Many similar ideas here. I also use shower curtains, especially when turning green. Here are a few things that make my life a bit easier.
I modified my bandsaw to add a table extension on one side and a removable one behind the saw. This helps me greatly when I need to position large heavy pieces, or when I am re-sawing something that wants to drop off the back of the table.
Speaking of heavy, I have trouble with large wet blanks when mounting them on my bandsaw, or trying to get them mounted on my lathe. So, this week I decided it was time to build a hoist for the purpose using my chain-fall.
I am getting to an age where my memory is not what it used to be, and I was leaving blast gates open after using my machines. Then I would have to go around the shop to figure out where my vacuum was going. So, I automated my blast gates with pneumatic cylinders so that they open and close automatically when I turn my machines on and off. These have been working like a charm for about 10 years now.
I'm sure we have all lost a piece of sandpaper or two to the vacuum system! Here is my solution ..
Almost immediately after getting my lathe, I built a cart to hold tools, sanding disks, sand paper and other supplies, and to mount my grinder. Now these things are right behind me when I turn. Then when I bought my coring system, I needed a way to store the knives etc which are very awkward and take up a lot of drawer space. This is what I came up with, using a back corner of the same cart.