10/14/10

To protect your growing plants in the garden from a cold, harsh, unexpected frost, reach into your recycling bin and fish out a plastic water bottle. Cut off the bottom of the bottle (about 1 inch from the bottom) and place the cut side into the ground, surrounding the seedling. The water bottle will act as a greenhouse of sorts and protect the seedling from the frost. When the threat of frost is over, remove the bottle and recycle it as you normally would.

10/13/10

Many of us donate bags of clothes to charity without getting a receipt for tax-deduction purposes because sorting clothes can take too much time. The general rule of thumb is easy: Your clothes are worth about 30 percent of their retail price when you donate them. Simply separate your clothes into piles of $5, $10, $25, $50 and so on when estimating what you originally paid for the items. Separate them according to price in a shopping bag and get a receipt for 30 percent of the total retail cost for your donation.

10/12/10

Many people complain that the extra cost of energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs prevents them from making the switch at home. With CFL bulbs becoming more common, stores are promoting them in unusual ways, including giveaways at the holidays and "buy one, get one free" deals. Keep looking for promotions to take advantage of these deals.