Ask the Audience: What are Your "Life Hacks"?

Yes, this is staged.

I have been going absolutely crazy over trying to keep our house tidy, stay on top of work, spend as little as possible on groceries, and still get a minute to read a book. Over time I've come up with a few time-savers (a.k.a. "life hacks;" there are "parenting hacks," too), so I'll share mine with you, but I'm wondering--what little things do you do that help you keep your life in order? I am especially desperate to know how people keep their kitchens clean when there is an endless pile of dishes.

And as promised, here are some of my life hacks, for your enjoyment. :)

• Vinegar. I use it for everything. It is a disinfectant, but it's natural. It cleans my floor, softens and disinfects gross laundry, washes the counters. It's an awesome de-greaser. The only downside is that it doesn't smell so pretty, but once it dries the scent fades. Plus because it is basically food, you can use it when your pregnant without worrying about fumes. Just to be super safe about the disinfecting, though, I still use a 1/100 bleach solution for the nastiest parts of the bathroom or if we have had eggs or raw meat on the kitchen counter. I hear you can use it as a rinse for your hair, too--haven't tried that yet.
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• Automated bill pay. No postage, no forgotten bills. Enough said.
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• Precooking. We cook chicken and/or ground beef once a week, then refrigerate it (only up to 5 days, though). It gets reheated (and sometimes seasoned a bit more) to go in pasta, tacos, and salads. I pre-make a double batch of pizza dough every two weeks (we have it every Tuesday) and a double batch of chocolate chip cookies. I ball those up and freeze them so they can get popped into the oven whenever, or bake them and freeze so they just need a minute of toaster oven time for delicious goodness.
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• Meal planning. I just can't get into the groove of collecting a million coupons, so I've altered my shopping habits instead. I do a big grocery trip only twice a month, hitting a grocery store and Costco. Because our produce is usually gone or no good by the second week, we eat canned or frozen fruits and veggies with our meals (smoothies, frozen veggies, etc.). I've just started doing this, and it is nuts. It saves us money because there's less impulse buying and we are more careful with what we have because we've got a rule that about when the next shopping day is. We get creative. Plus we always know what's for dinner. I usually only plan two weeks (and I plan meals that can use leftover portions, like if we have stir fry one night I make extra rice for a meal a few days away and freeze it). Last month I planned the whole month, and it felt a little insane but worked really well.
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• Baskets + snap-top boxes. They quell the tide of toys in Gracie's room and the living room, they hold in my baking goods, they manage the mess of extra cords that want to devour our closet, and they keep my freezer from exploding.
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• Laundry days. Monday is clothing laundry day (+ clean-up-from-the-weekend day). I do only two kinds of loads--lights and darks. I only do a dedicated white load if something needs bleached. Gracie has her own load. I fold stuff as it comes out of the dryer, right into our basket, otherwise piles of clothes sit on our couch for days. Tuesday is for the linens--sheets and towels. I do blankets every few weeks.
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• Google Calendar. I have it synced with our email in the sidebar so we always know what the other one is up to when we are trying to plan stuff. We also have a regular calendar in the kitchen.

Okay, so help!!! What else can I do so my house doesn't look like it exploded all the time?!