Save at Least 2 Hours

Cooking. Most of the time you devote to making meals is actually spent juggling all the interruptions. Cut back your prep time by waiting until the kids have gone to bed. "Prepare pancake batter the night before," says Carrico. It only takes about five minutes to make, put in the fridge, and set out the syrup, skillet, and spatula you'll need. Small tricks like this can shave up to 20 minutes the next morning.

"To save wasted steps, look at how you have your kitchen arranged," says Lamendola. "Simply storing your cooking utensils close to the stove will save you significant time over the course of a year." To shave more minutes, prepare meals such as chili and stews ahead of time and freeze them, he adds.

Cleaning and organizing. Clean your house one room at a time. Create a portable cleaning caddy with cleansers, paper towels, and sponges, and start in one corner. Work your way around the room one wall at a time. You'll stay focused and avoid running back and forth to the kitchen. "This approach saves typically 50 percent of cleaning time," says Lamendola.

To get your kids to help keep the house neat, Stack suggests a system she calls Jail n' Bail. "If they don't put their stuff away, it goes in the jail box, and they have to pay five cents to bail it out. It shows them time is money -- and easily saves me 30 minutes a day," she says.