8/13/09

Hanging artwork in your home can be disastrous for your walls. To avoid marking your walls with holes from misplaced nails, plan ahead. Rip open a brown paper grocery bag and trace the artwork on the paper. Do this for all the pieces of artwork you plan on hanging. Tape each piece to the wall and move them around until you're happy with the arrangement. Then hammer the nail through the paper, rip off the template and hang the artwork: A perfect placement every single time.

8/12/09

When you aren't washing delicate clothing, be sure to run the fastest spin cycle on your washing machine. A super-fast drying spin at the end of the wash cycle will pull more water from the clothes. Less water means a shorter drying time. A short drying time means less energy is used. It also means your favorite dirty T-shirt will be clean in no time!

8/11/09

An old housewives' tale worth trying is to use soda pop to clean a clogged drain. The next time you have a party, gather up all the leftover soda and pour it down a slow or clogged drain. Let it sit overnight and then flush it with boiling water. The carbonation in the soda helps clear away debris and the boiling water forces it all down the drain.