Those little silica packets you find in bottles of vitamins, in some packaged foods and in electronics boxes are there to help protect the product you’re buying by absorbing moisture. You can save the packets and use them for a myriad of purposes around the house; but do you wonder what to do with them when they have absorbed their maximum amount of moisture? You can recharge them. Simply lay them on a baking sheet and dry them out in the oven at 275 degrees for an hour. Let them cool and use them again to keep things fresh and moisture-free throughout the house.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Almost every type of uncooked rice -- white, jasmine, wild, arborio and basmati -- will last forever if stored in an airtight container and away from pests like insects. Brown rice, on the other hand, will last about six months in the pantry and 18 months in the freezer; brown rice still has rice bran, and the bran oil can turn rancid, which makes the shelf life shorter. If you want to save cooked rice, you can keep it refrigerated for about four days or frozen for up to six months. If you suspect the rice has gone bad, throw it out.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

You can feel like you’re waging a war with weeds when gardening at home. Instead of reaching for chemical sprays, many of us opt to pull them out by hand. But if you pull weeds and just toss them into a pile, you risk spreading seeds that can germinate in your yard. Instead, pull weeds and let the hot sun totally dry them out. Then create a “weed compost” where the weeds and other organic material will “cook”; once the compost reaches 200 degrees or higher, the seeds in the weeds are totally eradicated.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION