The winner: Every time I pick up my six-pocket wine carrier, I say to myself, I’ve got to share this idea! I put cleaning stuff in each pocket: furniture cleaner, window spray, half roll of paper towels (a whole roll won’t fit). I have it all together as I go from room to room. Sigrid Sacra, Charlotte
The winner: I had trouble finding a tie rack that held many ties without taking up too much space. So I bought a prefabricated closet drawer and removed the bottom. I drilled holes in the sides, inserted 10 wooden dowels, three-eighths of an inch in diameter, 1 1/4 inches apart, and glued them in place. The drawer ran about $50 and the dowels about $10. Gary Wilhite, Charlotte
The winner: This week’s winner is more involved than most weeks. It’s also more Clever. Check out this homemade wall-mounted shoe rack that gives just enough of a toe-hold for footwear storage. Erik Insko of Ballantyne created a mini-shelf with two parallel boards. You wedge the toes of the shoes into the slot.
The winner: I save my 100-ounce plastic detergent bottles, rinse them out and use them to mix my Miracle Grow liquid plant fertilizer. It makes it easy to pour around my flowers and I keep several bottles made up in the summer and line them up on the back porch where they will be ready to use on my beautiful flowers. Alice Driggers, Wallace, SC
The winner: To provide good drainage, but no soil loss in my potted plants, I place squares of fiberglass window screening in the bottom. Alice Habbal, Monroe
The winner: Ever wondered how old the spices in your kitchen are? There are no dates on the tins or bottles. In fact, I may have moved from house to house with the same cinnamon and paprika. When I come home from the grocery store with a new one, I now write the date on it with a permanent pen. Tricia Robertson, Tega Cay
The winner: Whenever I have an appointment or other special date, I take a dry-erase marker and write it on my bathroom mirror to remember. It’s easy to erase. Candy Lee, Charlotte
The winner: I never use that smelly WD-40 on squeaky door hinges. I use furniture polish spray. It removes the noise with no bad smell. And that way, you don’t have to buy another product. (Editor’s note. We’ve had luck at home with cooking sprays like Pam for door squeaks, too. On the other hand, we do not recommend cooking with WD-40.) Bonny Salmeri, Charlotte
The winner: When you get a lipstick to go with certain colors, sometimes it’s hard to find that same lipstick shade when the tube has a solid top. I’ve started putting a colored marker dot of the color I want to match on top of the tube. Now I don’t have to keep opening lipsticks. You can put a pink, red, orange dot for the color you’re trying to match. Nancy Domokos, Mount Holly
The winner: My home has a very open layout. So when I prepare something in the slow cooker that is aromatic, the smell spreads throughout the house and seems to last forever. I now plug in my slow cooker in the garage. The aromas stay out of the house and the food is certainly just as good. Lisa Buch, Concord
I'm So Clever is compiled by Observer assistant features editor Roland Wilkerson. Send your tip, name, address and phone by email or mail to Home Section, Charlotte Observer, P.O Box 30308, Charlotte, N.C. 28230.
