Loading the cherry into the pitter upside down

I just tried out the cherry pitter my mom gave me last year, and it's really amazing. The instructions say to load it with the stemless top facing up, but I found that if I loaded the cherry by threading the stem down through the holder and splatter shield (posh!), then the pit pops out attached to the stem, and there's no lost/attached cherry flesh. No need to de-stem this way, too!

Roasting frozen vegetables in the oven or toaster oven

My husband and I love that we can shake frozen vegetables onto a foil-lined tray, spray with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper, then pop the tray into a preheated (circa 400F) oven or toaster oven for about 10-15 minutes and voila! Delicious roasted vegetables.
This is incredibly easy, and has made dinner so much less daunting.

My mom mentioned to me the other day that we could just put some chicken thighs on the sheet with the veggies, and holy moly, that worked too!

Febreze Odor Removal Appliance

You would think they could come up with a catchier name.
Anyway, the F.O.R.A. is a fan-with-filter contraption that plugs into, and hangs from, an outlet.
We have a cat, and we have our F.O.R.A. plugged in right above the litterbox. I didn't realize just how good a job it was doing until I went a month past due to change the filter, and it became less effective and I could smell what I wasn't smelling before. Namely, not just the litterbox, but the diaper pail in the other room! This device is near the door to the baby's room, a door left open whenever the baby is not asleep. The F.O.R.A. has been eliminating the diaper pail smell in there as well, which is pretty impressive to me.

Most people would be annoyed to pay $20 for an electric air freshener, but it's really effective and it doesn't leave any scent at all - no cloying cover-up scent. It won't purify the air, and it has a limited radius, but for pets or babies, this thing is great.

Costco: for electronics

Costco is great for lots of things, but lately we've discovered how particularly good it is for electronics. I recently had to get a new laptop, and a salesguy at a local computer store actually recommended Costco over his own place, because Costco includes a 2-year warranty for all its electronics. They don't have a huge selection, but they had exactly what I was looking for, which is what matters.
We also just this week bought a new TV through Costco: again, not a huge selection, but exactly what we wanted at the right price with the warranty included.

Sending Recyclables to Preschool

My toddler's preschool actually wants our plastic bags and toilet paper rolls! I make a point of saving them and sending them in every week. It's nice to know they're going to get reused, which is better than recycled. I use plastic bags to line all our small trash cans, but we always have more bags than we need, even though my husband and I both always carry a reusable bag with us to cut down on the tide of plastic bags.

Repurposing milk cartons

Of course, you can take two milk cartons (the waxy cardboard things) and cut off the tops and fit them together to make toddler building blocks.
When you've had enough of that, try making each box into a little storage box. I've been doing that lately, and I'm excited about the growing collection. I haven't decided whether to keep the repurposed-chic look, or decoupage them into a less-busy looking collection.

Dustbuster in the kitchen

This is actually an idea I got from my mother-in-law. She keeps a dustbuster handy in the kitchen, so she can quickly clean the floor. This, in a house with an infant and toddler, is genius.
I have the latest in Black & Decker Dustbuster technology, and I use it almost daily (should use it daily) to clean up all the food scraps the kids get on the floor. I suppose a dog would serve the same purpose, but the dustbuster doesn't need to be taken for walks.

The 'buster is so helpful, I have even granted its charger precious kitchen countertop real estate. It's worth it to have it handy like that.