Experts believe the average number of hands that touch products like apples, peaches and lettuce before they reach your kitchen is around 20. And since different hands can carry different illness-causing germs, it’s imperative that you wash your produce, whether it’s organic or conventionally grown. One of the easiest ways to do so is to soak your produce before you prepare it for eating; just soak it in 3 parts water with 1 part white vinegar. The water will help remove dirt and residue, and the vinegar is a mild antiseptic. Rinse and then prepare.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Dried spices have a very long shelf life, but they can go rancid or lose their flavor. Generally, whole spices can last around four years and ground ones about two or three years. But a simple taste test or smell can tell you if it’s worth adding to whatever you’re cooking. If you need to replace your spices, don’t toss them away. Instead, make a home diffuser by simmering boiling water with spices to help perfume and deodorize the air. And many old spices can be added to houseplants as a natural fungicide. Cinnamon and water mixed together in a spray bottle can help kill mold and mildew off leaves and around the soil surfaces of houseplants.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Do you like to support local bookstores? If you’re a book lover and want to find independent booksellers wherever you are, there’s now an easy website to help you out. The website indiebound.org lets you search for independently owned stores by simply typing in your zip code and a distance within or outside that zip code (you can choose from a range of 10 to 400 miles). A list of local stores pops up with addresses and websites so you can choose which retailer to visit and support. A cooperation with the American Booksellers Association, IndieBound believes locally owned businesses are vital, since they “pump money back into their own communities by way of taxes, payrolls and purchases.”

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION