I do realize there is more to life than just gardening. Everyday life can be difficult at times. Over the years I have learned a few tricks to help make things easier. Please send in any tips you have discovered to share!

The Kitchen

•  Cook once eat twice. I always cook more than we need and freeze the leftovers. You can also cook similar-ingredient meals at the same times, such as Lasagna and Stromboli - eat one freeze one.
•  I line my fridge drawers with plastic grocery bags. It makes clean-up easier and I just recycle the bags when I'm done.
•  Dishwasher soap (like Cascade) contains bleach and works great on cleaning stains from your sink and your coffee pot.
•  You can use your dishwasher to clean large quantities of root vegetables from your garden. It works amazingly well on potatoes etc.
•  If you like your meat marinated, but think the time issue is a hassle, follow this tip: I buy meat when it is on sale. I portion it out into plastic freezer bags, add liquid marinade, and freeze. The meat will marinate as it freezes and again as it defrosts, ready to cook.

Around the House

•  Easily sanitize your non-battery operated toothbrushes by running them through the dishwasher when you do a load.
• If you are painting walls/trim and don't want your brush to dry out between coats, wash as usual and wrap in a few layers of paper towel. Unless the room is very hot this can keep them damp overnight, ready to go the next day.
•  Save money at your dryer: Shake clothes/towels a bit before placing in dryer, they will dry faster. Drying less at a time saves money because the load dries faster. Also, hang what you can to dry. If it wrinkles (and, like me, you don't iron) place in dryer on low with a damp towel for a few minutes. For most fabrics, this removes the wrinkles. 
•  Put it back where you found it? I'm not so sure. When I finally find what I've been looking for, I put it back where I looked for it first. I figure there must be some reason I expected to find it there.
•  Did you ever notice when you open a bar of soap it feels kind of wet? Soap has a high water content which helps make all the bubbles. If you don't mind sacrificing the soap suds, you can make your soap last longer. Open it when you buy it and let it air out. I put mine in a bean pot (a covered crock with a small air hole) in the bathroom. An added bonus: as the soap's moisture evaporates, its perfume helps make the bathroom smell better.
•  Silverware trays make great drawer organizers. My favorite is a two level tray, the top tray slides back and forth.
•  Tired of socks with no matches? (I swear the dryer eats them and spits them back out as pills on my sweaters) I keep a basket on top of the dryer. All unmatched socks go there, when it gets full I look for pairs. After a few months any unmatched socks become chew toys (tie in a big knot) for the dog or catnip holders for the cat (put dry catnip in an empty tea bag/muslin bag. Close it up, place in sock and roll the sock into a ball. Instant kitty toy!

Out and About

•  When going to the market, if I know I will be using a grocery cart I park my car near where the carts are stored. This makes getting a cart and returning it easier.
•  Keep forgetting your grocery list? Put your keys on top of it, you can't go without your keys.

The Holidays

•  Write your Christmas cards in advance before you're busy with other preparations. Then just drop them all in the mail when the time comes (less holiday hassle).
•  When my kids were little they would start pestering me as early as Thanksgiving, "when are we making cookies" "when are we going shopping?" etc. I fixed all that with a simple calendar. It would start with Thanksgiving (a picture of a turkey when they were very little) and end with Christmas ( a picture of a tree). Everything from baking to school parties to pictures with Santa was written, or drawn, on the calendar. Each evening before bed they would cross off that day. Worked like a charm! This year my 29 yr. old daughter asked me on Thanksgiving " So, where's the calendar?"
•  As my kids got older, and Santa was no longer an issue, I enjoyed wrapping gifts ahead of time and placing them under the tree. I didn't want them to guess what they were getting, though, by the size of the box. So I never wrote any names on the packages, they didn't know whose was whose. I did. I color coordinated them: red for one, white for another, etc. You can also theme them: Santa design for one, snowmen for another. It was years before they finally asked me how I knew who got what.

Kids

•  When my kids approached the Terrible Twos (and Fours) I found it helped to give them more responsibility. At a very young age they were able to pull their breakfast dishes from a low cabinet drawer and help set the table. Later, they could stand on a child-safe stool and 'wash' their own dishes (this was usually good for at least 20 minutes). If you do rewash, don't let them see you!
•  Teach your kids the skills they need: How to do their own laundry. Little ones can help throw their dirty clothes into a hamper or clothes basket. As they get older, they can put in washer and help fold/hang their clothes. Over time they will be doing it themselves! Sure it is easier to do it yourself in the beginning, but that's not the best in the long run for anyone.

baby bamboo burp cloths