You spot a table that will fit perfectly — you think — in the living room, but you don't have a tape measure handy. At times like this, some everyday items can give you a good estimate.

A dollar bill. It's 6.14 inches long. Pull one out of your wallet to see how many bills long something is. Divide by two for a rough measurement in feet.

Your arm. To estimate fabric yardage, do as seamstresses do when precise measurement isn't important: Hold the end of the piece of fabric and extend your arm all the way out. From your hand to your chin is roughly a yard.

Your hand. From the tip of the thumb to the first knuckle is about an inch.

Your foot. Walking heel-to-toe in shoes across a room will get you a rough estimate — the measure is called a foot for a reason.

A tile or an album cover. When shopping at a home-improvement store, grab a square-foot tile sample and carry it around with you as a measure. At home, use an album cover from your old vinyl collection.

Post-it Notes. A row of four three-inch-square Post-its is a foot long. Just stick them on, then count them up.