There’s a misconception that washing uncooked rice rinses away all the vitamins and minerals from the grains. This is not true. If anything, rinsing uncooked rice under cool water helps eliminate any excess starch, residue and impurities that may be in the bag. Many chefs of Asian cuisine also note that washing rice helps prevent clumping and leads to fluffier cooked rice. Just note that it’s not necessary to rinse rice until the water turns clear; a quick rinse is sufficient.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

A lot of us look for personal-care products and cosmetics that are made with natural ingredients or are cruelty-free. But what about cutting back on unnecessary packaging when your favorite products are used up? If you search the word “refill” on your favorite ecommerce site, many refills for things like plastic compacts and cases come up. Instead of tossing away your old compact, you can just pop in a new cosmetic. It’s less expensive and less wasteful.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

We all know the most energy-efficient choice for treating clothing in a washing machine is to choose cold water. It’s also the most gentle and will prevent clothing from bleeding dye, fading or shrinking. But cold isn’t the “one solution for all fabrics” option. For towels and bedding, opt for warm water, which is hot enough to kill odor-causing germs and to properly disinfect them. Also choose this setting for things like kitchen towels and clothes used for cleaning. When it comes to true sanitizing, go with hot, which is important for things like baby clothing, reusable cloth diapers and gym clothing.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION