10/31/13

Have you ever wondered what your donation of lightly used clothes, books and household items really mean to Goodwill? Donations are sold, and the money is used to help people in your community train for careers. Last year, more than 6.7 million people benefited from Goodwill's training programs. At goodwill.org, you can calculate the impact of your donation by entering the amount and type of clothes, household items and electronics you are donating. Its online calculator determines the value of those items and then tells you the number of hours you've contributed toward career counseling to help someone in need.

10/30/13

If you're battling an insect infestation in your garden, try this nontoxic tip: Save your bathwater. The residual soap in the bath water is both an insect repellant and a natural fungicide for plants. Just be sure to bathe using natural and organic bath products. If you soak your aching muscles using Epsom salts, save that water, too. The magnesium in the salts promotes plant growth. Just allow the water to cool completely before using it on your plants.

10/29/13

Whether it's for trick-or-treating on Halloween or ringing in the New Year, glow sticks are a popular item to generate light safely and cheaply. The light in glow sticks is created when the two chemicals inside are "cracked," or mixed, and a natural light is emitted. Once this happens, the light output can't be stopped, and the glow sticks can't be reused ... unless you do this one thing: Freeze them. The cold temperature stops the chemical reaction. Keep the glow sticks in the freezer until frozen solid; when you want to reuse them, just thaw them and re-snap to create the natural glow.