Designate a Space for "In Use" Cups

    Create a special spot on the kitchen counter where everyone can put half-filled coffee mugs that need to be reheated, water glasses to be used again later, or sippy cups that can be refilled. At the end of the day, put everything that's still out into the dishwasher. It cuts down on kitchen clutter, and it also avoids shouts across the house of "Are you done with that coffee yet?"

    Presort the Family Laundry

    Clean laundry is only half the battle―it still needs to be sorted and put away. Save those steps by keeping washer-and-dryer-safe mesh bags （27-by-36-inch mesh bag, $8, stacksandstacks.com） in each kid's room―one for lights, one for darks. Throw the bags directly into the washing machine and dryer, then hand them back to the kids. If they're old enough, they can do their own folding.

    Minimize Trips to the Garbage Can

    While preparing a meal, keep a big bowl on the counter. Put all your chopping, cutting, and peeling discards into it, then make one trip to the garbage instead of 10.

    Make a Quick Breakfast

    Put all your fruit, milk, silken tofu, or yogurt in the blender pitcher and store the pitcher in the refrigerator overnight. （You can even prechop a banana. It will brown, but that will not affect the flavor of the shake.） In the morning, set it on the blender and press the button.

    Put the Kids to Work

    Tired of hearing "What's for dinner?" and "That again?" Turn over the role of meal planner and cook to your family. Ask each person to choose a night that suits his or her schedule （some family members may need to make a few meals each week）, fill in a dinner menu, and add the needed ingredients to the grocery list. Make the rules simple: a different menu every night, and only one pasta dish per week. Everyone's food issues （allergies, picky taste buds） must be addressed. Every menu must be healthy and include vegetables. Include a dish-duty sign-up, too.

    Prepare Sandwiches for Dinner

    When in doubt, whip up a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich for dinner to save time. Make it with natural peanut butter, real fruit jam, and whole-grain bread. That way it's "real" food, unlike many of the additive-laden prepackaged meals so widely available now.

    Keep an Everything Datebook

    Buy a weekly calendar. Jot down all the traditional things―school events, birthdays, appointments. But use it to keep track of nontraditional things, too. Write down bills that come through the mail and mark their due dates six days ahead. Plan weekly dinner menus and write them on the calendar. Use it to also record the kids' long-term assignments. That helps prevent those evenings of racing around to do everything at the last second.

    Never Miss Another Birthday

    Send out birthday cards once a month. Receiving one early is better than not receiving one at all.

    Have a Shredder Ready

    Stow a small paper shredder near the mail to destroy credit-card offers and "checks."

    Try a Double-Duty Dustbin

    Empty your bathroom garbage can and use it as a bucket when you wash your bathroom and hardwood floors. Rinse it in the tub, then fill it with white vinegar and water. Both the floors and the garbage can are clean when you're done.

    Start a Recipe Chain Letter

    Planning menus and getting the ingredients together for a quick meal after work can be time-consuming. That's where the recipe-exchange "chain letter" comes in. Have friends send you their favorite easy-to-make recipes, then you forward them on. In addition, keep a few cookbooks at the office and download recipes from the Internet to a folder on the computer. Photocopy or print out the ingredients list while at work and then buy groceries during lunch or on the way home.

    Squeeze Now, Use Later

    If you have leftover lemons and limes from a cocktail party, squeeze them and freeze the juice in an ice-cube tray. Once they're frozen, store the cubes in zippered plastic bags and use them for recipes that call for fresh lemon or lime juice. （One cube equals about one tablespoon of juice.）

    Keep an Ongoing Shopping List

    Whoever unwraps the last bar of soap from the four-pack or scrapes the last spoonful of mayo out of the jar should be responsible for writing it down on the shopping list.

    Time-Stamp Your Photos

    When you get your photographs developed, label the envelopes before leaving the store. On the top of the envelope, jot down the date, subjects, or activity. It's easier than trying to remember the details later. Or take it one step further and throw out―right there in the store―any flattering, uninteresting, or unclear photographs.

    Get Ready for Morning the Night Before

    Set out everything you can―dry breakfast ingredients, clothes, backpacks and bags, and lunches―before going to bed. It means fewer things to think about when you wake up and you're getting ready to leave the house.

    Create a Beauty Station

    Hang a mirror by the door, along with a basket filled with last-minute primping tools. You won't have to run all over the house looking for brushes, barrettes, sunscreen, hand lotion, or various makeup essentials: It's all in the basket.

    Start a Day-by-Day Shelf System

    To get out the door more quickly each day, dedicate baskets or shelves to specific days of the week. When you remove things from your bag at night, place each item on the appropriate shelf or in the correct basket. Designate a certain spot for everyday items―like your wallet, transit card, and cell phone.

    Organize Your Hand-Me-Downs

    Keep a "future bin" in the kids' closets for hand-me-downs you get from others and anything that's too big for them right now. Purge their closets once a season. Put removed items in one of three places: a younger sibling's "future bin", the charity bin, or the trash. Many charities, such as Goodwill, call quarterly to let you know they will have a truck in the area, so you don't have to load your car and make an extra trip. When they call, leave the bin out front for pickup, and they'll hang the receipt （for tax purposes） on your doorknob. This is also a good time to get rid of any toys that the kids have outgrown.

    為"正在使用"杯騰出空間

    在櫥櫃上方留出一定空間，將需要再次加熱的半杯咖啡、會(hui)繼(ji)續(xu)使(shi)用(yong)的(de)水(shui)杯(bei)或(huo)是(shi)還(hai)會(hui)用(yong)到(dao)的(de)吸(xi)管(guan)杯(bei)都(dou)放(fang)在(zai)那(na)裏(li)。一(yi)天(tian)結(jie)束(shu)後(hou)，將(jiang)用(yong)過(guo)的(de)杯(bei)子(zi)放(fang)入(ru)洗(xi)碗(wan)機(ji)裏(li)洗(xi)淨(jing)。這(zhe)樣(yang)既(ji)減(jian)少(shao)廚(chu)房(fang)的(de)零(ling)亂(luan)
，又(you)避(bi)免(mian)穿(chuan)越(yue)整(zheng)個(ge)房(fang)間(jian)的(de)喊(han)叫(jiao)聲(sheng)--"咖啡喝完了沒？"

    預先分類髒衣物

    洗完衣服才成功一半--衣服還需要分類和存放。要省去這些步驟，隻需在每個孩子的房間裏放兩個洗衣機-幹衣機-安全網袋（長68.58cm、寬91.44cm,$8
、stacksandstacks.com）--白天一個，晚上一個。直接將網袋放進洗衣機和幹衣機裏，然後交還給孩子們。孩子們夠大之後
，可以讓他們自己折疊衣服。

    減少垃圾傾倒次數

    準備晚飯時
，放一個大碗在櫥櫃上存放垃圾
，然後一次性倒掉所有垃圾。

    準備簡易早餐

    將水果、牛奶

、嫩豆腐或酸奶全部放進大的攪拌杯裏
，並放進冰箱過夜。（還可以預先剝好一顆香蕉。香蕉會變成褐色，卻不會影響早餐的風味。）早晨

，放好攪拌機，按下按鈕就好了。

    讓孩子們幹家務活

    厭倦於聽到"晚飯吃什麼呀？"
、"又是那個呀？"這樣的話
，那麼把做晚飯的任務交給其他家庭成員吧。依照個人行程表（一些家庭成員每周可能就做那麼幾次飯）,安排晚上有時間的人做飯；填寫一份晚餐菜單，並將需要的原材料寫進采購單。製定簡單的規則：每晚一份不同的菜單
，每周最多做一次意大利麵。個人飲食習慣（過敏反應、挑食蟲）需提前通告。每份菜單必須健康並包括蔬菜；簽下菜肴責任書。

    為晚餐準備三明治

    為了省時，快速搞定一份花生黃油果凍三明治當做晚餐。使用天然花生黃油、真正的水果醬和全麥麵包。不同於現在隨處可見的滿是添加劑
、預先包裝好的食物，自己做出來的食物才是"真的"食物。

    記錄每一件事

    買份周報表，略記所有的例行公事--學校事件、生日
、約會
、haiyoutebieshiwu。xiexiaxuyaoyoujidezhangdan
，bingtiqianliutianjixiajiezhiriqi。jihuameizhoudewancancaidan
，jizaixingchengbiaoshang。zhoubaobiaoyekeyonglaijiluhaizimendechangqirenwu。zheyangne
，keyouxiaobimian"臨時抱佛腳".

