7 ways to make your life easier and cheaper in 2025 — our top at-home hacks for a less stressful year

While 'New Year, New Me' rhetoric can bring a lot of pressure and unrealistic expectations, January is a good opportunity for us to assess (and refine) some of our habits. And looking at ways to make life easier and cheaper in 2025 is the best place to start, if you want to enjoy a less stressful year.

From using one of the best air fryers in the kitchen to a tried and tested electric blanket in the bedroom, these at-home hacks can be easily implemented into your everyday routine. Anything that makes life at home easier and cheaper is a win in our books, but if it's something that we can start doing pretty much imminently, then all the more reason.

We've spoken to the experts – including those within the Ideal Home team – and asked them to share their top ways to make life easier and cheaper in 2025. The 7 tips that made it into our round-up are accessible, effortless, and rewarding – here's to a more relaxed home life in 2025.

1. Start cooking with an air fryer

If you haven't yet converted to cooking with an air fryer, know that they're pretty much guaranteed to make life easier and cheaper in the kitchen. Once you know how much an air fryer costs to run versus a traditional oven, you'll be amazed that you didn't make the change sooner. They use less energy and cook food quicker, making them one of the best appliances for busy parents on weeknights.

Our Appliances and Cookware Expert Molly Cleary swears by them: 'The thing that makes my life easiest when cooking is my air fryer. It cuts down on cooking time by at least a third every single time and there are so many designs out there that I've tested to make the process even more convenient.

'By taking less time to cook food, an air fryer will undoubtedly help you save on the pennies when it comes to your bills too, though I would say the sheer convenience of these mini countertop ovens is the main draw.'

2. Use Chat GPT to meal plan

This might sound complicated, but bare with us. Ideal Home's Ecommerce Content Director, Lindsey Davis, recently tried this and swears she'll be sticking to it in 2025, thanks to it being both convenient and money-savvy.

'I have filled my freezer with 3 or 4 different plant-based meals for about £15 by going to Sainsbury's, buying whatever was on offer then asking Chat GPT to come up with some meal ideas,' she says. 'Batch cooked a bunch on Monday and now have a load of stuff ready to go in the freezer.'

Aside from speeding up the grocery shop, you'll be saving money by buying from the reduced to clear section. Chat GPT is far from perfect, but you might be pleasantly surprised at the recipes it creates, and not having to think of meal ideas will save you heaps of time. Take the time to organise your freezer first so you can really relish that organised feeling.

3. Bundle home repairs

Home repairs you can DIY are a winner when it comes to saving money, but sadly, some jobs we just aren't able to fix on our own. When inevitable challenges like this occur, you can save yourself some money (and effort) by getting them fixed in one booking.

'If you need any home improvements or repairs done, make sure you bundle them,' says Henry Paterson, home services expert at Housekeep. 'Getting a handyman by-the-hour means you can knock a few things off the list economically.'

If something needs fixing urgently, this might not be possible, but for those jobs that don't need to be looked at straight away – like guttering, re-fitting of doors, cupboards, and windows, etc. etc. – book an all-round service that can get everything done at once.

4. Use an electric blanket to keep warm

Keeping a house warm in winter can be a costly affair, but with the help of an electric blanket, you can prioritise keeping yourself warm without racking up the bills. The cost of running an electric blanket is thankfully cheap, so they're an easy way to heat a bed or sofa while you relax.

'A budget-friendly electric blanket is a great way to stay warm in the winter months, and they can be very economical, with many options costing just 1p per hour to run,' our certified Sleep Expert, Amy Lockwood says.

'My top recommendation for an affordable heated blanket is this Silentnight Comfort Control electric blanket. It may be a bit basic compared to other options, but it does the job of warming up the bed, and at around £30 for a double-sized blanket, it won't break the bank'.

5. Ditch single-use wipes and plastic cloths

Single-use cleaning wipes are convenient for sure, but they're not good for our wallet or the environment. Plus, cleaning experts have confirmed that they're really not necessary - you can clean surfaces and floors with microfibre cloths, which are machine washable and can be reused again and again.

This is also a good opportunity to switch your plastic washing up sponges to an eco-friendly alternative - while these may cost a little more upfront, they're a more economical choice in the long-term.

'The Seep eco sponge is made of wood pulp and loofah, and our tests have shown that they last three-four times longer than a plastic version,' says Laura Harnett, founder of eco cleaning brand, Seep.

'While an environmentally friendly product may cost more to start with, it proves to be better value in the long run. The texture of the sponge means that you need to use less washing up liquid to create lots of suds, saving money there too.'

6. Use appliance timers

Night-time energy tariffs are significantly cheaper than day-time, so if your electrical appliances have timer functions, you should definitely be making the most of these. You'll see running costs of washing machines and dishwashers go down in 2025 if you set your cycles to run during the night, then unload them in the morning (plus, you're getting the job ticked off early too).

'Off-peak electricity times (typically between 10pm and 8am) can help you save money by running appliances during cheaper rate periods,' explains Les Roberts, energy expert at Bionic. 'Rates and off-peak times can vary between suppliers though, so check your current energy contract to see if you can save money by using appliances during certain hours.'

7. Use leftovers to make stock or soup

Another of our favourite ways to make life easier and cheaper in the kitchen is to save your veggie scraps and use them to make soup (or veggie broth, which can be added to homemade soups and casseroles). While you'll need to invest in a hand blender if you don't have one already, you'll be able to save money on soup forever more (it's also a healthier alternative to buying store-bought soups).

'I like to roast whatever veg I have left with some onions and garlic and blend it down using my Cuisinart cordless stick blender, to make concentrated soup mix,' Lindsey Davis says. 'I then freeze these in small blocks and hydrate them with stock when I come to use them. Aside from helping me keep the fridge organised, it saves loads of space and money off the food shop.'

While implementing all of these ideas will make the biggest difference to how easy life at home feels, even picking one or two to start with can help things feel lighter. Which ways will you be making life easier and cheaper in 2025?