Top Drawer: Readers share their best storage tips, best chicken marinade and more

Best for jewelry

Pat Green of Southern Pines shared a tip for storing necklaces and bracelets without annoying tangles.

“For closets with wire shelves, use “S” hooks anywhere along the shelves that seems appropriate. They are available in several sizes and hold more than the cup hooks mentioned in an earlier article.”

Best storage tips

Lisa Boyles of RealRoomDesigns.com in Raleigh says to look up when trying to find storage space in the home.

“One of my favorite tips for organizing is to use vertical space, especially hidden vertical space,” she writes. “I hope these tips will help you organize and beautify your home or office.”

Over Doors: Utilize over-the-door hooks on the inside of doors to store all kinds of things: in the bathroom for robes, towels and toiletry bags; in a bedroom or hall closet for coats, purses and umbrellas; in the kids’ room for hanging baskets to store toys, pajamas and school papers. Using over-the-door shoe storage compartments are great for making a vertical “junk drawer.” Eliminate that junk drawer in the kitchen by using shoe compartments to hold everything from batteries and pens to tape and scissors. (Be sure to get clear compartments so you can quickly identify what is in each pouch.)

Inside Cabinet Doors: Use Velcro to attach a small baking sheet inside an upper kitchen cabinet and you have an instant magnetic bulletin board. (Use commercial grade or extra strength Velcro available for purchase by the foot at hardware stores.) Keep coupons, a grocery list, important notes and reminders attached with inexpensive magnets or magnetic clips. Also, hang (on the inside of the cabinet) over-the-cabinet towel holders in the bathroom and cleaning supply compartments in the bathroom and/or kitchen.

Garage Walls: Almost all garage equipment, gardening tools and outdoor “stuff” can be stored on garage walls. Many hanging support systems are available at hardware stores. You can also go the inexpensive route and use simple hooks, nails or pegboard. Combined with some plastic or metal baskets, you can get the kids’ toys off the garage floor, too.

Tall Furniture: Utilize the side of a bookcase, armoire, table, desk or chest of drawers to attach hooks or brackets. Hang jewelry, book bags, purses, swim goggles and anything light weight that needs to be kept handy.

Visit RealRoomDesigns.com to see design ideas in action.

Best way to clean your iron

You know the story. After years of solid use, your iron’s soleplate has developed a series of dark, gunky, sticky spots that just love to mar your favorite garments. Fed up, you’re ready to toss Old Faithful for a shiny new model. Then you stumble across a video that claims to have a cure for getting rid of the crud: Tylenol.

Yes, it turns out that an acetaminophen tablet is just what the iron doctor ordered. All you have to do is heat up your iron, grab a pair of pliers, a damp cloth and an acetaminophen tablet. Grasp the tablet between the teeth of the pliers, and, approaching carefully from the side, rub the tablet’s end against the soiled spots along the soleplate. As the tablet rubs against the plate, the gunk will start to disappear, leaving a clean surface on the iron. When you’re done, turn down the heat and rub the iron plate across a slightly dampened, clean towel to finish cleaning the surface.

I tried this with my iron and it worked as promised. It did remove some of the “nonstick” coating along with the spots, but that mattered less to me than removing the gunk. I was able to iron a week’s worth of clothing shortly after cleaning the spot without leaving any residue on my suits, slacks or dresses.

To see this cleaning trick in action, visit: nando.com/cleaniron

Best chicken or pork marinade

Glenda Adams of Raleigh shared a favorite marinade recipe that she said is the perfect complement for grilled chicken or pork. The recipe came from a family friend. You will need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or pork of your choice

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons dry mustard

1 tablespoon black pepper

Chopped fresh parsley, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a zip-top bag with the chicken breasts. Marinate at least four hours. It is preferable to marinate the meat overnight. Remove meat from marinade and grill. Discard marinade.

Best of the tube

On DIY

Termite Trouble: Tabatha and Scott set out to flip their first house, but their property has a pesky little problem that could turn into major money woes: termites. They’ll need to adjust their schedule and their plan of action to get this house in market-ready condition. Will they come out with a profit? Find out at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on “First Time Flippers.”

This story was originally published May 22, 2015 at 12:00 PM.