Here’s a tip

To help our children learn the placement of states, we glued a map to a piece of cardboard, then used a razor knife to cut each state out along its lines. is created a puzzle. It made learning the states fun, and we wrote the capitals on the backs, so we learned those, too.-- M.A. in Georgia

Keep extra magazines in the car to read when you have to wait or while sitting in line at the bank or fast-food drivethrough.

I purchased extra-large safety pins and used scraps of fabric to designate towels for family members. I wrote each of our names in washable ink on several ‘tags,’ which are then attached to our bathing towel. I can tell in an instant who has le his or her towel on the oor/bed/etc. And I am washing a lot less towels now. -- D.L. in Ohio