We're not all blessed with grids of monitors that seem to provide endless desktop real estate, and some of us like the simplicity of less. Regardless of your situation, if you don't have much screen space to work with you don't have to resign yourself to a life of pain and suffering. Working on a small screen can actually offer a lot of benefits and there are plenty of ways to make the best of the limitations. Here's what you can do.

I used to use a desktop with two 24" monitors and my laptop was a 15" MacBook Pro with a 1080p hi-res display. Today I work with one 24" monitor on the desktop and an 11" MacBook Air (which is what I use for the majority of my work). I made the conversion because I realized that the extra space wasn't actually helping me and I wanted my technology to be more concise. Since making the switch, I've benefited from the added focus and portability but that didn't happen automatically. Dealing with minimal screen real estate requires a number of adjustments, but once you've made them you'll start to see the benefits. In this post we're going to look at ways you can make the best out of a tiny screen when you're running Windows or OS X.

                   No matter how clean a house you keep, your computers and gadgets are bound to get a little dirty here and there. Here's what you need to clean them, and how to do it without hurting them.

Your gadgets aren't as resilient as they might seem, and just spraying Windex on everything and rubbing it down with a paper towel can cause all sorts of damage to a device. However, they are remarkably easy to clean as long as you do it right—and you can do most of it with just a few simple household items (or at the very least, a trip to CVS). Here's how to do it.

Clean Your Monitor With White Vinegar

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LCD screens are pretty delicate, and you don't want to press hard on them, because that can burn out the pixels. Instead, turn your monitor off (so you can better see the dirty spots), and grab a dry microfiber cloth. Many monitors and other gadgets come with one. From there, just gently wipe the screen. If you have a more hearty build-up of spots or gunk, resist the urge to press hard and wet the cloth with a 50-50 mix of water and white vinegar. You can use a special monitor cleaner if you desire, but the vinegar/water mix should work just fine. If you can, though, use distilled water instead of tap water, as tap water is likely to leave white spots on your screen from salt or other deposits.

Remember, as you're doing this, that you want to use a soft cloth, preferably microfiber. Do not use anything paper-based, like paper towel, Kleenex, or toilet paper, since it can scratch up your monitor. Also remember never to spray any liquid on the monitor itself—always spray it on your cloth first.

Photo by Jay Reed.

Adam Dachis — Your smartphone might be an expensive pocket computer, but it can help make up for its high price tag by cutting costs in other ways. Here are our top 10 ways to save money with your smartphone.

10. Find Fee-Free ATMs

ATM fees are ridiculously high, with many charging around $3 for a transaction outside of your bank. This is easily avoidable by simply checking for the nearest fee-free ATM using your bank's smartphone app. Most large banks have them for both iPhone and Android, and if not you can always save a bookmark for your bank's ATM locator page. Either way you'll be able to check in a pinch and avoid that hefty fee.