The following are things which I have found useful, but which may or may not work for you.  THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES, NOR RESPONSIBILITY, ON MY PART.  AS USUAL, USE YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT BEFORE TRYING THEM.
 
 

When sorting clothes before washing, take a little extra time to button
the shirts.  You’ll then only need to slip a hanger into each shirt as you
take them out of the dryer.  This means everything gets out of the dryer
much faster, saving you time and avoiding wrinkles.  I also like to sort
laundry the night before I plan to wash.  Sorting, checking for stains,
emptying pockets, etc., can be time consuming, especially if there are
several family members.  If you sort and wash the same day, it seems to
be so much more of a chore.

Place large metal over-the-door hooks (the type that extend out
approximately 12 inches) on any doors you have in the laundry room to
hang clothes as you take them out of the dryer.  Before I place a hook on
the door, I first cut felt that is the same size as the over the door part.  I
place the felt piece over the door, then the hook over that.  This will keep
the paint on the door from being scratched. My hook is on a closet door
in the laundry room.  If you put it on the door to the room, it may hit the
wall when your door is completely open, depending on how your door is
situated.  If so, simply remove it when you are finished with the laundry.
I don’t recommended the plastic type as they won’t hold up to the weight
of the clothes over time and the over the door part is often too thick to
allow the door to close.

If you have metal shelves in the laundry room (the white ones that are
popular for use in closets), place several clothespins on the edges to use
for drying lingerie or other small items.  You can even place clothes
hangers on these shelves to use for “short” items (baby clothes, small
tops, camisoles, etc.).  If you have wooden shelves instead of metal, install
3 screw eyes on the underside near the front edge.  Put one on each end
and one in the middle.  Run vinyl coated laundry line through the screw
eyes and tie it on the 2 screw eyes on the ends, making sure it is fairly
taut.  Wire can be used instead, but make sure it is something that won’t
rust.

Place clothes pins on vinyl coated metal clothes hangers.  You can then
place the clothes hangers on your shower rod on laundry days and clip
lingerie to them to dry.  Each hanger can be used to dry 5 or 6 pairs of
underwear or bras, so with just a few hangers you can dry a lot while
taking up very little space.

Keep a small bottle of Dawn dish liquid and a nail brush with your other laundry products. Just wet the stain and put a tiny amount of the Dawn on. Wait a minute, then scrub gently in a circular motion with the nail brush before laundering the item as you usually would. You’ll be surprised at how many stains it will get out, especially if they were greasy stains. In fact I haven’t bought any laundry pre-treatment products for years since I started using Dawn.

Keep laundry products in a plastic dish tub.  It not only keeps things
organized, but keeps shelves from getting sticky the way they can when
liquid laundry products run down the sides of the bottles after you put
the cap back on.

Does it drive you crazy listening to the noise made in the dryer caused by buckles on clothing such as overalls?  I twist used fabric softener sheets
around the buckles.  It won’t actually eliminate the noise, but it makes it
a little quieter.  This helps preserve the finish on the inside of the dryer,
too.

To save drying time and electricity, always shake each wet clothing item
before putting it in the dryer.  This is especially helpful for heavy things
like towels or blankets.  Items that are wadded up and twisted from the
spin cycle take longer to dry.  The small amount of time it takes to shake
out each item is much less than the extra drying time it would otherwise
take.

When drying a large item like a blanket or bedspread, take it out of the
dryer and shake it every 15 minutes.  Restart the dryer and keep repeating
this until it’s dry.  It seems like a hassle to do this, but the item will dry
faster.  It’s also a good idea to empty the lint filter a couple of times
during the drying time since blankets (and new towels) create a lot of
lint.

Buy an inexpensive over-the-door ironing board hanger to save space.
These can usually be found in the housewares department of most
discount or hardware stores.

Buy small screw-on sprayer attachments to put on the faucets of your
sinks.  I’m not talking about the old fashioned rubber type that you
shove onto the faucet.  The type I have are compact, they swivel, and have a
“twist” feature to change the water from a normal stream to the spray
feature.  They simply screw onto the end of your faucet after you
unscrew the end that came with your faucet.  You don’t need to be a
handyman to install them and it takes less than 5 minutes.  Not only are
they great for washing fruit and vegetables, but they make cleaning the
sinks much easier since they not only spray, but swivel to reach all sides
of the sink.  I put them on my bathroom sink faucets, too, for this reason.
They cost less than $10 and can be found with plumbing items at
discount and hardware stores.

