An absolute must with a million and a half uses. But do not buy just any plastic wrap. Go to a restaurant supply store and buy a large roll of restaurant plastic wrap. It sticks much better than the common grocery store plastic wrap and is much cheaper per foot.

The EnergyGuide label on new refrigerators will tell you how much electricity in kilowatt-hours (kWh) a particular model uses in one year. The smaller the number, the less energy the refrigerator uses and the less it will cost you to operate. In addition to the EnergyGuide label, don't forget to look for the Energy Star label. A new refrigerator with an Energy Star label will save you between $35 and $70 a year compared to the models designed 15 years ago. This adds up to between $525 and $1,050 during the average 15-year life of the unit.

Installing a food waste disposer is an ideal way to let you spend more time doing the things you want to do around the home and less time worrying about what to do with your messy unwanted food waste. With putrescible waste (kitchen food scraps) accounting for 25% of household waste, using a food waste disposer not only means fewer trips to the wheelie bin but also results in a substantial reduction of waste going to landfill.