1. make a great entrance

Each time someone enters your home, he or she tracks in dirt. Although the greatest concentrations of this dirt collect near the entryways, foot traffic can quickly spread it throughout your home. According to an EPA study, 30 to 40 percent of the undesirable chemicals in the dust inside your home is brought in from outdoors. Adding a doormat outside makes it easier to keep dirt outside where it belongs. Go one step further and implement a shoes-off policy that starts just beyond your threshold. This will help ensure that the dirt and debris don't wind up in your carpet or rugs. With less dirt to clean up, you'll reduce the time you spend cleaning, mopping and vacuuming your floors.

2. change a dirty job into a clean one

Make trash collection less of a chore. Instead of making one trip to empty all the trash cans that have trash bags, and then making another trip to replace those bags with fresh ones, you can handle both tasks in one trip. Store a few new trash bag at the bottom of each can you use. When you remove a filled trash bag, you can replace it immediately with a bag from your stash of new ones.

3. magically self-sorting socks

When the whole family has socks in the same load of laundry, trying to find matching pairs takes forever. Instead, get each family member a different color mesh laundry bag suitable for the washer and dryer. When socks need laundering, each person places socks together in his or her own bag one for white & lights and one for colors & darks. When the socks are dry, return the bags to their original owners for sorting.

4. give bed linens a new shake

If you are always on the hunt for matching sheet sets or can’t remember what size the sheets are until you unfold them, try this: for smaller sheets that fit cribs or twin beds, fold both the fitted and flat sheet and place them together inside the matching pillow case. With larger sheets, place the folded fitted sheet in one pillow case and the folded flat sheet in the other. Now to keep them straight, use a simple label maker to mark shelves "twin", "queen" and "king". Place sheets away accordingly. Sweet dreams!

5. the incredible expanding refrigerator

Finding space in your refrigerator and freezer is easy if you do a little maintenance before you head to the store. First check the condiments. Chances are you'll find some empty containers that can go into the recycling bin. Next, check the back of the shelves where food items get forgotten. Toss anything that's past its expiration date. In your freezer, eliminate bulky containers by freezing soups and sauces flat in Ziploc® Brand Freezer Bags. Arrange them vertically to create an organized filing system that opens up a lot more space.