It happens to us all eventually.

You’re in a steamy shower struggling to read the labels on the shampoo and conditioner bottles.

At first you think it’s bad bathroom lighting or water running over the bottles, but eventually you have to face the realisation that your carefree days of being able to read the fine print are over.

You now have fortysomething, old-lady eyes.

It’s a transition that first creeps up on you in restaurants when you suddenly find yourself doing the in-out thing with the menu, trying to find the distance at which you can read the damn thing.

Same problem, same denial. Why is the lighting so bad and since when did the writing on menus get so small?

Then it’s the supermarket. Definitely can’t blame the lighting here, but the music is not helping you concentrate as you magnify food labels with your phone camera.

At which point, there’s no denying it: this is a “you problem” and the only solution is a trip to the optometrist for your first pair of reading glasses.

Upside: new fashion accessory.

But here’s the glitch. We don’t wear glasses when we’re doing our skincare and we most definitely don’t wear glasses in the shower, so trying to read the labels on products is still a frustrating squint-fest.

For years I tried to find a solution to the bathroom/shower problem. I’d line up haircare and skincare products in order of use so I’d know which one was which.

Now that’s a grand idea for someone who lives alone, never has any guests, and is so perfectly organised at all times that they never accidently forget and put them back in the wrong order.

In other words, doomed to fail.

Fast forward a few years and I had what might go down as my best idea ever. It may not be original, but since I’d never seen it before I’m claiming it as a World First and this is your Exclusive Story.

As we know, necessity is the mother of invention and in a blinding moment of clarity it hit me.

Alphabet stickers!

I now put readable-sized letters of the alphabet on my skincare products so I can easily see which is which without needing glasses or Grandpa’s magnifying glass.

H for hyaluronic acid, R for retinoid, P for peptide etc.

It turned out, this was one of the very few times that my innately frugal nature had come in handy and I remembered the Christmas stickers I’d kept just in case.

I’d used them to decorate baubles in a desperate bid to cling to the childhood of my now adult children who do not give a single toss about their personalised Christmas decorations.

But at last, the stickers had a real purpose, which filled my frugal heart with joy and made my skincare routine an absolute triumph.

Because mine are Christmas stickers they are bright and sparkly, which is a cute touch, but any old stickers will do, as long as you can read them.

How’s that for a life hack? It’s the little things, hey. You’re welcome.