This is a great way to cure a slow running drain without using harmful chemicals.  Pour 1/2-1 cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by 1-2 cups of vinegar.  Let it stand for 3 minutes, then run HOT water for 2 minutes.  If it normally takes a while for the hot water to reach this room in your house, before you start the drain treatment, run the water for a few minutes until it becomes hot.  This will ensure that you have hot water to run down the drain afterwards.

If you have a stubborn garbage disposal that doesn’t do well with
vegetable peelings, etc., line the bottom of the sink with 2 plastic grocery
bags.  Place them so that they go slightly up the front and back sides of the
sink to catch all the peelings (one bag overlapping the other).  When
finished just roll the bag edges toward the center for easy, drip-proof
clean up.They are better than newspaper because if you roll them up right when finished, you won't have to worry about them dripping, not to mention getting ink or your hands.

If you save plastic shopping bags, but don’t really have room for them,
you won’t believe how many you can neatly store by using a few of the
paper cores left from rolls of paper towels.  Roll each bag (after laying flat), starting from the bottom to squeeze out all the air.  Then fold it several times to make it as small as possible.  Stuff the bags into the paper cores.  A lot of standard size bags will fit into one core.  If you want to store larger bags, too, just label the paper cores with a marker, so you’ll know where the large ones are.  The cores can easily be stored in a cabinet, a drawer, or
under the sink.

I bought a small vinyl-coated metal basket with 3 compartments to use
as an extra silverware basket in the dishwasher.  I only place it in the
dishwasher when the regular basket is too full.

A great way to remove even more fat from any type of cooked ground
meat, is to first let it drain throughly in a colander for 5 or more
minutes, stirring it a couple of times while it is draining. Then rinse with
HOT water while stirring to actually "wash away" even more fat!  This
works especially well if you have a sprayer attatchment on your faucet.
Add seasonings afterwards, then cook a couple of minutes more to allow
the meat to absorb the seasonings.

Wet your hands before mixing meatloaf, and a few times while mixing, to
lessen the chance of the mixture sticking to hands.

Before squeezing lemons, bring to room temperature.  Then use your
hands to roll them on the kitchen counter using firm pressure.  You’ll get
more juice.

If you accidentally over-salt something you are cooking in a pot, while
it's still cooking, add 1/2 to 1 peeled potato to absorb the excess salt.

When microwaving, use waxed paper instead of plastic wrap.  It's safer because it won’t melt like plastic wrap can, and therefore can’t fuse
to your food.  To vent, loosen one corner, or poke a few holes in the top.

When you want to heat something in the microwave using your soup and
cereal bowls, you’ll find that almost always, the matching saucers from
your dinnerware set are the perfect size to use as lids.  Just place them
upside down over the bowl.  When heating small amounts of food on a
dinner plate, use a matching salad plate as a lid.  Make sure, of course,
that you are using microwave-proof dishes.  Paper plates placed upside
down over the dinner plate work well also.

Steel wool soap pads are great for cleaning stainless steel sinks.  Don’t
use on porcelain sinks, of course.

If you’ve used a steel wool soap pad, but it's not gunked up with food, you can save it to be used again by putting it in a baggy and closing tightly.  Squeeze all of the air out of the bag.  As long as it isn’t exposed to air, it won’t rust.  Some people say to put the pad it in a jar of soapy water, but that isn’t necessary.

Use dishwashing gloves to open tightly sealed jars.

Keep a wide tooth comb in the shower.  After applying conditioner to
your hair, comb it through to distribute it more evenly before rinsing.
Your hair will comb out more tangle free than usual after you get out of
the shower and you'll probably find you need less conditioner.

If you have problems with static electricity in your hair, keep a few
fabric softener sheets in the bathroom.  Lightly rub your hair with a
softener sheet, making sure you rub the underside of the hair, too.  If you
have long hair, just part it in the middle and bring it to the front.  Wrap
the softener sheet around your hair and rub lightly as if you were towel
drying your hair.  A sheet can be used several times.

