Dry cleaning a suit can be expensive if done on a regular basis. To save money (and make fewer trips to the dry cleaner), try this trick to “freshen” your suit. Fill a small spray bottle with the cheapest unflavored vodka you can find. Then spritz away on the inside and outside of the suit on a mist setting. The vodka does two things: It deodorizes the suit and it dissipates quickly without harming the fabric. Instead of masking odors with fragrance, you’re neutralizing them naturally.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

When shopping for trash bags, consider trying new green bags that are totally degradable under landfill conditions. These new bags use something called “life-cycle plastics” that are just as durable as regular plastic trash bags, except they have one modification to accelerate their aging (or degrading). Under a landfill condition, the bags quickly return to organic matter and become a food source for microorganisms. You can find these bags now at all major home improvement stores, and they come in a wide variety of sizes.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

When you’re doing garden design work at home or constructing something that requires you to remove plants, think about giving the plants away. There is a real desire from people in your community to take healthy plants and use them in their own yards. All you have to do is dig up the bushes, flowers or small trees and wrap burlap around the roots. Or, even easier: Post your free plants on a site like Freecycle or Craigslist with the contingency that any takers come and dig the plants up themselves.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION