Miscellaneous tips

[brownbetty]

Although my mother has told me plenty of things that were useful, (and plenty of things I've ignored, sorry mom) one thing she told me that was exponentially more useful than it seemed on the surface was this:

Whenever you are standing in the kitchen waiting for something: the microwave, the toaster, the kettle, etc., tidy while you wait. Put away the dishes in the rack, wipe a counter, or just close the cupboard doors that seem to magically open themselves.

This seems both self-evident and tedious, but the truth is, tidying done in this manner, in two and three minute bursts, achieves a lot more than expected, and hardly registers on one's consciousness. The general effect is rather like having one's kitchen kept clean by kitchen fairies.

My question: Have you any tips to share, either general household, or whatever, that proved to be more useful than you expected?