Trying to declutter your home can be a challenge. It can be tough to decide what to keep. The first reader tip can help you narrow down what you actually use. You can use a similar concept with other rooms in your home. Box up items you're unsure you want to keep, label the outside of the box and store it away. Keep anything you fish out in a year and purge the rest.

DECLUTTER: I took all of my small gadgets and cooking utensils and put them in a box on my kitchen island. When I needed something, I got it out of the box, used it, and then put it away where it belonged. After a month, what I hadn't used I took to the garage-sale pile. I did take out a few things that I know I use for holidays and special occasions, but the rest went.

- Hope, Missouri

FAMILY WORK DAY: This is something we do in our family, and I thought others might want to try it. It really works for us! We are a family of four adults. We draw straws, with the one getting the shortest straw being the first to have a work day. Say I get the first day. The entire family will work for me for at least eight hours, doing whatever I want them to do. Then the next longest straw gets the next work day until we've each had our day.

- D. Huffman, Virginia

MOIST CAKE: If you want to make a boxed cake mix taste much better and less like a store bought mix, add 1 cup of sour cream to the batter. Once you have mixed all the dry and wet ingredients together, add the sour cream, continue to mix as usual. It will puff up a little more, but don't worry. It will end up great, and the cake will be super moist! You may have to cook a little longer (five to 10 minutes). To make a canned frosting taste much better, mix in an 8-ounce square of cream cheese to the can of frosting.

- H.M., Michigan

Sara Noel is the owner of Frugal Village (www.frugalvillage.com), a Web site that offers practical, money-saving strategies for everyday living. To send tips, comments or questions, write to Sara Noel, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., 4th Floor, New York, NY 10016, or e-mail sara@frugalvillage.com.