Rewriting regular expressions

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For the following two regular expressions, how would I rewrite them as a simpler expression representing the same set?

  1. $b^* \cup a^* \cup (a \cup b)^*$
  2. $\Big((a^*b^*)^*(b^* \cup a^*)^*\Big)^*$

I am completely lost and really need some guidance. From what I've gathered, I know that the * operator represents the kleene star. So in this case, a* and b* are all sets of strings, including the empty string, that can be constructed from the alphabet a and b. I also understand how a Union operation works, but I have no clue as to how to begin simplifying these expressions. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!