Creative tricks for a better home

Now here's a tip!

By JoAnn Derson
| 8:11 a.m. February 12, 2014

Winter Park - Maitland Observer
Opinion

• “Purchase colorful laundry baskets for each child in your home. In the evening, you can have the child find all his or her stray items, put them in the basket and then put them away. In our house, the kids also use their basket to hold anything they need for school the next day — backpack, coats and outerwear, even boots. We stack the baskets by the door, and nothing gets left behind.” — P.W. in Missouri

• Tissue boxes have so many uses after they are emptied of tissues. Try lining one with a plastic grocery bag and keeping it in your car for stray trash. Or you can use it to corral all of those plastic grocery bags until you need them — just stuff them in one at a time. Lastly, and probably my favorite: Cut out doors and windows to use as houses for kids’ toys. Imagination makes the possibilities endless. — JoAnn

• To distinguish all the cords plugged into a power strip, write the appliance name (TV, DVD, etc.) on a plastic bread tab, and attach it to the cord at the plug. A quick look at the power strip, and you can unplug any appliance without having to follow the cord through the jungle behind your entertainment center!

• “Jazz up your pancakes by adding pureed frozen blueberries or strawberries. It turns the mix either blue or red, and it’s fun for the kiddos.” — V.R. in Florida

• “To make an eraser for our dry-erase board, I cut a washcloth in half and fold it into a rectangle. Then I use a magnetic chip clip (with a strong magnet) to hold the open ends of the cloth. I can use the clip as a handle, and it’s stored right on the board.” — D.I. in Arizona