1/9/09

Wine Not? Time to pull out all those extra champagne and wine corks from the holiday festivities. If you only have a few corks, shave off slivers and glue them to the bottom of an uneven chair or table legs. It'll keep them steady and -- since cork is soft and springy -- it will protect the floors, too. If you have a bunch of corks, combine them together inside of a large pipe clamp (available from the hardware store plumbing department). Screw the clamp tight around the corks and you've made an instant trivet! Use it in the kitchen to keep surfaces protected from hot pots.

Bring a reusable, stainless steel coffee thermos to your regular barista the next time you fill-up on a skim latte with an extra shot. Some stores will even give you a discount for bringing the thermos. Added bonus? Your hot drink stays hot longer and since most coffee mugs are designed to be spill-proof, you won't splatter that mocha latte all over your shirt.

An idea: store hot macaroni and cheese in a thermos to enjoy a warm lunch at work.

Ditch the paper towels! Pick-up microfiber cloth towels to use all around the house. Thousands of tiny little fibers literally grip and hold onto the dirt and bacteria. The best part? They are machine-washable, so you can use them over and over again. Even if you just use plain tap water, the microfiber towels will pick up germs to help you disinfect countertops and other surfaces. Find some microfiber love at methodhome.com.

1/8/09