Today my well-connected friend, Nola, sent me an email with some of the smartest management tips I’ve ever been introduced to. What’s especially nice is that they came with pictures (which speeds the learning curve, wouldn’t you say?). Honestly, when I read these I was saying over and over, “WOWEE, is life gonna be easier now!”

So read on for 27 amazing ways to simplify life like never before. I can’t give credit to those brilliant folks that discovered these approaches—the email didn’t include this information. So to whomever came up with this stuff, THANK YOU over and over again. And boy would I love to meet these geniuses!

The simplest way to slice a bunch of cherry tomatoes is to sandwich them between two plastic lids and run a long knife through all of them at once. [Me: Holy cow, of course! This will save so much time.]

Keep brown sugar soft by storing with a couple of marshmallows. [Me: We’ve all used bread or those cute little terra cotta figures, but marshmallows is a great idea—I like how they’ll contribute to the sweetness of the sugar.]

Install a regular coat rack low down the wall to store shoes safely off the floor. [Me: I can see this by the back door or in a mud room, as the picture shows, but what a cool idea for the back wall of a closet!]

Create a thrifty watering can by puncturing holes in the top of a used milk bottle. [Me: LOVE this idea as an affordable and easier-to-handle alternative to those garden watering cans.]

Remove pet hair from furniture and carpets with a squeegee. [Me: SMART—I always hated hauling out the vacuum for this job.]

Flip a toaster on its side to make grill cheese. [Me: If I could hug the guy that came up with this, I would!]

Water straight from the tap becomes cloudy when frozen. To make ice cubes crystal clear, allow a kettle of boiled water to cool slightly and use this to fill your ice cube trays.

Use a large muffin tin to cook stuffed peppers in the oven - it will help keep them upright. [Me: Are you saying to yourself, “Why didn’t I think of this?”]

To prevent potatoes budding, add an apple in the bag. [Me: Who knew?]

Add half a teaspoon of baking soda to the water when hard-boiling eggs to make the shells incredibly easy to peel off. [Me: I collect ideas for this chore, and I’m sure hoping this one works!]

WD40 can be used to remove crayon marks from any surface! [Me: This works so slick!]

To tell if eggs are fresh, immerse them in a bowl of water. Fresh eggs will lie on the bottom, while stale eggs will float to the surface. [Me: BTW—if you do have a floater, don’t toss it; they’re perfectly fine for baking.]

To clean a wooden chopping board, sprinkle on a handful of Kosher salt and rub with half a lemon. Rinse with clean water and dry to ensure it is clean and germ-free.

Prevent soil from escaping through the holes in the base of flowerpots by lining with large coffee filters. [Me: I’ve always used small pebbles to line the bottom of my pots, but this is a better solution, I think.]

To prevent your eyes watering while chopping onions, wipe the chopping board with white vinegar (which won't affect the taste of the onions). [Me: OK, will be trying this for sure.]

Store bed sheets inside their pillowcases for easy storage and access. [Me: If I had to vote on the best ideas in this list, this would get a platinum rating for sure. This is such brilliant common sense!]

Drop a couple of denture cleaning tablets into the toilet bowl at night to clean off stubborn stains. [Me: Once again, who knew?]

Use cupcake cases to cover drinks glasses in the summer and prevent flies from dropping in. [Me: Love how this technique can contribute to the décor of the event as well.]

This has to be the simplest way to open those annoying blister packs! [Me: If I knew who suggested this, I’d send him or her a gift!]

Use a cut potato to easily remove a broken light bulb. [Me: Is this innovative or what!]

Use chalk to remove grease stains from clothes. Simply rub white chalk on the affected area and wash as normal—the chalk will absorb the grease and be washed away in the cycle. [Me: I’m trying this immediately!]

[Me: I’m not a wine-drinker, but I think this idea has a wide variety of applications—juices, smoothees, mineral waters, etc. And how pretty they would be in a punch bowl or drink tureen. What a brilliant suggestion!]

And how about some clever ideas for using those rubber bands that accumulate so easily?

Use rubber bands to help open a jar easily: place one around the jar lid and another around the middle of the glass. The rubber provides friction to prevent your hands from slipping. [Me: A better idea than rubber squares meant to do the same job.]

Wrap rubber bands around the ends of a coat hanger to prevent dresses from slipping off.

Use a rubber band to rescue a stripped screw. [Me: SO clever!]