Before cleaning toilets, turn off the water supply to the toilet.  (This is
done by turning the little knob coming out of the wall behind the toilet,
near the floor.)  Flush once after turning off the water.  Only a small
amount of water will then go into the bowl leaving more bowl surface for
you to apply cleanser to.  This way the cleanser won’t get diluted and will
do a better cleaning job.  Sprinkle powdered cleanser (or squirt liquid
cleanser) directly onto the bowl), then scrub with a wet toilet brush.
After scrubbing, turn the water supply on and allow water to fill to the
normal level, but instead of flushing, let the cleanser mixed water stand
for awhile.

Make a durable “pillow case” for your child’s kinder mat using two
beach towels.  Place the “right” sides of the towels together and sew
along the edges, leaving one end open, and then turn it right side out.
Two hand towels can be used the same way to cover a small travel, or
“camp size”, pillow.  Children will be much more comfortable and more
likely to be willing to nap if they don’t have to sleep on vinyl that makes
them perspire.  The covers can be taken home at the end of each week to
be washed, and this way your child can always easily identify his or her
“own” mat even if the mats are provided by the school.  This is what we
did for our daughter and she is now a teenager, but we still have the
cover.  For the past several years it has covered the vinyl cushion on our
patio glider.

The boxes that large rolls of art paper come in are great for storing several rolls of gift wrap.  They keep the rolls neatly organized & protect them from being crushed.  These boxes are normally 36” long with the ends being 8” x 8”.  Just stand them upright in a closet or in your garage & you can easily pull out a roll of paper at a time to get what you need.  Ask your child’s teacher who is in charge of keeping the teachers’ workroom supplied, then ask that person to save a few of the boxes for you.  (They are normally thrown out.)  The paper is sometimes referred to as colored butcher paper instead of art paper.  You can also ask for these boxes at teacher supply stores.  One box will hold several rolls of gift wrap, so it’s not likely you would need more than 2 or 3 boxes.  Place larger rolls of paper in first, then place small rolls inside the larger rolls.

Small plastic dish tubs are great for keeping cleaning products organized in the kitchen and bathroom.  You won’t have the problem of things
falling over and the bottoms of your cabinets will stay cleaner.

Use one small plastic dish tub (or a little storage crate) to store cleaning
rags and another for dish towels and dish cloths.  I keep mine below the
kitchen sink.  It saves drawer space and keeps the stacks of rags and
towels from falling over.

Use over-the-door hooks (the large metal type that extend out
approximately 12 inches) on bedroom closet doors for extra hanging
space.  These are especially handy when you have overnight guests and
you don’t have much closet space.  I always place a piece of felt over the
door first so that the paint on the door doesn’t get scratched.  You can
put two hooks on a door, one with the hook facing inside the closet and
the other with the hook facing the outside.  Make sure before you buy
your hooks (especially if you decide to buy plastic ones) that the part that
goes over the door is very thin.  Otherwise your doors might not close
because there won’t be enough clearance left between the top of the door
and the doorway.

Place a small over-the-door hook over each bedroom door to hang a robe that can be easily located in case of an emergency during the night.

Keep a flashlight under the bed near the head of the bed.  Lie down in
the bed, then see how easily you can reach the flashlight without having
to get out of bed.  Move the flashlight around until it is easy to reach.
When 2 people share a bed, have a flashlight on each side.  Have one for
each child, not just adults, and check the batteries often.  Remember that
the batteries will eventually run down even though the flashlights are
rarely used.

If your kids wear contact lenses, chances are they don’t take them out
until just before bedtime, which means they probably aren’t wearing
their glasses when they go into their bedrooms.  Make sure they keep
their glasses by their beds rather than in the bathroom.  Make them
aware that if there is a fire or other emergency, they may not be able to
get to the bathroom and will lose not only their contact lenses, but their
glasses, too.

I replaced the 60 watt bulb in our hall with a 7 1/2 watt bulb (the type with a standard base, not the Christmas tree style).  This makes a great night light to lead the way to the bedrooms and the bathroom.  It’s just enough light to be able to see your way through the hall, but not enough light going under the doors to disturb anyone trying to sleep.  It’s much better than plugging a night light into the wall, and obviously uses less electricity than leaving a 60 watt bulb on all night.  No need for a dimmer switch, either.

Cover closet rods with shower rod covers.  Your clothes hangers will
slide smoothly and quietly.  These have been around for years, but if
you’ve never seen them before, they are long tubes of thin, but stiff,
plastic.  They have a slit from one end to the other so that you can slip
them over your rods.  If they are too long, they are easily cut to size with
scissors.  They are very inexpensive (I’ve even seen them for $1) and
come in different colors.  They are normally found in the secton of the
store where shower rods are found or near the towels and bath
accessories.

