It’s a good idea to have emergency kits ready in case you ever have to immediately evacuate your home due to a natural disaster, but don’t forget to create one for your pet! In this kit, have things like bottled water, a week’s supply of pet food, collapsible food and water bowls, a blanket, leash/collar and a pet first-aid kit, plus kitty litter and a pan if you have a cat. Also, find out if pets are allowed at the hotels at which you may need to stay; a call today can help the situation be less frantic if you have to evacuate.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

It’s popular to shop online on resell sites for used or vintage clothing these days. Not only is it a great way to save money, but it’s also very ecological, too. Turns out buying used duds results in a 95% efficiency rate in terms of energy used to make clothing. When you compare the energy to ship used clothing vs. the amount needed to make new clothes, it’s significantly more energy-efficient to buy used. And used clothing has gone upscale, too, with resell sites dealing in luxury brands at a fraction of the cost.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Used cooking oil can be a conundrum for home cooks: You can't pour it down the drain without it clogging, and tossing it in the trash can mean almost endless wads of soaked paper towels. Here's one way to get rid of cooking oil: Use it to kill pesky weeds. Pouring cooled oil where weeds proliferate will not only kill them, but the oil prevents them from coming back. And because it’s a vegetable-based oil, it’s biodegradable and perfectly fine to pour into the soil.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION