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.

为"正在使用"杯腾出空间

在橱柜上方留出一定空间，将需要再次加热的半杯咖啡、会继续使用的水杯或是还会用到的吸管杯都放在那里。一天结束后，将用过的杯子放入洗碗机里洗净。这样既减少厨房的零乱，又避免穿越整个房间的喊叫声--"咖啡喝完了没？"

预先分类脏衣物

洗完衣服才成功一半--衣服还需要分类和存放。要省去这些步骤，只需在每个孩子的房间里放两个洗衣机-干衣机-安全网袋（长68.58cm、宽91.44cm,$8、stacksandstacks.com）--白天一个，晚上一个。直接将网袋放进洗衣机和干衣机里，然后交还给孩子们。孩子们够大之后，可以让他们自己折叠衣服。

减少垃圾倾倒次数

准备晚饭时，放一个大碗在橱柜上存放垃圾，然后一次性倒掉所有垃圾。

准备简易早餐

将水果、牛奶、嫩豆腐或酸奶全部放进大的搅拌杯里，并放进冰箱过夜。（还可以预先剥好一颗香蕉。香蕉会变成褐色，却不会影响早餐的风味。）早晨，放好搅拌机，按下按钮就好了。

让孩子们干家务活

厌倦于听到"晚饭吃什么呀？"、"又是那个呀？"这样的话，那么把做晚饭的任务交给其他家庭成员吧。依照个人行程表（一些家庭成员每周可能就做那么几次饭）,安排晚上有时间的人做饭；填写一份晚餐菜单，并将需要的原材料写进采购单。制定简单的规则：每晚一份不同的菜单，每周最多做一次意大利面。个人饮食习惯（过敏反应、挑食虫）需提前通告。每份菜单必须健康并包括蔬菜；签下菜肴责任书。

为晚餐准备三明治

为了省时，快速搞定一份花生黄油果冻三明治当做晚餐。使用天然花生黄油、真正的水果酱和全麦面包。不同于现在随处可见的满是添加剂、预先包装好的食物，自己做出来的食物才是"真的"食物。

记录每一件事

买份周报表，略记所有的例行公事--学校事件、生日、约会、还有特别事务。写下需要邮寄的账单，并提前六天记下截止日期。计划每周的晚餐菜单，记在行程表上。周报表也可用来记录孩子们的长期任务。这样呢，可有效避免"临时抱佛脚".

从不错过下一次的生日

每月定期寄出当月生日贺卡。提前收到贺卡总比从没收到要好。

准备一台碎纸机

买台碎纸机，以便及时处理信用卡优惠单和"账单".

试试两用垃圾箱

两用垃圾箱既可以用来清空浴室垃圾，也可在清洗浴室和硬木地板时充当水桶。使用完后，用白醋加水漂洗。然后，地板和垃圾桶都干净了。

创建食谱连锁信

临时为一顿简单的晚餐构想菜单、买原料是很耗费时间的。而交换食谱"连锁信"在这点上就起作用了。向朋友们索要她们钟爱的简单易操作食谱，并不断地改进食谱。另外，在办公室里放置几本烹饪书，从网上下载食谱并存放在电脑里。上班空闲时，打印出原材料单；吃午饭时或回家的路上顺便采购。

先榨取，后使用

将鸡尾酒会上剩下柠檬和酸橙，榨汁并冰冻在制冰格里。冻好后将冰块存放在拉链塑胶袋里，需要新鲜柠檬或酸橙汁时就可拿出来使用。（一块冰约等于一餐钥果汁。）

持续添加采购单

打开四块包装的肥皂中的最后一块或是舀出瓶中最后一匙蛋黄酱的人都有责任添加采购单。

在相片上标记时间

照片冲洗出来后，贴上标签，然后存放。在信封封面，记下时间、主题或活动名称。这样有助于以后回忆细节。在储存时，还可以放弃那些不真实的、无趣的或模糊的照片。

为第二天早晨"绸缪"

睡觉之前，尽可能准备好一切--早餐原料、衣物、背包、提包和午餐。如此这般，离开房间时就不会有后顾之忧。

创建女人小站

进门附近挂一面镜子，旁边放一个篮子。篮子里存放紧急补妆工具。这样呢，你就无需为了找刷子、发夹、防晒霜、护手霜或是精华素而满屋奔跑。

系统化日常搁板

为了每天快速出门，每周选定一个篮子或架子。晚上把挎包里的物件放在合适的架子上或篮子里。钱包、过境证和手机都放在固定的位置。

整理旧衣服

在孩子们的衣柜里腾出一个"未来储藏柜",存放那些从别人那里得到的旧衣服和过大的衣服。每季清洗一次他们的衣柜。不要的物件放进较小兄弟姊妹的"未来储存柜"、慈膳柜或者垃圾堆。许多慈善机构，例如Goodwill,会在每个季度打电话通知你，他们会来你所在区域装运。这样，你无须自己开车捐献衣物。接到电话后，将旧衣物装进箱子放在前门。他们会把收据（出于税收目的）挂在你的门把手上。这也有利于处理被孩子们舍弃了的玩具。