Make an easy, inexpensive, decorative bulletin board with cardboard
and fabric.  Decide on the size you would like, then cut 2 pieces of
cardboard to that size.  Place 1 piece of cardboard on top of the other,
but if possible, make sure that any writing on the cardboard (product
names, etc.) will be showing on only 1 of the pieces of cardboard after
they are put together.  Tape them together with masking tape at several
places along the edges.  (No need to be that neat about this since it will be
covered with fabric, but make sure the tape lays flat rather than being
wrinkled, unless you are using heavy fabric.)  It’s important for the
bulletin board to be 2 layers thick so that when you use it, the pushpins
won’t be going all the way through and making holes in your walls.
Place the fabric you have chosen right side down on a table or other
hard, flat surface.   Place the cardboard on top of the fabric with any
writing on the cardboard facing up.  (This will be the back of your
bulletin board.)  Trim the fabric so that it will overlap by 2” all the way
around the cardboard.  Fold one edge of the fabric over the cardboard
and use a length of masking tape along that entire edge so that the fabric
is not only secured to the cardboard, but also so that it will not unravel.
Fold the opposite edge over, making sure you pull it taut in order to
avoid wrinkles on the front of your bulletin board.  Again use a length of
masking tape to cover the edge of the fabric and secure it to the
cardboard.  Repeat with the remaining 2 edges, then fold the corners as
neatly as possible and tape them.  I bought remnant heavy duty
upholstery fabric in a solid color, but any fabric will work as long as it
isn’t so thin or light colored that the cardboard will show through (the
reason you needed to make sure that any writing on the cardboard faced
the back only).  I used a long upholstery tack in each corner to secure my
bulletin board to the wall.  Upholstery tacks can be found in the
hardware department near the packages of small nails, picture hangers,
etc.

If you’re like most people, you probably have all kinds of frequently
called numbers scribbled all over the front cover of your phone book.
Then when you get a new book, you end up copying the numbers all over
again.  I wrote those numbers on a large ruled index card (4x6) and then
stapled it to the cover of the phone book.  When I get a new book, I use a
staple remover to take the card off and then restaple it to the new book.

If you want to park your car in the same place in the garage each time, try this.  First, park the car exactly where you want it to be.  Tie a long piece of kite string (5-5 1/2 ft.) to a thin nail with a very small head, like a finishing nail.  Use the nail to puncture a tennis ball.  Squeeze the tennis ball and run the nail through to the other side.  Pull most of the string through the ball, but leave enough of the loose end to tie a large knot.  Remove the nail and then hang that end of the string from the ceiling in a spot so that the ball will bounce against the windshield when the car is driven into the garage and reaches the correct spot.

I'm always surprised when I hear that someone doesn't know about this one.  When cleaning mirrors or windows (any glass, actually), instead of wiping with rags or paper towels, use newspaper.  After spraying with glass cleaner, just wad up a sheet of newspaper and wipe away.  Use a new sheet when the one you're using is saturated.  The glass will be streak free, it's a great recycling idea for newspaper, and you'll save money by not using up your paper towels.  Wear gloves or your hands will be black.  When finished, leave the gloves on your hands and wash the gloves with soap as though washing your hands.

If you’ve dropped a contact lens or other tiny, hard to find object, cut the foot end off of a pair of panty hose.  Remove any attachment from your vacuum cleaner wand.  Slip the panty hose foot over the nozzle, make it
taut, and wrap a rubber band VERY TIGHTLY around it.  Turn the
vacuum on, using the lowest speed possible, and run the nozzle over the
area where you think you dropped the object.  The vaccuum will suck the
object up, but it will be attached to the piece of panty hose.  Remember
to leave the vaccum ON each time you check for the object.  Otherwise,
of course, it will only fall off onto the floor.

If your ears are sensitive to earrings, use clear nail polish to coat any part of the earrings that come into contact with your ears.  I can only wear silver or 14k gold without really bad allergic reactions.  But if I coat the posts (or wires), fasteners, and the earring backs (if they touch my ears), I can wear any earrings I want.  I also have to do this to the buckles of my watchbands.  Some stores sell a "special" product to be used for this purpose.  It costs much more than clear nail polish, but guess what they aren't telling you?  It is nail polish.

Sharpen scissors by cutting through sandpaper.
 

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