Tidy elves love PREPAREDNESS! Keep family-specific items in your go-kits: special meds, foods, baby formula and diapers, change of clothes, etc.

My favorite thing to recycle - old tips! With Sandy approaching my East Coast elves, here's an oldie but a goodie: make an emergency supply kit with water, non-perishable food, flashlights, batteries, a battery-powered radio, a can opener, medications you need, a first aid kit, coloring books for little elves, and more! And visit www.KateNation.org for a list of disater resources in your area! Tidy elves love PREPAREDNESS!

Invest in harvesting your own foods. Plan to plant a garden or patio boxes next year or visit local farmer’s markets.

Tidy elves love olive oil. Olive oil is nature’s WD-40! You can use it on squeaky and creaky hinges just as easily.

Tidy elves love olive oil. Olive oil is nature’s WD-40! You can use it on squeaky and creaky hinges just as easily.

Tidy elves love olive oil. Olive oil is nature’s WD-40! You can use it on squeaky and creaky hinges just as easily.

Need a natural energy boost? Honey, have I got a tip for you. No, I mean it – honey. Add a few drops to your drinks or a teaspoon before your workout for a athletic boost!

Don’t be a baby about getting a deodorant mark on your shirt. On second thought, baby wipes can remove deodorant stains, so go right ahead.

You’re already in hot water with a red wine stain, so make it work for you. Stretch the fabric over a bowl, cover stain with salt, then CAREFULLY pour boiling water over it. 

Some starching can help your marching. Spray starch onto white sneakers and it acts like a stain shield!

You don’t want to handwash your delicates in the same sink you spit your toothpaste into and use harsh cleansers. Solution: use a colander!

When life gives you lemons, slice one in half, squeeze the juice onto stained cutting boards, let sit for 20 minutes, and rinse!

Preventative maintenance: paint nail polish remover along the bottom of shaving cream cans to prevent rust rings on the tub ledge or bathroom sink!

Greasy hands? Sugar makes a great sweet grease-buster. Rub your hands with a mixture of sugar and water.

Tidy elves love olive oil…and so do cats. Adding ¼ teaspoon to your kitty’s food everyday helps with its digestive system (and reduces hairballs).

It’s National Boss Day! Speaking of which, plastic bags from grocery stores make great glove/pooper scoopers when walking the dog/boss.

Viva la Vinegar! But a vinegAIR freshener? Air fresheners cover up stinky smells, but the acid in vinegar neutralizes them, so spray away.

Clean lint off TV screens and computer monitors with a coffee filter. This is one task you should complete before your morning coffee…

Tired of impromptu art on the walls? Sprinkle baking soda on a damp sponge and wipe away your Picasso’s crayon, pencil, and ink marks from your walls.

You can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs…or making a mess. For egg spills, sprinkle salt over the mess, wait 2 minutes, and wipe it up!

Go get your shine box! Not only will shoe polish shine those shoes like mirrors, you can use a similar shade on wood furniture to hide scratches.

Wax on, wax off. In Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi COULD have taken a paper towel, ironed it over a wax stain, and watched the towel absorb the wax. (Admittedly, my version of Karate Kid would have been duller.)

Tidy elves love adhesive file folder labels! Use them to label a cord’s owner (e.g., computer) near the plug to avoid wire jumbles and accidental unpluggings!

Does your vacuum cleaner suck? Try using a seam ripper to cut the lint, hair, and anything else that may be tangling its roller brush!

Re-cycle of life: newspapers can find a second life as a window washer. Newspaper + glass cleaner = less lint than paper towels and no streaks!

Love the last of your garden’s harvest but hate the dirt? Bathe your leafy veggies in a quick bath of salt water.

Keep your small trash can’s bag from collapsing in on itself like a sad little black hole by using small magnets around the rim! 

Re-cycle of life: old tissue boxes or cardboard paper-towel tubes can find a second life as plastic grocery bag dispenser!

Out of shower cleaner? Add a few drops of water (and some elbow grease) to a fabric-softener sheet and scrub soap scum away.

Tension rods? More like anti-tension rods. These wonderful space-savers make a great way to hang all of those cleaning spray bottles!

Tidy elves love veggies! Eating one more veggie meal per week reduces the water used to grow grain that feed cows that make a burger. Tasty too!