunday, I batch cook two meals to get us through Monday and Tuesday evenings because they are mayhem in my house and then the other two nights (we subscribe to 4 meals for 4 people) I have one more indulgent meal where I have more time and then a ’10 minute’ meal to get us through Thursday swim night when again, time is restricted.

The most common question I get asked about it is how much it costs and is it expensive. I have done a direct comparison and for an average box we’re probably paying about an extra £8 compared to if we went to the shop and bought it. But to save on actually having to go to the shop or pay for delivery and actually sit there and add all the ingredients to my basket, I’d rather pay that £8. For me, that is money really well spent.

For the weekend I have a shopping list that I order every Thursday to be delivered on a Friday to get us through the weekend and that includes snacks and fruit for the boys for the week ahead. It’s all about finding what works best for you. I’d love to hear if any of you are subscribed to a meal box and how you work your weeks around it.

Dog Food Subscription

When I started leaving those trips to my (not so) local large chain pet store a little too late I knew I needed to start better organising myself when it came to my beloved pooch. I was lugging great 15kg bags through a shop and into the boot of my car and picking up unnecessary treats and toys on my way. Then back in February I saw tails.com and thought I’d give it a try. And I have never looked back. Great food quality, great customer service and so much flexibility. You enter all of your fur friends details into their system and it calculates how much food they will need to get them through the month and you’re provided with a scoop to ensure you feed them the right amount. I also get my poo bags and denta sticks (I recently heard these are absolutely terrible for our fury friends? Can anyone confirm?) through them as well and they all turn up together once a month. You get a notification when they are prepping your order and you can delay your delivery if you still have food left over or if you start to run out for whatever reason (never happened FYI) you can bring your delivery forward. I guess that would be useful if you’re going away on holiday and need more food for your pet sitter/kennels.

As with most subscription services you can get a discount to try them out so I would 100% suggest giving them a go. And as with Gousto, you’re not tied into anything. You can cancel your subscription at any time.

Speaking of trying subscriptions before you decide to pay that monthly/quarterly/annual fee…

Toilet Roll Subscription

I am currently waiting for my free trial to arrive from Who Gives A Crap. They come highly recommended by our very own Naomi who has been using them for some time now. I quote ‘The main reason I went with them was that I don’t like the idea that 27,000 trees are chopped down every day for people to wipe their arses with.’ Can’t really argue with that can you? Their paper is made from 100% recycled paper and on top of that, 50% of their profits go towards helping build toilets and improving sanitation across the world. You can find out more about them here. I’m sure Naomi will be happy to answer any questions you might have about the loo roll in the comments below until I’m able to pass judgement myself.

A Little Something For Us

Now that’s all very practical isn’t it but subscriptions don’t just have to be used for practical things or to make life more efficient. That’s why we subscribe to The Craft Gin Club too. We’re not big drinkers at home but we do like a little something over the weeknd so we subscribe to the quarterly delivery. You get a great bottle of gin, a selection of mixers and nibbles and a magazine all about… gin! With great recipes to try and information about the specific gin you’ve received that month. It’s just a little something for us and I love it.

The other type of subscription I would love to try is washing detergent and dishwasher tablets. Is anyone subscribed to anything? I have heard of Splosh, True Earth and Smol but would love a recommendation? I’m yet to subscribe myself to a cleaner but that’s on my to do list for the new year too.

Let me know if you’d like a round up of subscriptions for children too because we are currently subscribe to three different activity subscriptions for the boys 🙂