6 Items to Simplify Your Life

Tiny moccasins? So cute. Tripping over them all day? So not. Get shoes off the floor—and keep pairs together—with this wall-mounted rack. Down the road, use it for scarves and purses.

To buy: $43, booninc.com.

Featured August 2011

Prepare for the snacking revolution. Your kid can hook an Oreo onto the curved end of this genius tool, then dunk without dropping the cookie into the glass. Available in seven colors.

To buy: $3, thedipr.com.

These cheerful knit cozies slide over stroller handles to protect them from wear—and give you a softer grip when you’re navigating the mall parking lot. Available in 18 colors.

To buy: $20, buggysocks.com.

Attach this rubber gadget to your tap, plug the bottom with your thumb, and watch water stream out from the top in an arc. Kids get the sippy, minus the dirty cup.

To buy: $10 for two, spoonsisters.com.

It’s like an electronic index for your ephemera: the notes you took at the pediatrician’s, a photo of a color for the playroom. Take a picture (or clip pages from your Web browser) and the app indexes material by the tags you create—or even by the text within the photo (like the words “Taxi Yellow” on the paint chip you snapped).

Set daily or weekly goals for kids (sharing, picking up toys), and award stars—ones that won’t fall off a chart in the kitchen—for stellar behavior. Kids can exchange stars for rewards, like an extra hour of TV or a few dollars.

See all Daily Finds from this month