The Best Time-Saving Ideas

Simplify your life with these speedy tips and shortcuts for cleaning, cooking, exercising, and more.

Speedy Tips

37 Time-Saving Foods to Keep in the Kitchen
Real Simple picked 37 of the best-tasting grocery store items that can be prepared in a flash.

Easy Shortcuts

Shortcut Solutions for Common Health-Care Annoyances
Take the headache out of dealing with doctors and insurance companies. These time-saving strategies will get you on the fast track.

Skip That Step: Easy Recipe Shortcuts 
Cooking instructions you can (happily) ignore.

Speed-Clean Your Computer Checklist

How to get your computer ten times cleaner in just five minutes.

• Minute 1: Turn off the computer and unplug electrical cords. (For a laptop, remove the battery.) Pour a little rubbing alcohol into a bowl, dip in a foam swab (foam won’t leave lint behind like a cotton swab can), and then very carefully run the swab over all speaker holes, cord inputs, vents and any other openings on the monitor; follow up with a dry swab. Barely dampen an eyeglass cloth (or any other soft, lint-free cloth) with water and give the rest of the exterior a once-over. (For stains, add a drop of dish soap to a fresh cloth and rub; use the damp cloth to wipe clean.)
• Minute 2: Wipe the screen from top to bottom with the barely damp cloth. Even if you don’t see crumbs, turn the keyboard upside down over a wastebasket and give it a few gentle shakes—particles may be hiding under the keys. Keep the keyboard upside down, hold a can of compressed air upright with your other hand, and shoot a few bursts in and around the gaps between the keys. This will whisk away dust. (A small paintbrush also does a decent job.)
• Minutes 3 and 4: With a new alcohol-dipped swab, trace the outside of each key. Then swipe the tops of the keys gently with a fresh cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol; there’s no need to press down.

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