    從不錯過下一次的生日

    每月定期寄出當月生日賀卡。提前收到賀卡總比從沒收到要好。

    準備一台碎紙機

    買台碎紙機，以便及時處理信用卡優惠單和"賬單".

    試試兩用垃圾箱

    liangyonglajixiangjikeyiyonglaiqingkongyushilaji，yekezaiqingxiyushiheyingmudibanshichongdangshuitong。shiyongwanhou，yongbaicujiashuipiaoxi。ranhou，dibanhelajitongdouganjingle。

    創建食譜連鎖信

    臨時為一頓簡單的晚餐構想菜單、買原料是很耗費時間的。而交換食譜"連鎖信"在zai這zhe點dian上shang就jiu起qi作zuo用yong了le。向xiang朋peng友you們men索suo要yao她ta們men鍾zhong愛ai的de簡jian單dan易yi操cao作zuo食shi譜pu，並bing不bu斷duan地di改gai進jin食shi譜pu。另ling外wai
，在zai辦ban公gong室shi裏li放fang置zhi幾ji本ben烹peng飪ren書shu
，從cong網wang上shang下xia載zai食shi譜pu並bing存cun放fang在zai電dian腦nao裏li。上shang班ban空kong閑xian時shi，打da印yin出chu原yuan材cai料liao單dan；吃午飯時或回家的路上順便采購。

    先榨取，後使用

    jiangjiweijiuhuishangshengxianingmenghesuancheng，zhazhibingbingdongzaizhibinggeli。donghaohoujiangbingkuaicunfangzailaliansujiaodaili，xuyaoxinxianningmenghuosuanchengzhishijiukenachulaishiyong。（一塊冰約等於一餐鑰果汁。）

    持續添加采購單

    打開四塊包裝的肥皂中的最後一塊或是舀出瓶中最後一匙蛋黃醬的人都有責任添加采購單。

    在相片上標記時間

    照片衝洗出來後，貼上標簽，然後存放。在信封封麵，記下時間、主題或活動名稱。這樣有助於以後回憶細節。在儲存時
，還可以放棄那些不真實的、無趣的或模糊的照片。

    為第二天早晨"綢繆"

    睡覺之前，盡可能準備好一切--早餐原料、衣物、背包、提包和午餐。如此這般，離開房間時就不會有後顧之憂。

    創建女人小站

    進門附近掛一麵鏡子，旁邊放一個籃子。籃子裏存放緊急補妝工具。這樣呢，你就無需為了找刷子
、發夾

、防曬霜
、護手霜或是精華素而滿屋奔跑。

    係統化日常擱板

    為了每天快速出門，每周選定一個籃子或架子。晚上把挎包裏的物件放在合適的架子上或籃子裏。錢包
、過境證和手機都放在固定的位置。

    整理舊衣服

    在孩子們的衣櫃裏騰出一個"未來儲藏櫃",存放那些從別人那裏得到的舊衣服和過大的衣服。每季清洗一次他們的衣櫃。不要的物件放進較小兄弟姊妹的"未來儲存櫃"
、慈膳櫃或者垃圾堆。許多慈善機構，例如Goodwill,會hui在zai每mei個ge季ji度du打da電dian話hua通tong知zhi你ni
，他ta們men會hui來lai你ni所suo在zai區qu域yu裝zhuang運yun。這zhe樣yang，你ni無wu須xu自zi己ji開kai車che捐juan獻xian衣yi物wu。接jie到dao電dian話hua後hou，將jiang舊jiu衣yi物wu裝zhuang進jin箱xiang子zi放fang在zai前qian門men。他ta們men會hui把ba收shou據ju（出於稅收目的）掛在你的門把手上。這也有利於處理被孩子們舍棄了的玩具。