Growing rosebushes in your yard has its rewards when the plant matures and thrives. But in the early stages, it’s key to do whatever you can do to protect the bushes from disease. One handy natural idea is to place banana peels around the perimeter of the plant. The peel is an easily compostable material that will break down and give the rosebush potassium-rich nutrients. This boosts the bush's natural immune system and lets it fend off frost, drought and other threats that can hurt it in the early stages.

Are you looking to go green in a big way, like getting a new energy-efficient refrigerator, or in a smaller way, like swapping out a few lightbulbs for LED ones? Your good deed can lead to immediate cash savings in the form of rebates with your local utility company. On the Energy Star Rebate Finder website (energystar.gov/rebate-finder), type in the ZIP code of your home, and the site will generate all the rebates from your local utility providers. A search for this author resulted in 47 offers ranging from a $400 rebate on the purchase of a heat-pump system for my home to $2 when I replaced my inefficient Christmas lights with LED versions.

With the hot summer months finally here, there’s one thing you should never leave in your car: your smartphone. According to Apple, its phones perform best in room temperature ranges between 62 to 72 degrees, and extreme cold and extreme heat can really impact your phone. When your phone is in an environment hotter than 93 degrees, not only can it impact your phone’s performance, it can also damage it permanently. So leaving a phone charging in a hot car can be a quick way to break it for good. Luckily, when it comes to freezing temps, it won’t ruin the phone; once it warms up to the ideal temperature, it should perform as good as new.