During the winter months, hundreds of thousands of tons of deicing salt is used to make roads and sidewalks safe. Unfortunately for plants, salt is the enemy and can cause serious damage or kill them outright. When choosing plants for landscaping near sidewalks and roads, look for salt-tolerant plants. These are identified in many online directories of plants that are appropriate for your region. For people in warmer climates near the ocean, these same plants can also be perfect for your garden when marine winds carry salt-laden breezes your way.

Want to see the economic savings of owning a fuel-efficient hybrid car? Buying a new hybrid costs more, and it can take up to six years before you start saving money on fuel costs, according to the car site edumunds.com. To start seeing savings quickly, consider buying a lightly used hybrid car. The fastest and cheapest way is to look at the inventory of hybrid cars for sale by national car rental companies. You can search their databases of used hybrids, see their no-haggling prices online and even check out the cars in your local area. Search car rental agency names and “car sales” to find online databases.

Obviously, a broom is an energy-efficient way to keep your floors clean at home. But do you ever wonder how you can clean a broom? A mixture of hot water and salt creates a saline solution that disinfects naturally and helps clean, too. Just soak the broom in a bucket of very hot, salty water for about 20 minutes. Let it air dry, and it’ll be good as new. Fill a spray bottle with a little of the salt-water solution, and use it to deodorize the inside of smelly sneakers. If you’ve got weeds, pour salt water right on top to zap them away.